The Brodburger returns

I don’t believe there is a burger in existence that is worth waiting an hour for.

GardeningGirl said :

Keijidosha said :

Duffbowl said :

quote]
I’m curious too? And why did it take so long to open?

I was told it took them a while to sort out the clearances from the health and other regulatory bodies – not surprising considering Silo, Gus’etc.

devils_advocate said :

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Better to be narrow-minded than ignorant. I was %u201Cpaying out%u201D on veggie burgers. Primarily because they are a contradiction in terms and therefore stupid.

…said the ignoramus. The OED, on the other hand, said:

vegeburger, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /?v?d???b??g?/ , U.S. /?v?d?i?b?rg?r/
Forms: 19%u2013 vegeburger, 19%u2013 veggie burger. Also with capital initial.
Etymology: < vege- (in vegetable n.) burger n.

But perhaps that’s talking about the patty, rather than the entire product. So is there some reason the word ‘veggie’ contradicts the word ‘burger’? No.

burger, n.
Pronunciation: /?b??g?(r)/
A familiar shortening of Hamburger […] denoting a roll, sandwich, etc., containing the foodstuff specified in the first element.

Cue somebody whining about how ‘burger’ is an Americanism in three, two…

Gees, and vegetarians wonder why people say they don’t have a sense of humour… you must be a laugh riot at dinner parties. Maybe you could close the circle and treat us to a lecture about how wrong our red-meat eating ways are?

Actually, I have figured it out. The chemical that activates the human sense of humour is found exclusively in red meat. Now I better run along and get some research funding.

Unfair. I can’t sleep, it’s 5.30, and despite my feeble vego humour glands, I am having a giggle at how incredibly angry some people can get over burgers. Or flattened round meat or meat substitute roll inserts, as I prefer to call them.

And if this keeps up, there’ll be a Mullyburger.

johnnynorthside said :

A review of the new (but not improved) Brodburger:

Taste: Fail. Nowhere near as tasty as the burgers that came out of the van. Big fail. The whole point of lining up at the van (esp in the cold) was that you ended up with a really, really good burger. Perhaps the cosy (and possibly grungy) confines of a caravan is what it takes to produce a good burger, but alas, my Brodburger tonight was nothing to write home about. Bland, burnt on one half, pink on the other. It was nice enough, but NOT worth the price or wait.
And bollocks to “it’s the first day” – plenty of time to get it right, and seriously, a good burger ain’t that hard!

Longer wait than usual. (70 minutes at 5.30pm today). Fail, especially considering the new location. Perhaps if you had more than one person taking orders, the queue to order would be shorter. In fact, now I think of it, it took longer to get served than it did to get the burger! Also, use at least one of the tills instead of a calculator…

Alcohol available, and reasonably priced. Nice one!

Undercover seating. Nice.

Pricing. FAIL. $12.80 for a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato and onions? Sure, blue cheese too, but it appeared to be a watered-down version of the red-van blue cheese. I think it was a bit smaller too, but could be wrong about that. Regardless, more than ten dollars for a burger?

Summary: good on you Brod-folk for trying, for sticking it out, and for ending up with what will surely be a cash-cow (pardon the pun), at least in the short term. However, it’s a shame your product is now not as good yet costs more.

I wonder if, once the noveltly wears off, whether it will continue to be as successful as it was. Perhaps some more Canberra Times front page action will help…

How the (bleep) can the van affect the flavour?

I seriously think some people were either overstating the flavour to themselves because of the novelty of the van or because it’s no longer novel, they’re looking harder for imperfections.

Having said that, 70min wait, if true (and you’re a fool if you really waited that long, I’d ask for my cash back after 25mins for a bloody burger), is over the top. But hey, if the sheeple want to do that, fine. I go the Grill’d, they have it ready fresh within 10mins and I can read everything from The Monocle and The Australian to Canberra Times and some arts mags they provide while I wait.
That and they give to a handful of local charities, and their basic burger is only $9.

Solidarity said :

$12.50?! They were originally $9!

Back in the day, when they first started it was a 5 minute wait, tops. This is back in the days when every Friday night Brodburger was on the cruise route for a varity of car clubs/groups and they’d all meet up, grab some burgers, and get on with the night. Was a great place to chat shit and get some food. Once the hipster crew cottoned on, attendance expolded, popularity went up and so did the wait times until they got ridiculous.

