Chuck Wagon

With Adelaide’s heavy burger scene, and with what feels like endless options, Chuck Wagon definitely stands out, not only for the Americana food but the distinct look it’s created for itself.  Even before you walk in, your eyes are treated to a barrage of superhero/fandom statues, drawings, pictures and posters from the ground to the ceiling, literally.  As well as coming for food and/or a hefty milkshake, there are sights to behold.  I didn't take photos so you'll have to go look for yourselves... or google it.

In truth, we’ve been to Chuck Wagon a few times, and by we, I mean I had been once before and Paul has to hold himself back from going every week.  Paul has a friend who got him (us, totally us) a voucher for Chuck Wagon and needing no convincing, we were on our way (thanks Amanda!).  

The menu is so vast I was in a daze when it came to order.  Last time I was in this situation I had people to guide me through it.  And it’s easy when you know what you feel like, but seriously, 18 burgers to choose from, or wings, hot dogs, pizza fries, nachos, sides or how about one of their 11 different desserts on offer?  I mean come ON.  I am so indecisive with food, my FOMO is real.

The onion rings were obviously a goer, there was no question on that one.  I had already checked them out on Instagram and they looked all kinds of deep fried crunchy.  And Paul’s go to is sweet potato fries, so sides were sorted before we even got there.  I thought I was going to get the royale with cheese, I was sure of it, pretty much until we ordered and then out of my mouth came grilled cajun chicken.  Paul was having withdrawals from his favourite and ordered the Piglet.

The onion rings - guys - they are the best flipping rings I’ve had.  They’re not battered, but crumbed.  Delicious and crispy and just URGH perfect.  I swear they double coat them or double fry.  There’s some kind of extra trick to their trade.  Sweet potato fries also delicious.  But the onion rings.  Cake taken.  

These burgers were huge.  I was stuck in a mess because my burger was SO juicy that I wanted to put it down to clean up my covered hands, but because I had two hands-ed it everything dripped and the plate was literally wet, I thought I was going to look up and see some kids eating corn on the roof.  I would seriously consider asking for a side plate next time, one to eat over and one to put the burger down on when you need a time out.  

While the taste factor was incredible, I won’t lie, these aren’t my favourite burgers.  They were big, messy, and the bun went soggy.  I prefer that kind of smaller, less is more type that is going around at places like Nordburger and Burger Boss, but the Chuck Wagon burgers are the ones for Paul.  I will definitely go back to Chuck Wagon to try some of the pizza fries on offer, or the mac and cheese (with bacon) or even some ribs. 

Exciting news though - I’ve created my perfect trifecta.  Chuck Wagon onion rings, Nordburger burger, and Burger Boss special fries.  Now if these guys could get together and either open a shop together or open some near each other so I can collect my goods without the others getting cold, that would really help a gal out.  

 

Lucky Lupitas

News that devastated southern Adelaide, particularly Flinders Uni students (from what I hear) was the same news that made my stomach sing.  Lucky Lupitas was coming to my end of town, albeit, for a limited time only.  I’d heard of this place time and time again, so when those mexican delights were dangled in my reach, we hot footed our way there.  

Their temporary restaurant is on O’Connell street, but as soon as you walk through that door you could not be taken further away.  They’ve gone for the warehouse feel and have nailed it.  From the high beamed ceiling, to the ply wood tables and benches, right down to the copious stocks of tomatoes, tequila and beer on the restaurant floor.  It was a very different look and vibe from any other place I had been on O’Connell and I loved it.

Recently I saw a movie that immediately became my all-time favourite.  It’s called Chef, and it was the most upbeat, feel good, food porn frenzy of a movie I have ever seen.  It’s filled with a build up and background of cuban music that just makes you want to move.  It was also filled with food.  So much food.  Two days later I walked into Lucky Lupitas and they were playing tunes so similar that I didn’t stand a chance, I was smitten.  All the feelings that incredible film gave me transferred to this restaurant that I had been waiting for.

The Elote (grilled corn on the cob) was hands down the best damn corn I have ever had.  All warm and grilled to perfection, covered in cheese, maaaaaan.  I took one bite and pretty sure I blacked out for a second, because all of a sudden it was all gone.  If we hadn’t already ordered a stack of other food I would have asked for more.

