Hold the Beef: Advance Australia Fare

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Advance Australia Fare

What's that Skip? Little Jimmys stuck down the well and need something to eat? I know, let's get him a burger! But what kind...?

Although not quite as useless as asking people where the best place to go for Dim Sum is (no two people ever say the same place, and most people don't know the name of the place they go to), it's difficult to find a definitive answer of where to find Perth's best burger. I guess this actually makes a bit of sense though, as different people tend to find different burger qualities more important than others. Some just want a massive slab of meat with sauce and bread, others need a good loading of salad to counteract the meat hit. For some people it's all about the sauce, and for some it's all about the quality of the sides. There's also the location to take into account, as it takes a bit of dedication and forethought to get up to Alfred's Kitchen in Guildford if you have a burger craving and live in Spearwood.

I have to confess that I'm a bit useless myself when it comes to local burger know-how. I am familiar with the names that are often put forward as the best burger joints - Alfred's Kitchen (Guildford), Flipside Burger Bar (North Fremantle and Wembley), Bilby's Chargrilled Burgers (Mount Claremont), Jus Burgers (Leederville), Retro Betty's Cafe (Leederville), FAB (Hillarys and Subiaco) and apparently The Moon Cafe (Northbridge) makes a mean vegie burger - but I hadn't gone to any effort to try any of these burgers. Until last Friday.

Given that I don't eat beef, it takes an interesting burger menu to get me excited. Giving me the choice of having a chicken burger or a frozen vegie patty burger, when the rest of the burger menu has dozens of beef options, just isn't going to do it for me. After noticing Jus Burgers in Leederville during my recent jaunts in that part of town, and hearing some good things about it, I checked out the menu on their website. In addition to beef burgers they also serve lamb, chicken, fish, roo, pork and three types of vego burgers. Perhaps this was just the burger menu to get me excited!

With a mean hunger, a friend and I moseyed on in to Jus Burgers last Friday for a late lunch. We were greeted warmly and took the last free table near the kitchen, having a moment to again look over our options before a waitress came over to ask if we had been there before, and to explain the menu to us. There wasn't too much to explain really, apart from the fact you have to order and pay at the counter and they bring your food to you. She also explained to me in particular, that the burgers are quite large (I think she stated how many grams) but there is the option of going for "The Grommit" option which is a smaller version of most of the burgers. Clearly she did not know who she was dealing with.

All the burgers are served with lettuce, beef tomato, Spanish onion, relish & house made aioli, and you have a choice of white or wholemeal Turkish buns (and there is a gluten free option). Choosing the type of bread was easy (wholemeal all the way, baby) but it was really very difficult to decide which burger to go with, as they all sounded bloody good. My shortlist included the "Original Lamb" (with mint chutney), "Turkish Lamb" (with Tahini yoghurt & Middle Eastern slaw), "Roo burger" (with horseradish slaw & goan cuisine green chilli jam) and "The Pumpkin" (roasted panko crumbed pumpkin & goat's cheese with basil pesto). Oh Skippy, I'm sorry, but you just sound too good to refuse. How could I resist "100% West Australian Kangaroo meat & char grilled"? 'twould be unAustralian. On its own, my burger cost $13 but I of course chose to have it in a meal deal with salad (or you can have chips), green tomato pickle and slaw for an extra $5.

Jus Burgers - Roo Burger meal deal

I really like the way the burgers are served, on a wooden board with a steak knife stabbed through their little hearts. Convinced my burger was not going anywhere, I started off by trying the salads and pickle, and found them to my liking. I had forgotten to ask for my salad dressing on the side, but the vinaigrette was light and pleasant and the salad nice and fresh. The slaw of course was drowned in dressing, as is the way with slaw, but with such a petite serving this was actually quite alright. It was nice, as far as coleslaw goes, but I don't think I finished it. The green tomato pickle was really good, and nice to dunk little bits of your bun into, or add into your burger.

Cutting my burger in half was totally necessary, given its impressive girth, and I was soon getting stuck into our national emblem and dealing with dripping sauce and messy hands for my trouble. The meat was spot on, loads of flavour and a great texture (no bits of gristle to contend with, ugh). The green chilli jam in the burger was also really good, giving a lovely (yet subtle) heat to the dish, which I guess was also assisted by the horseradish. The rest of the ingredients in the burger all kind of melded into one big delicious oozy mess, and my nice clean wooden board was soon showing only signs of a struggle having taken place.

One burger joint down, and the bar has been set pretty high.

(I hope Charlie the Wonder Dog found little Jimmy)

Jus Burgers
743 Newcastle Street, Leederville

Phone: