Top 10 Burgers in Adelaide - Part 1 - The Stanley Tavern

Hi All,

About a month or so ago the local newspaper in Adelaide, The Advertiser, posted an article showing "The Top 10 Burgers in Adelaide"... (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/heres-adelaides-top-10-best-burgers/story-fnizi7vf-1226837067771)

Being a lover of a decent Beef Burger I decided I wouldn't mind checking out a few to see what each one was like.

For me the best burger needs a multiple of inclusions, it can't be one element that decides its fate - all needs perfect balancing. The burger roll and patty needs to be large, no point offering a burger costing over $10 if you're still hungry at the end.

• The Patty needs to be seasoned to perfection - right now my wife makes the best tasting patties around, i'll argue it til i'm blue in the face and these burger bars have alot to live up to!
• Pickles... has to have pickles, not everyones cup of tea but for me the option of having a handful of crunchy pickles is to die for.
• Tomato Chutney - For me, has to be Tomato Chutney - just stunning and the taste is 2nd to none - Ketchup and Tomato Sauce just doesn't have the flavour.
• Garlic Aoli - Just stunning, when included with tomato chutney it brings the burger to a whole new level
• Lettuce & Tomato - A generous portion is required, can't eat a burger without a bit of healthiness added!
• Egg - For the Burger to be complete a runny egg sweetens the deal (not too gooey but just a little run to it)
• Bacon - Who doesn't love a nice helping of nicely smoked bacon!
• Onion - For me its gotta be cooked, with a little bit of crunch!

We were sitting home one weekend with not much to do so we thought we might take a drive up to the beautiful Adelaide Hills and visit the lovely town of Hahndorf. Its fun for a family to make a day trip from the city and has loads to offer everyone, from family activities like the Hahndorf Farm Barn (http://farmbarn.com.au/) which boasts a huge variety of animals to get up close with and even feed, theres also the famous Beerenberg Strawberry Farm (http://www.beerenberg.com.au/) where not only can you purchase some of the best Jams and Sauces around but you can also venture down to the Strawberry field and pick the best tasting Strawberry's you will find in Adelaide!

For the Wine lovers there are also a nice selection of wineries around, from Boutique wineries such as my favourite Hahndorf Hill Winery (http://www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au/) who make the best Rose wine I've ever tasted!, or a crowd favourite such as Maximillians (http://maximilians.com.au/cellar-door).

For the traditionalists who love a good German Pint or German Food you can't go past The German Arms (http://germanarmshotel.com.au/) or the Hahndorf Inn (http://hahndorfinn.com.au/), each show true their German heritage and offer old fashioned German meals and beers for you to try!

For our family the day was set out, a trip to the Farm Barn, head off for lunch then back to Beerenberg for a big punnet of Strawberries!

Lunch was decided, we would try the famous Stanley Burger at the Stanley Bridge Tavern (http://stanleybridgetavern.com/) located in Verdun just a 5 minute drive from Hahndorf. Its nestled on a beautiful street, if you haven't booked and it was a stunning late Summer day like we did on a Sunday then parking and getting a table may be difficult so I would suggest you book in advance.

It was a 30 degree day, nice breeze coming through the trees and the tavern from the get go looked very warm and inviting. We went through the old rustic main door and were immediately impressed by the structure of the building itself, its been maintained extremely well and all its old features are a definite plus.

We were lucky enough to score a table out in their garden on a rustic wooden table, set up for the kids was a game of bocce and totem tennis. I think the main feature for my children though was Benny the Jack Russell which moved freely through the restaurant and mingled with the guests.

My wife and I decided to each go with the Stanley Burger but were amazed at the amount of mouth watering options available - Ribs, Steaks, Pies etc. To the order we also added a small serving of their Benny's Ribs.

A bottle of Apple Cider to accompany and I was set for a very enjoyable afternoon. Justine and I chatted away while the kids ran off and played, but unfortunately as time went by the kids became more and more irritated and edgy as we waited a very long time for the food to come out. I think in the end the kids meals came out, just before the entree, after a solid hour and a half waiting... by that time we were all over hungry and a bit over the waiting... Our mains came out about 10 minutes after and began we did...

First on the agenda, try these stunningly presented Ribs, I was interested to try the sauce which included Honey, Spices and Blasted in the Furnace with Hoi Sin, Orange and a Sesame Seed Sauce... My lips were watering thinking about it.