We then went for the taco de pollo (slow cooked chicken and slaw) and taco de carne (braised beef).  These we shared, but I liked the beef better and Paul preferred the chicken, so it ended up more of a 70-30 split for each.  Which by the way, is a really difficult split to do when you’ve been handing back and forth packed to the brim, juicy tacos.  If anyone knows of a “clean” way to eat tacos, could you please let me know?  Because I ended up with a fallen apart taco all over my plate/the table, and my hands covered in juices (yes, I read that sentence, and yes, I’m sticking by it because I can’t think of another way to describe it).  

taco de pollo

taco de carne

I had heard of many a great burger here, which was intriguing.  It made me wonder what a mexican burger tastes like?  I was expecting a tex mex kind of thing with maybe corn chips and guac or something on there, like when you order a mexican schnitzel, but this burger had a bit of chilli powder, a bit of cumin, and a whole lot of something else that I couldn’t be more specific about.  It was really tasty, but not my kind of personal taste.  Whatever, it was half a burger and you know damn well I ate my whole half.  

Last but certainly not least was the quesadilla de hongo y frijoles.  That’s basically a mushroom quesadilla for those of you playing at home.  Unluckily for us, it was the last thing to come out so I was absolutely stuffed by the time we got to it.  I ate it, obviously, but it was a bit of a struggle.  Mushrooms are kind of a new thing for me, I’ve only introduced them to my stomach in the last 6 months or so.  Just one of those things that as a kid I hated and never gave them another go… but I’m glad I changed my tune.  Like everything else that Lucky Lupitas provided, the quesadilla was so full of flavour!  Every bite you could taste everything together and everything individually too.  The jalapenos in it proved a little much for me, my mouth was on fire, but like a superstar I pushed through.  10/10 would eat again.

Aside from the food, the service was stellar.  Our waiter seemed genuinely happy to have a chat with us, and all the staff were attentive.  To top it all off, it was incredibly priced.  We had all food mentioned, plus some rice and a drink each for $62.  For me, it without doubt lived up to the hype.

 

Burger Boss

Here’s a New Year’s Resolution from me to you.  I will bring one post a month to the table.  I struggle writing this blog, I just don’t make the time for it like I used to, but one thing hasn’t changed - I love food. 

I was thinking of starting this post how the rest of them usually go.. “This isn’t just a burger blog.. BUT”.  You know what though?  No reasoning.  I just really fucking love burgers.  I love everything about them.  They fall under one umbrella of “burger”, but shit, have you ever sat down and really thought about just how diverse the burger is?  There’s something for everyone (except the gluten intolerant… sorry guys (though I’m pretty sure most joints will help you out too)).  Chicken?  No worries.  Spicy?  No worries.  Vegetarian?  Noooo worries.  Double meat, extra cheese, hold the onion, add a hash brown?  No. Worries.  They’re a beautiful, delicious, mood-curing, two-hands-to-understand ball of happiness.  So here, have another post about a damn burger.

I have a friend named Jess, and I respect her food opinion a lot, I really don’t doubt a suggestion she makes.  So when she suggested Burger Boss all it took was teeing up a time.  We were going to be cute and double date night with our partners, but decided we were pretty damn cute on our own, and so we made our way to Burger Boss on Boxing Day.  Luckily the place was actually open (we didn’t think the public holiday thing through much), and took a comfy seat in the red and yellow diner.  

There’s pretty much no better time to get around some cheesed up fries and burgers than just before 1 January.  That’s what the week between Christmas and New Years is all about isn’t it?  Getting as many calories into your body as possible until you feel the pressure (from both society and your now figure hugging clothes) and have to start being healthy?  Yeah, nailed it.  

Their motto?  Eat Like a Boss.  That may just be a motto I take with me for the rest of my life.  Jess said we had to get the Boss Fries, then she opted for the vegetarian Boss Single and I got the Standard Single.  Just FYI, their vegetarian burger replaces the meat with not a veggie patty, not a mushroom, but two freaking hash browns.   TWO HASH BROWNS.  

