Nordburger!!
Right. I have a confession to make.
Technically, this was supposed to be Adventure #6. Friday night we were all supposed to go to Burger Theory, but I had trouble finding a park, I drove around for nearly half an hour, I cracked the $#!+s and went home to sook instead. As a result, despite the others all doing the Burger Theory thing (seriously, I mean everyone), there is no official review. However, the general consensus was that it wasn't very good at all, and that I'd picked a good night to throw a tantrum, so I apologise to any BT enthusiasts, but it may not get a Burger Quest write up. Who knows though. Perhaps we will venture down there again one day and do a proper review. If they give us some sort of incentive. Maybe.
And yet here we are, on official Burger Quest business, at the little diner in the heart of Norwood: Nordburger.
Nordburger has been a personal favourite of mine for quite some time, but I have not been back for several months and I was keen to see how it fared when put under the Burger Quest microscope. It was a first for Chicken, Hungry Hungry Hippo and Pretty Fry for a White Guy too!
The interior of Nordburger is no-nonsense and a little industrial. Long bars line the perimeter with bar stools for a casual dining experience. Lots of polished concrete. There's a very convenient trough in the back corner to clean the inevitable mess off one's hands, and my favourite feature is that if you sit at the centre bench (where we sat), you actually overlook the grills and can watch the whole burger making process.
Seating is a problem here though. There's really not enough room for us, and definitely not enough seats. The place was busy even for a Tuesday night, with the line going out the door when we arrived.
Chicken, Hungry Hungry Hippo and I order the Nordburger - adding cheese and minusing mustard (we've learned our lesson). It's served with lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup and "Nord Sauce."
The burgers come out and first impression is that it's a little ugly, but that doesn't really matter because by then we've had fries come to the table and they were curly and chunky and crispy and SO YUM! The guys loved the chipotle fries (with chipotle salt - little bit smoky and meh for my liking) and us girls took a particular liking to the regular fries with OH MY GOD ROSEMARY SALT THAT WAS SO TASTY!!
There's ketchup and mustard on the table for us to help ourselves, but we had also ordered fry sauce, which for 50 cents extra was a reasonable sized serving.
Back to the burger. I wasn't a massive fan of the one big lettuce leaf along the bottom of the burger - it stuck out the sides and looked a little bit... well, stupid to me. The bun was toasted (we watched them happen) but unfortunately mine had been sitting out for so long before the burger was assembled that my bun had gone stone cold by the time I got it.
There are sesame seeds (yay!) and a decent glossy glaze on the bun.
I pick up the burger to take my first bite and the whole thing kinda slips around because that lettuce leaf has made the insides ALL SLIPPERY!!!! I quickly caught it all, dripping some sauce on the tray (oh yeah, it was served on a tray) and thankfully got t back together just fine.
First bite and my whole thing is cold, aside from the patty. Bit of a shame that the bun had been left out so long because everyone else's was warm to the touch. The burger is bloody tasty though... Lots of flavour in the sauce which is a big plus.
It's a bit drippy, but it's ok I suppose, because at least it isn't dry. Chicken notes that despite the drippiness it's not necessarily a bad thing.
The quality isn't up to the same standard as some of the previous burgers - Street ADL in particular still stands out with the quality of patty, and Burgastronomy had a super high overall quality. The bun here is a bit dry and airy and blah.
Technically, this was supposed to be Adventure #6. Friday night we were all supposed to go to Burger Theory, but I had trouble finding a park, I drove around for nearly half an hour, I cracked the $#!+s and went home to sook instead. As a result, despite the others all doing the Burger Theory thing (seriously, I mean everyone), there is no official review. However, the general consensus was that it wasn't very good at all, and that I'd picked a good night to throw a tantrum, so I apologise to any BT enthusiasts, but it may not get a Burger Quest write up. Who knows though. Perhaps we will venture down there again one day and do a proper review. If they give us some sort of incentive. Maybe.
And yet here we are, on official Burger Quest business, at the little diner in the heart of Norwood: Nordburger.
Nordburger has been a personal favourite of mine for quite some time, but I have not been back for several months and I was keen to see how it fared when put under the Burger Quest microscope. It was a first for Chicken, Hungry Hungry Hippo and Pretty Fry for a White Guy too!
