Continuing the Hungry Jack’s theme; a few years ago they had an ad campaign for their Whopper. It had the tagline of “it takes two hand to understand”. A number of my friends tried to convince me that I should “sue them” as it was discrimination against me. Clearly my friends had never tried eating a Whopper with fewer than two hands. It can be done, is delicious but it makes a hell of a mess. Hungry Jack’s had clearly done their research. This thought was brought up while having lunch for my birthday a few days ago.
As a surprise for my birthday, my mother decided that she would take me to my cousin’s (sort of) new restaurant, Steakroad Bar and Grill, at the Leura Hotel in Camperdown. Unfortunately, there are no surprises when there are little children involved. “Ben, we are going out for lunch with you for your birthday. It’s a surprise!” Thanks Maisy, my 3 year old niece. The restaurant moved from it's Cobden location to it's current home earlier in the week so it was only fitting that we should check the place out.
The last time I was in the Old Leura Hotel would have been at least ten years ago and my memories of it were not good. A dark, grubby old place that needed a lot of TLC so I was pleasantly surprised by the restoration work that had been done to the Victorian era building. For starters, you are welcomed by a ramp for wheelchair (and pram) access and a bright and clean interior. A kid's room, packed with things to play with, is strategically placed in the corner. The lunch menu is well-stocked with steaks, obviously, but has an assortment of other choices. I chose the "Classic Steakroad Burger" for the same reason as I got the kebab at the kebab shop... it has their name on it, so it must be good. After a bit of a wait the burger arrived and boy did my eyes bulge when I saw it.
My introduction was about the Whopper making a mess. The size and volume of the Classic Steakroad creates something like a tornado through a trailer park compared to the spilt chocolate milk of the Whopper. As you can see from the picture, my mouth can only grasp half the burger. When my mouth is the only opposing digits I have in my upper body, how was I meant to control what the burger was doing while I was trying to eat it. It went everywhere. At about the halfway mark, a fork was employed to stem the tide and clean things up. This somewhat helped and I think I will take this tactic on earlier next time, but it was too late. The Burger was already a train wreck. By the time I had wrestled through the burger and cleaned up the chips, I was absolutely chockers. I could not fit another thing in. The meal, apart from it's awkwardness, was spot on. Perfect amount of food with an exceptional flavour. To finish the meal off, Maisy invited me back to her place for "birthday cake... I mean, for a surprise". How can you say no to a three-year-old?
It was a pleasant "surprise" to try out a new burger at a new restaurant location. Marlin and Caitlin have done a great job of the place and I look forward to seeing how it all goes for them in the future.