Hipsters? I don’t see that the hipsters were overrepresented in the demographic. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one – the burgers were just simply great. I’m a bit worried about the comments below but I’ll have to try them at the new location for myself.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Better to be narrow-minded than ignorant. I was “paying out” on veggie burgers. Primarily because they are a contradiction in terms and therefore stupid.

…said the ignoramus. The OED, on the other hand, said:

vegeburger, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /?v?d???b??g?/ , U.S. /?v?d?i?b?rg?r/
Forms: 19– vegeburger, 19– veggie burger. Also with capital initial.
Etymology: < vege- (in vegetable n.) + burger n.

But perhaps that’s talking about the patty, rather than the entire product. So is there some reason the word ‘veggie’ contradicts the word ‘burger’? No.

burger, n.
Pronunciation: /?b??g?(r)/
A familiar shortening of Hamburger […] denoting a roll, sandwich, etc., containing the foodstuff specified in the first element.

Cue somebody whining about how ‘burger’ is an Americanism in three, two…

Gees, and vegetarians wonder why people say they don’t have a sense of humour… you must be a laugh riot at dinner parties. Maybe you could close the circle and treat us to a lecture about how wrong our red-meat eating ways are?

Actually, I have figured it out. The chemical that activates the human sense of humour is found exclusively in red meat. Now I better run along and get some research funding.

A review of the new (but not improved) Brodburger:

Taste: Fail. Nowhere near as tasty as the burgers that came out of the van. Big fail. The whole point of lining up at the van (esp in the cold) was that you ended up with a really, really good burger. Perhaps the cosy (and possibly grungy) confines of a caravan is what it takes to produce a good burger, but alas, my Brodburger tonight was nothing to write home about. Bland, burnt on one half, pink on the other. It was nice enough, but NOT worth the price or wait.
And bollocks to “it’s the first day” – plenty of time to get it right, and seriously, a good burger ain’t that hard!

Longer wait than usual. (70 minutes at 5.30pm today). Fail, especially considering the new location. Perhaps if you had more than one person taking orders, the queue to order would be shorter. In fact, now I think of it, it took longer to get served than it did to get the burger! Also, use at least one of the tills instead of a calculator…

Alcohol available, and reasonably priced. Nice one!

Undercover seating. Nice.

Pricing. FAIL. $12.80 for a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato and onions? Sure, blue cheese too, but it appeared to be a watered-down version of the red-van blue cheese. I think it was a bit smaller too, but could be wrong about that. Regardless, more than ten dollars for a burger?

Summary: good on you Brod-folk for trying, for sticking it out, and for ending up with what will surely be a cash-cow (pardon the pun), at least in the short term. However, it’s a shame your product is now not as good yet costs more.

I wonder if, once the noveltly wears off, whether it will continue to be as successful as it was. Perhaps some more Canberra Times front page action will help…

devils_advocate said :

chewy14 said :

Actually, now I realise why our government has spent so much time and money on this.

Just out of idle curiosity, how much time and money was that?

The only government involvement of which I was aware was when *someone* (probably the mediocre “competitors” in Manuka/Kingston) were having a whinge about the fact that the brodburger was operating its van using a hawker’s license for $1 a day. Which they probably could have done indefinitely. On that basis, the government wasn’t really providing assistance, just responding to/ managing petty whingeing by private interests that lacked the ability to compete with a superior product.

Unless there’s more info you’d care to share with us?

Um where did I say I knew exactly how much they’d spent on it? Perhaps you know?

But money was spent on a retrofit of the cafe plus numerous hours spent accomodating them, all of which hasn’t been provided to any other small business.

Duffbowl said :

MLA Joy Burch was on the goggle box, extolling the virtues of Brodburger, and how the ACT Government was happy to assist their business with the relocation.

Is this a service offered to all businesses in Canberra?

Dwarfed by the ACT and federal govt assistance rendered to Tilleys. Fulltime pay for several employees for a full year was just part of that. In today’s money, Tilleys was subsidised to the tune of well over half a million dollars.

