Huxtaburger
Sometimes, when hungover or feeling particularly self-indulgent, the only food that will do is a really great burger.
Fortunately, Melbourne has its share of great places to get both a hangover and a burger – and sometimes you can collect them together.
Huxtaburger is such a place, serving both hot burgers and cold beer.
The premise behind the food is great American-style burgers, and they deliver.
The namesake 'Huxtaburger' and the crinkle-cut chips.
The namesake 'Huxtaburger' is the entry point to all of their full-sized burgers at $9, with a salt and peppered beef pattie, mustard, mayo, tomato sauce, tomato, cheese, lettuce & pickles, served on a well-buttered brioche bun - and they have really perfected the classic American burger. I lived in the US for 6 months and this is the closest I've gotten without hopping on a plane.
Hard at work in the Prahran Huxtaburger
The rest of their burgers are variations on the Huxtaburger. But although their thing is beef, they've finally added a chicken option to the menu: meet Clair.
The 'Clair' Chicken Burger
The Clair is a southern fried chicken burger with coleslaw and your choice of either regular or jalapeno mayo on the standard butter-smothered brioche bun. The piece of chicken itself is battered in a delicious southern spice blend that isn't too thick, like KFC - although it is rather greasy and looked like delicious dark thigh meat. The slaw is creamy and perfect and can be purchased as a side, which I will most likely be greedily doing the next time I'm feeling under the weather. Be forewarned, however, that the perfect coleslaw makes the bun soggy and difficult to eat.
Birds-eye view of the 'Clair' chicken burger and chips.
The only letdown is the crinkle-cut chips: super cute, but super crap. They also have a chipotle-flavouring at request, but the spice doesn't improve an otherwise bland chip that frankly needs more oil and less potato.
Strange Love's Organic Ginger Beer - Organic Energy Elixer
A decent drink selection, including a particularly zesty organic ginger beer that really helps add a bit of pep when you're feeling the effects of the night before. I came for the burgers, and I'd come back again for the ginger beer. And more burgers.
