Little Sister Cafe, Keilor East

52 Wingara Avenue
Keilor East 
Victoria 3033

An invitation to try lunch at Little Sister tempted us to get on our bikes for the ride up the Maribyrnong to Keilor East, where the stylish cafe sits in a quiet square.

The interior featured brightly patterned wall paper, with plenty of retro styled tables and a covered outdoor area out the back. There were lots of interesting items on the menu both on the all day breakfast and lunch lists as well as a few specials.

menu

 I enjoyed a good long black while we pondered our choices which kept warm in its double walled glass.

The flat white hit the spot too.

I went for the wild mushroom risotto with caramelised onion, parmesan crisp and drizzled truffle oil. The presentation was great, with the crunchy cheese shards and petals adding finesse and vibrant colour to the look. The flavour was rich too, with plenty of mushrooms too.

The Mexican chicken burger was packed with lettuce, corn salsa and avocado and came with fat chips with a strong lemon pepper seasoning and great little mango-lime aioli. The burger flavours worked together perfectly and I was happy that we'd agreed to share our meals!

The service was good throughout with plenty of attentive and friendly staff. The coffees came out quickly and the meals after a pleasant pause. We didn't have to pay for our meals, but with most options under $20 it seemed like great value. I think we'll be contemplating a another trip out this way soon.

Overloaded, Footscray

253 Barkly Street
Footscray
VIC 3011

When I was emailed a $10 voucher from one for one of the online food ordering sites, I decided to put it to use checking out the newly opened Overloaded Cafe and self proclaimed 'Burger Specialists'.

The store front on Barkly Street is easy to locate once you get close and also seems to house an accountancy office. Inside the bare brick walls feature a counter along one side and a couple of tables along the other, one of which was occupied on my weekend lunchtime visit.

Despite my order having been made an hour before and me being a few minutes after the appointed pick up time, I had a few minutes to wait before my bag was ready.

I'd gone for the mushroom burger and the initial impression was reasonable.

Opening the burger I found 2 halved mushrooms, rather than the single larger portabello. Beneath there was a salad featuring plenty of lettuce and red onion along with a couple of slices of tomato. The roll itself was dry, and the sum of the parts didn't add up to a great burger.

The chips were fine, but got cold very quickly on the way home.

The meal would have been $12 without the voucher. Overall I don't think 8 bit has much to be worried about...

The Arbory

Flinders Walk
Melbourne
3000

We visited the Arbory on a sunny spring evening and after some searching found ourselves a pair of stools overlooking the river and in the shade of the trees that I assume influenced the name. It is a great location and the establishment makes great use of the strip of outdoor space between Flinders Street Station and the river.

There had been a horse race on, which meant there where plenty of frocks, hats and suits on display, among the more casually dressed punters. Despite the volume of people the wait to order wasn't too long and our pre-visit perusal of the menu meant we knew what we wanted to order. My schooner of Coopers green ended up never settling so I returned the murky glass and it was happily exchanged with a Mountain Goat.

It didn't take long for the food to appear. The crumbed mushroom and haloumi burger also featured tomato relish and salad and was a winner, with the crunch of the crumb and lettuce complementing the juicy 'shroom and cheese.

I had the Fish and Chip roll. I checked before ordering that the chips came separately, as although the pom in me loves a chip butty, I wasn't convinced that a regular bun could resonably hold that much. In fact only the generous battered piece of fish along with remoulade and lettuce sat pinned between the soft pillows of bread. The combination proved satisfyingly easy to eat and my only reservation was the speed which it slipped down at!

Both our meals came with decent portions of crinkle cut chips which hit the spot and ensured we left with our hunger satisfied.

The service was efficient in the face of the busy establishment and courteous even when dealing with the beer issue. The two burgers came to a fairly reasonable $31 whereas the schooners came at what seemed to me a steep $9 each. I guess the location, novelty and cool factor will continue to pull in the crowds at Arbory, and it does provide a great additional option on the Melbourne riverfront.

Harts Victoria Hotel, Footscray

43 Victoria Street
Footscray
VIC 3011

Despite having lived around the corner we'd never had dinner at Harts, but on a cold Friday evening we decided to give it a try rather than take a longer walk.

In the bistro section wood features heavily in the décor, which has a familiar traditional feel. The walls are adorned with historic images of Footscray including this selection of the Doggies and the Whitten Oval.

The menu promises "the best quality meals at a great price"...

...and covers plenty of Aussie pub classics.

When ordering as well as our table number we were provided with a couple of rolls.

