District Brewer – Bentleigh

The latest and greatest cafe to hit Benteigh is District Brewer (but it’s just DB for those in the know).

DB is the first venture by the very young and very talented duo of Leor Haimes (Huff Bagelry), and Ashley Tirosh (Stovetop, De Clieu, Stantucci’s). The two lads have combined their respective café skills of barista champion and master chef to produce quite possibly the hottest café for 2015.

Positioned across the road from West Bentleigh Primary School and sitting adjacent to arguably the busiest dry cleaners The Chommery has ever come across, there is no shortage of people in this area. Combine this with the loyal following both of these fellas have, and you have a hustling and bustling cafe.

Up-and-coming Interior Design star, Nathan Ruttner (Two Lost Boys), is responsible for the slick and clean fit-out. He has created a bright and inviting space with plenty of room for seating and ample space for the popular take-away service. The Chommery just loves following young-guns like Ruttner, and looks forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Coffee is provided by The Maling Room, Canterbury’s powerhouse coffee roaster and café. DB has gone with their Symmetry Blend, while Haimes’ weapon of choice for perfect extraction is the ever-reliable La Marzocco Linea. When you check these guys out, look for the custom DB tinting!

For the true caffeine explorers, the menu boasts a cold drip, Vietnamese Iced coffee, and a nitrous oxide brew. There’s also a rotating single origin on offer. You’ll be buzzing for days.

Now for the food. Tirosh has created a brilliant menu. He’s taken a range of classic Melbourne breakfast and brunch dishes, and put his own spin on it. Below, The Chommery has taken a substantial sample from the menu, pecked on each dish and given his two cents – the true ‘Chommery’ way.

Black Forest Bircher – Shaved 80% dark chocolate, crushed pistachio and cherry labneh ($12.00). An ode to creativity and brilliant colour – a great take on the standard bircher muesli.

Duck Rillettes – Grilled pumpkin brioche, cauliflower cheese, salt & vinegar tuscan kale, asian granola and poached eggs ($19.50). A hearty brunch choice.

Baked Truffle Polenta Eggs – Sauteed spinach, mojo verde, pecorino cheese, served with toast ($16.00). A rich pot of goodness. Take that toast and dip it in and out. Yes, double dip. F*ck the cutlery.

Black Pudding Beignets – Grilled corn salsa, charred leeks, saffron parsnip puree, Sriracha jam and poached eggs ($18.00). Don’t be scared off by the pork blood, just lather the jam and soft egg over them balls and stick ‘em in your gob. Figuratively speaking. Give it a shot!

Mr Benedict – Toasted rye bagel, slow braised ox cheek, miso babaganoush, wilted calvo nero, curry hollandaise and poached eggs ($18.00). A winner – sure to be one of the classics for the menu.

Reuben Dog – Bratwurst sausage, grilled pastrami, sauerkraut, grated Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, with a caper berry potato salad ($16.50). The Chommery usually choms sausages within the confines of a Bunnings Warehouse carpark, but he made an exception for DB’s Dog. It was probably the sauerkraut and Russian dressing that got him over the line. This one is a real man’s lunch.

D’Burger – Wagyu beef burger, mustard slaw, Guinness & bacon chutney, jack cheese, rocket and a side of shoestring fries ($19.00). True Burger Brilliance. The Chommery doesn’t claim to be The Hamburgler or The Burger Adventure, but has chommed his fair share of burgers in his career. This is up there with the best of them. Just make sure you wear a bib, because this baby gets sloppy.

Need I go on? No. Then why do I keep talking? I really don’t know. My parents have been asking this question forever. Either way, DB is here to stay and you need to head on down.

In case you need any more convincing – this one was worth breaking my writing hiatus.

The Important Details…

Cuisine: Gourmet take on many breakfast/lunch classics.

Price: $15-$20 per head.

My View: A real gem. The hottest cafe to hit Melbourne’s South-East for 2015.

Address: 36 Brewer Road Bentleigh, VIC 3204.

Phone: (03) 9972 3812.

Website, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. 

Beatbox Kitchen – Various Locations

The innovative concept of ‘food-trucks’ has taken off in Melbourne over the past few years. There just isn’t a question in my mind that a dinner (or lunch) sourced and prepared inside the confines of a vehicle would be a far more exciting dining experience to that of a restaurant. If you are like me and seeking that extra bit of flair and point-of-difference that fails to appear in so many restaurants – you will love a food truck experience.

Today’s Chom will be educating the good people of the world about Beatbox Kitchen (above). As far as I am aware this was the first food-truck to appear on the funky streets of Melbourne. Tweeting and facebooking where it will be perched for a lunch and/or dinner offering, serving a simple menu of burgers, fries and soft drinks. Don’t let yourself be fooled by the basic menu or the sound equalizers on the side of the van, this kitchen produces a seriously good burger. Don’t believe me? Not surprised – I didn’t trust myself either. Take it from The Burger Adventure who voted the Raph Burger (featured below) as 2nd best burger in Victoria in 2012. Elite!

