Dr Faustus – Surry Hills

Bianca: A quick google search on Doctor Faustus had me stumbling upon the play by English playwright Christopher Marlowe, a tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil for power, pleasure and knowledge…all that fun stuff. Now I wasn’t after the aforementioned goodies but there has been discussion about what I would sell my soul for – I have a general feeling it would be wedged between two slices of bread, contain a moo patty and be called a hamburger or a ‘Damburger’ if you’re a Pink Panther fan.

Fronting the busy Cleveland Street ‘Dr Faustus’ boasts a rather interesting dining room, a space formerly occupied by a pharmacy in the early 1900’s. Remnants from its previous occupant remain with wooden/glass storage cabinets lining the outer walls, it almost has a clinical feel but that is more than made up for by the guys manning the café. Their exuberance for their café and menu is pretty evident once they start chatting about the food on offer. Main influences are creole with a side of N’awlins, the main ones being a little foreign to most people are the Muffuletta and the fried okra. Of which I got neither, once I was told about the burger I pretty much honed in on that.

They do offer an all-day breakfast menu that is interchangeable with the lunch offerings, so if you are keen for a burger at 10am, go nuts! They are also earning quite the reputation for their cereal milk, a take on a milkshake made by combining milk and cereal and letting them get friendly for a few hours before removing the cereal; some of the flavours offered include: Coco Pops, Nutri-grain and Cheerios. I prefer to eat rather than drink my calories so stuck to all things chewable.

Joining me on my eating expedition today was ‘Boy Ashley’ which is pretty much self-explanatory. He was rather taken by the ‘Our way BLT’ – bacon, onion, gruyere, foie gras “smear” on boule. $14.  A deeply rich and comforting take on the classic BLT, it was unlike anything I have tasted before which is always nice to come across on those few occasions. The only thing one could fault with this dish was the use of the ‘triple decker’, I found it far too bready, I would have been happy with two bread slices creating a ‘normal’ sandwich. Just to let those flavours really shine.

But the main event was the ‘Dr Faustus burger – chuck & brisket, secret sauce, house made pickles, milk bun $15. I’ve found myself avoiding all burgers with foliage these days, I hate the general effort of eating something that crumbles which is what I usually find when there is lettuce and tomato invited to the party. But in this case I didn’t mind so much, there wasn’t so much that it interfered with the structural integrity (yes I just said that). Most exciting of all, the taste – exactly like a McDonalds Big Mac, which in years past would be my go to burger on the run. I’m also finding myself gravitating towards milk and brioche buns lately, they just add that something something that a standard white bun cannot. Preach.

Definitely filed away for future visits in a burger pinch and not too far away from work either. Oh and they offer ‘Glazed Doughnuts’ and everybody knows that is exactly what you need to wash down a good burger, right…right?

Bianca