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Benji hits hard

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The new year had sprung and I was keen to get stuck into a new burger. I headed down to Berwick to try out “Mad Benji”, which is a sister store of “Mad Patties” in Mitcham or is it a brother store?! Hmmm….. I’m not sure, but they are related somehow. I was really impressed when I tried Mad Patties (click here for review) so I was excited at the possibility of having another good experience.

This time I ordered, the “Double Madness” – 2 x beef, 2 x cheese, 2 x maple glazed bacon, lettuce, caramelised onion and MAD Mayo. I also subscribe to the notion that a burger is always better with egg, so I added that as well to top things off.

When it arrived it looked to be well constructed and made with some care and attention. I wanted to wait for it to cool down, but I was starving and couldn’t wait. It tasted terrific. The bacon was what hit me first. It was so tasty and cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of crunch. I was glad there was double beef, as the meat tasted really good too. Cheese was good, butter lettuce was fresh, seeded bun wwas spot on and the MAD mayo was, well, mad! Adding egg was a good move as it further complimented the combination of flavours. There was just the right amount of everything and hardly any mess at the end either.

Chips on the side were delightful and the chocolate shake was one of the best going around.

Overall, a great experience and I was pleased to start the year off with a good burger. Definitely worth the visit to find out for yourself.

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What do you think of egg on a burger?
Overall Burger Rating
KO – Knock Out – 8/10
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Location: MAD Benji, 12/215 Parkhill Drive, Berwick VIC 3806

Less not Moore

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It was nearing the end of 2018 and probably one of the last chances I had for a burger. I wanted to try something new, so I headed to a new place in Ringwood East – The Burger Moore Café. After painfully watching this place open for months and months on facebook, it had finally opened and I was pleased to be trying it out. Interestingly, this place has a burger menu, crepe menu and breakfast menu. Obviously, it was all about the burgers for me!

I ordered the “King of Bedford” which came with 170g Grass Fed Free Range Australian Beef, crispy bacon, egg, beetroot, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, caramelised onion, cheese, house made relish and aioli. It was another “hold the beetroot” moment, and the mac n cheese shown in the extra’s got my attention so I added that to the burger too.

The burger was massive, and for a second I thought maybe I had over done it a bit?!…… Lol not a chance!! I was all in and ready to destroy this beast. Picking it up proved challenging, especially with the mac n cheese croquette. It was slippin’ and slidin’ more than Shakin’ Stevens, and for the first time in recent memory I did not feel overly confident about my grip, but I powered on and got stuck into it.

The patty tasted ok, but was slightly undercooked for me. Not that it was too pink in the middle or anything, it was just soft around the outside and didn’t seem to be chargrilled enough. The bacon was cold too – not cool, cold, which really put me off. I’m not sure it was cooked fresh and it certainly didn’t provide any crispiness that the burger needed. The lettuce was like it came from a bag of mixed garden greens from the supermarket and didn’t do the burger justice. The mac n cheese croquette was much bigger than the actually burger and half of it fell out. I know I added this to the regular ingredients, but it was also more mac and not enough cheese and together with a lack of sauces it made the burger even drier than expected. The highlight was actually the pineapple which was delightful and provided a great sweet taste to the overall burger.

Chips on the side were lightly seasoned and ok. I also went with a chocolate milkshake which was quite tasty.

Overall not a great experience, and given it had only just opened, perhaps it was an off day. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I will be rushing back to find out. It would be worthwhile getting down there to try out for yourself and see what you think.

Do you like bacon in a burger to be crispy?
Overall Burger Rating
Light Weight – 5.5/10
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Location: Burger Moore Cafe, 81 Bedford Road, Ringwood East VIC 3135

Brrrrrr….. Carls Jnr

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Carls Junior opened recently at Knox and I was actually there opening weekend, however the line and wait was too long and unfortunately, I didn’t have the time. Since then, I’ve been waiting to visit again, and luckily found myself there for lunch a few weeks ago. There was still a wait, but not like the opening weekend.

I ordered the “Original Thickburger” which came with 100% Angus beef patty, melted American Cheese, tomatoes, red onions, pickles, lettuce, mustard, mayo and ketchup. I was super hungry too, so I doubled the patty and cheese for good measure, plus I added some bacon too.

The place was not exactly packed, and the wait was still over half an hour, which felt like a lifetime given how hungry I was feeling. Finally, my meal arrived and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into it. I must admit, for a “thick burger” the patties were pretty thin and it was not the most attractive looking burger but I have learnt not to judge a burger by it’s cover, so to speak.

First bite and what hit me the most was…… how bloody cold it was. Now, I’ve had a lot of burgers in my time and understand if they are ‘cool’ sometimes, which can also make for good hoovering, but this was legitimately cold. I couldn’t believe I waited so long for a cold burger?! I didn’t say anything either because I was afraid it’d take another half an hour and my stomach would not have survived without food for that much longer. I decided to persevere and work my way through it.

The burger was all over the place. Certainly not made with love. Ingredients were uneven, like the 2 thick slices of tomato that hadn’t been separated and were hanging out one side of the burger or the one leaf of lettuce shoved onto the opposite side. It was like the bun was on one side of the kitchen and the ingredients had been flung onto it from across the room, wrapped tightly and pushed out without a care in the world. Sorry, I meant to say, it also probably sat there for 20 minutes before being delivered.

Luckily, the flavour of the meat was sensational, which for me, started to gain back some ground, but it was too late. The temperature was too disappointing, so overall, not a great experience. Chips on the side were ok (also cold) and free soft drink refills are a good thing.

Apparently, Carls Jnr are kind of a big deal in the U.S. – not sure why?! And they openly display a sign saying “Best Burgers in Australia” – really?? Maybe it was just a case of new store jitters or a one off bad day. Either way, they are a long way form the best in Australia and it’ll be a while before I find out again.

What do you think of Carls Jnr?
Overall Burger Rating
Split Decision – 6.2/10

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Location: Carl’s Jnr, Westfield Knox, 435 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South VIC 3152