Little Easy

Little Easy is a pub that stands proudly at the top of Franklin Road; a new renovation that stretches up two levels to a sun drenched rum bar overlooking Ponsonby. By night Little Easy is a heaving bar, with lines known to snake well down the road, but it's worth leaving the high heels at home and heading in to Little Easy for a good ol' pub dinner or lunch because this food is amazing.

On opening night Allie, Alice and I visited Little Easy for dinner. We were clearly over excited by the menu and ordered both the buffalo chicken and the pork ribs to start. The fried buffalo chicken was the stand out (isn't it always?), and was delectable dipped into a creamy blue cheese mayonnaise.

The burgers are the real highlight though, and naturally we ordered one each. I love both the Double Bacon Double Cheese, and the classic fried chicken burger. The former is a medium rare tender beef patty smothered in cheese and encased in a soft brioche bun, the latter is the most tender and delicious chicken on a sesame seed bun.

I am a burger lover from way back so I'll admit that I suffer a bit of bias, but I have to say that the toasties are worth mentioning too. The Philly Cheesesteak is absolutely gooey with cheese and morsels of tender steak. This toastie, with a frosty beer in hand, would be the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

In case you're wondering if I am trying to do Weight Watchers in reverse or something, I can assure you that this food was eaten on a few different occasions. Though I will admit that with the sudden influx of gourmet burger joints gracing our streets, I am somewhat concerned about turning into a ball that will need to be rolled between each eatery...the prices we pay.

P.S. This story was originally commissioned for The Denizen. Check it out here!

Fergburger

I haven't tried every burger in New Zealand (but I'm working on it), so I shall not call these the best burgers in NZ, but, as far as my palate is concerned Fergburger is right at the top.

There are lots of amazing places to eat in Queenstown, and if I'd had any class I would have gone to Botswana Butchery or Rata, both of which are amazing. But after a big day skiing, my hungry belly wanted a burger, and a burger it would get (washed down with fries, onion rings, and a beer, of course).

The first time I had Fergburger on this trip was late at night after a day up the mountain and a few drinks in town. We somehow nabbed a table (near impossible) and sat down with a beer while we waited. I don't want to dissuade anyone, but if you go to Ferg you need to be prepared to wait...for ages.

It's worth it.

On this occasion, I ordered the Double Ferg with Blue Cheese, slight overkill, but oh my it was delicious. Two prime New Zealand beef patties cooked to medium rare, covered in blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, tomato relish and aioli. A sucker for anything with blue cheese in it, this burger hit the mark and sent me to burger heaven.

Hunger won out to photography that night and no-one let me take photos of their burgers pre-eating, but I compromised with some mid-mouthful photos instead... not quite as good.

A few days later however, the cravings struck again and this time I managed to have the self control to get a few better snaps. I set my sights even higher and chose Mr Big Stuff; two prime New Zealand beef patties, topped with melted cheddar cheese, American streaky bacon, BBQ sauce (which I swapped out for chilli sauce), lettuce, tomato, red onion and aioli.

What a beauty.

If the photos haven't convinced you, I don't know what will. Throw the linen napkins and silver cutlery out the window and head on down to Ferg in your ski pants.

(Sorry to everyone who is not currently in Queenstown, this is upsetting me just as much).

F***ing Good Burgers

There are days when I am modest about my cooking skills, however, today is not one of those days.

After slaving away at Burgerfuel for 4 years while I was at University, eating my way through the entire menu about 30 times, and gaining about 5 kg while I was at it, I can now proclaim myself a burger expert- hence the title of this post. 

So, after a sneaky Sunday trip to Farro, James and I had enough burger ingredients to feed a small army...It was going to be an elastic waistband kind of day.

The Essentials

The best beef mince you can buy (with a dash of hot sauce mixed in)

Buns, preferably brioche or good sesame buns

Tomato Relish

Mayo or aioli, homemade is best!

The rest is up to you, come on, get the creative juices flowing and turn your kitchen into a bomb site (especially if someone else is cleaning up).

While the toppings and condiments are very important, the glory lies in the patty. I like to cook mine to medium so it is slightly pink in the middle, and I highly recommend you follow suit. Once you've flipped the patties put the cheese on top so it can start melting and form a gooey delicious mess. And yes, you have to put cheese on, diet schmiet.

Once the patties are cooked I also like to put my buns in the pan to warm them through and give them a bit of a crisping. Best done with a griddle pan or on the BBQ.

There was a bit of debate over whose burger was better, but I'll let you decide that mine was better for yourself.

His: One measly patty, cheddar, bacon, egg, Dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion blah blah blah boring boring boring.

Mine: Double patties, Dutch Maasdam cheese, Stilton cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lashings of Culley's Scorpion Hot Sauce.

I. WIN.