28 weeks ago (July 2014), I started my burger conquest. So far I have eaten just over 80 burgers, and I have to say, I have loved every minute of it. Over this time, my consumption averages out to be roughly three burgers per week, which seems to be the magic number to maintain my weight and not put on the kilos despite eating double, triple and quadruple patty burgers when the opportunity arises. The ever growing Burgers of Melbourne list is never ending, every café, every restaurant and every pub is serving a burger as well as new the popup burger joints that are appearing every month. This is making it a tough gig getting around to them all, but someone has to do it!
I found Cafe 51 by accident, but I am so glad I did, as this place is ridiculously good value and their burgers are nothing like you will get anywhere else in Melbourne.
The first burger I tried was the Jalapeño Business Burger: Two beef patties, two slices of American Cheddar, jalapeños, mild salsa, bacon, lettuce, red onions and corn chips on a brioche bun. It came with a side of chips and a drink and was only $12.00! The burger deal is usually $10.00, but with the additional patty at only $2.00, I couldn’t resist adding it.
Being a burger that made it straight into my top 10 list, I had to invite another burger blogger along to try Café51 to see if their opinion was consistent with mine. Just like I thought, they also rated this hidden café , set amongst the industrial part of South Melbourne, just as highly.
My second visit to Cafe 51 I thought I would be adventurous and order two burgers in the one sitting.
The first burger was the Maple Bacon Canuck: Two beef patties, two slices of American Cheddar, two rashes of crispy bacon, pickles, BBQ sauce, mustard and aoli. All for only $7.00.
Juicy and tasty, this burger was dripping with flavour. The mixture of sauces was perfect while the sauce to meat to bread ratio was spot on. They even supplied a wet wipe, which came in handy, as being so juicy, a little bit of a mess was made. That is really the only criticism I have, but can a burger really be too juicy?
The second burger was the Death by Chocolate: Bacon, cheese, beef patty, chocolate sauce, BBQ sauce and popping candy in a sandwich of waffles for $7.00
I really didn’t know what to expect with this one, as I have never even thought of this combination, but WOW! It has to be tasted to be believed. If you are heading down to Cafe 51, order this for dessert and share it if you cannot eat it on your own, you won’t regret it!
After two successful visits, on my third visit I decided to triple it up and tried one of the new burgers on the menu, the Triple Jerk: Three beef patties, three slices of American cheddar, three rashes of crispy bacon, grilled onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and homemade jerk sauce for $9.00.
Having had my share of burgers over the last seven months, I’ve experienced awesome, average and not so good burgers. The burgers served at Café51 confidently sit in the awesome category. Three visits, and three very successful tastings. With the majority of their burgers being $7.00 and the most expensive burger on the menu being $9.00, these are by far the best value burgers Melbourne has to offer and are sitting in my top 10 most tastiest too!
Their hours are also a plus – open 6:00am – 3:00pm Monday – Friday and from February 2015 extending their hours to include Saturday’s from 11am – 3pm to capitalise on the weekend burger rush. They have also said if you mention ‘Burgers of Melbourne’, you will receive a free serve of chips with every burger order made, a good incentive to make your way down for a cheap and tasty eat.
CAFE 51
51 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne
03 9699 7853