The boss fries - cheese, caramelised onion and secret sauce.  Secret sauce that tastes exactly like big mac sauce.  Shhhhhiiiiit.  I asked if we should order a fries each and both the man serving us and Jess said “no, definitely not”.  My god, I was excited.  

If I went again I would get the Boss Single because it would be like having the boss fries but on the burger.  It’s 2.0.  In saying that, you could just have a DIY party and put the fries on the burger yourself… But you get what I’m saying.  The fries were so good I would consider going back just for those.  The burger was extremely tasty.  

Not quite as (I’m going to say the word everyone has something against) moist as a few other burgers I’ve had - like at Nordburger and Burgastromony - there was no juices dripping out of the patty and running down my hands, but I’m in no way saying that in a bad way.  It was good clean fun.  The bun was soft, the lettuce was crisp, and I was very, very happy eating it.  

Jess said they’re pretty much the same as In n Out Burger, and while I’ve never had it, if I’m judging a book by its cover I would be inclined to believe her.  Why would Jess lie?  She’s an angel and knows that we never, ever tell tales about food.  

If you like burgers, like era diners, and love fries, get yourself to Burger Boss.  Now.

 

A Hereford Beefstouw

I hadn’t heard of A Hereford Beefstouw, ever.  I feel like I’ve eaten at/heard of a lot of places, but as I’m finding out I have barely skimmed the surface.  It makes me really appreciate Adelaide.  I just love food, I love that we have so much of it.  

Facebook showed me the way here, advertising a lunch special - 2 for 1 cheeseburgers.  Obviously I was making that happen.  It was a picture perfect, sunny warm day with a light breeze so just when you were getting a bit too heated mother nature was there to cool you on down… so we sat outside on the crafty wooden chairs at the heavy wooden table and basked.  And basked some more.  And then got so hungry our conversation ended and would re-start with “oh my god I’m so hungry”.  As is standard.  Obviously, our meals eventually made their way out to us, and it really wasn’t a long wait, but my stomach had already making noise for a couple of hours before lunch.  

….Moving on. 

You know those people that just load everything with tomato sauce?  Just pile it on up with no regard for whether anyone else wants the sauce because that amount of sauce is just what’s necessary for your meal?  And without fail, there’s always a father figure somewhere nearby that has to remark “did you want any food with your sauce” and chuckles.  My life, guys.  I seriously butter up some toast and then put tomato sauce on it.  For a long time I didn’t know what a condiment was - tomato sauce was just part of the meal, right?

My point is.  Hereford do not have sauce on their cheeseburgers.  I KNOW RIGHT!!!  Of all the burgers, you would think the cheeseburger is the one with the sauce.  And here’s the big news - it was so good, I didn’t even ask for it.  Actually, they just gave us some anyway on the side with our house-made fries (which were crunchy and soft in all the right places, by the way) and I didn’t add it.  The burger held it’s own.  It was luscious and juicy and didn’t start falling apart till right near the end.  The bun still didn’t get soggy.  

The sauce they did have - now that was a secret sauce.  When my Mum eats out somewhere and has something she really likes, she has a habit of deconstructing it as she eats it so she can attempt to create it at home (something she absolutely nails, might I add).  I was wishing she was there to try and work this puzzle piece sauce out.  It was creamy and zingy and seemed like it might of had a bit of ahhhh something you know that ummm kind of tasted like…  That was me not being able to work it out at all.  Anyway, we asked the chef because even Paul was wanting to know (did I ever mention he found a recipe for Big Mac sauce and it tastes exactly like it?  Form a line, ladies!) and were very surprised the ingredients in it made such a delectable, oozy goodness.

If you want to know those secret ingredients, I suggest you get your butts into that fancy establishment (eating the burger with your hands is still acceptable - not that fancy) and try it.  Unfortunately they only do the burgers Monday - Friday on their lunch menu, but as the name would suggest, they specialise in steak, steak, steak for all those other times. 

American Cupcake Diner

You know those light bulb moments?  Those moments where you’re ticking along having a nice ol’ chat and suddenly realise “….Oh” and that light just pops on?

