In Search of the Unpretentious @ Andrew's Hamburgers

Be warned, the images may not be particularly appetizing, but artistry is not what Andrew's is about. Andrew's is a world away from the 'look at me' new age restaurants. It shirks the trends of the gourmet food brigade. Rather, delivering; good, honest, no frills food, packed full of flavor.

No matter how many fancy burgers I've eaten, I'm a bit of a traditionalist, I like them how they used to be. I'm of the school that thinks a burger should be eaten with your bare hands. None of this fork and knife business for me. Well, not unless I'm in a fancy restaurant and the peer pressure of my potentially judgmental co-dinners is far too strong to shake. No balls, you say!

Now Andrew's may look like your average take away shop, but ask anyone who's been there and they will tell you it is so much more. I had to see for myself if all these high praises were justified and that is precisely what lead me to my first encounter with Andrew's. After a busy Saturday morning, finishing off an assignment I'd rather not have had to do, R and I headed down to Albert Park around late afternoon. We came across Andrew's tiny little shopfront, nestled into the Bridport St shopping strip. Alas, it was not our lucky day, we walked in as they were cleaning up the shop, ten minutes too late they said. But one of the older staff said she had saved herself a burger and we were welcome to have it for free, she even offered to cut it in two for us. Such a sweetheart! We politely declined, not wanting to rob her of her lunch, but promised to come back another day.

On our second visit, we did our research and made sure the shop was actually open. Not only was it open, it was packed. Note of warning, make sure you have some cash on you. We didn't, but there are plenty of ATM's available in the area. I ordered the traditional beef burger with the lot ($10.50), as did R. This consisted of egg, bacon, tomato, cheese, onion, lettuce, and a beef patty, all sandwiched between a seeded bun. We ordered our burgers along with a side of small chips ($3.50). Ravenous with hunger, we devoured our burgers from the comfort of our car, right out front of the shop. You'll have to excuse me for my lack of quality photography, they were taken in a dark car with the aid of a sub par camera phone. I suppose it's befitting, just like Andrew's, there's nothing fancy in its representation either.

Andrew's has been around since 1939 and it's not surprising that it's still thriving. Their 'the lot' burger is massive! I struggled to even get my mouth around it and it's just so good, you keep going, even though you know you can't possibly fit in any more. The patty is grilled just that little bit extra, yet maintains it's juiciness and the bun is just right, even Goldilocks would agree. As good as the burger was, the chips were better. I don't even like chips that much, but we ate every last one. They were crunchy, salty and managed to stay that way right to the very last chip. 

Apart from their burgers, Andrew's also do souvlakis. However, with burgers so good, I'm not sure I'll get onto trying anything else.


                

 
My Rating: 8/10 

Wiener Envy @ Massive Wieners

The KO-OP boys have hit gold with their marketing genius. No doubt, the novelty factor alone will drag the inner immature child in each of us to their doorstep. It's hard to ignore the appeal of tagging yourself on facebook, along with your 12 incher and some kind of inappropriate pun. Nobody likes a disappointing wiener, so the question remains, does it deliver beyond its clever name?


Perhaps I've been living in a hole, but I had never heard of Massive Wieners until I saw them advertised on Scoopon. The deal promised two 12 inch hot dogs, cans of drink and sunny boys, all for a meagre $10. I couldn't really say no, especially with the sweetener of a sunny boy. It brought back those school yard memories, lining up outside the tuck shop with my 40 cents in hand, waiting to buy my triangle of sugary goodness.

Finding a time the shop was actually open was the hard part. R and I drove past it several times, tried calling and even checked their website. We were beginning to think our Scoopon would go to waste. Fortunately for us, we eventually stumbled upon their open shop just before our Scoopon expired. Apparently they close much earlier than normal in winter.

Their dogs are all cheekily named, they have three different sizes; the massive wiener @ 12 inches, the average Joe @ 6inches and a little pecker @ 3inches. They also boast a 25 inch competition dog. If you're up for a challenge, see if you can scoff one down in 5 minutes to score a free feed, along with getting your mug plastered on their wall of fame. If you fail, it'll set you back $15 and your face will be up for all to see on their wall of shame.


R decided on the kraut massive wiener and I, the pickle. Unfortunately for R, they were all out of sauerkraut, so he eventually settled for the chilli wiener instead. To our dismay we were informed that they don't do sunny boys in winter, but they did give us free selection from their range of drinks as consolation (mind you, there were only about seven bottles left).