The interior of Nordburger is no-nonsense and a little industrial. Long bars line the perimeter with bar stools for a casual dining experience. Lots of polished concrete. There's a very convenient trough in the back corner to clean the inevitable mess off one's hands, and my favourite feature is that if you sit at the centre bench (where we sat), you actually overlook the grills and can watch the whole burger making process.
Seating is a problem here though. There's really not enough room for us, and definitely not enough seats. The place was busy even for a Tuesday night, with the line going out the door when we arrived.
Chicken, Hungry Hungry Hippo and I order the Nordburger - adding cheese and minusing mustard (we've learned our lesson). It's served with lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup and "Nord Sauce."
The burgers come out and first impression is that it's a little ugly, but that doesn't really matter because by then we've had fries come to the table and they were curly and chunky and crispy and SO YUM! The guys loved the chipotle fries (with chipotle salt - little bit smoky and meh for my liking) and us girls took a particular liking to the regular fries with OH MY GOD ROSEMARY SALT THAT WAS SO TASTY!!
There's ketchup and mustard on the table for us to help ourselves, but we had also ordered fry sauce, which for 50 cents extra was a reasonable sized serving.
Back to the burger. I wasn't a massive fan of the one big lettuce leaf along the bottom of the burger - it stuck out the sides and looked a little bit... well, stupid to me. The bun was toasted (we watched them happen) but unfortunately mine had been sitting out for so long before the burger was assembled that my bun had gone stone cold by the time I got it.
There are sesame seeds (yay!) and a decent glossy glaze on the bun.
I pick up the burger to take my first bite and the whole thing kinda slips around because that lettuce leaf has made the insides ALL SLIPPERY!!!! I quickly caught it all, dripping some sauce on the tray (oh yeah, it was served on a tray) and thankfully got t back together just fine.
First bite and my whole thing is cold, aside from the patty. Bit of a shame that the bun had been left out so long because everyone else's was warm to the touch. The burger is bloody tasty though... Lots of flavour in the sauce which is a big plus.
It's a bit drippy, but it's ok I suppose, because at least it isn't dry. Chicken notes that despite the drippiness it's not necessarily a bad thing.
The quality isn't up to the same standard as some of the previous burgers - Street ADL in particular still stands out with the quality of patty, and Burgastronomy had a super high overall quality. The bun here is a bit dry and airy and blah.
Let's be honest, it's the cheapest burger we've come across so far, and actually not as small as I remembered it being!!
To the rating...
Bun 6/10
The bun was kinda nothing, but it had a nice little glisten. Points for being toasted, minus points for mine being cold (although it should be noted that the others weren't. I think I have a knack of getting the dud ones). Pretty Fry for a White Guy notes that the bun didn't stand out and the bottom was mushed by the end because it wasn't substantial enough to absorb the grease (I should mention he got the bacon double). Hungry Hungry Hippo said it was average, with a bonus point for sesame seeds.
Patty 6/10
Chicken says it was sufficiently fatty to be juicy, it wasn't overcooked (at which point she turns to me and says, "I know you like yours RAW"), and we all agree it was cooked nicely really... it wasn't pink in the middle but the quality wasn't up there for it to really be served underdone and I think it had some onion or something else in the patty too. It filled the bun sufficiently.
Value 8/10
Let's face it, we're not likely to find a cheaper burger on this Quest. Chicken points out that it is a prime location and she said she did not feel ripped off. Hungry Hungry Hippo said he didn't feel AS chuffed as last week, which I agreed with. Value for money was really quite good considering the chips were only an extra $3.50 with sauce. The bottomless ketchup/mustard situation is always a bonus. At the end of the day, none of us would have any qualms coming back based on this.
Balance & Composition 7/10
There were two tiny pickles in mine. TWO! And they were TINY!!!! Maybe it's not all about the size, but it is DEFINITELY the way you use it. Needed more pickles (agreed by Chicken and Hungry Hungry Hippo. Pretty Fry said his had too many pickles, so clearly there are inconsistencies with the way they put the burgers together). The one leaf of slippery lettuce made it hard to keep the whole thing together. Sauce was sufficient - in fact it was the first time we didn't want or need any more sauce. Everyone loved it - it was tangy and flavoursome, although I thought (and I stood alone on this) that it was perhaps a little garlicky?? Pretty Fry said his burger was too greasy by the time he got through about half, and his bun did not support the filling.
