Brodburger

After a day of walking around Canberran suburbs to look for a potential apartment, my boyfriend and I worked up the kind of appetite that can only be fully satisfied by giant juicy burgers. 

It wasn’t hard to pick where we’d get said delicious burgers.  I haven’t been in Canberra too long, but the overwhelming word on the street has been that Brodburger is like, the place for burgers.  I’ve also been wondering about the no-longer-occupied red van I pass everyday on Waverly Street and its origins.

We got to Brodburger at 5:30 on a Saturday night, just in time for the dinner opening.  Had we waited a mere five minutes, we would have found ourselves in an overflowing line nearly out the door.

Brodburger’s main menu has something to offer everyone, from beef, chicken, veggie and fish.  I nearly went for the fish, but felt I’d be cheating myself from the proper burger experience and went for the classic Brodburger flame grilled beef patty ($12.50) instead. I ordered and was surprised to hear Mark ask for the Broddeluxe ($18).  Both of us were too hungry to give the menu much attention; I saw the Broddeluxe was a pound of meat and therefore too much to handle; Mark saw the Broddeluxe was a pound of meat with another pound of bacon  and deemed it the clear winner.

Each burger is equipped with cheese (a burger just isn’t a burger without cheese) and the customer can choose from blue, brie, swiss or cheddar.  I normally opt for the traditional cheddar, but was intrigued by the brie choice and decided to step outside my burger comfort zone for a night.  Chips are not included with the meal, so we ordered a large portion ($4) to split between us.  In retrospect, this was a mistake–if I had to impart any advice to Brodburger first-timers, it’d be to skip the chips all together.

We sat in the dining room filled with large communal tables, sipped on White Rabbit dark ale and waited about 15 minutes for our burgers.  A girl placed my burger on the table first, and I was impressed by the size until I saw Mark’s Broddeluxe, which totally eclipsed my meal.  All we could do for a few minutes was marvel at its size and density; Mark inspected it from all sides to figure out how exactly one should attempt to eat such a meat montrosity.

I started on my burger while Mark prepared himself for what was to come.  The brie was a good decision–it added a subtle sweet flavour that complimented the aoili, tomato relish and spanish onions well.  Mark dug in, as globs of cheddar cheese oozed from the double beef patties wedged in between mass amounts of bacon. 

I think I was too distracted by what was on Mark’s plate to appreciate my own meal, which was tasty but paled in comparison.  I ate my burger, while eyeing Mark’s with suspicion, wondering if there was more on that thing than just cheese, meat, salad and sauce(s).  I saw a lot of white and yellows pouring out the sides and asked Mark if there was an egg somewhere inside the burger.

“Nah, I think it’s just mayo and a lot of cheese,” he answered with confidence.

A few minutes later, when he was halfway through, he declared that yes, there was egg, and not just one, but two.  I found it impressive that one burger could hide from its consumer that it also contained an entire breakfast.

I polished off my burger as Mark hit the halfway mark, slowing down and showing signs of struggle at this point.  My burger was filling, but not in a I’m going to be sick way.

We still had an entire plate of chips, which both of us had lost interest in.  It’s like Brodburger knows that diners will be too full and engrossed by their burgers to care about chips, and therefore put no effort into cooking them.  They are thin and dull, becoming a burden as you feel obligated to eat them since you were so adament about ordering them.  Save yourself the trouble and don’t bother with the chips–your burger will be more than enough (especially if you get the Broddeluxe). 

I forced myself to eat chips, so we wouldn’t feel guilty about wasting them, while Mark continued his mission to conquer the Deluxe.  Finally, ten minutes later, he polished off the last bite, proving that one person could eat that much food in one sitting without throwing up. 

We were both happy with our first Brodburger experience, although I don’t think there will be any Deluxes in the near future unless a marathon has been run. 

Is Brodburger the best burger-joint around?  I have nothing to compare it to yet, but I come from the land of burgers and have to say, Brod is good, but still not up there with America’s finest!