Review: Better Burger, Britomart

When we first visited Better Burger a year and a half ago, we were not that impressed. The staff took forever to get the orders out, and the thin beef patty in the burger was dry. It was dark at night, with loud music intruding from the Britomart Country Club next door. There was no way it could be compared with Burger Burger, which opened in Ponsonby Central around the same time (and is now about to open a Newmarket branch).

While we would hesitate to call Better Burger better (they make a different style of burger, so not really comparable anyway), we have come to enjoy eating at this downtown venue, which uses quality ingredients and offers tasty food at very reasonable prices indeed. It's even better than its main rival in some ways, because it is central (not far from the Britomart train station), and the cheeseburgers have the processed cheese you expect from American burgers!

Double cheese burger.

Due to the thinness of the patties, they can only really be a medium doneness rather than medium-rare, but we now always order the double cheeseburger and they have managed to maintain the juiciness of the meat (though the cooking level can be variable depending on who you get).

Better Burger also has a superior vegetarian burger, which is filled with a crumbed portabello mushroom, along with the usual lettuce, tomato, red onion and cheese.

Crumbed portabello mushroom in vegetarian burger with upsized fries.

There isn't much else you can get with your burgers. You can have a combo with hand-cut fries and a soft drink, or upgrade to a shake (or order an alcoholic beverage from the BCC next door). There's no side of vegetables, potatoes in different shapes, a weekly special, or anything particularly "gourmet", but there is beauty in the simplity here. Oh, and the paper wrap sporting their attractive logo conveniently catches the drips which threaten to ruin your dining experience. What more could you ask for?

Picture perfect fast food meal.

Panda Recommends

There isn't much to choose from, so you hardly need our advice, but the double cheeseburger ($7) will satisfy your craving. The fries ($4) are good too, and you can upsize for an extra dollar ($5).

Vegie Pandas
You have one option, the mushroom burger ($6.50), but it's a great one. If you are after greens though, you are out of luck, unless you count the lettuce in your burger.

Short menu.

Restaurant Details

[Added 2 May 2015: Better Burger now has a second branch in Vulcan Lane.]

Better Burger
31 Galway Street, Britomart, Auckland Central
(09) 303 2541

Opening hours:
Sundays to Tuesdays 12pm - 10pm
Wednesdays to Saturdays 12pm till late

Better Burger can be found next to the Britomart Country Club.

(This is where I would normally embed a map showing where the place is, but Google's updated My Maps does not have an easy way for me to centre it on one placemark...)

Review: Burger Burger, Ponsonby

You may remember a post I wrote last year about medium-rare burgers in Auckland. Well, that's old news. A week or two ago, Burger Burger opened in Ponsonby Central, and blew the competition out of the water. Not surprisingly, it has become enormously popular already, with queues forming outside at peak times.

Vibrant decor inside the little eatery.

Situated next to Maldito Mendez, where Wang Thong Thai Fusion used to be, this little place really knows their burgers. The bun is sweet and soft, and grilled to perfection with lightly charred edges. The meat, whichever form you choose, is fresh, and most importantly, the beef is served medium-rare by default. The chefs, five or so of them in the narrow kitchen, move like clockwork, assembling burger after burger to order, so that your rumbly tummy is satisfied as soon as possible.

The beef burger we had (after much umm-ing and ahh-ing, we also added aged cheddar cheese) was by far the best we have eaten in Auckland. Not only a pleasure for the tastebuds, it was also easy on the pocket, costing only $10 for the burger and $2 for any additions. If we were forced to critique, the only improvements we would like to see are a) giving a processed cheese option, and b) maybe replacing some of the pickle (there was a lot of it) with lettuce.

Beef burger with cheese.

The chicken burger was excellent as well, with the meat expertly chargrilled, and deliciously paired with rocket aioli and a capsicum salsa. The fish burger was also beautifully cooked, with a freshly fried crumbed coating. In fact, pretty much all the burgers were fantastic, the highest quality we have encountered, and great value at BurgerFuel pricing.

Burger lovers who are vegetarian or gluten intolerant are also catered for, with a falafel patty version, as well as the option of swapping the traditional bun for "bunnuce", a.k.a. cos lettuce leaves.

Vege bunnace for a greener fix.

The sides are great too. The shoestring fries we ordered were fresh and crispy, not at all oily-feeling, and came with a generous portion of aioli.

House honey cola and shoestring fries with aioli.

The charred broccoli is healthier but also very tasty, with garlic butter and toasted almonds adding to the flavour.

