Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew (South Yarra)

One perk of living in Melbourne is that no matter where you are, you are never far from a great burger place. Amongst all the burger places, a few has retained a revered place in my heart - and Brother Burger is one of them. Despite the few years between my last visit and today (Fitzroy ain't the easiest to get to from the south of Melbourne!), I still remember every crunch of their delectable Onion Rings (Large $9.80) - thick-sliced and juicy on the inside, generously battered and perfectly salted on the outside. Three years later, they were as good as ever. The portion size for onion rings ain't that big, so if you're sharing, don't be afraid to get the large size. 

As a testimonial to the quality of their beef, the patties here are done to medium-rare and retains a pinkish tinge in the middle. J and R raved about the double-patty Oh Brother, while several of us had the Royal Blue ($16.60). The accompanying blue cheese dressing was rich in flavor, and gave each bite a pronounced tang. It can get overwhelming for the uninitiated, but distinguished the blue cheese aficionados from the rest of the party. If you're not a fan of blue cheese, J and R adored the Oh Brother ($18.80)- a double patty, double cheese extravanganza. 

Personally, the star of the night was Bogan Wings ($18.80 per kilo). I was never one for chicken wings - they usually have too little meat-to-bone ratio for me - but I'm a convert from this night on. The sticky cola-bourbon sauce was delightful, with a slightly complex bitter aftertaste. Everybody had a wing or two, but at the end of the night, the substantial pile of bones on my plate showed that nobody managed to as many wings as I did. 

Shoestring Fries with Mayo Truffle (Large-$8.80 + $2.80) enjoys great popularity online. On first bite, it's pretty impressive; the truffle shone through the mayonnaise dip sharp and clear. They clearly don't skimp on the good stuff. Midway through though, I had a change of heart: dipping deep-fried fries in a combination of truffle oil and mayonnaise makes the oiliness of them all overtly pronounced. Skip the normal fries, and go for their Sweet Potato Fries ($9.80) instead.