BurgerBurger

I like to think of myself as a foodie; a lover of fine dining; someone who knows their brioche from their baguette- but give me a good burger and any air of sophistication is replaced by a greedy, wide eyed burger fanatic.

So it was an agonising wait that I endured while BurgerBurger set up shop. But finally, the fair streets on Ponsonby have been graced with a burger joint that will make the hearts of carbohydrate loving patrons sing (yes, they do have a bread-less burger too Mr. Paleo).

The girls and I bravely ventured there on opening night, and nabbed a table at 6.30pm just before it was overrun with curious patrons.

It may have been a Monday night but we needed to test the drink menu too, so we settled in with Botanist gin and tonics and chocolate shakes.

We ordered the entire sides menu, but surprisingly the delicious charred broccoli disappeared first- perhaps it was the reassuring sight of greenery amongst the three plates of fries that tempted us. 

The burgers are simple, as they should be, and all served on delightfully soft brioche buns. The beef was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and ordered with an extra slice of cheese was absolutely perfect. The fish burger was another favourite- crispy, tender and refreshingly light.

The burgers are great value at only $10 a pop, though they aren't enormous so I would definitely recommend a side (or four in our case!) to go with it. 

BurgerBurger has filled a much needed burger void in Ponsonby Central, and I have no doubt that it will become a firm favourite for fellow burger lovers.  So pop along, try it out, and let me know what you think of the new kid on the Ponsonby Central block!

Bedford Soda and Liquor

I've been meaning to write this post up for quite a while, and by now half of Auckland seems to have already visited Bedford Soda and Liquor. But - for those of you who haven't made it there, let me tell you all about it.

Nestled in Ponsonby Central, on the Richmond Road side, Bedford Soda and Liquor is an American style meatball and cocktail haven.

Hannah and I visited Bedford for a drink one afternoon, but I naturally I couldn't resist trying the food. But, first things first- the cocktail I tried from the 'Bedford Daisies' menu was a delicious concoction of Tanqueray gin, rhubarb, ginger, pink grapefruit and soda. It was a perfectly balanced (and very pretty) drink that went down dangerously fast.

The drinks menu is enormous, and features re-worked American classics like Tanquery Iced Tea, Bourbon Shakes, Mint Juleps and dozens more. It is a very impressive list, executed by skillful bartenders.

But it's the food menu that's one of the best parts about Bedford- you are given a menu and a non-permanent pen to tick your choice. Very simple, very cool.

We only ordered a few sliders, but the menu is pretty limited so that told us enough. The first slider was the 'special' beef and bacon meatball covered in a naughty hollandaise sauce, cooked to a beautiful pink in the middle. Next up was the pork meatball with a spicy tomato sauce. This one was delicious, although the pork was a bit overdosed on fennel for my liking. The last slider was the delicious beef and gravy- which was definitely my favourite.

The sliders were all pretty good, but competition around here for sliders is tough, and I don't know if these guys would hold up against the likes of Depot or The Roaming Dive. But- the meatballs are great, the cocktails are fantastic, and there is no other meatball joint like this around. You go get 'em Bedford.

Chop Chop

 

Who knew Ponsonby Central could squeeze in another restaurant? But here it is: Chop Chop, Blue Breeze Inn's younger, and spunkier sister. She serves bourbon cocktails and encourages the patrons to wear cowboy hats, and serves noodle bowls that knock your socks off.

I started off with a pork bun, interested to see how it would fare against the famous ones at Blue Breeze, and while it didn't have the same glorious crispiness, it was delicious in it's own right. A pillow soft bun encasing sticky BBQ pork covered in a tangy and fresh salsa.

We then choose a noodle bowl each- roast pork for James and spicy crispy chicken for myself. I thought these noodles bowls were slightly overpriced (for a noodle bowl) at $18, but in saying that they are incredibly filling, and after that pork bun I couldn't even finish mine. Overpriced or not, they were both delicious- though we agreed the chicken was just slightly better. You can't beat fried chicken.

