Burger Project

Proving that Melbourne hasn't reached its burger saturation point yet, celebrity chef Neil Perry recently opened Burger Project in the new retail complex St Collins Lane. It's the first tenant to open in this upscale food court, and there are plenty of places to sit and eat once you've placed your order at the counter.

Burger Project has many different burger options on offer, with eight different beef burgers, three chicken burgers, and one mushroom burger on the menu. You can also order fries with different flavored salts, milkshakes (yes, even thick ones), alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and assorted ice cream desserts.

For my lunch I went with the Cheese Burger, which contains grass fed beef, cheese, onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce and secret sauce. It was surprisingly good and cooked to perfection - definitely up there with the top burger places in Melbourne. I also had to try out their chocolate thick shake as it is so hard to find them here. While it tasted really good, it wasn't quite as frozen as I would have liked.

Kat had the Magic Mushroom Burger, which contains a crumbed confit mushroom, cheese, onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce and secret sauce. She thought it tasted great, especially as mushroom burgers can be hit or miss. We shared a large serving of the fries with the chipotle chili salt on them, which gave the fries a bit of a kick.

For our first trip we were quite impressed with Burger Project and look forward to returning to try out some more of their burgers.

Burger Project
St Collins Lane
Level 2, 260 Collins Street, Melbourne
Open daily 11am - 9pm

Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint

One of the benefits of visiting a place with a large group of people is that you get the opportunity to sample a wide variety of dishes. I was fortunate enough to have my work Christmas lunch at Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint by the Queen Victoria Market. The upstairs eating area is spacious and bright, although with the warm temperatures in Melbourne having a table with sunlight streaming in over us meant it did get a bit hot (even with the fans overhead).

The place uses traditional pit smokers to cook all their meats, which really results in some great tasting selections. As we were a large group we ate off of the set menu ($38 per person), with dishes brought out to the table on large trays to share. Our meat selections were the Angus beef brisket, Carolina style chopped hog, beer can chicken and sausage. All of them tasted absolutely amazing. Our vegetarian friends were served red bell pepper stuffed with vegan beans, which they also enjoyed.

There were also a number of sides with the menu, including burnt end beans, mac & cheese, dill pickles, cornbread, potato salad, coleslaw and farro salad. Once again all of these dishes were delicious and complemented the smoked meats. We even got a few orders of French fries for the table, which were also tasty. 

Overall this was one of the best barbecue places I have been to in Melbourne. Every dish tasted great, and we were all very full by the end of the meal. I'll definitely be back for another visit in the future.

Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint
456 Queen Street, Melbourne
Open seven days a week from 12-3pm and 6-9pm

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna opened earlier this year in a space on Bourke Street that used to hold a Chinese restaurant. The interior is decked out with booths shaped like caravans and Winnebagos, along with a bunch of picnic benches in the middle of the room.

The focus of the menu is burgers, with 8 different types on offer. They also have an extensive list of alcoholic drinks, including spiked milkshakes. Since Kat, Zoran and I were there for lunch and had to go back to work we didn't partake in the drinks menu, but did each try one of the burgers.

As Kat is a vegetarian she had the Cynthia Benson burger, which contains a mushroom patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. Mushroom patties can be very hit or miss, but Kat was impressed with this burger.

Zoran had the KSA burger, which is their signature dish and contains a premium Australian beef patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. He thought it tasted good, although it had a bit too much sauce on it.

I went with the Francis Underwood burger, which is the same as the KSA burger with the added bonus of a mac and cheese croquette in it (if you are a House of Cards viewer we did question why BBQ ribs weren't the additional ingredient). The burger tasted good, but it was a bit overwhelming to have the mac and cheese within the burger itself.

We also ordered the beer battered chips to share, which were very tasty. And after having a large, juicy burger, we were very impressed that they supplied moist towelettes at the table so you could clean your hands after eating.

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna
87 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Open Tuesday-Sunday from 11:30 am-late

Mason Dixon American Sandwich Bar

In the US the Mason-Dixon line is considered the boundary between the North and the South. In Melbourne it is a yummy place to have lunch. Justin and I finally managed to escape the office to try out the Mason Dixon American Sandwich Bar, which is located in a food plaza along Collins Street. It has a range of sandwiches to choose from on the menu, including different types of reubens, cubanos, pulled pork and hoagies.