Yes! I knew that added area on the glassworks would be used properly eventually! It is a top little glass room, I was the sparky that did the work for that extension. The original clients wanted some fancy lighting controls that I had to provide using standard switches. I hope the BB staff can figure them out. Those ceiling mounted radiant strip heaters were an absolute bastard to mount but man they will be nice in the winter – sweet!

Better to be narrow-minded than ignorant. I was “paying out” on veggie burgers. Primarily because they are a contradiction in terms and therefore stupid.

…said the ignoramus. The OED, on the other hand, said:

vegeburger, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /?v?d???b??g?/ , U.S. /?v?d?i?b?rg?r/
Forms: 19– vegeburger, 19– veggie burger. Also with capital initial.
Etymology: < vege- (in vegetable n.) + burger n.

But perhaps that’s talking about the patty, rather than the entire product. So is there some reason the word ‘veggie’ contradicts the word ‘burger’? No.

burger, n.
Pronunciation: /?b??g?(r)/
A familiar shortening of Hamburger […] denoting a roll, sandwich, etc., containing the foodstuff specified in the first element.

Cue somebody whining about how ‘burger’ is an Americanism in three, two…

I think the van is only going to be in its current location for a short period of time, it was allowed to help them remind customers. Im not sure how long it is allowed to stay, but you’re spot on it does not look any better in its current location.

If they had to close down and move because the red van was ugly and not in keeping with the NCA aesthetes, why is it now on display roadside ? is it now aesthetically pleasing ?

Solidarity said :

$12.50?! They were originally $9!

Back in the day, when they first started it was a 5 minute wait, tops. This is back in the days when every Friday night Brodburger was on the cruise route for a varity of car clubs/groups and they’d all meet up, grab some burgers, and get on with the night. Was a great place to chat shit and get some food. Once the hipster crew cottoned on, attendance expolded, popularity went up and so did the wait times until they got ridiculous.

Petrol used to be 35 cents a litre, when you pulled up at the servo someone would come out and fill up your tank, wash your windows and check your oil, what’s your point?

devils_advocate said :

Is there at least respite from the incessant attacks of magpies? Surely that alone is worth something.

Yep, you’ll be safe from the maggies. And also the narrow-minded know-it-all faux hippy in the van.

cbjcurtin said :

As I’ve said before, best of luck to the team at Brodburger, Im sure they will iron out any teething issues and cut the waiting time. I haven’t been to the new cafe but I will give them a go.

Certainly happy to give them another go, too. I like the background and history and it’s awesome that a business has grown out nothing and earned itself such good will.

But it is a business.

$12.50?! They were originally $9!

Back in the day, when they first started it was a 5 minute wait, tops. This is back in the days when every Friday night Brodburger was on the cruise route for a varity of car clubs/groups and they’d all meet up, grab some burgers, and get on with the night. Was a great place to chat shit and get some food. Once the hipster crew cottoned on, attendance expolded, popularity went up and so did the wait times until they got ridiculous.

As I’ve said before, best of luck to the team at Brodburger, Im sure they will iron out any teething issues and cut the waiting time. I haven’t been to the new cafe but I will give them a go.

Holden Caulfield said :

Oh, IIRC it was $12.50 for a Classic Brodburger, $13 for Brodchicken/Brodfin and $18 for Broddeluxe.

Hrm. A $2.50 price hike on the basic burger for no apparent improvement in speed of service. I share at least some of your disappointment, but remain cautiously optimistic.

Is there at least respite from the incessant attacks of magpies? Surely that alone is worth something.

Solidarity said :

I think it’s funny that Grill’d is opening in Manuka. Do they seriously think they can compete with Sascha?

I guess they could compete with timeliness? If you don’t want to wait ages to order/receive said burger?

Hear, hear!

I went to Brodburger for lunch today. It was like precision clockwork…

Precisely 60 minutes after placing my order my burger arrived.

One full hour.

Joelle was talking about first day issues, thanking us for our patience (this was when ordering), yada, yada.

A bigger, more easy to use kitchen.

The same menu as the caravan.

The same staff (that I could see).

Why does it still take an hour to flip a few burgers?

Yes, it was busy. Yes, it is their first day. But the only thing new for them was having more room to move in the kitchen. Am I missing something?

