Boombap

Tucked away on the ground floor inside the Exchange Tower on Little Collins Street, Boombap is a hole-in-the-wall kind of place. But its size is very much disproportionate to the flavours they pack into the food they serve.

Top: Boombap storefront
Bottom: buttermilk fried chicken & coleslaw bap, iced mocha

The storefront is welcoming and has a definite street-food feel about it. Menu items are handwritten on chalkboards above the counter and along the top of one of the back walls (which is also lined with cassette tapes).

While there isn't a fixed menu, I'm told there are three regular items - the buttermilk fried chicken & coleslaw bap, the gumbo, and the Texas BBQ beef roll (previously, the philly cheesesteak). Today's menu features crispy fish po'boy, sauteed mushroom baguette, corn & chilli chowder and hot & spicy chicken wings amongst other soul food classics.

I order a buttermilk fried chicken bap and an iced mocha and seat myself on one of the four seats available to dine-in customers (limited seating doesn't seem to be a problem as most people order to go).

The bap arrives in a brown paper bag, and it's huge! The bap is overflowing with crispy pieces of fried chicken and plenty of coleslaw that makes the whole thing taste healthy! Bonus points to these guys for serving this in a little polystyrene box to catch all the bits that fall out.

The iced mocha is nice and refreshing - not too sweet and without the mounds of whipped cream that usually make an iced mocha sickeningly rich. 

Amazing food and excellent service. A very pleasant start to my day off!

Brodburger

Location: 11 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston ACT (next to the Old Bus Depot Markets)
Phone: 0424 635 824
Link: www.brodburger.com.au
Cuisine: Burgers

I will probably be flame-grilled by local Canberrans for this post.

For most, Brodburger is the burger joint of Canberra. It's a tourist must-see, a late night craving satisfy-er and apparently the best burgers in town.

Wrong.

Don't get me wrong, the burgers do taste pretty good and are jam-packed with delicious fillings. But to be frank, the burgers are expensive, overrated and after all that, you still have to wait at least 30 minutes (on a good day) for your food. (By which time, anything would taste good!)

The first time I went, Brodburger was still a van in a park. The burger was delicious, but that was relative to the hour wait in the cold and dark.

My more recent visit was well after they had moved into the old glassworks building at the OBDM. You'd expect that perhaps now having a proper functioning kitchen, they would make the burgers faster. Wrong. The burgers still took almost an hour to come out.

Brodchicken - succulent butterflied Chicken breast, flame grilled.
Topped with bacon, avocado, fresh lettuce, tomatoes &
Spanish onions. Includes homemade aioli & tomato relish

A Brodchicken costs $14.50. Add another $2.50 for chips and with a drink you're looking at close to $20. The burgers are good, but when you compare them to the London, Grill'd and the newly opened Shorty's, the burgers at Brodburger just aren't worth the price or the wait.

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Shorty's Canberra

Location: 29 Garema Place, Canberra City
Link: www.facebook.com/pages/Shortys-Canberra/448326301906294?fref=ts
Cuisine: Pub, Modern Australian, Fusion

Recently opened, Shorty's is a welcome and refreshing addition to the cluster of restaurants in Civic. Unlike its neighbouring cafes with standard menus and the 'same old stuff', Shorty's is a trendy pub with an exciting menu, an extensive drinks list and just a general 'feel-good' vibe about it. 

I've been so impressed I've been twice in 3 days (and I usually don't visit the same restaurant more than once a week if I can help it)!

My first visit was a casual Sunday lunch. The specials board caught my eye and after a quick skim of the menu, I opted for the soft shell crab sanga. I'm pretty sure the menu didn't say it came with chips and aioli, so when the paddle board arrived with a crusty bread roll and a generous pile of crinkle cut chips with aioli, I was already impressed.

soft-shell crab sanga with crinkle cut chips and aioli

The 'sanga' was a brilliant modern take on the traditional Vietnamese banh mi. Instead of a traditional pork filling, the crusty bread roll was filled with deep fried soft-shell crab and avocado replaced the pate. And in line with tradition, the usual suspects of pickled carrots, chilli and coriander were all present. The crab was crispy and well seasoned, the avocado was smooth and creamy and offset both the fried crab and the pickled carrots beautifully. I hope this one gets added to the regular menu, because it's definitely a hit.

There's always something about crinkle cut chips that make them taste better than straight cut chips, and in this case the crinkle cut helped them hold onto 'shorty's seasoning'. I'm not quite sure what went into it, but was amazing.

Dropped in for lunch again today with some colleagues with high expectations since I had talked the place up. Shorty's didn't disappoint and the colleagues were definitely impressed. 

pulled BBQ pork burger with coleslaw & sweet mayonnaise

This time I went for the pulled BBQ pork burger. A bit of a messy eat, but definitely worth the mess. The pork was soft, tender and juicy, and smothered in a sweet and sticky BBQ sauce. The richness of the pork and the sauce was nicely balanced with a fresh crunchy coleslaw and sweet and tangy mayo.

Again, the crinkle cut chips were the perfect accompaniment. And they have James Squire apple cider on tap!

Inside can a little loud so can be difficult for conversations, but if the weather is good, opt for a table on the deck. It's a little quieter, and you can sit back and enjoy the fresh air and whatever you have chosen to entertain your taste buds with.

You don't get all that many great places in Canberra, and Shorty's is definitely a must visit for foodies and non-foodies alike (and I'll definitely be going back).

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

The London

Location: 121 London Circuit, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6257 1986\
Link: www.thelondonburgersbeers.com.au
Cuisine: Burgers and beers

Located in the Sydney Building in Civic, the London is a relatively new eatery and one to add to my list of Canberran eateries that have decent food at reasonable prices.

The London specialises in burgers and beers. And by that I mean, the menu is about 90% burgers and beers. Just as well we were after burgers then!

The menu sports four burgers under each meat category (beef, lamb, chicken or scotch fillet) as well as vegetarian burgers, salads and oddly enough, a crumbed fish dish. We ordered a scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, and a Mexican chilli beef burger. Both came with beer battered chips and sweet chilli with sour cream dipping sauce.

Scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, tomato and basil salsa, garlic aioli, lettuce and onion

The burger was one of the best I've tasted. The flavours were well-balanced between the smokiness of the scotch fillet, the creaminess of the bocconcini, the acidity of the salsa and the freshness of the salad ingredients. The scotch fillet was cooked just right - well cooked enough for my liking, but still retaining the meat juices and being tender enough to bite through in a burger. There was a very small part that was a little on the stringy side, but for the price paid ($14), it was a negligible problem.

The chips significantly exceeded my expectations. Far too many places fail to reach the compromise between having a chunky chip that remains crispy. These ones achieved just that - chunky chips that had a solid amount of fluffy potato encased within a crispy batter coating that actually made a 'crunch' sound when bitten into. Perfection? I'd have to say it was pretty much there.

Mexican chilli beef burger with melted Swiss cheese, spicy tomato salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and onion

Reports indicate that the Mexican beef burger was similarly pleasing.

Now, I would probably get in trouble if I did not spruik the drink deals. The menu lists eight beers available on tap, and you can get a jug for $10, and $8 on Sundays. And yes, the deal also applies to cider.

$8 jug of cider

Prices were good, the burgers range from $12 to $14 and drinks are reasonably cheap. Service time was average but it was well worth the wait.

My dining companions were also very impressed with the decor, and the large televisions showing the rugby.

I think we've found a new 'local'.

Overall Impression: 9/10