My favourite novel of all time is ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F.Scott Fitzgerald. On the surface, many people love the book because of Gatsby’s obvious wealth, his impeccable style and his partying lifestyle.

However, those aren’t the reasons I love the book or the character Gatsby.

I love the book because I believe it’s a tale about a man trying to recreate the past and failing. He pursues a former flame thinking that she’s what makes him happy and being unaware that she was just a piece of a puzzle. He didn’t know (or refused to believe) that he had changed and that the situation could never be recreated again.

…so why’d I start out the post that way? Well, the burger I had at Shake Shack is my favourite burger of all time. I was in New York, I was happy and about to commence an exciting new stage in my life. Was it the burger or was I just at my absolute apex as a jovial human at that time?

Ok, it was all about the burger. I heard whispers that the Burger Project in the CBD drew inspiration from Shake Shack.

Needless to say, I was there in an instant with my homie Michael from I’m Still Hungry.

Yeah, the boys are back in town.

Brought to you by the man behind Rockpool, Neil Perry wanted to give the people what they want minus the hefty price tag associated with fine dining. I’ve been to Rockpool before (pre-iFat when I was in good shape and had actual savings) and I can still wax poetical about how ridiculous the burgers were.

All burgers (except for the mushroom burger) are under $10. Which is why Michael from I’m Still Hungry and I decided to get four.

Yeah, we had four burgers between us. We’re two hungry guys except with way less Instagram followers (heh).

But first we had to bring some boys to the yard (spoiler alert: no one else came with us).

Story time: I got incredibly sick the last time I had a milkshake. It was my own fault as I decided to wash down some salmon with an incredibly rich milkshake. It rendered me paralysed and my buddy just walked away in disgust.

Anywho, the polar opposite occured at the Burger Project. I sampled both shakes and both were quite subtle. I was honestly expecting to be whacked in the face with an old school, syrup heavy shake but nope. My chocolate shake was like chocolate milk with only a teaspoon of Nesquick instead of the three tablespoons I used to sneak in. However, I really dug how thick it was, the liquid consistency made up for slight lack of flavour punch.

I love being a Sydney sider for a lot of different reasons (great weather, awesome culinary scene, high speed internet) but hot damn, have you guys noticed how spoilt for choice we are when it comes to fries & chips?

I feel like every place I visit as of late is packing some serious heat in the potato department and Burger Project isn’t an exception. These were served piping hot and dusted with salt and vinegar. Normally, you don’t get a tonne of potato when chips are advertised as having being cooked multiple times. You sort of learn to expect a crunchy shell that serves as a great utensil to get some sauce.

Not here, my friend. These were packed with starchy goodness AND retained crunch. I wish that there had been more…but I’m like Ashton Kutcher in the early 2000s, I always want Moore.

I probably should’ve addressed this in the introduction but f*ck it. I know reviewing Burger Project right now is far from an original idea. That’s one of the reasons why people aren’t huge fans of PR campaigns when it comes to bloggers, you get oversaturated with reviews on the exact same restaurant.

Let me raise a counterpoint, no two people ever share the exact same taste. This is why I’m secretly scared of ending up alone, I’ve already been seen as attractive to one woman, what are the odds that someone shares the exact same taste as she does. I’m serious, can anyone come up with an Excel spreadsheet breaking down the possibility? Anywho, people generally think about things differently. It’s what makes us all unique individuals.

…..let’s get back to the food. I had been warned by my buddy Ramen Raff to opt for a bacon-less variation but NOT adding bacon to my meal is against my religion.

Let me hit you with an analogy. Have you ever walked into a movie because of a star actor/actress but walk out of the movie really impressed with a supporting actor? That’s exactly what happened here, I expected to be blown away by an awesome patty, soft buns, fresh salad or melted cheese but the show ended up being dominated by bacon. I’m ok with that because bacon and I go way back but it’s hard to isolate how awesome the patty is with such a dominant force.

Most people opt for the chicken burger because it’s perceived as being ‘healthier’ due to most establishments offering skinless patties made of breast meat. I only care about my burger being tasty so you know what the homies at the Burger Project did?

They kept the skin on the chicken! I was so pleasantly surprised that I started doing a little dance. I know the skin is the fattest part, but have you seen the name of this blog? It’s iLoveFatParts. The accompanying slaw offered a tangy complement to the tender chicken. Top it off with some creamy mayo and you’ve got a killer burger.

I love pork belly more than I love my son.

I stand by my statement even though I don’t have a child.

My buddy, Mike has already stated how ingenious it was to include crackling in the burger. Not only is the pork crackling delicious, it also adds a different dynamic to what would’ve been a rather soft burger. The pork was also incredibly well layered and tender in texture. Once again, the slaw proved to be slawesome no matter who it shared its room with.

Our messiest burgerfriend was also our most unique. I had never really thought about throwing kimchi in my burger because my culinary imagination is pretty limited. I liked how the kimchi just made the entire burger concoction incredibly juicy. I thought this would be a great platform for the patty to shine through but it really relied upon its supporting acts for flavour. Fortunately, they came through in the clutch and I really enjoyed the unique combo.

Then again, I love all things Korean so take all of my opinions with a grain of salt and vinegar. Hyuna, please call me.

Please.

‘Cause I want nobody nobody but you (I am well aware that that’s not a Hyuna song….just…ok?)

Here’s the TL;DR for everyone who had their parents help them out with their homework projects when they were kids

– They say you are what you eat. I am aware that I’m a project. I still have a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be as a son, brother, nephew, writer and all-round bachelor….sh*t, where was I going with this?

– The chips are amazing. I’d go back just for the chips. Good thing they have some crazy burgers to go with them.

– Oh! I remembered where I was going with the first point.  I may be a work in progress, but I’m still fucking delicious as it is. Plot twist: I am the Burger Project

***

Burger Project, CBD (right next to Din Tai Fung)

World Square Shopping Centre
Shop 1106 644 George St Sydney, NSW 2000

Opening Hours:

Open 7 days: 11:00am-10:00pm

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