Why is it that the best burger joints in Melbourne are just men’s names? You’ve got Danny’s in North Fitzroy, and Andrew’s in Albert Park, and both have excellent reputations. I finally got to try out the burgers at both and decide which for myself was the winner.

I love cheeseburgers, and fast food burgers are cardboard, let’s be honest. Being out and about late at night in the city, Danny’s is an excellent choice – not too far out of the city, has a lovely diner feel and the burgers are made with fresh buns, shredded lettuce and patties.

My dining partner’s burger of choice is the burger with the lot – cheese, tomato, egg, bacon. Often, several patties.

I ordered a cheeseburger at Danny’s but couldn’t get a photo that really captured its glory properly. But here’s one of their chips. We ate more than we should have, but they were just so good. It made The Age’s top ten list a while ago when they did a feature on the best chips in Melbourne.

The diner is really nice at Danny’s, but even though I’ve been in there several times of late, I don’t find the staff to be particularly friendly. However, their drawcard is they are open till 2am. If I’ve driven into the city for a gig and am feeling peckish after, guess where I end up!

Andrew’s shut at 9pm and when I went there, it was packed. There isn’t really anywhere to linger and sit. Albert Park is nowhere near where I live (whereas at least North Fitzroy isn’t too far) so it’s a little bit of a problem not having anywhere to eat my burger. We ended up across the road on a park bench.

Here’s my cheeseburger. Easily one of the best I’ve ever had. None of this plastic-tasting cheese business. The meat patty and cheese together was so satisfying – more flavoursome than Danny’s.

The burger with the lot is fantastic. Delicious meat patties and fresh, flavoursome ingredients. You don’t need to add extra condiments. The chips, however, were absolutely awful – they were very dry and tasted old. I rarely throw food away, but these were turfed on account of how bad they were.

By an inch, I would declare Andrew’s as serving the superior burger. Proximity and the late night opening means that I would most likely frequent Danny’s. However, you can’t be disappointed by either when in the mood for a good old-fashioned (non-gourmet) burger.