We went out to American Cupcake Diner with a couple of friends, Jess and Matt, who had recommended it, and I quickly realised that they recommended it on very good experience.  It felt like every time I mentioned something “oh maybe I’ll get the…” it was followed by YES THAT’S AWESOME but try it with the waffle fries, or yeah it comes in a double stack, or you have to get the chilli cheese fries jumbo pack chicken sour cream mexican fiesta hat.  You get the drift.  

It did not take long for me to feel like we were noobs dining with seasoned veterans (there’s the lightbulb I mentioned earlier).  I would liken to if I was to brag to someone in Anonymous about the fact I found some guys ABN once.   Except there was no bragging just recommendations.  Perhaps not the best comparison but hopefully you catch on. 

Please don’t confuse the tone of this.  It was 10/10 RAD getting to go with people who could tell us ideas, the menu was so huge and it all looked so good and deep fried and I wanted everything all at once.  Seriously, the menu is HUGE.  Not like a yeah girl it’s totally 8 inches kind of way, but in a very true you’ll need a wheelchair type way.  I could go back there another 10 times and still not have tried half of it.  The variation of burgers, hotdogs, mexican styles and desserts was epic.  Some might say there was too much.   I wouldn’t, but there are some crazy people out there. 

They are great for vegetarians too with their vegedogs and vegepatties.  Matt we were with is a vegetarian and opted for a mexican chilli dog - I’m pretty sure that’s what this is…

I was assured it tastes better than it looks.  I had a photo of him two-hands-ing it but thought our friendship wasn’t strong enough to put that kind of thing on the world wide web yet.  Jess had a burrito which looked super tasty but was devoured before an appropriate photo opp.

I got - seriously hold onto your hats here guys - a burger.  I can hear your gasps from here, please, control yourselves.  Paul also got - yep you guessed it - a burger.  We had to keep it fried so I got cheese fries and he got onion rings to accompany the monster burgers.  The store was nearly empty so I did eat the burger with my hands and watch it slowly fall apart as I tried to eat it with increasing speed.  I know, I know, I would have eaten it that way even if the place was full but hey I felt better that no one had to see it. 

As is unfortunately standard for me, I was well past full… and then we got dessert.  A wise man once said - YOLO.

Mmmm deep fried twinkie

One more thing I will mention is - the food was not the quickest coming out.  If you’re looking for some fast food diner experience I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’ve got some time to spend and are looking for a good burger/deep fried errthang experience, I would definitely check it out. 

Nordburger

Alright, I know we kind of go on… and on and on and on… about burgers.  We're not a burger blog, and I know every post we do is "oh my god the best burger EVER" … BUT it's not our fault.  The way I see it is, Adelaide is stepping up to the bar, the burger bar, that is.

See what I did there?

So when you've recovered from your fit of giggles at my witty humour, I need to tell you, we've found the best burgers EVER.  Everyone likes their burger a bit different I figure.  Some like that glossy, smooth bun, some like the classic sesame seed buns.  Some want a big patty that you can't fit your mouth around, some like it like a good old fashioned pub burger and some are crazy about the trendy american burgers that are taking over our city.

I don't have a preference personally, because i'm a guts and will eat anything at least once - and I won't stop if I like it!  I'm eating Honey Soy Chicken chips as I write this - I dare you to stop yourself eating those, for me its near impossible. 

I'd been hearing and seeing so much about Nordburger on Urbanspoon, Facebook, blogs and from word of mouth.  I couldn't get it out of my head, but I didn't head there right away because there really have been so many burger bars popping up around the place, I didn't really think too much of it.  If only I had known what was waiting for me on the Parade my golly I would have been there weeks sooner.

Situated on the corner of that little area of shops on the Parade - I think there's a Coles near there and diagonally across from Hoyts (I would google maps it rather than follow my incredible description) it's in a nice little spot for a nice little store.  And it is small.  Be warned, there is no toilet there.  I had to use the bathroom and the public ones were locked and I had to go pretend to be lost/looking for my friends while I went into the Cibo one across the road.  If you're not scared of potentially being told off then you'll have no worries.

