Huxtaburger

Where: Huxtaburger
What: Saturday lunch
Rating: 13.5/20

I am currently in full blown exam procrastination mode. As such, it will come as no surprise that I *had* to spend all day Saturday away from my house and thus away from any semblance of my accounting studies (no doubt the most painful MBA subject to date!). I had a craving for pho and decided to head to Victoria Street accordingly. Road works and a footy match prompted a reconsideration of route and, subsequently, eating plans. My beloved and I found ourselves heading north towards Collingwood/Fitzroy, with our discussion of lunch options oscillating between Ladro (a perennial favourite of ours) and Birdman Eating (likewise an excellent option). However, as we turned onto Smith Street, the *gazillion* of recent reviews of Huxtaburger popped into mind and I decided it was imperative that we try the burger joint for ourselves.

We were fortunate enough to beat the lunch hour rush (arriving just after 12pm) and secured an outdoor table in absolutely bitter cold, wintery conditions (Huxtaburger peeps: I saw you have a staircase inside...oh, how I longed for some indoor seating up there. For the love of burgers, please create somewhere warm for customers during the Winter months - a couple of outdoor heaters wouldn't go astray either. Pretty please?!).

I digress. We placed our orders and sat shivering for a good 10 minutes as our lunches were being prepared. During this time, the lunch onslaught commenced - first three or four people waiting for a table/takeaway pick-up, up to nearly ten by the time we were leaving.

My much anticipated Huxtaburger (beef pattie, mustard, mayo, tomato sauce, tomato, cheese, lettuce and pickles), crinkle cut chips and mineral water arrived, the burger's brioche bun glistening noticeably.

I have to be honest here. The meal was nice. Very nice, in fact. It did not, however, live up to my lofty expectations (perhaps due to other blogger claims that this is, or at least is among, Melbourne's best burger joints). The pattie was incredibly flavourful and moist and the fresh ingredients provided a lovely crisp contrast, but the burger was overpowered by waaaay too much mayo (this coming from a real mayo lover - you should see me down the stuff in Japan and Holland!). I also found the burger a tad too greasy for my liking, with the bun deflating into a bit of a soggy mess as soon as it was handled. The chips were fine, but rather unremarkable.

For me, lunch at Huxtaburger would have probably been a pleasant surprise had I stumbled upon the place myself. However, owing to the rave reviews of others, I felt somewhat let down. In the ever eloquent words of my beloved: "It was good. If I was nearby, I'd happily go again, but I wouldn't make the trek out to Collingwood just to eat there - Grill'd is round the corner and nearly as good".  

Kinda sums it up really...