Out in the suburbs of Montmorency EM and FV find themselves reviewing their latest burger restaurant.
http://www.maxsburgerbar.com.au/
EM: Max’s Burger Bar is a restaurant/bar in Montmorency, a suburb in Melbourne’s north east. They serve a range of burgers (as well as pizzas).
We arrived mid afternoon on a Sunday, so it was no trouble finding a seat in this casual and comfortable venue.
I’m afraid I broke a principle I normally follow, were I order one of the basic burgers on my first visit, believing it allows me to focus on the essential flavours of a burger rather than being confused by the add-ins. Upon reflection I wish I did order the House Burger, rather than the Full Monty.
The Full Monty includes a beef patty, smoked bacon, cheese, pineapple, lettuce, caramelized onion, egg, tomato, BBQ sauce and aioli. We also ordered a large serve of wedges and large herb fries to share.
The Full Monty burger is stacked very high (see above), with a bamboo skewer holding it together. So high in fact that I couldn’t manage it in my hands and had to use a knife and fork, which meant the integrity of the whole burger is lost. The flavours were ok, if somewhat predicable. The beef patty taste is somewhat lost in the bacon, cheese, egg etc. There is nothing wrong with the burger, but nothing to really set it apart. I wouldn’t order it again. I’d rather try the House Burger or the Hot Mexican on my next visit.
The serves of chips and wedges were huge, but the chilli sauce and sour cream that came with the wedges were small serves, too small given the overall size of the serving. The taste of herb chips and wedges were again ok, but not exceptional. Given my time again I would order the small serves of these side dishes.
I’d go back to Max’s, but based on experience, change my order somewhat.
Burger 6/10
Chips 6/10
Venue 7/10
Overall 6.20/10
FV: I was looking forward to going to Max’s. The good thing about the suburbs is that parking is easy and there are generally less people to contend with and everything is a bit more laid back and spread out.
Max’s burger bar (which also serves pizza) is quite a large shop with exposed kitchen. We were the only ones there when we arrived on a Sunday afternoon. To say that I arrived very hungry, would be an understatement. I was here to eat. And eat a lot.
I was torn between ordering the “Bacon and cheese burger” or “The hot Mexican”. I decided to get both.
The burgers are quite large. I immediately regretted ordering two, but I was determined to give it a good shot.
The bacon and cheese burger was good. It had all the right ingredients to make it great, but it just fell short. It has a rustic feel to it with lettuce roughly hanging out each side. The flavors were balanced, the meat was good, although the grinding was a little coarse in it’s texture for my liking. The bacon was nice a smokey – and there was plenty of it. The swiss cheese was a little tasteless, but did add to the mix of textures. I think the problem was the bun. It was a damper style bun – and it was dry and there was too much of it and sadly it dominated what could have been a great burger.
Next up was the Mexican burger, chilli infused beef, sour cream , jalapenos, spicy salsa. whats not to like!? The bun again. That’s what not to like. Again, a great burger let down by it’s bun. In all fairness, the buns did hold everything together and did not go soggy – but neither would two pieces of cardboard.
The burger has more of a kick to it than I expected – which is a good thing. So many places advertise something spicy, when in reality it has less heat than a tub of ben & jerrys. So full marks for bringing some heat!
The relish was great and the sour cream was a great addition and provided a really good balance against the heat of the chilli, jalapenos, and salsa. The lettuce was a little disheveled and difficult to eat and was a bit jabby in terms of texture, but the slight bitterness in taste was welcomed. Overall a good burger let down by it’s sub standard bun.
The herbed chips were very good – a combination of herbs and possibly a little chicken salt with a sprinkling of normal salt. The serving was large, the chips were a good size and the were a nice golden colour.
I’m not the biggest wedges fan in the world, so even the best ones in the world are a bit ‘meh’. These were pretty standard for wedges – they came with sour cream and sweet chilli.
A total lack of chip dips were a big omission from the menu and would be a welcomed addition.
Overall a good place, friendly staff, nice and inoffensive decor, easy parking. I would go back, but maybe I would try the gluten free bun, not because I have Coeliac disease, but because it might be better than the standard bun.
Burgers: 6/10
Chips: 7/10
Wedges: 5/10
Venue: 7/10
Overall: 6.20/10
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