Rain, Rain, Go Away.

Just in case this Melbourne rain is getting you down and weird (mostly talking to you Floridians) I thought I’d tell you about the sunniest, most Aussie day I’ve had yet. The day the pictures above were taken. And no, it wasn’t the Aussiest (this word may be made up) because I was showing my family around the CBD like a champ; it was because I selfishly suggested we have chips and beer for lunch.

“Chips and WHAT for WHAT?”, they cross-examined. They were confused for three reasons: 1) they thought I was talking about a bag of potato chips, 2) as a member of their family I should know that chips would not fill them up, and 3) chips/french fries are always on the ‘Sides’ section of a menu.

We were raised believing that chips only served the purpose of accompanying your main meal. That meal could be steak, a cheeseburger or a bland tuna sandwich  but chips should never, ever, try and upstage the meal.

“What was I thinking”, I wondered. I even did a little of, “Maybe I’m loosing my mind.”

Yea, right! The weather was perfect, those chips were great (and all gone), the aoli sause was impressive and the Coopers was refreshing. It just goes to show there’s nothing quite like spending a beautiful day in Melbourne being all Aussie and stuff.

So if you get a chance this weekend find yourself some Australian beer (Fosters doesn’t count, no one drinks it here.) and a delicious, salty, finger burning basket of chips! I suggest Little Creatures Beer Hall in Fitzroy – maybe I’ll see you there?

Happy Friday!

Huxtaburger and Denise // Melbourne

I’ve done it! I’ve found my favorite cheeseburger in all of Melbourne… well,  for the moment.

I’ve traveled through Melbourne often and far in search of a delicious, mouth watering burger. I’ve taken the tram, then train, the car and never a taxi, but I should have known – all I needed to do was walk. Huxtaburger is on Smith Street and Peel Street on the border of Fitzroy and Collingwood and about a 10 minute walk, 5 minute bike ride from my house. Bad or good? We’ll soon find out.

It’s a very small restaurant, but if you’re going down Smith Street you’ll easily spot it. They’ve got a great name and stand out theme colors. You may say something to yourself like, “Oh wow. That looks real yum. H-U-X-T-A-B-URGER. Can’t wait to go there.” It’s what I did last year before leaving to London* and look at me now!

Okay, okay, I’ll tell you about the actual hamburger. She’s called Denise (the hot one) (those parenthesis are not my own, they’re actually on the menu)(but she IS supppper hot!). She’s a Huxtaburger, meaning a beef pattie, mustard, mayo, tomato cause, cheese, lettuce and pickles, but for a dollar extra, Denise also comes with jalapenos and sriracha mayo. What a babe! The chipotle fries on the side are addictive because the seasoning is spicy as and who doesn’t love setting their mouth on fire. Everything comes so nicely packaged, I wanted to order more to see what other patterns they would used for serving. How adorable is the bucket of chips! That’s beside the point though. The points is: you have to go and tell me if you enjoy it as much as we do.

We went in the late afternoon and easily found a nice wooden table complete with red benches. But Jack told me it gets packed during lunch time, which I chose not to believe since I’m bitter about him going to Huxta and having HER without me. Either way, for the quality and prices (Denise is under 10 bucks!) I would ask a stranger to share a table with me any day.

*If you asked me for advice on planning a trip based solely on the consumption of one burger, I would most likely tell you about London’s El Chapo because 1) read this and 2) Denise tried to steal my boyfriend.  

Is there anyone else in the world that does this?

I knew my boyfriend was weird when we started dating, it’s half the reason why he’s my favorite person on the planet. But I didn’t catch on to his weird food habit until this summer. He does this thing with any and every plate that brings french fries as a side that freaks me out.

For example: He ordered a hamburger at Pub on the Park, and didn’t look at it or touch it until all of his french fries were gone. Even at McDonalds he does this. 

The worst part is that he’s so full by the time he gets to fixing up his burger that he only eats half of it and probably only because I tell him about the starving children in… everywhere. 

I’ve seen them scoff down a burger and never touch their fries, I’ve seen people put fries in their burgers, and I’ve witnessed people order fries only. I’ve never, EVER!, seen anyone make french fries a priority like him.

* these pictures were taken about 10 minutes apart. The fries were gone and the hamburger was still untouched by the time I was done with my meal.

Is there anyone else in the world that does this?

La Brasserie in Sydney, Australia

I’m a phenomenal Scramble with Friends player. I’m not being overly confident or cocky or anything. I just “practice” a lot. The only person who beats me 100% of the time is my boyfriend, Jack. He’s super fast moving his fingers, crazy creative with his words and unafraid of taking risks. He is unbeatable… until May 2th, 2012 that is: The day I finally annihilated him. Well I only beat him by 50 points, but it definitely counts because I still got my prize!

He never thought the day I beat him would come, so he swore to take me to dinner wherever I wanted, no questions asked, if it actually happened.  Needless to say, I’ve been training for a long time. I also hasn’t had a fat, juicy steak in a long time, so it was a coincidence these two happened at the same time. I had found the French restaurant La Brasserie during my time researching Sydney and automatically thought of it when I saw my winning number of 2386.

La Brasserie is a very cool spot in Darlinghurst. Well, I think it’s cool. It’s very dark and romantic as I imagine all French things to be. The waiters had heavy French accents, so much so every time we asked a question about the menu, we got an answer that had nothing to do with what we were asking. Jack even asked for a glass of wine, right after I did. The waiter smiled when he brought mine but Jack’s never came. I still wonder what he thought he heard Jack say.

The meal started with warm toasted bread while we searched the menu. I was dying to try their escargot, but I resisted. I was there for steak and steak would be had! I ordered the Steak Frites: Char grilled Sirloin with French Fries and Jack ordered the Entrecote Frites: Char grilled Scotch Fillet with French Fries, both medium rare.

If there is a meal that feels more celebratory than a steak, I have not had it. The peppery sauce went beautifully with both the french fries and steak. The steak passed the “The Test of S” I just made up: It was soft, savory and succulent. I truly could not stop grinning. I was so satisfied I barely felt full.

I would normally be embarrassed to post before and after pictures of a meal but finishing the steak from La Brasserie in honor of my win was a victory all on its own.

La Brasserie 

118 Crown Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010