📍Betty's Burgers, Melbourne

Winding down my first night in Melbourne, I wanted a burger. I like visiting local chains in different countries. It feels like a cultural experience more than a culinary experience. I chose Betty's Burgers because it felt like Australian Shake Shack, they are local and exclusive to Australia, and it was open.

I went to the location in the center of the central business district. It wasn't too long before closing so they had closed off some restaurant sections for seating. I walked up to the counter to order, they gave me a buzzer, and I took a seat. One section had 7-8 tables with a few people sitting. My section had 3 tables with only one other table occupied.

Fat Yak is local to Australia. It's Pale Ale made with 100% malt so it unsurprisingly had a malty, bitter finish. It was a good beer to have with a burger. Most burgers, especially Smashburger styles have generous amounts of salt and sweetness from some sauce. The bitterness of the beer brings balance to those salty sweet flavors in the burger.

I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger and an order of fries. The fries are the shoestring, fast food style. They came hot and well-salted. The burger came wrapped in paper with about 1/3 sticking out. My burger had lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, American cheese, their sauce, and bacon all in a squishy bun.

The beef was smashed for improved contact area on a griddle making the surface area crisp. The trendy smash burgers try to get thin and crispy from edge to edge, these maintain some texture difference in the middle closer to a roadside-style burger. The sauce was mayo-based but closer to ranch but not ranch and didn't have a noticeable ketchup component. The tomato, lettuce, and sauce brought this fresh feeling to the burger that paired well with the beef.

The first day in Melbourne is in the books. The first burger in Melbourne is in the books. I have a few more days here and can already tell it won't be enough.

If you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy sharing them, please consider buying me a coffee. I might just write about it. ☕ Buy me a coffee.