Hope Valley Chicken Bar

Name: Hope Valley Chicken Bar

Address: 1220 Grand Junction Rd. Hope Valley

Burger: "Burger with the lot"

Price: $n/a


I have to start this post by apologising for the lack of images. I lost them unfortunately, but will endeavour to get more (meaning I'll have to get another burger!). The Hope Valley Chicken Bar is your typical neighbourhood chicken joint. They sell chickens, fries (chips), hot dogs, burgers, chicken rolls, salads, seafood and a lot more. The food here, while not exactly healthy, seems to always be fresh, and very tasty. Their chicken rolls are amazing. But this isn't a chicken roll blog!

I've had quite a few of their burgers. They are very good. I order them with the lot. From the best of my recollection, the burgers come with: Beef pattie, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, egg (beetroot sometimes), bacon and a BBQ type sauce. They are huge, tasty and very satisfying!

Beef:
The meat is great. Good thickness, juicy and tasty. Not too many additions, allowing you to taste beefiness. Just the right amount for a burger this size.

Cheese:
The cheese is generally a simple cheddar, and is usually melted to a satisfactory point. Sometimes it's not quite melted enough. It has a good flavour though, and isn't too salty. The burger could do with another slice of cheese, but this is just my opinion - I love cheese. Perhaps a little too much.

Bun:
The bun is a standard sesame seed burger bun. It's sliced in half as usual, then toasted on the same cooking surface as the rest of the ingredients. This gives the bun extra flavour, and makes sure that none of the tasty grease goes to waste. The bun itself isn't brilliant, but the toasting gives it some extra points.

Extras: 
Where do I start? There is a good mixture of extras in this burger. This is the first burger reviewed which contains egg. The egg is fried, and placed towards the top of the burger. They're always well cooked, and add a little extra flavour to the burger. A good addition, but eggs don't go well with all burgers. The lettuce, tomato and onion are always very fresh, and add a good crunch to the burger. Beetroot is ok sometimes, but can be a bit too much. It's generally fresh, and not too strong though. The bacon is cooked well, and a generous amount is included (generally covering the entire pattie). Not the best bacon I've had, but it goes well with this burger.

Fries:
As this burger is from a chicken bar, it does not automatically come with fries. I get fries anyway. The Hope Valley Chicken Bar make great chips. I'm aware they come in frozen, in huge bags, but they are always cooked well. They are NOT cooked in the same oil as the fish - a VERY important point. I hate seafood, and cannot eat fries which have a fishy taste. The staff are happy to cook your fries to order (extra crispy, soggy etc.). I generally just opt for the standard cooking time, as they are usually a bit soggy, with a few smaller, crunchy fries in the mix. Great tasting fries, if not a bit oily.

Meat 

 

Cheese

Bun    

Extras

Fries

This burger is great. There are a lot of similar places around Adelaide, but I've not visited them all (yet). This burger gets a very high rating, due to a great balance of fresh ingredients, and its traditional, simple construction, taking it to the top of the rankings. The only thing bad about getting a burger from here - choosing between it, and amazing chicken roll they make! Go pick a burger up, they are located at: 1220 Grand Junction Rd. Hope Valley (shopping center).     

Total:

3.7

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The Bilby Cafe - Warrawong Sanctuary

Warrawong Sanctuary logo (warrawong.com)

A few days ago I went for a drive up to Warrawong Sanctuary with my girlfriend. It's a great place, and an awesome place to visit - highly recommended. After walking around for a while, we decided to get something to eat. The Cafe is quite nice, and the menu more extensive than I would have thought. I had decided that if there was a burger on the menu, I'd have it. Good news - there was!

The burger was good. Better than expected. The contents, according to the menu were:

Warrawong Beef Burger: 
100% organic beef pattie, red onion, tomato, dill pickle, Swiss cheese and house-made relish served on a freshly baked damper bun.

I can't recall the price, but it was reasonable. Worth it.

Warrawong Beef Burger - Warrawong Sanctuary

Beef:

The beef was a bit different to most burgers. It wasn't different like the Palais burger, but more like the frozen type patties you can buy at the supermarket. The texture was just different - more dense it seemed. The flavour was great though. Although there was a significant amount of seasoning and spices, it didn't detract from the beefy goodness. My only complaint, is that it was a little too thin, and was over-powered by the other ingredients at times. 

Score: 3.5/5

Cheese:

Although the men indicated that the cheese was "Swiss", it seemed more like a mild cheddar or colby to me. It had a decent, salty flavour, but was not melted properly, and due to the fact that the beef wasn't too hot, it did not melt any further once it arrived at the table. It's easy to melt cheese onto patties - all it takes is a saucepan lid or something similar placed over the top of the pattie while it is on the cooking surface for 20 seconds or so. The cheese was a let down, but not a total disaster.