Anyway, nice little store.  The place was so simple I fell in love with it.  A long bar and a few seats (which we were lucky enough to score).  You could see everything that was happening and the cooks were so methodical it was an art.  Each burger had the same amount of sauce and toppings, you knew you were going to be happy.   And it was neat.  Perfectly neat.

I got a cheeseburger, and the patty reminded me a lot of a Hungry Jack's cheeseburger, it had that delicious flame grilled flavour that just made your mouth water before during and after each bite.  Just the right amount of mustard and sauce, it was heaven in a bun (the bun was super soft but held everything together without going soggy - bliss!)

Paul had the portobello mushroom burger which surprised me, but he ate it so quickly and silently that it indicated it was just as tasty.  We shared a fries and had a milkshake each, I had strawberry and Paul had caramel.  I don't usually get milkshakes but I felt like getting wild and it was well worth it, though I assume its pretty hard to mess up flavouring and milk.

The fries were okay on their own but I would absolutely recommend getting dipping sauce with them, it just tops the whole thing off.  It takes them from a 6 to an 8 in a blink.  Did I mention Paul went and got another burger to eat on the way home too?  Because they were just so damn good, though after the milkshake I was well fine with just the one.

I haven't been back since our glorious journey about a month ago, but Paul definitely has and he gets 2 burgers every time.  It's not that they're not filling, because they are, it's because they're ridiculously good and tasty and leave you wanting more.

Paul's second burger - car edition

If you ever go there and aren't happy, you're wrong.

The Curious Squire

It could be said that this blog as been on somewhat of a hiatus.  It's not that I haven't been thinking about it - or that we haven't been eating out, to be honest I've probably just been a bit lazy.  Anyway, during this time we have been to the Curious Squire a couple of times... 

Our first time was after Paul had picked me up from after work Friday night drinks and I had been nibbling away even though I knew we were going out for dinner… if there's tasty food in front of me it takes more self control than I have to turn it down!  So when we went there all I got was some onion rings (because I loooooove me some onion rings!)… oh.  And I got a dessert.  Of course.

Paul got a BBQ chicken pizza (which I had a slice of and it was bloody amazing) and for dessert we got a chocolate fudge sundae… each.  I didn't think anything of it really, my thoughts were more yes yum sundae uurrghh delicious I'm not even hungry but chocolate mmm.  Alarm bells should have rung when the girl taking our order confirmed with us twice that we were ordering a sundae each.  At the time, I didn't think anything of it.

When our onion rings and pizzas were done and the sundae's came out I realised "oh, these things are huge… and look at that, they each come with two spoons".  They each come with two spoons.  I guess that's why the girl wanted to be sure we were getting one each.  I mean, she could have said, just so you know they're big and usually shared between two people… but she didn't.  Instead she chose to reiterate the point she never made by having them still come out with two spoons.  Please don't read this in the wrong tone, it might sound a little mad, but I'm not at all.  We were both crying from laughter at our piggishness.  And lets be perfectly honest… if she had told us, we probably would have got one each anyway.  

So to set the scene - there we are at our table surrounded by people with a half finished pizza, drinks, finished onion rings and two biiiiiiig sundaes… and four spoons.  We looked a little part funny but I didn't care because I was in my happy place.  Surrounded by delicious food and my favourite boy. 

Our second time was on an empty stomach so I had all the more room to fill, and this time I filled it with a burger.  A cheeseburger to be exact.  A cheesy, tasty, mouthwatering, can't-talk-eating, burger.  This thing was on par with Burger Theory.  The glazed bun and the perfect patty, holy moly I loved it.  Paul had the "Sliders Trio" which was one of each angus beef, wild boar and chicken parmy.  A mans platter.  We didn't over do it this time... because after dinner we made our way down to dairy bell and had to save room!

There are so many things on the Curious Squire menu that I want to try it's a sure thing we'll be back there! 

Burger Foundry

A long time ago a friend told us we HAD to get to Burger Foundry, and it had been one of those that had been in the back of my mind for awhile but we had never gotten to (like so many other places – Adelaide simply has too many options!)

