Categories
American

Butterball BBQ Chicken – Earlwood NSW Restaurant Review

I don’t remember the exact set of circumstances that led to me getting an $18 burger and fries right after spending like $100 at the slightly upmarket grocery store across the road, but I did it and didn’t regret it.

The dirty bird ($18), with two pieces of fried chicken, bacon, onion, pickles, peri aioli and a maple glaze was fat, delicious, and juicy. Potentially could only be optimised or ruined (you’re welcome to your opinion on this one) with the addition of pineapple, which I do not believe was on offer.

What really wowed me, even outside of the really good burger, were these chips. I don’t know how or what they did, but they were just so good. So crunchy, and not just immediately crunchy, but even crunchy after a 10 minute drive home. Absolutely delicious, I can still taste them six months later.

Butterball BBQ Chicken
1/8-10 Clarke St, Earlwood NSW 2206
(02) 7209 5460

Categories
American

Flame House Co – Campsie NSW Restaurant Review

I actually had a great Portuguese style grilled quarter chicken here like a year ago that I clearly forgot to write about, but let me now tell you about this excellent burger I had recently.

This Fried Chicken Slaw Burger ($13) was one of the best chicken burgers that I’ve had in recent memory. The chicken was thick and juicy, deep fried fresh to order, which is the only way that you can achieve such a perfectly crispy exterior. The slaw was your average mix of carrot and cabbages, but swimming in a rich creamy mayo that seemed to amplify the creaminess of the slice of American cheese which melted under the heat of the chicken patty soon after this photo was taken. The buns were oiled and grilled on the outside, making it a mess on the hands to eat, but absolutely delicious and probably awful for those watching their macros, as well as anyone a mere five days after their laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The pickles were present and yummy but not out in force today. I will ask for extras next time.

Very solid.

Flame House Co.
Clemton Park Shopping Village. 60 Charlotte St, Campsie NSW 2194
(02) 8084 7314

Categories
American

Renegade Burgers – Greenacre NSW Restaurant Review

Renegade Burgers is one of many burger trucks on my way home from work, visited by my partner and I a couple of times after late nights and late ward rounds.

Strengths first. The Potato & Gravy Chips ($8) are kind of monstrous. Who would’ve thought that potato on potato would be such a game changer? The mash was creamy, the fries were crispy, and the gravy was just gravy. After having this once, my girlfriend did not allow us to come back without ordering it again.

The better of the burgers that I had was The OG ($13), which I got made into a double (no memory as to how much extra this was) because apparently I want Terumo to make money off my stent in the future. It’s pretty hard to mess up a traditional burger of pickles, American cheese, beef, mustard and ketchup, and this was a solid showing but also did not allow Renegades to differentiate themselves.

I have no particular memory of The Drip ($14), which in all honesty must be a good thing, given what I do remember about the next burger.

The Chilli Chicken Smash ($14) was weak in many ways, most problematically of all in terms of its structural integrity. Beef smash burgers tend to work as a layer of caramelisation and searing holds the overall patty together, however attempting this with a chicken burger did not achieve the desired effect of a cohesive patty. This chicken patty absolutely fell apart, and this, together with the copious saucing, made for a disappointing burger, in my opinion. This would’ve been better as a normal chicken burger.

The potato and gravy chips are nuts though.

Renegade Burgers
20 Norfolk Rd, Greenacre NSW 2190
0491103970

Categories
American

Ziggy’s Chicken – Parramatta NSW Restaurant Review

Ziggy’s Chicken is a relative newcomer to the Parramatta food scene, offering up a range of grilled and deep fried chicken meals topped with some extremely sharp pricing.

The Ziggy’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($6.50) was actually beyond in terms of size, quality, and price. A large thigh fillet topped in tartare sauce and sandwiched between two halves of a buger bun, this sandwich really does call into question what makes a sandwich and what makes a burger. The crumbed and deep fried fillet was juicy and tasty, and the sauce adequate to make a difference. A real bargain find.

The Ziggy’s Original Roast Half Chicken ($10.50) was again very well priced and moist. The spring onions didn’t do a whole lot, but the lemon was good and a wide selection of sauces was on offer as well.

The Mixed Fried Pieces ($15) was again delicious and great value for money. The seasoning was plain but luckily not too salty, a problem that does happen with some of the other fried chicken vendors in the local area. I think it would be nice if they also offered a spicy variety, though they have really only just opened in the past month and are probably still refining their menu. A wide selection of sauces was on offer, and I chose the mango habanero sauce and the zesty signature peri peri sauce, both of which were decent.

On a subsequent order (following the writing of the below verdict), we ordered the chicken nuggets ($4). They were actually quite disappointing, strongly reminiscent of supermarket nuggets as opposed to the kind of nuggets generally offered up by multinational golden arch restaurants.

VERDICT
Ziggy’s Chicken offers up strong and well priced competition to established Western Sydney juggernauts, and will be one to keep an eye on in the future.

Ziggy’s Chicken
310 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150
0466 359 963

Categories
American

Copper Rose Cafe – Alexandria NSW Cafe Review

Copper Rose appears to be a cafe specialising in American style diner food.

The chilli hot dog ($8) was good. I enjoyed it, but my partner enjoyed it even more. There was a good helping of chilli con carne, which helped to optimise the filling to bread ratio. I still think it could have used less bread, but this was a good attempt. The mustard was a bit superfluous.

The Big Brekky Roll ($9) optioned with tomato relish was really good. A good mix of bacon, egg, and hash brown. I would rate this way over the big brekky burger at McDonald’s, for example, which has similar fillings. Would definitely get this again.

I enjoyed the limited foods that I tried at Copper Rose. I’d like to order more from them again soon, probably try out their Philadelphia Cheese Steak. Judging from the quality of the stuff that I have tried, it’s likely to be good.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2020

I did order from Copper Rose again, but I forgot all about the philly cheese steak. Instead, I got:

The Big Brekky Roll in wrap form ($9) was not as good as the big brekky roll in roll form. Go figure. I even added an additional sausage for $2, however the taste did not please me. Stick with the classics with this one.

The Marinated Chicken Burger ($8) was great value. The chicken fillet is marinated in balsamic vinegar, to achieve a nice and tangy taste, which mixed well with the rocket and mayonnaise. This is a recommendation.

Copper Rose Cafe
15/85 Bourke Rd, Alexandria NSW 2015
(02) 8068 0047