Flavour 8/10
Chicken: "this is a tasty, tasty burger. YUM." Pretty Fry LOVED the sauce. Hungry Hungry Hippo gave one bonus point for the delicious patty and two bonus points for the sauce, and no minuses. My tastebuds were happy. :)
Overall 7/10
Before we even started our rating, Chicken said she'd give it a solid 7. I would come back here for sure, Chicken wanted me to specifically tell you, "I would come here in a heartbeat - Giddy up!!" Hungry Hungry Hippo said he's very happy again and that we're on a ROLL (with sesame seeds!!)!! and Pretty Fry said that he thoroughly enjoyed eating the burger, but when he was finished he had that heavy, greasy feeling afterwards and expressed a little bit of burger remorse. We all agreed that we would come back to Nordburger, especially because of the great value, BUT we would all rather pay the extra couple of dollars and go back to Burgastronomy first.
Nordburger is located at 168 The Parade, Norwood.
To the rating...
Bun 6/10
The bun was kinda nothing, but it had a nice little glisten. Points for being toasted, minus points for mine being cold (although it should be noted that the others weren't. I think I have a knack of getting the dud ones). Pretty Fry for a White Guy notes that the bun didn't stand out and the bottom was mushed by the end because it wasn't substantial enough to absorb the grease (I should mention he got the bacon double). Hungry Hungry Hippo said it was average, with a bonus point for sesame seeds.
Patty 6/10
Chicken says it was sufficiently fatty to be juicy, it wasn't overcooked (at which point she turns to me and says, "I know you like yours RAW"), and we all agree it was cooked nicely really... it wasn't pink in the middle but the quality wasn't up there for it to really be served underdone and I think it had some onion or something else in the patty too. It filled the bun sufficiently.
Value 8/10
Let's face it, we're not likely to find a cheaper burger on this Quest. Chicken points out that it is a prime location and she said she did not feel ripped off. Hungry Hungry Hippo said he didn't feel AS chuffed as last week, which I agreed with. Value for money was really quite good considering the chips were only an extra $3.50 with sauce. The bottomless ketchup/mustard situation is always a bonus. At the end of the day, none of us would have any qualms coming back based on this.
Balance & Composition 7/10
There were two tiny pickles in mine. TWO! And they were TINY!!!! Maybe it's not all about the size, but it is DEFINITELY the way you use it. Needed more pickles (agreed by Chicken and Hungry Hungry Hippo. Pretty Fry said his had too many pickles, so clearly there are inconsistencies with the way they put the burgers together). The one leaf of slippery lettuce made it hard to keep the whole thing together. Sauce was sufficient - in fact it was the first time we didn't want or need any more sauce. Everyone loved it - it was tangy and flavoursome, although I thought (and I stood alone on this) that it was perhaps a little garlicky?? Pretty Fry said his burger was too greasy by the time he got through about half, and his bun did not support the filling.
Flavour 8/10
Chicken: "this is a tasty, tasty burger. YUM." Pretty Fry LOVED the sauce. Hungry Hungry Hippo gave one bonus point for the delicious patty and two bonus points for the sauce, and no minuses. My tastebuds were happy. :)
Overall 7/10
Before we even started our rating, Chicken said she'd give it a solid 7. I would come back here for sure, Chicken wanted me to specifically tell you, "I would come here in a heartbeat - Giddy up!!" Hungry Hungry Hippo said he's very happy again and that we're on a ROLL (with sesame seeds!!)!! and Pretty Fry said that he thoroughly enjoyed eating the burger, but when he was finished he had that heavy, greasy feeling afterwards and expressed a little bit of burger remorse. We all agreed that we would come back to Nordburger, especially because of the great value, BUT we would all rather pay the extra couple of dollars and go back to Burgastronomy first.
Nordburger is located at 168 The Parade, Norwood.