Laurie Dee's - Epping, Victoria

"There is no sincerer love, than the love of food"

Bernard Shaw

When I approach the carpark at Epping Plaza there are a number of classic movie scenes that I am reminded of. No I don't mean the scene when Marty Mcfly skates up to Twin Pines. It's more like the scene in Cobra when Stallone pulls into the carpark in his 1950 Mercury custom. You know the scene when he pops out of a freezer, mist bellowing behind him and then you think hang on, how did he get in the freezer to begin with?
You're not picturing it yet? OK, try the scene from Boyz N' The Hood when they all chillin' in they 64's and then badass Cube pulls the old "We got a problem here?" as he lifts his pyjama top to expose a deuce. Still not sure what I am on about?
Let's try the scene from Les Miserable when they finish up singing Do You Hear The People Sing as the military rock up and a shootout ensues. Well pretend they are rival bikie gangs and the horses are loud obnoxious motorcycles.

So if you manage to survive parking your car and the walk through the beautiful mall area where all the eateries are, then you will find Laurie Dee's. It's an old school American style diner and has the artery clogging menu to match, but it is worth the heart attack.

I have to admit, although the burgers aren't too bad I think the best dish on the menu is the chicken club sandwich. I have had a number of club sandwiches and until Laurie Dee's came along, I was partial to the one served at Park Hyatt Melbourne. It seemed perfect at the time, but at less than half the price the Laurie Dee's club is a standout.

The burger you see in the image to the left is a Laurie Dee Double. Fresh minced patty, caramelised onions, melted cheddar cheese, Special 'D' Sauce (the name concerns me slightly), tomato, diced pickles, lettuce and relish.

The Chicken Club consists of regular club sandwich ingredients, but it isn't your regular club. I think it is the special sauce that makes it. The special sauce seems to be a better fit with the chicken than it is with the beef patties.

Lastly in that photo are the Fries which have an interesting herb seasoning through them. They are fairly tasty but sometimes seem a bit too much on the palate.


In the images below are the awesome desserts on offer. The dessert menu is epic and when it comes to the concretes and sundaes, totally customisable and a great way to finish your meal and an epic ending to any diet you may be on.

Created from images available on the Laurie Dee's website

Misty's Diner - Reservoir

Misty's Diner

Reservoir, Melbourne

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer"

Bruce Lee

I learnt something yesterday evening when my wife and I went to Misty's for the first time. The first thing we learnt was that we have been missing out big time. The second thing we learnt was that the song Shout! wasn't only performed by our own Johnny O'Keefe but was made most famous by the Isley Brothers. These are the things you learn when you find yourself in an American themed diner.

So what brings a couple to a place like Misty's diner? A few things come into play. A voucher book, the Queens birthday long weekend and an insatiable hunger. When my wife mentioned the words American diner I was on-board. Some phone based investigation gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside as I scoured through numerous photos published by other hungry go-getters. A good indication of a place that serves a good burger is a burger challenge. Misty's burger challenge is comprised of 5 burger patties, 3 buns, 5 slices of bacon, 5 slices of cheese, mayo and barbecue sauce and a half serve of fries. If you can do all that within 14 minutes you will get a burger challenge t-shirt and your photo displayed on the burger challenge hall of fame.

Misty's has a cool 50's/60's vibe and you are greeted with American accented staff as you enter. Luckily for us we had packed our snow gear for the trip because the restaurant was full and we needed to sit in the cold Melbourne night. The menu is vast and the first thing that catches our eyes are our favourite American dish from our US trip 4 years ago... cheese & bacon potato skins. Before we look further we agree that a plate of said potato dish will be ordered.
We decided we weren't bothering adhering to diet regimen and went all out. The regular fries we ordered saw us wishing that we went in the curly fries direction as we watch a waitress carry a plate of them by.
Marleena (my wife) decided on the Western & Bacon which included a burger pattie, sauteed mushrooms, swiss cheese, mayonnaise, 3 onion rings and smokey barbecue sauce.
I ordered the Double Whammy, because if the word double is on a menu and is not superseded by the word triple, you can pretty much guarantee I am ordering it.
It had 2 beef patties and pretty much the same stuff as what my wife had ordered with the addition of the cheddar variety of cheese and some green stuff (lettuce and tomato).

I am a big fan of the food at Misty's. From what we tried it was very impressive and of good quality. Some might find the price tag of $15 to $25 for a burger a little steep but I thought it was more than worth it. The Western & Bacon burger was pretty massive so mine was probably too big. I know, I can't believe I just said that either.

So it has been all good news right? Well, there is just one thing that made it better. The Reese's Pieces thickshake was incredible! IT had cream, chocolate, cereal, ice cream and of course Reese's Pieces.

