Fancy Burger, Blackwood, South Australia by Big Fil

What can I say, after a single visit with Red and Hungry Pete I am a fan of Fancy Burger. Admittedly not as big fan as some seem to be. But still nevertheless a fan. So why aren’t I completely in love with Fancy Burger?

I think it’s because I am more of an old school hamburger guy. I read a comment that compared Fancy Burgers to Grill’d in Melbourne and I think it’s a good one. Grill’d hamburgers are made for a niche between the average fish and chip hamburger and the gourmet burgers you can get at some gastro pubs. They use better than normal ingredients, maybe play around with them slightly, and dish them up in a café style environment.


These are not the only things I care about. I also want my hamburger cooked by someone who has been making them for the past twenty years and understands the subtle flavours and textures that can be imparted through the cooking process. I want to be able to taste the smokiness in the meat from the grill, that ‘grill hei’ that a really good hamburger cook can impart. In some ways that’s more important to me than the quality of the ingredients, after all anyone can buy good ingredients but not everyone can get the best out of them.


On the other hand, I know Bureaucrat is a big fan of Grill’d and would probably see Fancy Burgers differently. And that’s a good thing, how boring would it be if we saw everything exactly the same?


Despite not being my preferred style of burger I did enjoy it a lot. My choice was the Holy Smokes, a good burger with a nicely toasted bun and a smoky flavoured sauce. My main problem, well the smoky flavour all seemed to come from the sauce and not from the cooking process. Not a mortal sin but still something which would keep it off the top shelf of the very best hamburgers I’ve tried.


I did have one bigger issue though. The chips were good, well cooked and crunchy, but a bit easier on the salt guys. I found myself needing to give each chip a good shake before eating, much much saltier than I like.


Overall
Good hamburgers even if they didn’t blow my socks off, and my interest was piqued by the pear cider offering (although I didn’t try it). At around 20 minutes drive from Hungry Pete’s digs I think it’s worth the drive out there if I feel like a burger. In fact I think Red made a visit with a friend the next day. Service is fine and prices reasonable (you’ve got to expect to pay a little more to get a little more). Somewhere I’d like to go back to to try more of the menu but I am not desperate to do so.

Verdict
Food – 7.5
Ambience – 7
Service – 6.5
Price – 7

Address
Shop 4/237 Main Road
Blackwood SA 5051
Tel: (08) 8370 0388