The Local Burger Co.

In June of 2013 I ate the best burger of my life, under a railway line in Berlin. Burgermeister genuinely stole my heart. We ate off our laps sitting on milk crates in the European summer sunshine. The pattie was juicy. There was the perfect amount of cheese and other fillings. And the pattie to bun ratio was spot on.

After we arrived home I accepted that other burgers would be good, but none would quite match Burgermeister.

Until now…

The Local Burger Co hasn’t been open all that long (I don’t think). I actually hadn’t noticed it before but the BF had. And once we in the vicinity the decision was made. It’s only little with a few tables inside and more out on the street.

The menu is concise but still makes it difficult to choose… especially when you realise there is pulled pork in the second column (this will be the BF’s choice next time we go I’m sure)! You even get a choice of white potato or sweet potato for your fries. Not too shabby. Oh and the current milkshake special is Peanut Brittle. Need I say more?

After some umming and ahhing, we ordered and took a seat out in the crisp autumn sun. I do love Melbourne this time of year.

It wasn’t long before our food arrived, and it was pretty exciting.

Now that is a burger. Complete with large stake knife.

And naturally we had to get some fries too. They were the best damn fries either of us have ever tasted. At a guess they were cooked three times, once boiled to get the fluffy centre. And twice fried for the golden crispiness.

The Original Beef Burger, with cheese. Oooooh yeah…

Juicy. Fresh. Saucy. It was love at first bite. And second bite. And third bite. In fact, each bite was as good, if not a little better than the one before it. I am not even ashamed to say that it beat me.

I’m already looking forward to going back.

The Local Burger Co
687 Rathdowne St, Carlton North

 

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show

or MIFGS as I have been calling it for the last 5 and a half years, because Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is just too long, happens every year around the end of March. It is 5 days when the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens are transformed into a mini garden festival (festival food prices included, $4.60 for a below-average coffee, anyone?)

The Royal Exhibition Building holds all of the floral displays, which don’t really do it for me to be honest, but I did like this one…

And really, the building itself it spectacular

Plenty of peeps do love the floral displays.

Outside is where the real action is in my opinion. Landscape designers and builders build display gardens from the ground up in a mere 10 days. They’re up for 5 days. And pulled down in 4. And it was like they were never there.

Glorious sunshine. Pelting rain. Hi Melbourne.

Whatever the weather, nothing stops the die-hards from exploring the displays.

This was the stand I was working on. You could walk through. It was popular.

There were some chickens across the road.

 

You can also have a peruse of some sculptures.

 

I often find myself just admiring the fountain and Royal Exhibition Building too.

 

Because I am there for work it’s easy to take the whole thing for granted. I spend much of my time running around not paying a great deal of attention to what’s around me. But I do like to take some time and explore.

I would say, until next year, but next March I will probably still be on maternity leave. That’s a weird thought.

Three Bags Full

A break from breakfast tradition.

Three Bags Full is in Abbottsford, and on the one occasion I visited before the place was jammed with people and there was a line for a table. Only in Melbourne do we line up for brunch. Melburnians take brunch seriously.

This time around however we arrived a little after 8am- thanks to dropping the car off for a service bright and early- we had our pick of the tables.

We started off with a tea for two. English Breakfast for him. Calmer Sutra chai for me. 
Delicious.
Although much of the menu sounds delicious I find Three Bags Full one of these places- that seem to be popping up a lot now- that make things a little too fancy. When it comes to breakfast I tend to go for things that are simple and tasty. Lunch and dinner can be more “interesting” but breakfast is for the classics, in my opinion.

After a few sweeps of the menu I went with the sautéed mushrooms, which would ordinarily come with goat’s cheese, but things of that nature are on hold until September, disappointing.

When it arrived… holy cow that’s a whole lotta mushrooms! They were really tasty, super mushroom-y with the sweetness from the shallots. But halfway through I was struggling. It was just. So. Much. Mushroom. Half a serve of the ‘shrooms with a nice egg would have done with trick.

We were in and out in about half an hour, we are nothing if not efficient in our breakfast pursuits.

If you’re in the Abbottsford area, check out Three Bags Full, just make sure you get there early!

 

Three Bags Full
Corner Nicholson St and Mollison St, Abbottsford
www.threebagsfullcafe.com.au

The Night Markets

One of the best things about Melbourne is the Queen Victoria Market. One of the best things about Melbourne in summer is the Night Markets.

Held every Wednesday from November to March the Night Markets are a complete sensory overload in the best possible way.There is food and drinks and music and food and market stalls and food. Deciding what to eat is definitely the biggest challenge. Well that, and parking. Public transport is the way to do it. A smoky haze under the roof. That’s the best smelling smoky haze you are likely to encounter, believe me.

Before you start the walk through the food options, some refreshment is in order. At least it was for us… Sangria. There was a white wine version too, but my friend and I decided to be traditional. I’m not a huge drinker anymore, but this was incredible! Light and not too red winey. Perfect for a balmy summer’s night. What to eat? What to eat? The food stalls range from Vietnamese pancakes to South American BBQ and everything in between. I was seriously tempted by a Mediterranean grill and American chicken wings. But in the end opted for the Phat Brat. A bratwurst sausage topped with pulled pork, some kind of magical sauce and a cabbage and apple slaw. Boom. It was spectacular. And surprisingly paired quite well with the sangria. There are stalls to suit almost any Christmas list and more. There is even massage, psychics, clairvoyants, palm readers… I was tempted to get my Tarot Cards read. What’s a good market without a barefoot gentleman or two playing folk music?

I am already planning what I will eat on my next trip!

The weekend

Waaaay back in May I was given a voucher for a night’s stay at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne. This weekend the BF and I finally used it. We decided to make a day of it and headed in right on 2pm to check in.

I have been the Hyatt before for a function but had never stayed there, mainly because the rooms are CRAZY expensive.

We had a pretty killer view though…

After checking out the room we were off. The BF does a lot of work in the city and there was a place just a stones throw away- we could see it from our room- he wanted to try.

Bowery to Williamsburg is a gorgeous little cafe. You can get sub and bagels and it all smells incredible. I am sucker for a good bagel. When we visited New York I think I ate one everyday. So naturally I ordered a bagel and schmear. Now, as Australians we don’t tend to understand the variety of bagel and schmear that is obviously available in the US. So I had to choose my bagel- seeded- and my schmear- scallion. There were so many to choose from, but I was happy with mine decision.

Next up we were off to the cinema to see American Hustle, it was great, if you’re thinking about going, do it, you won’t regret it. Naturally I had to get popcorn.

Dinner was at a fancy pants restaurant, so fancy I was not about to take photos of our dinner… no matter how much I wanted to.

We relaxed in the room and fell asleep on the huge bed. The beds are the best bit about hotel rooms in my opinion.

Well… the beds and the buffet breakfast! I find myself a little intimidated by a buffet. There is too much all happening at once. Too many options that I want on my plate. Bacon, sausage, mushroom and hash hit my plate first, followed by waffles with Nutella and strawberries. All inhaled while reading the paper and washed down with english breakfast tea.

After breakfast we went for a wander and ended up on Hosier Lane, which for those not from Melbourne is known for its street art.

We were thirsty after all the walking… 

So headed back to Bowery to Williamsburg for a hot chocolate and a chai.

Well, I was going to get a chai… until the waitress mentioned a peanut butter hot chocolate. Yep, no chai. Peanut butter hot chocolate it is. 

So good. 

Not a bad weekend if I do say so myself.

What did you do with your weekend?