The Ludlow Formation

Burger reviewed: Wagyu Burger, mahon cheese, istra bacon & Spanish mojo.

Venue: The Ludlow Formation

Date: 17 February 2012

This weeks burger adventure saw the Fellows on the pristine banks of the Yarra to sample Chef Marc Brown’s wagyu burger with mahon cheese, istra bacon and Spanish mojo.  One would have to work harder than Brad Haddin’s PR manager to find a better location for a meal.  The venue offers a mixture of seating arrangements, but this burger is best enjoyed on the terrace in full view of some of the finest eye candy running to and from ‘the tan’ - all against the backdrop of the city landscape.  This helped created an atmosphere where one would happily settle in for a few post-burger ales.

As any burger enthusiast would know, the burger experience is all about the pattie and while it was decent, it hardly set the world on fire.  In order to accommodate the afternoon rush, you got the sense that there was almost a rotisserie of burgers being processed with a focus in the kitchen of just finishing the task at hand and heading home– not at all dissimilar to the predicament that the Indian cricket team finds themselves in this summer.

As for the condiments, the Fellows were excited to sample the gastronomic experience that is ‘Spanish mojo’ and while we were disappointed the burger was not served by a Spanish Austin Powers, this spicy sauce provided an interesting kick to the burger.  This was complemented by a dollop of mayonnaise, and I mean dollop – you would have found it easier to get a bank loan in Greece than a sufficient supply of our beloved mayo.  I appreciate the societal push towards healthy eating, but seriously, do you think I really care about the notch on my belt when I sit down for a pint and burger? More mayo please!

The bun was about as seedy as Brendan Fevola after the 2009 brownlow, but this provided an interesting texture and surely enough fibre to pass the all-bran challenge.  To its credit, the bun provided some real structural integrity, a nice size and was able to withstand the journey without falling to bits.

The Ludlow Formation could do themselves a favour by heeding the famous words of Homer J Simpson – “You don’t make friends with salad”.  Based on the amount of greenery returning to the kitchen, I am not sure whether this was supposed to be salad or a garnish, but, whatever it was, the Ludlow Formation would be better off culling this unnecessary ingredient. A few polite souls were happy to shuffle the salad around their plate as if playing culinary air hockey, but all I can assume is that there is one very well fed rabbit out the back of the Ludlow Formation.

On the other side of the plate were some well-cooked and well-seasoned French fries.  There is a real lesson in that – simple but effective.  While I was disappointed there was no dipping sauce supplied at first instance, the waitress was more than accommodating to head back to the pantry to grab a side of some Heinz Big Red.

The burger itself could be likened to Andrew Krakeour, it clearly has a few issues to sought out, it had some patches of brilliance but also went missing in other areas.  Like Krakeour – a rookie listed player who played all but a handful of games in 2011 - this burger comes at the attractive price of $20 (including a pint of Carlton Draught) and, lets be honest, at that sort of price and despite the issues, you would be more than happy to take the gamble on it.

Burger Friday Rating:  30.25/50