Burger Foundry
Before I start this evening, I'd like to welcome any new readers, welcome back our regulars and give a massive shout out to anyone following us on Facebook or other social media. Big HELLO to Chicken's year 12 psychology class - she says there'll be a pop quiz on the first Thursday back in term 2 - and please, if you're enjoying our blog, do share it with your friends!! :)
Tonight we ventured again to the eastern suburbs; to the pre-BQ favourite of Chicken and Hungry Hungry Hippo. We were joined tonight by Chipolatte, a few of his friends, and my brother, Natdaddy Deluxe. Everyone was peachy keen for the Foundry.
We have high expectations and I feel like I need to tell you that I REALLY want to like it here. The place is a little cramped though, and isn't really designed for groups of people to sit in and eat. Hungry Hungry Hippo made a point of saying to overlook the uninspiring interior due to an exceptional previous experience, so I decide to reserve judgement.
I will say though that I think I'm starting to get a little judgmental with my old age. ;)
Chicken and I order the Foundry Classic (I add cheese), Hungry Hungry Hippo goes for the Good Mojo and adds bacon & avocado, and Natdaddy Deluxe goes for the Texan Madness.
I know that I've been making a big deal of this lately, but seriously guys, what's with the whole NO PICKLES thing???? Not really good enough!!
I was also concerned that the menu didn't say anything about sauces on the burgers, so I asked at the counter and they advised that all burgers came with garlic aioli, and I was pointed to the side bench which, to be fair, was a free-for-all, help-yourself sauce fest. Alright guys, I'll stop being so mean.
We order, we get some fries as well (we had some vouchers so got a few freebies - bonus) and we sit down and await the burger. While we're waiting, I can see that they've toasted the buns, but they've lined them all up with slices of tomato and chunks of lettuce and the buns are sitting there on the bench, presumably going cold.
Not too much later though, our burgers arrive. With the exception of one minor mistake I think they've done pretty well to get our whole order out in a pretty decent time, considering the numerous take away orders that seemed to have been before us, and when we are faced with our burgers, every eyebrow at the table raises.
Natdaddy Deluxe made a comment along the lines of, "that's extremely massive!" (he may have said something other than "extremely") and as soon as he picked it up, all the goodness fell out of the bottom!!
Our first impressions are that this burger is pretty freaking big. The bun is floury and has no glaze, and the first thing I noticed upon taking a mouthful was that delicious charred caramelisation of the meat around the edges. The bread was a little too doughy though and the aioli had completely soaked into the bun, meaning that the whole thing ended up quite dry. Both Chicken and I added aioli to ours, but this didn't entirely help. I thought it was a bit strange that the lettuce was at the bottom underneath everything, so I did a little reshuffling and arranged it in the order I thought was more appropriate (from bottom up, I think it should go: Bun, sauce, patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce, mayo, bun).
Tonight we ventured again to the eastern suburbs; to the pre-BQ favourite of Chicken and Hungry Hungry Hippo. We were joined tonight by Chipolatte, a few of his friends, and my brother, Natdaddy Deluxe. Everyone was peachy keen for the Foundry.
We have high expectations and I feel like I need to tell you that I REALLY want to like it here. The place is a little cramped though, and isn't really designed for groups of people to sit in and eat. Hungry Hungry Hippo made a point of saying to overlook the uninspiring interior due to an exceptional previous experience, so I decide to reserve judgement.
I will say though that I think I'm starting to get a little judgmental with my old age. ;)
Chicken and I order the Foundry Classic (I add cheese), Hungry Hungry Hippo goes for the Good Mojo and adds bacon & avocado, and Natdaddy Deluxe goes for the Texan Madness.
I know that I've been making a big deal of this lately, but seriously guys, what's with the whole NO PICKLES thing???? Not really good enough!!
I was also concerned that the menu didn't say anything about sauces on the burgers, so I asked at the counter and they advised that all burgers came with garlic aioli, and I was pointed to the side bench which, to be fair, was a free-for-all, help-yourself sauce fest. Alright guys, I'll stop being so mean.
We order, we get some fries as well (we had some vouchers so got a few freebies - bonus) and we sit down and await the burger. While we're waiting, I can see that they've toasted the buns, but they've lined them all up with slices of tomato and chunks of lettuce and the buns are sitting there on the bench, presumably going cold.
Not too much later though, our burgers arrive. With the exception of one minor mistake I think they've done pretty well to get our whole order out in a pretty decent time, considering the numerous take away orders that seemed to have been before us, and when we are faced with our burgers, every eyebrow at the table raises.
Natdaddy Deluxe made a comment along the lines of, "that's extremely massive!" (he may have said something other than "extremely") and as soon as he picked it up, all the goodness fell out of the bottom!!
Our first impressions are that this burger is pretty freaking big. The bun is floury and has no glaze, and the first thing I noticed upon taking a mouthful was that delicious charred caramelisation of the meat around the edges. The bread was a little too doughy though and the aioli had completely soaked into the bun, meaning that the whole thing ended up quite dry. Both Chicken and I added aioli to ours, but this didn't entirely help. I thought it was a bit strange that the lettuce was at the bottom underneath everything, so I did a little reshuffling and arranged it in the order I thought was more appropriate (from bottom up, I think it should go: Bun, sauce, patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce, mayo, bun).
