Food snobs may look down on you for a sneaky servo sausage roll, but pop it on to a ceramic plate alongside a glass of Chablis and it’s a gourmet masterpiece. Kind of. Chefs love to get their hands on an Aussie classic and turn it into something special. We’ve gathered the best junk-food inspired restaurant fare in the country, so dig in. There’s even a lobster doughnut burger. No judgement ahead, we promise.
Doughnut pretenders, time to tap out. You can cram nutella into those sweet concoctions or sandwich burger patties with a Krispy Kreme, but Mammoth, in Melbourne, has already won the game. The lobster donut burger ($24.50) is an unholy mash-up of trends with green mango slaw, sriracha kimpi mayo and cucumber jam. Woah nelly.
Every second restaurant seems to have a version of their own fried chicken these days, but Brisbane’s Public were well ahead of the curve when they introduced Kentucky Fried Duck ($29) a few years ago. Served with a side of smoked butter corn, diet food it ain’t.
There’s an art to eating ice-cream sambos; plucked from the depths of the ice-cream freezer at the corner store, you peel the wrapper back but leave it intact to protect your hand from melting drip. Things are slightly more refined at 4 Fourteen, where Colin Fassnidge’s white chocolate number comes sandwiched with dulce de leche. Pass a spoon, please. His reimagined Snickers also gets an honourable mention.
Ain’t no thing like a chicken wing, but the version at Gerard’s Bistro certainly isn’t your standard American hot-sauce soaked fare. Instead the Bekaa wings ($18, named for the valley in Lebanon) arrive scattered with rose petals and a swipe of kishk yoghurt.
These are not your usually el cheapo eats. Two tacos, loaded with battered whiting fillets, fresh slaw and fiery jalapenos, will set you back $26 at North Bondi Fish, but we promise that coupled with the Bondi Beach view, they are worth every bite.
Okay, so it’s not technically junk food. But this bakery classic is Aussie-as, and we’re a little in love with Peter Gilmore’s Bennelong interpretation . Try the cherry jam, chocolate ganache and coconut cream covered sponge, surrounded by shaved coconut milk parfait, and just to try to disagree.
A soft roll that doesn’t cut the top of your mouth is the secret to a good roll, according to Acme’s owner-chef and creator of the cult-status baloney sandwich ($8), Mitch Orr. He’s ditched the old-school devon, white bread and tomato sauce combo for piles of mortadella on a soft, house-made sweet potato bun.
A cheeseburger and bacon meat pie that’s….vegan? Oh yes. At Adelaide’s Cherry Darling Bakehouse (run by Tim and Sharleen Salmon), the whole selection – including the barbecue ribs with macaroni cheese pie – is vegan. Also on offer; egg and dairy free vanilla slices, jam and cream doughnuts and even an egg-free frittata. And it’s cheap as chips, bro.
Heard of Pocky Sticks? The sweet chocolate or confectionary coated sticks are a cult snack item in Japan. At Adelaide’s Restaurant Orana, chef Jock Zonfrillo gives them a native-Australia make-over, serving up quandong, cinnamon myrtle and honey and kutjera flavoured versions.
Melbourne, we need to talk. Why have you been keeping this saucy little minx all to yourself? City restaurant Meatmaiden bake the prized crustacean into their deluxe mac and cheese meal($22) or you can score it as a side with the chef’s choice spread.
“$22 for a cheese toastie?!”, came the outcry over Opera House restaurant Bennelong’s extravagant creation. It layers shaved Manjimuip truffle with five cheeses (buffalo mozzarella, washed rind, gruyere, cheddar and ricotta) between butter-smeared toasted brioche. Haters gonna hate.
The humble sausage roll has been causing waves overseas ( “is it a rolled sausage?”, confused Americans asked) but we know the tried-and-true pastry is a winner, especially at kids’ birthday parties. The Winery, Surry Hills, presents a much more adult version, with veal and chorizo ($18.50) with a chilli-laced jam.
The grand-daddy of posh sausage roll is, undoubtedly, Bennelong’s suckling pig version ($24), with pork slow-braised in salted butter brine and served with black garlic sauce
Another franken-food mash-up – is there any spring roll in Australia quite as famous as Dan Hong’s cheeseburger-filled babies? Get them for $6 a pop at Ms G’s.
We all know by now that dim sims aren’t Chinese right? And that the old dimmy is actually an Aussie creation? It might be a while since you’ve had the fish and chip shop classic, but George Colombaris’ Jimmy Grant’s serves up a reworked version with chicken, capers and lemon, lovingly christened “Jimmy Dimmy’s” ($10 for four). The only downside? There’s no brown paper bag and soy sauce to shake ‘em up with.
