Caught up with a mate of mine (aka Gerhard Burger) for lunch recently, and it was no question that it’d be for a burger – it was just a matter of where. Being in Docklands, the options were limited, so we decided to make our way to “Mr Grazier Café” in the NAB Building at 700 Bourke Street. I have been to this place before and found the burger to be ok (click here for review), so figured it was worth another shot. I know it’s not very often I mention other people in my reviews, ok I never have, but this time it’s warranted as it will help set the scene and tell the story.

Anyway, we perused the menu, ordered and found a seat. I went for the basic and straight forward “Mr G” burger – wagyu patty, mustard, mayo, tomato sauce, tomato, cheese, lettuce and pickles. When I sat down I realised I didn’t add bacon – rookie mistake!! Ugh!! The burgers arrived and looked good. I got stuck into it and after a few bites I said, “wow! This has some kick in it!”. It wasn’t until that comment was responded with “mine has no spice to it at all!”, that we realised the burgers had actually been mixed up. I got the burger that my eating partner in crime ordered – “Magic Mike (the hot one)”, which was exactly the same as the “Mr G” burger, except swap the mayo for chilli seasoning and jalapeño mayo!! Whoa! For someone that does not have a palate attuned to spicy food, this was definitely full of flavour! It also explained the sweat I was breaking into as well – lol

Otherwise, the meat was pretty good, and other ingredients were fresh and tasty too. The pickles were really strong (again) and unfortunately, the bun was very, very average. Despite not being a big burger, the bun ripped to pieces and fell apart.

Chips weren’t great either and were more like the salad you get on the side of a pub meal, where you just pick at it and mostly just move it around and look for the best parts. And luckily I ordered a water, as I needed something to extinguish the fire burning in my mouth!!

I did enjoy this hot experience, but not sure it would be something I’d order more often. Overall, the burger was ok, but just not enough for me to rave about.

Found myself in the Mount Waverley area recently, and headed out for a quick bite to eat. I pulled up at a group of shops trying to figure out where to go, then I turned to my right and saw something I didn’t know was there. It looked like a burger place, and upon closer inspection, it was and it was called “Black Label Grill”. I quickly checked the menu and liked what I saw, so I headed in to find out what it was like.

I grabbed a menu, sat down and started to work out exactly what I was going to have. Given I hadn’t heard anything about this place, I decided to go with their “Aussie” burger, which was like a burger with the lot. It came with black Angus beef, cheese, smoky bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, smoky BBQ sauce and “hold the beetroot!”. I decided to take the option of adding grilled pineapple too.

My interest for this burger grew as I waited. I started thinking about how awesome it would be if I accidentally stumbled across an amazing burger. It’d be like getting a Christmas present you love that’s not on your list! Anyway, the burger arrived and it looked pretty good. I picked it up, got a good grip and started to devour it. One of the first things that hits me is how sweet the pineapple was, maybe it was too sweet? I wasn’t sure. The meat was good and so were the other ingredients, especially the bacon. However, the bun wasn’t great and was a bit dry for my liking.

Chips on the side were not worth raving about, but the chocolate shake was reasonably good and accompanied the meal well.

Overall, it was a bit “hit and miss”. The burger simply lacked that “x-factor” that really lifts the experience to another level.  I would like to go back and try their “Bad Boy” burger with beef, pork schnitzel and chicken schnitzel, but this outing wasn’t enough for me to rush back anytime soon. I know that higher quality bourbon is often called “black label”, unfortunately that theory didn’t translate in the burger world this time!