Score: 3/5

Bun:

The bun was very fresh. It was nice and soft, and tasted quite good. I like damper rolls/buns for burgers. They soak up the grease without breaking up most of the time. The damper bun did this, and had good flavour too, a bonus. Can't complain too much about it.

Cross section

Score: 4/5

Extras:

The extras were good. The red onion was fresh and crisp, but not too strong. The tomato was also fresh, a very important thing! The dill pickle slices were a great addition, and there were quite a few of them. The relish was great. I think it was mayonnaise based, with bits of pickle etc. There was the perfect amount - enough to taste but not too much to drown out the other flavours. All in all, very solid extras. 

Score: 4/5

Fries:

Golden and crunchy on the outside, soft and light on the inside. Although I like my fries somewhat soggy, I do enjoy fries like this. They were great. Tasted fantastic and were very fresh. There was no strong oil taste either. Fries that are cooked too long can retain too much oil and taste awful. I'd be quite happy to have them again.

Score: 4/5

Great burger! It was a good balance between fast food and pub type burgers. Good quality ingredients, and not trying anything too flashy. I would definitely have it again if I was to go back to Warrawong. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Total score: 18.5/25

(Very good, go for it)

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The Palais Hotel - Semaphore

I've been to the Palais a few times. It's in a nice location, it's quite nice inside and the food is decent. I went a few weeks ago again, and not surprisingly, I couldn't go past the burger option on the menu. It's a bit more 'fancy' than a lot of burgers out there, but it's not too over the top. The bar is also quite good, so it's a good sport for a burger and a beer (or three).

The "Beachfront Bistro" at the Palais Hotel, Semaphore

The burger as per the menu:

palais beef burger - prime beef pattie, bacon, cheddar cheese, slow cooked onion jam, tomato relish and salad greens on a toasted lepinja bun served w chunky chips and garlic aioli  16.50

It was a nice looking burger, and came with very thick-cut fries. The extras were not your typical burger extras, but a nice change from the usual. The garlic aioli was a nice addition to the fries, but a little bland.

Palais Burger with Fries and Garlic Aioli

Meat:
The meat was extremely disappointing. It was more like a Cevapcici than a burger pattie. That's fine if that's what you want, but I wanted a burger! It was over-seasoned, chewy and a bit dry. It did taste ok, but just didn't seem like a burger to me. Despite not tasting bad, I really can't rate it highly as a burger pattie.

Score: 2/5


Cheese:
The cheese was very nicely melted - a good characteristic of cheddar cheeses. It was salty, gooey and tasty. It wasn't as good as the processed cheese that fast food places use in terms of taste, but it was a good addition, and went some way to making up for the poor beef.

Score: 3.5/5


Bun:
The bun was a little different to most places. A lot of hotels etc. think putting some meat, cheese and salad in a fancy bun or roll makes a "gourmet" burger. They are wrong! It was nicely toasted, and tasted good, but didn't do anything to compensate for the meat. Good, but nothing amazing.

Score: 3/5


Extras: 
The extras in the Palais burger were a little different. Rather than the standard lettuce, tomato, onion and ketchup/mustard, the burger contained "slow-cooked onion jam, tomato relish and salad greens". They were good. The onion jam was sweet, but tangy. The relish was also tangy, but not over-powering. A better addition than tomato sauce/ketchup in my opinion. The salad greens were simply a couple of types of wilted lettuce - not in the same league as the other extras. They added a lot of welcome flavour to the burger. Such extras are great for unusual burgers, or those where the meat and cheese is lacking (as was the case with the Palais burger).

Score: 3.5/5


Fries:
The fries appeared to be hand-cut. They were very thick. They appeared white, an indication of them being under-done. This was definitely the case. They were even too under-cooked for me. They tasted average. The garlic aioli wasn't too bad, but was rather bland and could have been stronger. I'd eat these fries if they were given to me, but definitely wouldn't rush out to get them again.

Score: 2.5/5


Would I recommend it? Probably not. It isn't a bad-tasting mixture of meat, cheese, bread and extras. It's just not a burger to me. The meat is extremely important, and almost no combination of amazing additions such as cheese and extras is going to redeem a burger with such a poor pattie. It wouldn't take much for the Palais to improve this burger - but they need to start with the fundamentals.

Total score: 14.5/25

(Decent, worth a shot)

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Bacon Double Deluxe - Wendy's Brooklyn

(Wendys.com)

Here in Australia, Wendy's is a milkshake and ice-cream store. They also sell fairly good hot dogs. In North America, Wendy's is somewhat different. They sell burgers, and lot's of them. They have quite an extensive menu. I came across one in Brooklyn, New York. I had previously had Wendy's in Las Vegas on another trip (got the "Triple Baconator - just the bun, meat, cheese and bacon), but decided to go for something different this time.