Justin decided to eat "South" and ordered the Carolina Pulled Pork sandwich, which contains slow-roasted pork, coleslaw, dill pickles and Carolina BBQ sauce on a brioche bun. He thought the pulled pork was super tender and that the flavors were subtle yet tasty.

I chose to order "North" and had The MD Reuben, which contains the classic ingredients of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on toasted rye bread. It was very tasty with its high quality corned beef, and the dill pickle and pretzels really emphasized the New York deli flavors.

For dessert I couldn't resist the peanut butter pie (complete with whipped cream). It was really good with a chocolate top, crumb base and peanut butter filling that wasn't too rich.

While we were eating the American owner Garrett Huston came over to say hello and check on how we were finding the food. I really appreciated that level of customer service and the obvious pride he takes in the food he is making. I look forward to returning and trying out more of the sandwiches on the menu (I already have my eye on The Rachel).

Mason Dixon American Sandwich Bar
7/480 Collins Street, Food Plaza, Melbourne
Open from 9:00 am - 3:30 pm Monday to Friday

Trailer Park Melbourne- North America

Food trucks are hugely popular in the States, and Melbourne's stable is slowly growing with a range of trucks serving food from all over the world. Trailer Park Melbourne is back with a cuisine of origin battle going on each weekend in August. This week's food was themed around North America, so we had to make the trip down to Village Melbourne to check it out.

Our first food truck was Smokin' Barrys with their slow cooked BBQ. We tried the chili cheese fries, nachos with pulled pork, and pork ribs with coleslaw. Of the three dishes the nachos were our favorite, and while the ribs were good they could have used some more BBQ sauce.

Our next truck was Mr Burger, who serve my favorite burgers in Melbourne. You can't go wrong with the classic Mr Burger cheeseburger and fries. Yummy as usual.

Our favorite dish of the day came from the Toasta food truck. You wouldn't have thought that a grilled sandwich would grab your imagination, but you've never had the Mack, which contains pulled pork, mac and cheese, and BBQ sauce. It was decadent and really delicious.

After a bit of a break we were ready for some dessert, which we got from Jay's Yogurt. The guys in the truck were super friendly, and you get to choose your flavors and they will blend them into the frozen yogurt for you. We tried out two of the specials from their winter menu. The Hot Apple Cup contained hot apple crumble, a frozen yogurt blend with rose water and pistachio, and was topped with Persian fairy floss. It was like a Middle Eastern apple pie. We also had the Coffee & Cookie with frozen yogurt blended with cold brew coffee and Charlies cookies. Both provided a refreshing end to our afternoon at Trailer Park Melbourne.

Trailer Park Melbourne at Village Melbourne
557 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Open from 12-8 pm each weekend in August

Bowery To Williamsburg

Bowery to Williamsburg brings a bit of New York deli to the Melbourne CBD. It is one of the spots my work colleagues and I occasionally visit for lunch, especially around American holidays when they sometimes feature a special dish that will remind me of home. The Oliver Lane restaurant has both outdoor and indoor seating, and the interior is styled a bit like a New York subway station.

The main feature of the lunch menu is the variety of sandwiches that are available for $13, or for $17 you can add a side of your choice, pretzels and a pickle. Sides include different types of salads, but really, you can't go wrong with the mac & cheese (I honestly don't know why you would want to order anything else).

On this visit I ordered what I consider to be their best sandwich - the Reuben. It contains pastrami, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, melted Swiss cheese and pickle on rye bread. No matter how many other sandwiches I try this is the one I always come back to. My work colleague John decided to order the Lechon Asado, which contains Cuban braised pork, pickled zucchini, fennel and celeriac slaw, and garlic aioli on a brioche bun. It was good, but I thought it had a bit too much aioli on it, which took away from the taste of the pork. I am a big fan of the pickle, but for some reason we were served a sweet pickle instead of a dill one on the tray, which for a New York deli place is unacceptable (I'm hoping it was just an oversight).

If you still have room to eat after such a filling lunch, there are several dessert options, including pies, cakes and brownies (yes, you can get it as take away). I grabbed a piece of the baked N.Y. cheesecake ($7) to go for my afternoon tea, and it was a decent sized slice.

There aren't that many New York style deli places in Melbourne, so it's good that Bowery to Williamsburg meets the brief for the most part.

Bowery to Williamsburg
16 Oliver Lane and 123 Hardware Street, Melbourne
Open for breakfast and lunch 7 days a week