The sauce delivered just like I hoped, it was stunning - beautifully sweet with a hint of spice but not enough to overpower you. The ribs were massive but unfortunately mostly bone, each were separated from the rack but just didn't have heaps of meat on there to get you overly excited. The downer for me also was the ribs appeared to have been cooked for a while earlier but mine were cold when they came out - almost appeared to be re-heated but just not enough. It was yum but 6 definitely isn't enough while also sharing - fork out and get the 9 or 12!

The massive winner though was the sauce, it was so good we all spent ages afterwards mopping it up with our chips!

The Stanley Burger, was definitely impressive to look out when it first came out. Accompanied by a big bowl of curly fries I proceeded to crack the egg and see how we go.

Nice - egg flowed just perfectly!

The burger was nice, not brilliant but nice, the Pattie was nicely made, good helping of smokey bacon on the top, nicely melted cheese and cooked onion, tomato and lettuce. I love a good burger and I think this was ok but it just didn't have the wow factor I was looking for. Notable exclusions from the burger was Chutney, Garlic Aoli and the most important feature for me.....Pickles... I love pickles with my burger - even if its an addition...

The Tomato Salsa advertised with the burger wasn't the best for me, took the taste away from the patty and hit the wrong note - a beaut chutney from local Beerenberg would have been spot on!

Overall I think I'm going to have to give this burger a 6.5, Probably could have scored higher but the long wait and exclusions brought me down some.

I would definitely order it again, I did like it and the Stanley Tavern is a great place to go to but I just can't push it much higher on the day.

I invite you all to check it out for yourself, personally if I was to rate the venue, staff and an overall experience and not take into account the long wait on that occasion I would give the Stanley Tavern a 9 - its setting in the heart of the Adelaide Hills and all round rustic appeal makes it a fantastic venue to sit down for lunch or dinner. The menu is extremely appealing to all taste buds and the Kids Menu is very good also (Picture of the Kids Cheese Burger opposite!)

If you do try the Stanley Burger feel free to give your rating as feedback, I'm keen to see what everyone else thinks!

So - 1 down, 9 to go. They rate these the best 10 burgers in Adelaide, I'm going to try them all and give my honest opinion. 

Sostas Argentinian Kitchen - Restuarant Review

Hi All,

Received some good feedback from my last restuarant review of The Albion so thought I'd share some more restuarants that we've tried recently.

As mentioned before school holidays are some of the fun times for my wife and I as we get to venture out to restuarants whilst our children are holidaying up at their nanna's in the Clare Valley. Don't get me wrong I certainly miss my kids whilst their away but its a chance for us to have some alone time and venture to restuarants we either haven't yet tried or are more adult orientated.

Our 4 year wedding anniversary was last Thursday night, we've been together for over 13 years however finally took the plunge 4 years ago. This was the first year the kids were away on holiday so I decided to look around for a more formal location than a regular place like the Daniel O'Connell or similar where we've been previously.

I stumbled across a place called Sosta's located on Rundle Street in Adelaide, its an Argentinian restuarant famous for its steak.

I looked at the menu online and straight away I could see us tucking into the 600g Rump or T-Bone.

My wife loves her food yet packs it into her tiny frame without showing any weight unlike her more plumpy husband... So this place looked perfect, happy wife when T-Bone on the menu.

I made the booking and arranged for my wife to pick me up from work in time for us to go straight there for a 6pm booking.

Sadly it was a 44 degree day, can't change that but we were hoping for some good airconditioning, which on a 44 degree day in Adelaide its not something that would be easy to come by unless your in the freezer section of Woolworths or Coles...

Unfortunately I think Sosta's airconditioner was working as hard as my house was but struggling.

Anyhow, we jagged a window seat which we were very pleased with. First impressions was it was very nice, pleasing to the eye and the menu wasn't overly expensive.

My wife quickly eyed off the T-Bone and I was tossing up over the Rump and the Mixed Grill. I opted last minute to go Rump but wish I went Mixed Grill as for me Rump is a hard one to master, Medium Rare is always needed for me, if cooked longer and more around Medium it gets very tough and chewy..

We also ordered the Pan Espanola which is crispy toasted Ciabatta bread with tomato, garlic, herbs and spices, this accompanied my wife's Bife de Costilla (T-Bone) and my order of Cuadril (Rump). We added a side of Ensalada Mixta (mixed lettuce, fetta, red onion, tomato, cucumber and kalamata olives).

We both added Hongos to our steaks, their oven roasted field mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, rosemary and beef glaze... sounded awesome so had to add it!

