The last time I went to Brooklyn Depot in Surfers Paradise, I discovered a new “contender” for the best burger of all time. So now 12 months later, I found myself on holidays and close by again. How could I resist giving it another go? Whilst I was tempted to relive the previous experience by ordering the same thing, I also wanted to try out another one of their tasty treats and see how it stacked up.

This time, I ordered “the ‘Cookout’ Ultimate BBQ Burger”, which came with tender beef brisket, juicy beef rib meat, Depot slaw, sliced pickles, jalapeño poppers, crispy mozzarella sticks, Sriracha mayo and BBQ sauce. This was definitely something different to what I would usually order, and I couldn’t wait to find out how it tasted.

This was a big burger and after taking a few seconds to admire this statuesque beauty, I picked it up and got straight into it. First bite was amazing. The meat was “melt in your mouth” level and tasted so good. The different ingredients were not likely to be somethings I would like on their own, for example eating jalapeño poppers or loads of pickles with nothing else would not be my idea of tasty. But with everything together, it worked really well. The crunchiness of the slaw and pickles was well complimented by the soft meat. The mozzarella sticks provided the perfect amount of gooey, cheesiness and the soft, tasty bun held it all together nicely.

Chips on the side were really good too. I just had a water this time, and whilst I had a small amount of regret that I didn’t grab one of their tasty shakes, I was so full afterwards that it’s probably just as well that I didn’t!

Overall, another great experience. This burger reinforced the importance of revisiting places and trying something different because you never know what you might discover. Brooklyn Depot is definitely somewhere worth visiting – Surfers Paradise or Melbourne!

Finally the sun was out in Melbourne recently and it was a reasonably warm day too, so I was pleased to be out in Chapel Street for lunch at Tommy Ruff. For those of you who follow TGBC, you will know that I am a big fan of Tommy Ruff, and have eaten at their Elsternwick store plenty of times, however this was the first time I was at their Windsor store. I actually wanted something different this time, so I ordered the crumbed whiting, which is always amazing, and this time was no exception.

However, the owner decided I had to try a different burger from their menu and brought me their “Spiked” burger for dessert, so to speak. Despite already being reasonably full, how could I not accommodate this request. As they say, “there’s always room for a burger” right? Plus it was fish, so how filling could it be? Lol

No doubt you have heard of southern fried chicken, but what about about southern fried Barramundi? That’s right. Southern Fried Barramundi! This burger monster had a double layer of it, plus southern slaw, crunchy pickles, chilli, coriander and smokey chipotle. I couldn’t wait to try it, and from the first bite, it was amazing!

The Barramundi was so fresh and tasty, and the southern coating was awesome. The fish was literally melting in my mouth with each bite. The softness of the fish was brilliantly counteracted by the crunchiness of the slaw and pickles. The sauce had just the right amount of “zing” to it too. And the sweet, soft bun topped off an overall great burger.

Two fried dim sims on the side, which are an old favourite of mine. All washed down with Tommy Ruff’s own lager beer, and the afternoon couldn’t get much better.

So whether you are looking for a beef burger, fish burger or just some of the best seafood in town, Tommy Ruff is the place to go – Windsor, Elsternwick or Mordialloc. Try the southern fried Barramundi – I don’t think you will be disappointed!

You can check out these past burger reviews from Tommy Ruff too….
“Double Sinker Burger”
“Stump Jumper”