The Parlour Diner

64 Chapel Street. Windsor

Dining accomplice. Miss Ange.

Great food. Generous. Juicy. Filling. Value for money. Fun vibe. Friendly service.

Highlight. The pulled pork slider. Holy hell that was good! The sauce. The meat. The deliciousness.

Ange had the chicken burger. Massive chicken breast. Juicy! Needed a correander warning.

They were great about allergies and sensitivities.

Curly fries – fun!

Burger Rating

What made it special? – the sauce, the juicyness, the generosity of the portions

Wait time – 25 mins

Meatiness – 10/10!

Juiciness – 10/10

Sauces – 10/10

Bun – 10/10

Value for $$$ – 10/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 9/10 (10 on this occasion due to late lunch and an early dinner reservation…)

Overall – 10/10

Ripponlea Food & Wine

15 Glen Eira Avenue, Ripponlea VIC 3185

It really annoys me when parents use technology to entertain their kids in restaurants. But come on! A laptop playing a movie and the kids didn’t even have earphones. We are here for a nice birthday dinner and it’s spoiled by screens and noise. Also who has two kids under 5 at a restaurant, on a Wednesday night at 9:30pm? Judgement!

Now, on to the food. The lamb, bread and dips were a tasty starter.

My moscato wasn’t sweet, which made me sad.

The burger looked great, but fell apart and was very dry. It was under seasoned and really disappointing. It lacked flavour and anything that made it really stand out. It was dry and grainy and bland. The only seasoning was master foods mustard, I expected a lot more from a kitchen like this.

The desserts were beautifully presented. Of course my pineapple one was weird and unsatisfying.
But everyone else’s were delicious!

My Current Top 3 Burgers in Melbourne (as of 4th May 2014)

#1 Andrew’s Hamburgers Address: 144 Bridport Street West, Albert Park VIC 3206 https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/andrews-burgers-visit-1/ https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/burger-quest-andrews-burgers-visit-2-3/ https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/andrews-hamburgers-visit-7/ https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/happiness-is-an-andrews-burger/

#2 Fat Bob’s Bar & Grill Address: 80 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin VIC 3189

Fat Bob’s Burgers

#3 Tuck Shop Take Away Address: 273 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield North VIC 3161

https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/tuck-shop-visit-1/ https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/tuck-shop-visit-4/

 

RUNNERS UP

#1 BeatBox Burgers Address: Food Tuck (http://wherethetruck.at/beatboxkitchen/) https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/beatbox-burger-truck-travelling-burgers/ (only because they’re never in my area any more and it makes me sad)

#2 Ribs & Burgers Address: 3 Separation St, Northcote VIC 3070 https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/rb-ribs-and-burgers/ https://emsburgerquest.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/ribs-and-burgers-3rd-time/ (down a few notches as their burgers are getting smaller and less juicy)

 

Next on the list… Third Wave Address: 30 Cato St, Prahran VIC 3181

To be continued………………………….

Fat Bob’s Burgers

Fat Bob’s Bar & Grill
80A Cochranes Road Moorabbin, 3189 Victoria Australia

Burger Rating 9.8

Dining Accomplice – JeJeJenJenJenJenJenJenShin

The first thing you need to do is book – http://fatbobs.com.au/ – even at 5pm on a Sunday you need to book a table.

Now you’ve done that, please read on….

It’s like the grill house in Texas next to the mechanic in the small town…. that I’ve never been to!

It’s hidden among the warehouses in Moorabbin, a tiny little door in to burger wonderland….

Fantastic venue – did I mention you need to book?

We started the meal with some moreish Zucchini Chips with mayo $8.50.  Much lighter than sweet potato chips or eggplant.

Jackie O – $15.50
180g grass fed beef pattie, tomato, spanish onion, fontina cheese, cos, mustard, tomato & Fat Bob’s Special Sauce (seemed to be mayo…)

The burger was delicious.  A soft white roll that wasn’t sweet! The meat was so flavorsome and juicy, generous with the mayo and the mustard.  Lovely fresh lettuce and tomato, and the fontina cheese was mild and luscious.   It was so filling I couldn’t finish it (but I had a late lunch, next time I won’t be making that mistake!) It felt like sacrilege to leave food on the plate because it was so tasty!

The fries were hot, salty and crispy on the outside, and creamy and soft on the inside.

WHAT A PLEASURE!

I am already looking forward to round 2….

Burger Rating

What made it special? – the venue, the epic meat flavor

Wait time – 15 mins

Meatiness – 11/10!

Juiciness – 9/10

Sauces – 8/10 for lack of originality but a good balance of flavor

Bun – 8/10

Value for $$$ – 8.5/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 9/10 (10 on this occasion due to late lunch and an early dinner reservation…)

Overall – 9.8/10

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1747447/restaurant/Melbourne/Moorabbin-Highett/Fat-Bobs-Bar-Grill-Moorabbin”><img alt=”Fat Bob’s Bar &amp; Grill on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1747447/biglink.gif&#8221; /></a>

Babu Burgers

156 Chapel St, Windsor VIC 3181

Wow – talk about disappointing!

A burger place that delivers, too good to be true.  I also went in and ate at the restaraunt just to make sure it wasn’t the travel that affected the burger…. it wasn’t.