Ordering chips ($5.00) to accompany a burger is a no-brainer. Would you wear shoes without shoelaces? Or drink vodka without red bull? I think not. The same rules apply here. These are thinly cut and Maccas-esque. Lather them up real good with a side of relish or the famous “stereo” sauce and caused a tickle to the taste buds.

I don’t want to stun any of you, and I am not going vegatarian, but in the holy name of the Chom – ‘I shall vow to try most/all things on the menu with or without meat’, I did just that and sampled The Shroom Burger, a soft bun with regular salad, onion and tasty cheese melted onto a mushroom patty ($10.00). You better believe it. It was great actually! Would I get it again? Only if my GP told me to avoid meat – even then I doubt I would listen. Take it from me vege-huggers, this is worth your time.

No arguments in my mind that the main event is The Raph Burger (above $11). Just a no-frills, delicious burger. The combination of the melted cheese and juicy beef worked well with the crunch of the bread and fresh vegetables. I must note that if you don’t eat this burger straight away this can get a little messy but nevertheless its a must chom experience.

Needless to say, there is little more I can do to send you in the direction of some of Melbourne’s tastiest burgers. At this stage, you could do what I did and wait for your first Beatbox encounter at a music festival where the truck frequently visits e.g. Falls, Meredith or Splendour in the Grass. If you can’t wait (I don’t blame you), jump on board their Facebook and/or Twitter page and follow/like along with 20K+ devout fans.

Lastly, while I am in the spirit, I advise you to check out the new food truck directory website/app called ‘Where the Truck At‘. A dedicated team has designed a page that lists all the available options and opening times of Beatbox and beyond. Click the link and open up your chomming to the wonderful creation of Food Trucks.

The Important Details…

Cuisine: Hamburgers & Fries
Suitable for: Young & Old
Price: $10-$15 per head
My View: One of Melbourne’s finest burgers
Follow: Website, Twitter or Facebook

Andrew’s Hamburgers – Albert Park

Now, it seems that burgers have made a massive comeback in the food scene in Melbourne. While I like to follow the trends, it is always inspiring to find out where some of the magic first began all those years ago. I grabbed a bunch of mates and drove in the rain last week to one of Melbourne’s first awesome burger joints. All the true burger lovers will know this place through and through. For those that don’t, keep reading. The special place is a small shopfront in Bridport street, Albert Park called Andrew’s Hamburgers.

To the untrained eye, from the outside this may just look like your average crummy fried fish and chips store. Now I will pose this question to you; Would your average fish and chips store have customers requesting to show their smiling faces in the lens after their meal?  There are a few reasons that spring to mind when I determine why Andrew’s has been so successful for so many years. Prices have kept to a minimum (around $10 a burger), the staff are extremely efficient, the shop has kept it’s older facade (which we all cherish) and the burgers are totally delicious. You sold?

The crew here have been doing their thing for a long time now, some 50 years or so I believe. You will notice as soon as you manage to push your way through the flaps hanging on the entrance that these guys have their operations down to a fine art. I was truly mesmerized as I stood at the counter watching the burger masters prepare burgers, one after another, in a highly technical assembly line manner. Truly amazing how they manage to fit up to 6 staff behind the counter, handle the crowds pouring in and out, juggle the phone orders and keep shooting out the orders. Above and beyond all the nonsense I’m talking – Andrew has kept the same winning formula and the identical recipes for all these years and the people love it!

To kick off the eating festivities we had the scotch fillet steak burger with the lot – egg, bacon, tomato, cheese and cooked onion ($11.50) in a gluten free bun ($1.50). When you’re faced with the dilemma, ‘Do I get the lot or not?’, the Chommery approved suggestion is always to stack it on – maybe best not to listen to me. Don’t expect the finest scotch fillet Melbourne has to offer but for $11.50 you have landed a great package if you order this option. Crisp bacon and melted cheese are brilliant, as expected.

Don’t give me that! You think that we are crazy because we ordered a souvlaki in a burger shop! Or is it because someone has slammed a bite out of the wrap before I took the snap. Either way, chill out on the accusations. The lamb souvlaki with grilled lettuce, continental parsley, onion, traditional garlic sauce with lemon juice and oregano ($10.50)was great! Slightly on the small side but the wrap was soft and tasted as good as they come.

