Welcome to the new and exciting blog series from your friends at Eat, Drink, Stagger. Well, new, at the least.
Why am I not surprised that something so logical and simple took me so long to think of — perform a blanket review of all* eateries around my workplace (South Melbourne) on a weekly basis. To start with, I reviewed Relish, an old favourite that I’ve be going to for far longer than I’ve been an obnoxious foodie type. Back to the beginning.
Eat the burger then chips?
Eat the chips then burger?
Eat some of chips and some of the burger?
Sauce with your chips? Beside the chips? On the chips?
Mind. Blown.
The combinations are endless. The existential nausea is…nauseating.
Personally, I like to eat my chips first, then the burger. I sauce them up and then dig in. My theory is that chips are best eaten hot and crisp while their oily texture is an assest rather than an encumbrance.
Of course, this leaves me with a cold burger. Nobody’s perfect.
Daniel, my co-worker and burger buddy isn’t shackled to any particular burger-chip ideology. He is happy eating burger then chips, chips then burger and everything in between. Oh, to be free and easy.
Before you even get to these life changing decisions, you must order. Sacré bleu!
Fortunately my dining companion and I can rarely pass up the special of the day — usually a burger, chips and drink combo. If you do decide to stray from the specials board (heaven forbid!), you’ll find all the standard cafe fare of focaccias, wraps et al. They also do a decent coffee, using Coffee Supreme.
The vast majority of the burgers share a common ingredient, relish (hence the cafe’s name). I had thought it a needless point of difference from other burgers and other burger joints — a nod to the name without any real thought. Then, on my last visit a change in the relish of Relish (ha!). The relish had improved. Either that, or my affinity for the preserved has strengthened. Whatever the reason, I found the relish delicious. Marmaladesque with a lovely smoky flavour.
If you’re looking for a burger hit in South Melbourne, and want something other than Grill’d, give Relish a look.
* Given that I am a man of limited resources, I will by necessity restrict my reviews to the more interesting places. Shame, I was really looking forward to reviewing the Coffee Club.
Wow. Looks amazing. And I understand the chips/burger conundrum – I usually just go back and forth between the two every few bites!
The beauty of carting a DSLR around! I lie, they are attractive burgers.
I’m glad it’s the big issues that keep us up at night :p
I generally go with the burger then the chips as I prefer to fill myself up with burger and then pick at the chips though this can be problematic if the chips are amazing (like last night, where the parma’s accompanying fries were rad and normally I eat the parma, salad then the chips. Breaking free!).
I like to eat the burger first and then the chips. Afterall the burger is the main event and the chips are just the sideshow. I prefer cold chips to a cold burger.
The eternal question: The burger or the fries first. I start with the fries, abandon them mid way and then go on to the burger. Lovely post. Beautifully photographed.
i always thought it was required to put the chips in the burger and enjoy the perfect union of the 2
You didn’t mention the friendly service and the fact they don’t get my order wrong every time like Grill’d does, which are both pluses. Also, thanks, now you are going to make me think about what order I eat things in.
Lol I toggle. Chips first then abit of burger, then chips, then burger, then chips…! 😀 But I eat so fast that nothing gets cold. Ha ha! I’ll want to try Relish when I’m next in Sth Melb. Thanks for reviewing.
@Apex @qtfan @Graeme @Fatbooo I can see the chip ‘n’ burger debate is still going strong.
@Daniel you’re right! Our good friend John (or ‘John’ as he is known to his friends) is a wonderfully friendly fellow. I’m not quite sure if the tag of ‘local’ is appropriate for a cafe come burger joint, but he certainly makes me feel like one.
Ar yes… good old relish… the risotto is good too!
I love chips, hot and fresh is a must. But then what if I can’t fit the burger in? Well I figure half or so before while they’re nice and hot and the rest if you can fit them in once the burger is gone.
Here, I’ve been to the Coffee Club in South Melbourne, let me review it for you. Coffee – palatable if nowhere else is open, service acceptable if slightly unenthusiastic, food is probablly only suited to business types without interest in food beyond fuel and Mums who need somewhere to gasbag to friends over gossip magazines and skinny mochas with a babycino. A bit more upmarket feeling than the regular coffee chains. No minimum EFTPOS though, which can come in handy.