The bruschetta hit the spot for the other half.

I had the veggie burger which was sat on top of baby spinach, tomato and pickled cucumber, with cheese and guacamole up top. The upside down assembly and slightly dry bun made it tricky to eat, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The porterhouse came with a decent serving of chips and salad along with a very thick red wine jus. I

The meal came in around $45 with drinks extra, so pretty good for a pub meal these days. Harts isn't quite as old-school as the Buckingham used to be, but is still a great old suburban pub.

Bad Boys Melbourne

57 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000

Seeking a good spot for a quick lunch not far from the office we decided to try out Bad Boys, which occupies the spot on Punch Lane just behind 57 Lonsdale Street previously occupied by Piadina Slowfood and Satchmo's Den. I've seen it very busy here, especially on Fridays and days on which eating outside is a pleasant prospect, however it was a bit quieter on the Tuesday we visited.

With it being fairly chilly, we found ourselves spots inside after ordering at the counter. As the interior space is small, the layout hasn't changed much.

The decoration has been updated with a wall of superhero murals.

Linda thought about the Hell Boy special before deciding on the Cheesy Boy featuring a wagyu beef pattie, double cheese, gerkin and onion with tomato ketchup and mustard. It certainly looked like a good example of the classic cheeseburger and it seemed to be enjoyed.

I chose the 'Magic Mushroom' burger. The mushroom was stuffed with haloumi and feta before being crumbed which enhanced the flavour and ensured plenty of moisture. The rocket, caramelised onion and tomato relish rounded out the challengingly proportioned stack well. The only small negative was that the height made it a bit of a challenge to eat.

At $9.50 a burger or $15 for combo with a soft drink and chips Bad Boys offers decent value for some great burgers. I know where I'll be heading next time I fancy a burger near the office, and now I can see why people queue out the doors...

Royal Albert Hotel

140 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010

While visiting Sydney for work, a friend from school, Neil suggested meeting up at the Royal Albert Hotel on the corner of Commonwealth and Reservoir streets in Surry Hills.

It looks like a classic Sydney Hotel from outside and inside plenty of traditional touches remain. The bar taps though, with their selection of craft beers and distinct absence of modern Aussie standard brews are amongst the clues of recent changes. We didn't venture into the Bamboo Dumpling Bar, but did sample the Young Henrys Real Ale, which reminded me of the UK beer in a good way, and very appropriate for the occasion.

I decided to take a look at the burger menu, and decided on the soft shell crab. After a short wait it arrived with its asian 'slaw and wasabi mayo. The serve of crab was generous and the flavours worked nicely. The crinkle cut chips came with a red sauce, which in the dim light could have been tomato, fortunately I was warned about the spicy chilli before dipping!

A little later Neil went for the spiced up Royale with cheese featuring a Jalapeno mustard!

The burgers were around the $16 mark, and perhaps took a little longer than I'd expected to arrive, although the re were a good number of orders from the bar area, along with a reasonably busy sounding dumplings section. The bar staff were friendly and the vibe relaxed. The Royal Albert lives up to its billing as a crafty little corner joint and is well worth seeking out for the burgers as well as the beers.

Scorched Grill, Apollo Bay

135 Great Ocean Road
Apollo Bay
Victoria 3233

Scorched Grill is a new addition to the main strip of the Great Ocean Road through Apollo Bay, with a few seats outside...

... and plenty more inside.

The fit out is vibrant, modern and stylish, with a polished concrete floor and some great furniture.

The menu was burger focused, with a few hot dogs available too.

They are also licensed with a range of mostly craft beers.

The better half selected the 4 Pine Kolsch, but ended up favouring the Melbourne, so I got to enjoy the more hoppy flavours.

The Plain Jane is a pretty basic burger with the the patty accompanied by lettuce, tomato, ketchup and aioli. The brioche bun was on the sweet side and little dry too, there wasn't much sauce, so it didn't really live up to its good looks.

I went for the "meat free", which featured a panko crumbed field mushroom, along with cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles and onion jam. The flavours worked well together and the overall number of moist ingredients helped it deliver satisfying mouthfuls.

The large serve of shoestring style chips was big enough to share, and the fries ticked the crunchy, salty and soft in the middle boxes.

The service was fine and it didn't take too long from ordering at the counter to receiving our meals. With the two beers, the meal ended up coming in at over $50, which seems a lot for a burger based meal to me! I'm not sure that we'll be rushing back, but if we do, we'd focus on the more well endowed burgers.