We were both already hungry when we decided to make the move and head to Magill where Burger Foundry is, and I thought I’d better check to see if you need to make reservations (which you don’t because as I found out they mostly do take away). It was about a half hour drive for us to get to Magill so as you can imagine both our stomachs were rumbling by the time we got there. My first thought when we arrived (after driving around, up and down side streets to get a park) was no wonder you don’t need to make reservations – the place has two four seater tables and a few chairs for those waiting for their orders. I felt like such a noob for trying to make a reservation – clearly going to trendy eateries has not rubbed off on me!

It took me awhile to decide what I wanted, not because I couldn’t find something I liked the sound of… it was more that I was at that hungry point where everything looks like roast chickens dancing around and I wanted one of each burger. Eventually I decided on the Rocky Mountain High which was a house-made beef patty, mesclun greens (I still have no idea what “mesclun” is, but it looked and tasted like lettuce to me), caramelised onion, bacon and cheese (naturally, I got some tomato sauce added on there too). 

Before you read on, I would like to point out that a lot of people love this place. They get take away, they eat in, they go back again and again.

Paul ordered the Jamaican Jerk which had spicy caribbean thigh fillet chicken, mesclun greens, tomato and mango salsa.

I wasn’t impressed. We ordered and were told they had run out of fries. That’s cool, I could see the guy making the burgers and they were pretty big – we wouldn’t need the fries anyway. Then we were told it would be about a 30 minute wait. Well, we’d already paid and weren’t about to leave without trying these bloody burgers, so we waited. We went for a walk and found an amazing little Mexican street-food place which I would have rather been eating at, but shortly returned to Burger Foundry because it was cold and windy and I was wearing a dress (clever). 

While I was ever so patiently waiting for our burgers (taking care not to start chewing on my arm), I watched them at work. The guy making the burgers does every single one with such care and precision I had to appreciate it. They only had one guy grilling out the back, one putting them together and one girl (who appeared very new, quiet, and nervous) taking the orders - not that that really mattered... we all start new and nervous at some point in our lives.

So after a solid 45 minute wait, I was hungry and frustrated and when we FINALLY got our burgers what could have been a really lovely tasty experience was kind of ruined for me.   I ate in anger, which I assure you is not a pretty sight.   I was grumpy and taking bites out of this thing in my hands like it had kicked my dog (I don't actually have a dog... I'm just trying to make a point).

Hunger anger for me, unfortunately, is a common occurrence.  Perhaps not common, but its not unheard of.  My parents used to make a joke that if I was in a bad mood they just needed to throw some food at me (har har), so Paul still very much enjoyed his burger and would definitely go there again (just not with me because this experience has ruined the place for me). 

Second the best...

I know it seems we've been slack, either not writing or not date nighting, although I'm sure there's few of you out there that couldn't blame us - the silly season will be silly! 

As much as I love using date night as an excuse to try new places and discover new foods, what's the point of finding these delicious delights if we don't get to go back because we're already off to the next place?  And I know there's 7 nights in a week so why don't we go another night you say - but all our other nights are taken already and also we don't have endless funds. 

Anyway, as it has happened towards the end of last year we had unintentionally been revisiting old favourites.  "Old" favourites being Devour Dessert Bar (their menu had changed a bit so obviously we had to get back there), Paesano and TGI Fridays.  My goodness did I have a good time!

Devour happened when we were sitting at home on a Sunday night, not hungry enough to cook dinner (or too lazy…) and I was doing what I do best, sitting at my computer browsing the internet.  Up from somewhere comes a picture of a tasty looking dessert and in a heartbeat I was out of my pyjamas and into my "I can eat as much dessert as I want because I haven't had dinner" clothes.  

If you recall our previous visit, you'll know that I tried my very first soufflé… and my very last.  While I knew it was not to my liking, I also knew it was no ones fault but my own - try something new, she said, it'll be fun, she said!  So this time I was sticking to what I knew (or had heard, seen and smelt) was damn good.  Chocolate filled cinnamon donuts with raspberry sauce and honeycomb ice-cream.  