So all-in-all the meal we had was amazing and I will be going back to try and get through 1 or 2 more burgers and hot dogs, so watch this space.

Oh, and if you are going to eat here keep the napkin dispenser close by, that shit gets all over your face.

Chew Burgers - Preston

Chew Burgers, Preston

Victoria, Australia

We had the pleasure of trying Chew Burgers in Preston for the first time last night, and I have to say I was fairly impressed. As I have mentioned before, 8Bit is kind of the benchmark that I use to compare other burger places in Melbourne. For the 8 out of 10 that I give 8Bit I give Chew Burger a 7. It isn't because the burgers aren't as good, in fact the burgers are pretty amazing. I would say that they are right up there with 8Bit in terms of ingredients and the size of them makes them better value for money. The fact that I had sauce all over my face and running down my arms was a minor issue to deal with. It was all worth it. The real difference between the 2 was the lack of thick shakes. Burgers + shake = Must!!!

The Plenty burger (shown below) is a double 190g wagyu patties, smokey bacon, cheddar, cos lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mustard and their amazing creamy smoke and fire sauce which gave it a spicy kick. Like I said earlier, it was a messy burger to eat, but I ate it fast enough to not notice it too much. Oh, all between the new standard in a brioche bun.

We also ordered the Commando burger - 1 of the wagyu patties mentioned above, bacon, cheddar, cos lettuce onion rings, lava mayo and barbecue sauce. As far as taste goes, the Commando was by far the tastiest of the two which is thanks to the mix between the mayo and barbecue sauce. The shoestring fries were pretty standard but a perfect side. I was a little disappointed that we weren't given sauce when the burgers were brought out to us. Everyone knows it isn't a good idea to serve fries without the sauce to accompany it. In saying all that it wasn't like I felt like I needed to get up and go looking for any sauce, I had enough in the burgers.

It is a good place to grab a quality burger if you find yourself in that part of town. I highly recommend this place and my wife was very impressed also. Oh, and the Mexican cola was surprisingly good too.

8bit Burgers

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8 Droop Street, Footscray

Melbourne VIC

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I’m always down for a double patty burger, unless a menu be superfly and kicking a triple patty, daym! The fact that 8bits double patty burger is kicking the same name as my fav fav Nintendo game when I was a child is just a bonus. This sammich be sportin 2 beefy beef patties slammed between a whack brioche bun. 
Sauce? Killing it. 
Pickles? They there. 
Cheese? You for real? Damn straight there’s cheese. 
It’s all good man!

What, you’re thirsty? Got you covered cuz. Have a suck on the straw of a strawberry cheesecake shake, or the peanut butter shake. You heard me. You better aksomebody!

If you haven’t filled up on burgery goodness, you trippin. But flash yo cash and sort out some slick cheese and bacon fries or some greasy assed onion rings. Hot dogs yo thang? Dig it, they got those too, and there a whack selection of top tops too.

So if you chillin it out Melbourne way, slip into yo ghetto rags, strap a deuce and shoot down to 8bit crib in the hoodest part of Melbourne Town. Them feels be real in Footscray. One love, out.

On It Burgers - Ferntree Gully

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On It Burgers - Ferntree Gully

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Rating: 4.5 / 5

I am happy to say the trusty eastern suburbs came through last night.

My brother had been telling me about On It burgers and their black buns for some time but only last night was I able to experience them for myself. My requirement for burgers is that they are traditional, so traditionally I ordered the Double Classic. The Double classic sports two patties of prime grain fed beef, mustard, ketchup, double American melted cheese, pickles and red onion on a fantastic artisan bun. It was honestly something to behold.

The garlic and basil fries weren't too heavily seasoned but just enough to take them from fry to "oh my!" especially when dipped in the mayonnaise or the special smoky 'On It' dip.

The onion rings were pretty good, but I would rather them a little crunchier as described in the menu. They were little bit soggy than what I would usually like, but with a fine batter non the less.

Then there was 'The Luke'. This is the black bun burger that burns your retina but not your soul. American cheese, bacon jam, prime grass fed beef, pickles, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard. Sounds like a lot but it works. The diameter of the burger itself is actually a little smaller that the classic variations but it has some seriously good flavors.

I originally thought that On It Burgers would be at a disadvantage being out in the eastern suburbs and not in the heart of Melbourne like the other burger joints littering our city, but I think the quality will make it a local regular and once they get known around the city people will start to travel for these burgers if they haven't already. If On It Burgers continue to do what they are doing, with their current market share in the east they will easily outlast their counterparts closer to the city.