I gave up going to the red van because, as good as the burgers are, they’re not worth an hour (or more) of my time.

So anyway, today’s burger was excellent and went some way to making up for the wait. The chips, perhaps unsurprisingly, were a little over cooked.

Get the wait time down to 15-20 minutes or so like Grill’d can seem to manage (with a far more extensive menu) and they’ll be on a winner.

If not, I suspect the table of 6-8 people today who left, with only a monetary refund for lunch, will be more than happy to go to Grill’d for sustenance.

Aside from that the venue looks good, there’s nice graphics on the walls and it seats 40-50 under cover, at a guess. I suspect the assistance from GovCo was an agreement to provide a space for them with (perhaps) some favourable conditions on the lease as the first tenant (NFI, I could be way off the mark).

Of course, some of the charm of going to the “secret” red van has been lost, it’s just a shame that it hasn’t made way for a more efficient lunch time experience. I’ll give them another go in a week or two, but if I have to waste another hour waiting for my tucker that’ll be it for me. No more.

Oh, IIRC it was $12.50 for a Classic Brodburger, $13 for Brodchicken/Brodfin and $18 for Broddeluxe.

chewy14 said :

Actually, now I realise why our government has spent so much time and money on this.

Just out of idle curiosity, how much time and money was that?

The only government involvement of which I was aware was when *someone* (probably the mediocre “competitors” in Manuka/Kingston) were having a whinge about the fact that the brodburger was operating its van using a hawker’s license for $1 a day. Which they probably could have done indefinitely. On that basis, the government wasn’t really providing assistance, just responding to/ managing petty whingeing by private interests that lacked the ability to compete with a superior product.

Unless there’s more info you’d care to share with us?

Any idea as to opening hours changing? Just checked their website, looks like it hasn’t been updated since 2009.

johnboy said :

$15-20? You’re ordering two?

God if only. It was so frustrating when you’d turn up at the van at 12:00, be the third person in line, have the van open for business at 12:15, only to have the person in front of your order lunch for their entire office.

Ah, memories.

devils_advocate said :

chewy14 said :

Solidarity said :

They’re bland as hell, may as well be cheeseless vegan burgers! If you want a black burger, may as well save $5 and buy something from Maccas

You’re talking about Brodburger right?

Although you did get one thing wrong, you’d save two hours and $10 if you went to Maccas.

Firstly, I think he might have been referred to grill’d, because nobody that is capable of operating a keyboard would suggest that Brodbugers are bland.

Secondly, yes it is true you save time and money by going to maccas, but by that logic you save even more time and money by eating a dog s–t off the ground. The latter is probably a healthier option, too.

And no one with a sense of reality would suggest paying 15-20 dollars to wait an hour for someone to put a bit of blue cheese on a burger is in any way good value or service. Actually, now I realise why our government has spent so much time and money on this.

chewy14 said :

Solidarity said :

They’re bland as hell, may as well be cheeseless vegan burgers! If you want a black burger, may as well save $5 and buy something from Maccas

You’re talking about Brodburger right?

Although you did get one thing wrong, you’d save two hours and $10 if you went to Maccas.

Firstly, I think he might have been referred to grill’d, because nobody that is capable of operating a keyboard would suggest that Brodbugers are bland.

Secondly, yes it is true you save time and money by going to maccas, but by that logic you save even more time and money by eating a dog s–t off the ground. The latter is probably a healthier option, too.

Galactaphonic said :

devils_advocate said :

johnboy said :

But they do have a vegetarian burger.

There is no such thing as a vegetarian burger. A burger is by definition made of a meat patty in a bun.

My suggestion for a new name is tree-hugging-hippy-crapwich.

WOW Paying out on a vegetarian what an original idea. So let’s get this right because somebody choses not to eat meat that are suddenly a “tree hugging hippy”? Imagine how amazing life would be if everyone liked the same music, ate the same food, saw the same films etc. Just goes to show how narrow minded people are.

Better to be narrow-minded than ignorant. I was “paying out” on veggie burgers. Primarily because they are a contradiction in terms and therefore stupid. Someone dragged the ideology and intolerance into it, but I wasn’t me.

Solidarity said :

They’re bland as hell, may as well be cheeseless vegan burgers! If you want a black burger, may as well save $5 and buy something from Maccas

You’re talking about Brodburger right?