The Steaks were accompanied by crispy fried potatoes.

Our Entree (Pan Espanola) arrived first, impressions were high as to us it was a different version of Bruschetta (My wife's favourite!). It was more so like a pizza version of bruschetta and wow it was tasty! Definately recommend as a good starter.

Our mains came out and again impressions were high, both steaks looked amazing. Both sides of salad and potatoes came out equally looking good.

I quickly dived into the potatoes which were coated in spices, crunchy and super tasty I loaded up my plate with as many as could fit next to the steak.

The steak cut nicely, although wasn't medium rare, was closer to medium. The taste was a different story, just so tasty, not like an Outback Jacks steak, this had a standalone taste of flame grill that I haven't had before.

My wife's T-Bone was exquisite. That description is an injustice, perfectly cooked medium rare and hardly any effort to cut. The taste was second to none, never have I had a tastier T-Bone which the meat just melted in your mouth. The taste was similar to mine of flame grilled but this was truly the best steak we have encountered at a South Australian Restuarant.

The salad was very nice too, a great compliment to the steak, the fetta however was similar to the T-Bone, best we've ever tasted. To me it reminded me of melted tasty cheese in texture, it just melted. The taste buds were diving around in a mad frenzy, sadly there was only about 5 or 6 cubes, we could have easily polished another 10 each...

We both worked hard to finish the meals, they were very big steaks and to finish them along with the sides was a great feat but we managed to just finish.

With no room for dessert we sat patiently as we finished off our beers and sat shaking our heads at what we had just been served.

Sostas Argentinian restuarant rates up there as one of the best restuarants we have been too, The steak is close to the best and entree's and side dishes are amazing.

The atmosphere and friendly service pieced together a fine evening and truly memorable for our 4th year wedding anniversary.

I would truly recommend this restuarant to anyone keen for a great steak but also anyone looking for a more intimate dining experience for you and your loved one.

Had the weather been our friend that night we probably would have stayed longer and tried a dessert or two however the air was muggy and we were keen to retreat home with our bellies full and happy.

If I was to put a rating out of 10, I would give Sostas a 9 out of 10, for me if my rump was medium rare it would have pushed it to another level and the rating would have been a 9.5-9.7 out of 10.

Many thanks to the chef's and service staff at Sostas for making it a great evening for our anniversary!

For anyone keen, Sostas Argentinian Kitchen is located on 291 Rundle Street in Adelaide, website has a copy of their menu and can be found on http://sostaargentiniankitchen.com.au/ and can cater for smaller intimate bookings or large and functions!

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover....

This was the term my wife used last night while we were sitting at dinner..

It's school holidays here in Australia and every December/January school holidays my children head up to their nanna's in the Clare Valley, they usually go for a week each school holidays however over the big break they head up for two trips...

So as you can imagine, my wife and I tend to eat out alot while their away...

The night before we went to our local Caffe Primo, not bad, it has my loyalty at the moment due to the current Chef's Special BBQ Ribs, slow cooked in honey and BBQ sauce with a dash of apple cider... Just brilliant, almost as good as the massive bench of ribs at Outback Jacks...

My wife mentioned the night before about a local pub called the Albion Hotel, its located in Kilburn, South Australia. For those that don't know, Kilburn is one of those areas which generally you lock your doors when driving through, has a bad reputation and will take many years and alot of redevelopment to finally lose the name...

I was hesitant due to the factors above, and I didn't expect the quality of the food to be big, I had vision's of a dodgy pub in the outback not very clean and stuff..

Probably a bit harsh but unfortunately impressions of the area aren't great, I had heard though of a group who piled a bit of cash into the pub and renovated it so part of me was thinking this might turn out ok...

And I was very pleasantly suprised, we walked into the pub and it was huge, it has its own sports bar and drive through bottle shop but the restuarant section was massive.

Looking at the menu my eyes quickly jumped to the Seafood Platter for one, has to be one as i'm the only one in my family that likes seafood... I was enticed though by the schnitzel's and the mixed grill...

However looking at the Seafood Platter... Salt and Pepper Calamari, Grilled Prawns, Deep Fried Flathead, Kilpatrick Oysters on a bed of fries.

My wife decided on the Chicken Minion so with that I dashed up to the counter.

Might just be me but some things really crack me up, like when standing in a line for a long time while you watch 4 waitresses finding stuff to do whilst one takes orders.. So my impression was still a little ho hum..