I enjoy food.  I enjoy it a lot.  But it is rare that I find something so mind-blowing and tastebud tantalising that my eyes light up and a big goofy smile forms across my face for the entire time I eat (trust me, not a great look.. especially when you're eating chocolate).  I mean the entire time.  I was making those embarrassing "oohhhhhhh my goodness this is SO good" words and the "mmmmmMMMMMm!!!" noises that go with it.  I've heard of a couple of people being a little disappointed at Devour because it's a small menu, but I think I would always manage to find something I liked there (even if it didn't give me the same… experience… as the donuts).  Everyone needs to try this place, even if it's just once!

Paesano, another spur of the moment date night.  We were out late (well, late for us - it was 8.30pm and we still hadn't had dinner - the silly season!) on a Sunday and we both had work the next day.  We were in town and took a stroll along O'Connell Street as we have done so many times before.  Not a lot of places were still serving food - but Paesano was.  It was comfortable, I had enjoyed it last time and was confident I would again… hopefully Paul would avoid spilling coffee all over himself this time, hehe. 

I stayed safe with what I knew and had the calzone I had last time - I am happy to say it held up!  I know it should be expected that when you order the same meal at the same restaurant that it would be the same, but from previous experience that's not always the case.  The service was good, we had a lovely waitress and the food (as I've said) was really good.  It's just a nice and easy place to go back to. 

Our most recent second visit was to TGI Friday's.  It's terrible how much I enjoy this place… and how much I enjoy stuffing my face with their flame grilled tasty burgers.  We'd just seen a movie in the morning at Gold Class (spoilt!) and obviously haaaaaad to go to TGI's while we were at Marion.  Their menu had changed ever so slightly, but just enough that I had to search and read descriptions of the burgers to remember which one I got, which didn't work because I really could not remember.  Regardless, I got a burger.  A bacon cheeseburger to be exact.  

I won't lie, it wasn't the over-the-top "can't talk - eating/can't put burger down because I need to eat more as soon as this mouthful is swallowed or maybe even before that" experience I had last time, but to be fair - my expectations were set pretty high.  This cheeseburger didn't have any tomato sauce on it, which was fine because there was some on the table… but you know how when they put the sauce on the bun and by the time the meal gets to you the sauce is the same temperature as the burger?  Yeah I like that, but when you put it on yourself its so noticeable and cold, it's just something I don't like.  And you can't ask them to put the sauce on because its at the table already.  

The onion rings blew my miiiiind - and went so well with the sauce that Paul got with his chicken tenderloins (oh yeah, we ordered a bit).  Paul didn't talk while he was eating his pasta and described it as "really really good" haha.  I won't lie, I didn't enjoy it as much as last time.  I'm not sure what was different, I really do think the different burger made a difference, but it doesn't really matter.  We still have vouchers for Gold Class but I think I've had my TGI fix, I'll be trying somewhere new next time!

TGI Fridays

I just don't even know where to start and finish with this one.  I'd heard of TGI's a fair bit from a few people but have never thought to look it up or ask what it's like.  Just accepted that it was awesome and we should go there.  We saw a voucher for it while flicking through the entertainment book, it was for 30% off I think and it seemed like a good deal, because I want as much $$ off as I can get! Nothing wrong with being a little cheap :) 

In Australia there's a fair few in Melbourne and one in Adelaide.  Good ol' Adelaide.  That one is in Marion which for us in the hood (the north eastern hood that is) it's a bit of a trip (not really, but a little bit).  Paul picked me up from work and we were on our way on a chilly Friday night.  I had looked up the place during the day at work and my jaw dropped at the menu.  AMERICANA.  Burgers burgers steak ribs potato jackets steak DEEP FRIED EVERYTHING.  I didn't see onion rings on the menu which I was super disappointed about.  And I was glad we had our voucher because while it wasn't ridiculously expensive, it was a bit more than we had on a standard date night. 

Neither of us have reeeeeally frequented around the Marion shopping centre, and frankly to me it's a bit intimidatingly big.  I've never really made an effort to go there except to get to the all you can eat Pizza Hut (the things I do for food) and even that's on the outside.