Although you did get one thing wrong, you’d save two hours and $10 if you went to Maccas.

devils_advocate said :

johnboy said :

But they do have a vegetarian burger.

There is no such thing as a vegetarian burger. A burger is by definition made of a meat patty in a bun.

My suggestion for a new name is tree-hugging-hippy-crapwich.

WOW Paying out on a vegetarian what an original idea. So let’s get this right because somebody choses not to eat meat that are suddenly a “tree hugging hippy”? Imagine how amazing life would be if everyone liked the same music, ate the same food, saw the same films etc. Just goes to show how narrow minded people are.

Keijidosha said :

I’m also curious about the details of the Government’s “assistance” in relocating Brodburger. I’m completely in support of helping out the little guy, but the amount of Government interest in this food van seems oddly disproportionate – or at least it seems that way given the amount of exposure the relocation has received.

I don’t know how much or what assistance was provided, however given the sheer awesomeness of the product and the public outcry over various attempts over the years to move the red van on, no amount of assistance or intervention by whatever government is involved could be too much.

That is to say, you could devote the entire resources of all levels of government to saving the Brodburger and it would still be the one of the, if not the, most virtuous use of taxpayer money that the Territory has seen.

So arguments at the margins about the quantum of any assistance are moot.

They’re bland as hell, may as well be cheeseless vegan burgers! If you want a black burger, may as well save $5 and buy something from Maccas

Solidarity said :

I think it’s funny that Grill’d is opening in Manuka. Do they seriously think they can compete with Sascha?

I guess they could compete with timeliness? If you don’t want to wait ages to order/receive said burger?

In addition to whether the price has increased, I will also be very interested to see if the new facilities (which, although modest, appear far more conducive to increased production scale than the van) will, er, facilitate faster service times.

I’d be prepared to pay a modest price increase if I didn’t have to write off 2 hours of my life to get the burger (which admittedly is probably the best use of 2 hours of my life that is likley to occur, but still).

Solidarity said :

I think it’s funny that Grill’d is opening in Manuka. Do they seriously think they can compete with Sascha?

Much shorter drunken stumble, and still cheaper than anything at the Belgian Beer…

Keijidosha said :

I’m also curious about the details of the Government’s “assistance” in relocating Brodburger. I’m completely in support of helping out the little guy, but the amount of Government interest in this food van seems oddly disproportionate – or at least it seems that way given the amount of exposure the relocation has received.

+1 – how was this support rationalized? What form did it take? Are they paying market rent?

devils_advocate said :

My suggestion for a new name is tree-hugging-hippy-crapwich.

+1

johnboy said :

But they do have a vegetarian burger.

There is no such thing as a vegetarian burger. A burger is by definition made of a meat patty in a bun.

My suggestion for a new name is tree-hugging-hippy-crapwich.

Eppo said :

dpm said :

aceofspades said :

Is that a burger in the first photo? What do you eat after you have finished that mouthful?

I’m guessing that is a burger ‘canape’ for their classy soiree, though it’s a tad messy! Probably tastes good though. JB will be able to tell us! 🙂

Always helps to read.

From the first post: “mini burgers on offer last night”.

Oh so sorry, but not being a public servant I only get the luxury of skimming over the posts on RA during the few moments that I get when I am not doing that thing you might not have heard of called work.

Aaroncbr said :

I GOT A VEGAN BURGER AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY… GOOD.

Was it cooked on the same hotplate as everything else?

Keijidosha said :

Duffbowl said :

MLA Joy Burch was on the goggle box, extolling the virtues of Brodburger, and how the ACT Government was happy to assist their business with the relocation.

Is this a service offered to all businesses in Canberra?

I’m also curious about the details of the Government’s “assistance” in relocating Brodburger. I’m completely in support of helping out the little guy, but the amount of Government interest in this food van seems oddly disproportionate – or at least it seems that way given the amount of exposure the relocation has received.

I’m curious too? And why did it take so long to open?

Holden Caulfield said :

Aaroncbr said :

I GOT A VEGAN BURGER AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY… GOOD.

Were the grains used to make the bun milled humanely? Do they use harm minimisation techniques when preparing their food? Do they have a leather-free kitchen policy?

