Cultural Commons, Springvale by Obelix

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Cultural Commons, Springvale by Obelix

Cultural Commons now stands in what used to be an old strip joint. Or so says my male friends. Hmph. It's surprising how much historical knowledge these guys can dredge up on topics of interest. Set in the unlikely place of downtown Springvale, right opposite the train line, it is an anomaly in the land of pho. P and his mates have been raving about their burgers for some time now. So one weekend, Kiddo, P and I decided to hit them up for a greasy feed.

Cultural Commons, Springvale, softshell crab, burger

Instagram feeds have been full of soft shell burgers lately so I figured why not joint the fray and order one myself. The burger itself came on a brioche bun, suitably buttery. The soft shell crab was deep fried and unfortunately I could not taste the crabby flavours above the oil it was fried in. Whilst it was indulgent, it made me feel a bit sickly for the remainder of the afternoon. I could feel my cholesterol levels rising with each bite... The chips were considered light in comparison. Crispy with some sort of tex mex spice, the chips felt like a salad on my palate in between mouthfuls of soft shell crab burger.

Cultural Commons, Springvale, double patty burger

P opted for his usual double beef patty. It's a downward slippery slope to gluttony and he assured me that he is only going for the double patty because that way, I can have a patty with him. As if I was not greasing my insides enough with the soft shell crab. However after one bite of his burger patty, I was very pleased he did go for the double. It was juicy with a hickory smoked taste and a BBQ sauce which was not sickening sweet. Did I say 'Juicy'? For it was the most deliciously juiced up burger I have ever sunk my maw into this side of the southern hemisphere. Dang, I should have gone for the beef burger! Major food envy ensued for the remainder of the meal as I narrowed my eyes at P at each of his bites.

Cultural Commons, Springvale, fish and chips

I was not envious at all of Kiddo's meal. She went for the fish and chips from the kids menu. It was one of those frozen fish fillets I sometimes bunged in the oven for her for dinner except deep fried to a blisteringly bone dry. It virtually soaked up all the moisture in my mouth as I chewed Kiddo's leftovers.