Aside from the food, Chop Chop really stood out for their service. We were attended to by a couple of extremely friendly and attentive waitresses, who didn't mind us taking about half an hour to make up our minds. Even more impressive was the incredible patience and professionalism they showed to the Worst Customers In The World who were sitting next to us, while I stifled my laughter in my noodle bowl (but that's another story....).

The Dairy - Ponsonby Central

Yes yes, I know, another Ponsonby blog post. You see, unfortunately I have a terrible sense of direction so the thought of venturing beyond my stomping ground terrifies me. So please, if you can recommend an amazing eatery beyond central Auckland please send me some very clear directions and I'll be on my way (I'm being serious).

But for now, we are back in Ponsonby at Ponsonby Central's newest eatery The Dairy. Occupying a somewhat awkward, yet appropriate spot in the middle of all the action, the Dairy is a 'Beer and Cheese Room' serving up everything from Swiss cheese toasties to Kapiti ice cream sandwiches.

I ventured there on a sunny Friday for a pre-birthday lunch (any excuse for a lunch) with a bunch of friends from work. The Dairy doesn't have much dedicated seating, so we quickly grabbed one of the big communal tables in Ponsonby Central and sat down with a few menus.

I was mesmerised by the choice of ice-cream and treats on offer and had to dive straight in with a black doris plum and lime ice-cream soda. Oh wow, cue flash back to childhood.

We all had different meals, but the pulled pork burger was the winner of the day. I had some serious food envy after having a brain explosion when I ordered the vegetarian option. Who am I kidding? I could never be a vego (although the goats cheese balls were delish).

Now, to be honest The Dairy had a few teething problems that inevitably come hand in hand with a startup restaurant/cafe. I'm sure they'll be improving by the day but when we went the service was very slow, not ideal for those of us trying to squeeze our lunch into a precious working hour!

However, I would definitely be interested to head back when they've found their feet properly and dig into one of their gooey cheese toasties washed down by a beer. In the mean time I recommend popping in for a deliciously reminiscent ice-cream soda and a few naughty cookies.

Ponsonby Central - Foxtrot Parlour

On Saturday Alice and I went for brunch at Ponsonby Central before braving the weather to go and watch the boys play rugby (NB: food comes before boys).

Ponsonby Central is the perfect place for a wet day because you can wander around eating and shopping for amazing food without your hair turning into a Sideshow Bob do from the rain.

To be honest I had only planned on having Foxtrot Parlour's famous doughnuts, and although doughnuts for breakfast seemed like a wonderful idea my hunger got the better of me and I had a proper meal (yawn).

After wandering around for a bit and getting in the way of about 100 parents with strollers we settled down at Foxtrot Parlour even though the doughnuts had sold out. If anyone is looking for a new local you should give this place a go- it has cool style and decor, an interesting and well priced menu and of course the food is delish!

Even though the place was packed we were served by friendly and helpful staff which was great for two people who are terrible at making decisions. Eventually, I decided on the uncharacteristically healthy lentils with poached eggs and Alice went with the maple sryup and coconut cream waffles. Both of our breakfasts were faultless and the tea and coffee was bang on as well.

So what was wrong with the place then? Well ahh not much. Except for the obvious doughnut crisis it was pretty awesome.

Foxtrot had some amazing looking cabinet food; from huge homemade meat pies to piles of lamingtons it all looked delicious. But I went to Ponsonby Central for doughnuts and I couldn't shake them from my mind.

After triple checking they didn't have any sneaky stock out the back we scooted next door to Little Bread and Butter where they had a pile of doughnuts calling my name (the healthy juice place was calling Alice's name but I suspect that was the post-waffle guilt). With out any more delay I grabbed a cream filled, sugar coated ball of calories and set to work. 

'You've got sugar on your nose' says Alice about an hour later.