My pickle dog was packed full with a juicy pork sausage, onion, ketchup, American mustard, pickle relish and my addition, jalapenos ($1extra). R's pork chilli dog was topped with beef and bean chilli sauce, onion and American mustard. We shared half of each, they were both delicious but I definitely thought the pickle wiener edged the competition. It was all washed down with a bottle of organic lemon and lime bitters. We left satisfied, content from our scrumptious meal, with full tummies and the wallet with barely a dint in it.

No complaints here about this wiener experience, it definitely delivered more than a one time fling. In fact, I sense the beginning of a promising casual relationship.

 
My Rating: 7.5/10 

Noshing our Day Away @ NSHRY

 

If you're a burger fan and even if you're not, you're bound to have heard of NSHRY. The fella and I started our own little burger adventure a few months ago. So far we've tried; Huxtaburger, Captain America's Hamburger Heaven, Danny's Burgers, Andrew's Hamburgers and finally the famed umami burger @ NSHRY. I have to admit I had sky high expectations of NSHRY, most of the blogs I'd read had glowing reviews, their menu looked absolutely scrumptious and pictures of their umami burger had  the taste buds salivating upon sight.

I have to give it to NSHRY, everything looks temptingly delicious! I ordered the umami burger ($22) and the fella who can never say no to chorizo, ordered the Huevos Rancheros ($22). The burger consisted of  a parmesan crisp, wagyu and angus beef patty, mushroom sauce, caramelised onions, all sandwiched between a perfect looking brioche bun. It came served with a side coleslaw, beer battered chips and a trio of dips. The spicy chip dip and wasabi kewpie really gave the chips a mean kick. The tomato sauce on the other hand was a little out of place, overshadowed by two far superior sauces.

I really, truly wanted to like the umami burger. But I guess it's true what they say about high expectations, the only way is down! There's not much I can fault about the burger as a whole, but in my opinion the beef patty let the entire burger down. To me, it didn't have any flavour and just tasted meaty. As a true carnivore, I love my meat, but the patty fell way short of hitting the spot.



The Huevos Rancheros similarly looked great, the chorizio was yummy, but that's where it stops. Unless you're a fan of beans I would not recommend this dish, once you've made your way through the chorizio, beans are about all you can taste. The chilli sourdough bread served on the side was probably the highlight of the whole dish, as long as it comes with a side of butter (which we requested).

Unlike our meals, the drinks were spot on. The fella had a cappuccino and I had a fresh orange juice. I know we'll be back for the drinks and perhaps too a stroll along St Kilda beach. Even though neither of our meals really rang any bells, for some reason I don't think I should give up on NSHRY just yet.

                                                                                                               

 My Rating: 6.5/10

 

Over the Hill @ Hills BBQ Noodle Shop

One Wednesday night the fella and I decided the best pick me up after a long swim would be a steaming hot bowl of pho. Pho 888 in Box Hill seemed the best place to go, as we really couldn't be bothered driving into the city, let alone Footscray that night.  It obviously wasn't our lucky night, Pho 888, along with most of the other restaurants in Box Hill were already closed. From the slim pickings we had, we decided on Hills BBQ Noodle shop.

Not feeling like a big meal, we ordered a spicy minced pork with noodles and a plate of steamed vegetables with oyster sauce, to share. We asked for a small plate of steamed veggies (which was essentially Chinese broccoli), only to be told they could only offer us a large plate. The meals were very quick to arrive, but that was one of the very few highlights of our meal. The noodles themselves were cooked well, but the overall dish as a whole was difficult to stomach. The pork seemed to be colder than the noodles and the flavour was just NQR, as was the smell. I'm one of those types that generally eats everything on the plate, yet after two mouths full, I gave up. The fella didn't like it any better! The two of us finished off our plate of  broccoli and our Chinese tea and left. The Chinese broccoli was just the way it should be, no complaints there. It was fresh, steamed just right and nice and salty, just as I like it.

Paying for our meal was yet another drama. The cashier charged us a dollar extra for our greens, saying their usual kitchen was closed and they had to make our dish in another kitchen. He also said the broccoli was of the best quality. None of this really made any sense to either of us. Does this mean the broccoli on their menu is generally substandard? Anyway, we parted with our dollar, too tired and too hungry to argue.

My Rating: 2/10