The patty was too thick (not in a good way like Andrew’s), literally jaw dislocating – so you can’t get your mouth around the burger with all the fillings.  It doesn’t feel generous, it feels awkward.  The patty had an unsettling sweetness to it and everything was mushy.

Disappointing both times, sorry guys.  My brother loves them… so it really is a matter of taste….

I didn’t take a picture… it just looked so sad and grey in the box.

Burger Rating

What made it special? – they deliver…

Wait time – home delivery – 25 minutes, in shop 10

Meatiness – 6/10

Juiciness – 6/10

Sauces – 6/10

Bun – 2/10

Value for $$$ – 7/10

Fullness feeling post burger – Can’t rate (just unhappy feeling)

Overall – 4.5/10

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1715721/restaurant/Melbourne/Prahran/Babu-Bar-Burger-With-Balls-Windsor”><img alt=”Babu Bar Burger With Balls on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1715721/biglink.gif&#8221; /></a>

Meatball Sliders at The Meatball Shop NYC

ADDRESS: 84 Stanton St, New York, NY 10002

 

Funky vibe – bustling atmosphere, great company – cute hipster waiters, and quick and delicious food.  They were quite surprised when I mentioned there are meatball and wine bars in Melbourne that are carbon copies – but it was the perfect lunch on a wintery day in NYC

 

A great system – choose the meatball – choose the sauce – is it on sliders, salad, pasta, mashed potato, mac and cheese, or just naked 🙂

 

Burger Rating

What made it special? – the variety, the method of delivery, being in NYC

Wait time – 15 mins

Meatiness – 7.5/10

Juiciness – 8/10

Sauces – 10/10

Bun – 6/10

Value for $$$ – 8/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 8/10

Overall – 8/10

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/1507734/restaurant/Lower-East-Side/The-Meatball-Shop-NYC”><img alt=”The Meatball Shop on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1507734/biglink.gif&#8221; /></a>

Croc Burger – Darwin

Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin NT

It was glorious, sitting in the 28 degree sunshine in July by the water.

I had never had crock before – it was somewhere between flake and chicken with a slightly chewier texture.  Great flavor.  Very pedestrian accouterments, but enjoyable none the less.

Crock burger with salad and mayo

It was certainly small, it is always disappointing when the burger meat to roll circumference does not favor the meat 🙂

Burger Rating

What made it special? – eating croc in the Darwin Sunshine

Wait time – 8 mins

Meatiness – 6/10

Juiciness – 6/10

Sauces – 2/10

Bun – 3/10

Value for $$$ – 6/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 6/10

Overall – 6.5/10

Soda Rock

6 November 2012

257 Toorak Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141

I had my 13th Birthday party here back in 1995.  It was packed, it had a great vibe.  Now it’s empty and sad, and so is the flavor of the burgers.  Tired, over seasoned to hide poor quality meat.  Loaded with way too much (wet!) iceberg lettuce.  And the bun was so cold and floury, it’s like the roll you’d get at a community bbq.

Burger Rating

What made it special? – nostalgia

Wait time – 10 mins

Meatiness – 4/10

Juiciness – 3/10

Sauces – 0/10

Bun – 2/10

Value for $$$ – 4/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 4/10

Overall – 3/10

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1491205/restaurant/Melbourne/South-Yarra-Toorak/Soda-Rock-Diner-South-Yarra”><img alt=”Soda Rock Diner on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1491205/biglink.gif&#8221; /></a>

Tuck Shop Visit 1

13 December 2013

273 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield North VIC 3161

Funky little place, sometimes you can’t get in the door.  Friendly service.  Great fries.

It’s the sauce that makes it.  And the texture of the multi seed bun.

If anything it’s a little on the small side, but big on flavor.

Burger Rating

What made it special? – the flavour, the basting

Wait time – 10 mins (if the place is empty)

Meatiness – 8/10

Juiciness – 10/10

Sauces – 10/10

Bun – 9/10

Value for $$$ – 10/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 9.5/10

Overall – 9.5/10

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1768064/restaurant/Melbourne/Caulfield/Tuck-Shop-Take-Away-Caulfield-North”><img alt=”Tuck Shop Take Away on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1768064/biglink.gif&#8221; /></a>

Tuck Shop Visit 4

22 April 2014

273 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield North VIC 3161

 

This time the seeded bun had disappeared, maybe it was the hungriness, but the patty seemed thinner.  Big on flavor but without the fries it wouldn’t have been filling enough.

Jen had the veggie burger (with bacon).  First few bites were tasty, but then it became soggy and the flavors dulled.

 

Burger Rating

What made it special? – the flavour, the sauce, the fries

Wait time – 10 mins

Meatiness – 8/10

Juiciness – 9/10

Sauces – 10/10

Bun – 7/10 too brioche for me, and missing the texture of the seeded roll 

Value for $$$ – 9/10

Fullness feeling post burger – 7/10

Overall – 10/10

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1768064/restaurant/Melbourne/Caulfield/Tuck-Shop-Take-Away-Caulfield-North”><img alt=”Tuck Shop Take Away on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1768064/biglink.gif&#8221; /></a>