Look, I'm not going to drag this one out. It wasn't as good as we had hoped, and in fact I think tonight's experience left Chicken and Hungry Hungry Hippo a little deflated. SO, I will just go straight to the rating.
Bun 4/10
Once again, this was a bread roll. It was floury, dry, no sweetness, a bit boring and dougy. We could hardly tell it was toasted. Chicken and I still had bread holding itself together at the end of our burgers, but the boys' rolls had gone gluggy and fallen apart. No seeds, no glaze, a bit below average.
Patty 4/10
Look, this one started out well. At first it had that yummy, charred flavour, but after two or three bites it had become chewy and dry and tough. Hungry Hungry Hippo noted that his was basted in some spice, which he enjoyed, but it was still too dry. Chicken noted that "it was a little bit like a salsiccia and it was chargrilly" but they were all a little gristly instead of having that lovely melty fat throughout.
Value 6/10
It was pretty good considering we got free chips. Bonus point for the free sauces and the variety thereof. It was a very big serving and we were stuffed to the brim at the end of the meal. Chicken said towards the end, "I have burger coming out of my EYES" but the enjoyment to price ratio wasn't high enough to rate it above a 6.
Balance & Composition 6/10
There was not a lot of love put into this burger.
Chicken wants to point out that the lack of pickles is COMPLETELY HEARTBREAKING (and I can't help but agree). She described the burger as "soulless."
She had another quote about mesclun mix lettuce and Coles, but I can't remember exactly what it was; I'm sure you get the point.
I loved that the cheese was proper cheddar cheese and it was prominent in taste.
Chicken loved the thick slices of tomato (adding moisture) and it was a definite plus to have the option of adding your own sauce to taste.
Hungry Hungry Hippo pointed out that the spices and avocado really complimented each other well in his burger, and the avocado was generous, which he appreciated.
Natdaddy Deluxe commented about his burger falling to bits when he picked it up to take his first bite, and said that he thought it was weird having the salad at the bottom too.
Flavour 6/10
Chipolatte's girlfriend said her lettuce was inedible.
Chicken enjoyed the all-you-can-add ketchup (she loves the stuff).
Hungry Hungry Hippo mentioned that again, this was like your corner fish & chip shop burger.
I think the flavour was great at first bite, but it didn't hold up throughout.
Overall 5.2/10
Look, this was a decent burger. Chicken made the comment that Burger Foundry had been the first place she had ever gone for a proper burger (ie not McDonalds etc) and she thinks that perhaps her recollection was skewed because of that. Hungry Hungry Hippo said it wasn't as good as he remembered.
I personally think that this is an excellent entry-level burger. If you're just new to burgering and you want to start out somewhere that will leave you satisfied, but will give you room to explore even more exciting options afterwards, this is for you.
Burger Foundry is located at 389 Magill Road, St Morris.
Bun 4/10
Once again, this was a bread roll. It was floury, dry, no sweetness, a bit boring and dougy. We could hardly tell it was toasted. Chicken and I still had bread holding itself together at the end of our burgers, but the boys' rolls had gone gluggy and fallen apart. No seeds, no glaze, a bit below average.
Patty 4/10
Look, this one started out well. At first it had that yummy, charred flavour, but after two or three bites it had become chewy and dry and tough. Hungry Hungry Hippo noted that his was basted in some spice, which he enjoyed, but it was still too dry. Chicken noted that "it was a little bit like a salsiccia and it was chargrilly" but they were all a little gristly instead of having that lovely melty fat throughout.
Value 6/10
It was pretty good considering we got free chips. Bonus point for the free sauces and the variety thereof. It was a very big serving and we were stuffed to the brim at the end of the meal. Chicken said towards the end, "I have burger coming out of my EYES" but the enjoyment to price ratio wasn't high enough to rate it above a 6.
Balance & Composition 6/10
There was not a lot of love put into this burger.
Chicken wants to point out that the lack of pickles is COMPLETELY HEARTBREAKING (and I can't help but agree). She described the burger as "soulless."
She had another quote about mesclun mix lettuce and Coles, but I can't remember exactly what it was; I'm sure you get the point.
I loved that the cheese was proper cheddar cheese and it was prominent in taste.
Chicken loved the thick slices of tomato (adding moisture) and it was a definite plus to have the option of adding your own sauce to taste.
Hungry Hungry Hippo pointed out that the spices and avocado really complimented each other well in his burger, and the avocado was generous, which he appreciated.
Natdaddy Deluxe commented about his burger falling to bits when he picked it up to take his first bite, and said that he thought it was weird having the salad at the bottom too.
Flavour 6/10
Chipolatte's girlfriend said her lettuce was inedible.
Chicken enjoyed the all-you-can-add ketchup (she loves the stuff).
Hungry Hungry Hippo mentioned that again, this was like your corner fish & chip shop burger.
I think the flavour was great at first bite, but it didn't hold up throughout.
Overall 5.2/10
Look, this was a decent burger. Chicken made the comment that Burger Foundry had been the first place she had ever gone for a proper burger (ie not McDonalds etc) and she thinks that perhaps her recollection was skewed because of that. Hungry Hungry Hippo said it wasn't as good as he remembered.
I personally think that this is an excellent entry-level burger. If you're just new to burgering and you want to start out somewhere that will leave you satisfied, but will give you room to explore even more exciting options afterwards, this is for you.
Burger Foundry is located at 389 Magill Road, St Morris.