SO we drove around the giant shopping centre for a little while trying to find where it was.  Called to find out where and they started naming what they were near.  Not sure why I called really because I was just doing the ol' "ohh yep yep okay great thanks we'll see you soon"… I had no idea where they were still but I didn't want them to judge my lack of knowing where things are. 

We got there.  It was normal for about 5 seconds then it was just loud noises (Anchorman, anyone?).  But not like yelling across the table at each other loud, just constant noise.  There was a lot of people around the bar and it took me a little bit to realise that people just go there to drink on Fridays (or other days I assume but for the fun of it lets say Fridays).  We sat down and got introduced to our waitress and ordered drinks.  Standard stuff.  All of a sudden a bell starts going.  Not like a door bell.  Like a clangy WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING THERE'S A FIRE hand held sounding bell (held into a microphone and turned up).  Then someone starts yelling something and everyone at the bar cheers and then it's back to normal.  We were obviously the only first timers there because I didn't see anyone else flinch (or get on their knees on their chair to look around and see what was happening/try to take photos "subtly" like I did).  

We got to order our meals before the bell started again, and still again I had to look around then look back at Paul like LOL are you even hearing/seeing what's happening right now?!  I still looked each time it went off as if that would help me understand.  It didn't.  If you're looking for a romantic night out where you can be cute and look into each others eyes do not come here.  

I started with potato jackets which I wasn't that keen on.  I think they were deep fried maybe and they just tasted weird, so I ate the healthiest bit (the cheese and bacon, obviously) with a bit of the potato that didn't taste all fried.  I'm sure that's the exact thing some people go nuts over, just wasn't for me.  When I was debating whether to get chicken wings or the jackets I asked our waitresses advice and she said if you like spicy things go for the wings.  I don't so I didn't, but for those of you out there that do - get them and tell me how they are!

I'm sorry to be crass, but FUCK the potato jackets.  Forget them and never think about them again.  I had the best goddamn burger of my life (not comparative to Burger Theory because it's different).  If you like the flame grilled perfection that is a Hungry Jacks whopper you will LOVE the cheeseburger at TGI's.  Because - yeah you better believe it - it  tastes like a bigger, better but very similar version of a whopper.  Oh my lordy.  The thing was in my hands (another similarity - it takes two hands to understand!) the entire time I was eating it, which embarrassingly enough was not a very long time at all.  I didn't touch the fries, I didn't need them.  I was so completely fulfilled by the burger I'm lucky it wasn't bigger because I would have eaten it all regardless.  I didn't even offer to share any, but Paul seemed pretty caught up in his ribs so I don't feel all bad. 

Even though I was so full from the burger (and the potato jackets) I think I was so caught up in coming somewhere that we wouldn't usually go that I wanted to "make the most of it".  So I did what any binge eater would do - I ordered more food.  Granted, we did order it a solid 15 minutes after our mains got taken away.

Dessert.  We didn't go all out crazy and get one each.  We did however, get the biggest dessert they had on the menu… What of it?  It had rich chocolate cake, vanilla and chocolate ice-cream, cream, strawberries, rich chocolate fudge sauce aaaaaand a curly wirly.  Talk about mind-blowing sugar overload.  

It was so good I didn't know what to do with myself.  I was so full I was about to explode but I didn't have enough self control to stop.  Really, I think it's actually some kind of issue but for my tastebuds it's fantastic.  We ate as much as we could, then the iced mocha that Paul had ordered and forgotten about came out.  It was a "well, you're paying for it so you should probably at least drink some of it" kind of situation.  I genuinely felt a little bad for him, because watching him drink it made me feel sick with fullness and I couldn't imagine how stretched his poor belly must be.   But like the man that he is, he drank it.  

It all came to about $94 I think, but with the voucher it was only $60 something, which was a huge discount to us and much appreciated by our bank accounts.  So car ride home I had to unzip myself and didn't talk a lot.  It was a bad move on my part eating so much, but looking back I had no regrets.

I would love to go to TGI's again, I think i'd just stick to the burger though.  And maybe with more of a group to appreciate the loud noisy crowd vibe.  Two enthusiastic thumbs up.