Whilst at the counter I noticed a special - "Try our new improved Garlic Bread for $2.90".. Well, $2.90 is worth a punt so I added that to the order.

We decided to get into the salad/vegie bar first, not bad and a good selection.

The garlic bread arrived and I was ecstatic, 3 big pieces of turkish bread slathered in garlic butter... Very very tasty.

Our mains came out not long after which was another good suprise, nothing worse than waiting hours for meals to come out...

The Seafood Platter looked awesome, so did my wife's Chicken Minion... Could have comfortably taken either dish.

Tucking into it the taste buds were dancing for joy as the calamari was perfectly seasoned and cooked just right, oysters were just a delight and the prawns were the highlight of the dish perfectly grilled with a hint of spices added to it for a little extra kick.

The let down for me was the fish, the batter was very dense and doughy.. but, added to their beautiful tartare sauce it wasn't too bad.
Overall though I would definately order again, the Seafood Platter only cost $22 and was value for money!

My wife was very happy with the Chicken Minion, I managed to snare a small morsel and the piece I tried it looked to be a great dish, one my wife thoroughlly enjoyed.

We sat both happy and content overall with the mains, one thing stood out though.... the dessert menu sneaking out of the drinks card, there it stood for all to see, Sticky Date Pudding.

Anyone who knows me knows I have a big weakness for Sticky Date Pudding... We don't usually order desserts at the restuarants, most of the time we're too full to have anything else...

This time we took the plunge, My wife ordered a gluten free chocolate cake and I took the plunge on the sticky date.

From all reports the chocky cake was very very tasty, the sticky date for me was too cakey, very fluffy almost like the banana cake I cook... The sauce was good but a bit weaker than i'm used too. Don't get me wrong it wasn't the worst one i've had, actually i'd get it again, it just didn't have that wow factor.

An example, we dined at Charlies Diner last week, this is an all you can eat restuarant, after gorging myself on an array of spaghetti, chinese, roast, seafood etc. I decided to try the dessert, the sticky date pudding was simply the best I have ever ever had. It reminded me of a chocolate brownie, the way the cake was, it wasn't fluffy and light, it was dense and thick like the brownie, the sauce which came with it was also stunning. Rich, really rich and full of flavour, that one piece of Sticky Date simply had the wow factor.

So, overall, our experience at the Albion Hotel was very good, My wife reminded me afterwards never to judge the book by its cover, or I guess of its surroundings...

I would absolutely recommend the Albion, it had a great atmosphere and the food was really good quality. If your keen to check it out, head to www.albionhotel.com.au. It caters for families well with probably the cheapest kids menu i've seen of only $5.50!

One of Adelaides Gems - The Coffee Barun

I would like to share with you what i refer to as one of Adelaides Gem businesses.

The Coffee Barun which is situated on Main North Road in Sefton Park is the business, for me its one of the greatest cafe's around. The owners, Mark & Kate Barun know everything there is to know about coffee and have taken their business from the humble beginnings of selling coffee beans at the Pooraka Flea Market, to establishing their first shop just metres where their current one stands today.

Ok, I am a little biased in my opinions as i have known them for some years now, their eldest daughter used to go to child care with my eldest boy and they were the best of friends for some time.

So, lets discuss business, why are they so good?

Simple, for one to sell coffee, one must understand everything there is to know about coffee, a true barista. This sums Mark up perfectly.


Ever since i've known the Baruns, i've known them as the guru's in coffee. Mark sources specialty coffee of the highest quality, nothing less. I have never seen someone so passionate about coffee before, for me its something that comes easy - coffee is made before my eyes and i make zero effort to get the coffee... for Mark, its not as easy and cut and dry as that.


He sources the best, roasts them himself and on my recent visit was doing some interesting work with what i'm sure looked like a bunsen burner and sciencey looking glasses...

My wife and I had the day off today so we decided to head there for breakfast, here is the Barun Breakfast which we order each time we go there. Eggs made how you like them (for me it has to be poached....) generous amount of bacon, stunning beef sausages from an award winning maker in Adelaide, tomato, hashbrown and a beautiful mushroom all served on sliced foccacia.


As usual the breakfast does the job, beautiful fresh produce all super tasty. To compliment, we also enjoy a large cappucino of Marks finest brew.

 

So, if your a coffee enthusiast or know absolutely nothing about coffee like me, then do yourself a favour and visit The Coffee Barun, located on 217-219 Main North Road, Sefton Park. They also have a website too you can visit: www.thecoffeebarun.com