I went for the Double Bacon Deluxe. This is from the site:

Bacon Deluxe Double

Two hot 'n juicy all beef patties piled with four strips of Applewood smoked bacon. Freshly made your way with American cheese, the works, ketchup and mayo. Now that beats your ordinary burger.

The advertisement was correct to a point. It had the ingredients listed. I wouldn't say the patties were juicy, or that it seemed fresh. Having said that, it was a tasty burger. As with most fast food burgers, it was soggy and fell apart quite easily.

Wendy's Bacon Deluxe Double (wendys.com)

Meat:
The patties were a good size; not too thick, and not too thin. They tasted great. They were not over-seasoned, and although they were somewhat dry, I enjoyed them. But, they were fast food patties.

Score: 3.5/5


Cheese:
The cheese was ok. It was the standard yellow American cheese, and melted ok. It was slightly more bland than others I had tried though. It didn't quite perform it's job - another slice may have been necessary.

Score: 3/5

Bun:
The bun was a corn-dusted, soft burger bun. It was decent. It got soggy quickly however, and didn't have much taste. It barely kept the contents inside the burger. It could have been a lot better.

Score: 3/5


Extras:
"The works" comprised of white onion, tomato, lettuce and pickles. They were all reasonably fresh, decent for a fast food joint. The sauce and mayo combination worked really well. The bacon was quite good. There was a lot of it, and it was nice and crispy, albeit very salty (even by bacon standards).

Score: 3.5/5

Wendy's "Natural Cut" fries (wendys.com

Fries:
Wendy's had been advertising "Natural cut" fries while I was in North America. The advertisements didn't influence my decision to have Wendy's - it was simply the closest burger joint to our hotel. These fries had the skin on them, and were seasoned with sea salt. I didn't notice much of a difference between these and normal fries. They were actually a bit dry. They tasted ok, but there are much better fries out there.

Score: 3/5


The burger was good. Good meat, decent cheese and passable extras. The bacon definitely added to the burger - a good option in my opinion. If you need a burger fix, you won't be too upset if you have a Wendy's Bacon Double Deluxe. To make up for the average fries, get a cup of chili!

Total score: 16/25

(Very good, go for it)

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Philly cheese steak sliders? Yes!

Again, this may not be your standard burger, and it definitely doesn't fit into the rules, but it definitely needs to be mentioned. As with the other burgers (etc) in Canada and America that I had, it will not be included on the scoreboard.

Firstly, let me preface this by saying this is not a burger. It has meat, cheese and bread however, so it ticks many of the boxes a good burger does. The Philly cheese steak is somewhat of an institution. Despite being developed in Philadelphia, the cheese steak has expanded across North America, and has taken on many regional forms. Most cheese steaks comprise of a soft kaiser roll, very thinly sliced and seared beef, cheese (provolone or cheez-whiz type cheese) and sometimes onions.

As mentioned in an earlier post, sliders are mini-burgers, although not by the strictest definition. How ever you classify either, the "Philly Cheese Steak Sliders" I had at Max Brenners in the Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas were awesome.

Max Brenner's in the Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas Nevada

Meat:
The beef was thinly sliced, and cooked quickly. It was soft, tender and extremely tasty. It was seasoned with salt and pepper from what I could tell. Tasty tasty tasty.

Score: 4.5/5

Cheese:
There were two cheeses in the cheese steaks. There was provolone (a sharp, mild sheep's milk cheese, originating in Italy), and Cheez-Whiz. Cheez-Whiz is essentially a processed cheese spread. It's not quite like the cream cheese we have in Australia though. They worked well together. Sharpness, combined with melty, gooey greasiness. Perfect.

Score: 4/5

Cheez-Whiz

Bun:
The buns were soft and doughy, exactly what I like. They were obviously different to a burger bun. The buns really added to the experience, something that is quite rare!

Score: 4.5/5

Extras:
The only extra was a "Marinara" sauce. In the USA, a Napolitana, or tomato based sauce (similar to tomato pasta sauce) is called Marina. In Australia, Marinara is a seafood sauce (which makes sense, as "Mare" means "Sea" in Italian). It was subtle, but added to the experience. I'm not sure it would have been a whole lot different without it though.

Score: 3.5/5

Three mini Philly Cheese Steaks and Waffle Fries at Max Brenners, Las Vegas

Fries:

The fries were a little different. They were "criss-cross" fries, or "waffle" fries. They were amazing. Crispy, but soft in the middle. And very tasty. I'd like some now, to be honest. 

Score: 5/5

I would really like these right now. The meat was tender, the cheese melted and very tasty, and it was all encased in an awesome bun. The fries just made the experience even better. I won't compare these to burgers, but if you ever have the chance to try them - do it. Absolutely amazing. 

Total score: 21.5/25

(Brilliant, go now!)

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