HA HA you got me!

Aaroncbr said :

I GOT A VEGAN BURGER AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY… GOOD.

Were the grains used to make the bun milled humanely? Do they use harm minimisation techniques when preparing their food? Do they have a leather-free kitchen policy?

dpm said :

aceofspades said :

Is that a burger in the first photo? What do you eat after you have finished that mouthful?

I’m guessing that is a burger ‘canape’ for their classy soiree, though it’s a tad messy! Probably tastes good though. JB will be able to tell us! 🙂

Always helps to read.

From the first post: “mini burgers on offer last night”.

aceofspades said :

Is that a burger in the first photo? What do you eat after you have finished that mouthful?

I’m guessing that is a burger ‘canape’ for their classy soiree, though it’s a tad messy! Probably tastes good though. JB will be able to tell us! 🙂

Aaroncbr said :

I GOT A VEGAN BURGER AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY… GOOD.

Then why do you sound so cheesed off?

Is that a burger in the first photo? What do you eat after you have finished that mouthful?

Keijidosha said :

Duffbowl said :

MLA Joy Burch was on the goggle box, extolling the virtues of Brodburger, and how the ACT Government was happy to assist their business with the relocation.

Is this a service offered to all businesses in Canberra?

I’m also curious about the details of the Government’s “assistance” in relocating Brodburger. I’m completely in support of helping out the little guy, but the amount of Government interest in this food van seems oddly disproportionate – or at least it seems that way given the amount of exposure the relocation has received.

Maybe they’ll get free burgers for life after they retire from the Assembly? 🙂

I GOT A VEGAN BURGER AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY… GOOD.

Duffbowl said :

MLA Joy Burch was on the goggle box, extolling the virtues of Brodburger, and how the ACT Government was happy to assist their business with the relocation.

Is this a service offered to all businesses in Canberra?

I’m also curious about the details of the Government’s “assistance” in relocating Brodburger. I’m completely in support of helping out the little guy, but the amount of Government interest in this food van seems oddly disproportionate – or at least it seems that way given the amount of exposure the relocation has received.

I think it’s funny that Grill’d is opening in Manuka. Do they seriously think they can compete with Sascha?

johnboy said :

But they do have a vegetarian burger.

Burgers made from vegetarians? Ick!

Would be good if the government bent over backwards for all small businesses like they have for this burger joint.
Are they up to $20 a burger yet?

That one would not be, because who would do such a thing.

But they do have a vegetarian burger.

So, the burger in the foreground of the first photo wouldn’t be vegetarian would it?

c_c said :

Grill’d is moving in up at Manuka soon, will be interesting to see if that deters some from making the hike. Looks like the “premium burger” market is heating up… can’t come soon enough in a world of Hungry Jacks and Maccas.

You mean Hungrys and Maccas aren’t premium?

To be fair it wasn’t just the great and the good. Plenty of big men with big beards and the women who love them too.

MLA Joy Burch was on the goggle box, extolling the virtues of Brodburger, and how the ACT Government was happy to assist their business with the relocation.

Is this a service offered to all businesses in Canberra?

Holden Caulfield said :

Kinda goes against the grain to have a fancy pants launch for Canberra’s glitterati (haha) seeing as Brodburger made its name thanks to word of mouth spread by the common man.

I agree (but that’s most likely because I wasn’t invited considering how many of their burgers I’ve consumed is a little rough)

What’s a brodburger worth these days?

Kinda goes against the grain to have a fancy pants launch for Canberra’s glitterati (haha) seeing as Brodburger made its name thanks to word of mouth spread by the common man.

Might check it out this week all the same.

Grill’d is moving in up at Manuka soon, will be interesting to see if that deters some from making the hike. Looks like the “premium burger” market is heating up… can’t come soon enough in a world of Hungry Jacks and Maccas.

Endrey said :

Haha one of the jackals is Ramsay. Now the Kingston Arts Precinct beats the City ‘Arts Precinct’, which is mainly a carpark and Indian restaurant.

City has an arts precinct?

Haha one of the jackals is Ramsay. Now the Kingston Arts Precinct beats the City ‘Arts Precinct’, which is mainly a carpark and Indian restaurant.