You would consider my team crazy if we went passed the stock standard beef burger. This is the traditional burger with the lot – E, B and C & T ($10.50) with pineapple ($1.00). This burger gets the vote as the pick of the day. Primary features include the sizeable juice-filled patty with the melted cheese on top. I can’t express how much admiration I have for the young chap that sought to add the pineapple ring to the mix. Needless to say, it made for a much more difficult eating exercise, yet it added an amazing element of sweetness. You would be hard pressed to find a more authentic burger than this one.

Chicken breast fillet burger with tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise with the lot – Egg, bacon, caramalised onion, cheese ($11.50). All the same regularities you would find in the other burger choices, bar the addition of the caramelized onions (that all fell out the back of this monster anyway) and then swap red meat to white meat. It is important to be politically correct. You can not have any prejudice towards one color over another. Personally, I found the beef pattie to be more enjoyable than the chicken due to the increase in juice levels. Even so, the chicken is a viable option for the white power supporters.

The traditional beef burger with the lot ($10.50) + extra beef pattie ($3.00). Here we have all the same benefits of the previous beef burger but we have taken one step back removing the pineapple and three steps forward adding a pattie. A burger created for an eating challenge  or any starving soul.

Now, my burger bible, ‘The Burger Adventure‘ pre-warned me the sleepiness rating was 12 minutes after consuming one of these bad boys. I have to beg to differ and state for the record, that 12 mins was very underquoted – Once I returned home I slept for two hours. Anyway, all in all, Andrew’s Hamburgers is one of Melbourne’s finer tucked away gems. If you happen to be a burger lover then add this one to your ‘burger journey’!

The Important Details…

Cuisine: Burgers -the chips are awesome too!

Noise: Clatter of assembly line preparing burger after burger

Suitable for: True lovers of classic Aussie burgers

Dress: Your Sunday finest – not really!

Price: $20 = Burger + Chips + drink

My View: Brilliant

Address: 144 Bridport Street, Albert Park

Phone: (03) 9690 2126 – call up to order

Website: http://www.andrewshamburgers.com.au/

Huxtaburger – Collingwood

Huxta what!,  is the standard response that I have received each time I have recommended the brilliant burger joint Huxtaburger to many different people. Huxtaburger is the second venture from the amazing people that brought Huxtable to Smith Street Collingwood.  Judging from the crowds it’s drawing, there looks to be  a following to rival Huxtable already.

A shop front about a quarter as large as the papa bear across the road, Huxtaburger packs a lot of punch into a small space. A wide open window, displaying burger masters flipping soft patties and constructing terrific hot sandwiches. I can’t help but comment on how cool is the old school blue and red flapper hanging over the doorway entrance. A few chairs and tables line the bustling Smith street footpath which looks just perfect to sit for lunch or dinner with a drink. The Huxta is licenced too!

The design of the interior is made to encourage take-away. There are only a few bar stools and benches inside  if you decide to eat in the room where all the magic happens. With a menu consisting of five different burgers, I was set a very difficult task of selecting which burger I will face. All with interesting names I might add; including Bills, Rudy, Theo and Denise.

The ‘Huxtaburger’ ($8.00) + Pineapple ($1.00). Easy choice. How can you go past the choice that shares the same name with the joint?
The super soft, glazed and buttered brioche bun was the best part of this burger for me. Not to say, that the perfectly melted cheese, correctly apportioned tomato and lettuce and the excellent mustard & mayo combination was not outstanding too. It was all Bliss. You know that it is a good burger when the juicy goodness makes it’s way quickly down your arms when you chomp into it.

The Bills burger ($10.00) was incredible as well. It is made up of the Huxtaburger + beetroot, pineapple, bacon and egg. Feelings, emotions and attitude were even further heightened! I love my extras! To quote from the all knowledgable Jules (Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction) “mmmm, this is a tasty Burger”!
Small crinkle cut chips at $2.50 wasn’t even a question, nor a tough task to demolish. The chips are not the main event at Huxtaburger although I would recommend ordering them as a good filler. My only qualm is the small size of the burgers. They are slightly smaller than industry average  – but also cheaper – so it’s all good baby baby. Order more if you’re still hungry!

It took a lot of discipline not to order a second one of the mouth watering burgers. I’m sure you can clearly tell that Huxtaburger has left a notable impression not just on my palate but on my body and soul. I would be as bold to say that this is up there in the top five burgers I have ever eaten in my life. Just in case you were thinking… No I was not drunk when I had it. All senses were at their optimal levels and capable of appreciating the magnificence of the Huxtraburger Magic.

So? Let’s go. Who’s driving?

The Important Details…

Cuisine: Burgers

Noise: Yes

Suitable for: All lovers of burgers

Dress: Whatever

Price: $10 – $15 per person

My View: One of the best burgers I have ever had

Address: 106 Smith Street, Collingwood

Phone: (03) 9417 6328

Website: http://www.huxtaburger.com.au/