Thursday, October 28, 2010

Charlie & Co. Burgers

So Westfield Sydney opened today. I didn't know it was going to open today, and quite frankly I didn't care. That was, of course, until someone behind me started yelling while I was waiting to cross the road on the way to lunch.

"Justin North," he said. Getting my attention. Oh yes, I am aware of that man. Than man of Becasse/Etch/Plan B/etc fame.

"Wagyu burgers," he continued. Yes, I am aware of those creatures.

"At Charlie & Co." Wait. What? What the fuck is a Charlie & Co?

"Open today."

Come on, man. Out with it. Where?

"Westfield Sydney, Level 5."

I spun around and saw an old man dressed in old fashioned newsboy attire. In his hand was leaflets. Leaflets that would lead me to a wagyu burger. Nearby.

The little man in the light went green.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAN, GIVE ME A FLYER. NOW! THE LITTLE MAN IS GREEN. CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS?

I snatched a flyer from his hand and walked as fast as I could to Pitt St. It was only 12 and I felt confident of beating the rush to getting a succulent burger. I've had Justin North's wagyu burger before and, oh, how I enjoyed it.

I found the store and noticed no queue to order and only a small queue picking up food. Yes, today would be my day. I placed my order and drooled.

Flash forward 45 minutes and I'm still 10 tickets away from getting my wagyu burger ($16) with fries ($6 for normal, $7 for herb, $8 for parmesan and truffle). The kitchen is so far behind that the staff have stopped taking orders.

Shit has hit the fan.

Problems have teethed.

In 45 minutes, I've counted only 10 people getting their takeaway order (you can "dine in" or takeaway).

I get my burger and it's exceptional, as expected. The bun looks tremendous, the patty thick and inviting, the beetroot relish striking the perfect sweet/sour balance.

The chips are just as good. Pillowy inside, ultra crisp on the outside. Tossed in a little parmesan cheese and truffle oil for flavour.

Can any burger be worth a wait of over 45 minutes? I doubt it. In the time I ate this I could have almost gone to Becasse, had lunch and come back. But I'm willing to put all of this down to teething problems.

BUT PLEASE NO ONE ELSE EVER GO THERE. Because if they get the wait below 10 minutes then this has to be THE ULTIMATE quick/luxurious lunch destination in the middle of the city.


More info here: http://www.charlieandco.com.au/

2 comments:

Tina@foodboozeshoes said...

That's insane! 45 minutes for a burger?!?!

Ben said...

Tell me about it!

I arrived at probably the worst time possible. The people that rocked up before 12 had just gotten their food fine, but when the rush hit just after 12 something happened and food just stopped coming out. And then at about 1230 they stopped serving anyone else after they had about 40 orders waiting.

At around 1245 the food finally started coming out again. But anyone who ordered between 12 and 1230 was pretty much stuck there waiting for the kitchen to get sorted.

I was just lucky (I suppose) that I didn't need to rush back to work or anything. A few orders got abandoned.