Charred broccoli with garlic butter and toasted almonds.

If we weren't already so full, we would have loved to have tried the milkshakes, made with organic milk from Lewis Road Creamery and ice cream from Little Paddock. Like the house-made honey cola pictured with the fries above, these came in thin glasses shaped like soft drink cans, and had syrup drizzled down the sides. There is also a large selection of alcoholic drinks. Oh, and dessert.

It's not just the food which is great at Burger Burger. We love the thought and design that has gone into the brand, the friendly and talented young staff members who informed us all the sauces and things were made in-house (though service can be hit-and-miss), and the reasonable pricing despite quality ingredients.

Panda Recommends

You are having burgers for your mains, no question of that. We like the classic beef burger ($10, optional cheese for an extra $2), but really, practically everything is good.

Vegie Pandas
Well, maybe the vege burger isn't as great as all the hype would lead you to hope for, but at least you haven't been forgotten about. Plus, you have sides and desserts to try too.

Menu - page 1

Menu - page 2

Restaurant Details

[Added 1 April 2015: Burger Burger now has a larger branch in Newmarket.]

Burger Burger
The Lane, Ponsonby Central, 4 Brown Street, Ponsonby

Opening hours:
Sundays to Wednesdays 11:30am – 10:30pm
Thursdays to Saturdays 11:30am – 12am

Entrance to the little eatery.

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Review: Al's Deli

Not to be confused with Al Brown's Federal Delicatessen, which I have wanted to blog about since the day it opened (but somehow never got around to), Al's Deli is an independent eatery founded by Canadian chef Aleks Lazic. Born in Montreal to a family of European immigrants, Aleks has travelled the world cooking at prestigious venues, before settling in New Zealand and deciding to reconnect with his home town through serving its most famous foods at his own restaurant, from handmade Montreal-style bagels to the calorie-laden poutine, which many consider to be the national dish of Canada.

Al's Deli is larger than you might think.

Although the deli only opened in late November, the food there has already been requested by Leonard Cohen, and a Montrealer apparently claimed the smoked brisket was as good as that of Schwartz's deli in Montreal. Most of the ingredients are made in-house, from cronuts to cheese curds, to maple and cherry smoked bacon, smoked brisket, and Sicilian sausages, to of course, the handmade bagels, baked fresh daily, including gluten-free ones.

Selection of bagels.

Situated on a steep road off Queen Street, the entrance to the deli is actually at ground level on City Road, although most of the restaurant lies above a Korean BBQ buffet restaurant. There is a good view towards the city centre from the little balcony, and the owner has also done a great job of fitting out the place, with naked lightbulbs here, round lampshades there, mismatched retro chairs, authentic deli style sauce bottles, and even a set of what looks like airline chairs.

Retro chairs, sauce bottles and more complete the picture. 

Most of the menu items contain bagels, even if they are not explicitly mentioned. Want a sandwich? It's in a bagel. How about a salad? Bagel chips. If the chef's special is "Fresh panko-crumbed tarakihi, home made tartare sauce, watercress", then guess what, it comes in a bagel. The exceptions to this seem to be the poutine and BBQ Ribs.

Now, I don't have anything against bagels—in fact I like them a lot—but I am not really a connoisseur of them. So I can't give any commentary as to whether the ones at Al's Deli are better than those at Best Ugly. They do look and taste pretty similar, though they might be a bit firmer, and are also around the same size—one bagel seems too small for lunch, while two is too much. I know I shouldn't be judging on the packaging, but I love the paper wrapper emblazoned with the Al's Deli logo when you get your bagel sandwich to take away.

Takeaway bagel wrapped in custom-designed paper.

While one bagel isn't quite enough for a meal, the brunch options at the deli are large enough to sustain you through a Canadian winter. We were basically forced to take the accompanying bagel away when we ordered the brisket hash. The smoky beef, beautifully browned potatoes and perfectly poached eggs were more than enough to fill up on.

Brisket hash, poached eggs, hollandaise and watercress.

Likewise, I am not sure if our order of a small poutine can really be classified as small. This came with soft cheese curds and a beefy gravy. Although we have never eaten poutine in Canada, we have no doubt this is a fine example of the dish (even though it is not something we would eat often).

Poutine with hand-cut fries, homemade cheese curds and gravy.

All in all, Al's Deli is a great place to visit. Convenient location, great atmosphere, tasty food prepared by a passionate chef, open 7 days, and not too expensive... what else could you ask for? Plus they seem to be the only eatery around with "moose ears" and a selection of Canadian beers. Already a favourite of ours!

Panda Recommends

If you are not that hungry, then bagels are the obvious choice.
Anything with their smoked brisket is great, and their poached eggs are just right. And though I hesitate to recommend poutine except as a novelty, you can't really go to a Canadian restaurant without ordering one at least once.

Vegie pandas
You actually have a bunch of options here, from bagels filled with avocado and/or cream cheese, to eggs benedict, to haloumi salad. And desserts are vegetarian too of course, including the moose ears, cronuts and any specials such as the salted apple pie fries currently on offer.

Bagels, poutine, salads, sides and drinks menu.

Brunch menu

Restaurant Details

Al's Deli
1/492 Queen Street, Auckland Central (entrance off City Road)
(09) 373 2961

Opening hours:
Mondays to Wednesdays 7am - 8pm
Thursdays to Fridays 7am - late
Saturdays 9am - late
Sundays 9am - 3pm

The entrance to Al's Deli is on City Road.

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Review: Best Ugly Bagels

The secret to success is clearly not in giving your customers what they want, or think they need. I never needed a smartphone until I got one, and now I can't live without one.  Similarly, Auckland never knew it needed an oyster bar until Al Brown's Depot came along, and his latest venture, Best Ugly Bagels, fits into the same category.

"King" bagel (lox, capers, red onion and cream cheese).

In a way, you could see it coming.  The trend these days is towards simple, well-executed food in an informal setting, where you can feel at ease and just drop in for a bite of something delicious.  It's not really surprising that Best Ugly Bagels has a queue going out the door of its open kitchen.

Fortunately, I first turned up on Tuesday, on the morning of the bagelry's official opening day, before the hordes of customers arrived.  I was warmly invited to step into the kitchen area, and the head baker took me through the bagel-making process, even getting their consultant from Montreal, Steve, to demonstrate how they hand-roll the dough into rings.

The team in action.

Naturally, the first question that came to my lips was "So how are Montreal bagels different from any other bagels?"  Apparently, these are different from American bagels because they are rolled thinner, and contain no salt.  Best Ugly's hand-shaped  bagels—so called because of their rustic, uneven look—are then cooked in a pot of water with honey, before being baked in their wood-fired oven. I was handed a sesame-coated one, just pulled from the heat, and it was softer and sweeter than other bagels I have eaten, with a beautiful shiny and golden crust.  It tasted and smelt fantastic.

The team didn't let me leave without making me a completely new bagel for free.  Yes, with whatever filling I wanted!  How's that for a pleasant surprise?  Of course I honoured my promise to return with others for lunch.

"Yodi" bagel (pastrami, Swiss cheese, and pickle), and "PB&J" (Pics Peanut Butter and Te Horo jam).

Although a fresh bagel is amazing on its own, the highlights of the menu are the non-vegetarian fillings.  The pastrami and cured salmon are both made using a secret recipe unique to the bagelry, though they are happy to share the fact that the salmon comes from The Salmon Man (farmed in Stewart Island) and the pastrami is produced by Karl Campbell in Wellington.

I wish there were a few more filling choices, maybe the offer of a side salad, and also more seating, but this converted warehouse is well worth visiting just the way it is.

Panda Recommends

Best Ugly only has three kinds of filled bagels—quality over quantity! Don't be tempted to cheap out and just get one with spreads. They are good too, but you would be missing out. You can also get some bagels to take away to eat with your own favourite toppings.

Mains: "King" bagel with lox (cured salmon), capers, red onion and cream cheese ($12.00), "Yodi" bagel with pastrami, Swiss cheese and pickle ($10.00)

Vegie Pandas
There is one filled bagel you can eat, the "TAB" with tomato, avocado and basil ($8.00).

Menu

Note

If you don't specify which type of bagel you want (sesame, plain ugly, poppy seed, or cinnamon and raisin), you will get the sesame one by default.  They won't ask you.

Although it looks like there is nowhere to sit, the tables outside Shed Five are shared.  You will still need to wait for your bagel to be made before sitting down though.  This is not a table service kind of place.

Oh, and you really need to eat these on the day they are made, unless you have kept the bagels in the freezer.  Just like baguettes, they will go hard and dry if left out.

Restaurant Details

Best Ugly Bagels
Shed 3, City Works Depot, 90 Wellesley Street West, Auckland
(09) 366 3926

Opening hours:
Mondays to Sundays 7am - 3pm

The queue moves quicker than it looks at Best Ugly, but be prepared to wait and/or  take your bagel away.

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