His Boy Elroy/ Sifters Espresso – Wollongong

Bianca: I love a road trip just as much as the next person and when I can combine a mission for food and seeing somewhere new, I’m all for it. I vaguely remember a few visits to the Gong when I was much younger and with family so I was interested to see just how much it had changed. One place in particular had piqued my interest and that was ‘His Boy Elroy’ it went from general curiosity to must visit after my girl Arryn from ARTACOeats visited.

And so off I went with my pal Benita, sitting on Globe lane which is filled with various cafes and pubs, His Boy Elroy offers both indoor and outdoor seating. It’s a fairly relaxed laid back vibe, with a menu that offers breakfast, lunch and late night eats. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine this place kicking off come night-time. Now I wasn’t here for the breakfast or the dranks! My visit was for the burgers alone.

Sharing is caring, so we got two burgs and split em. First up was the ‘Mr Saigon’ – w/ fried chicken, slaw, nashi pear and nuoc cham mayo $13.00. One of the more adventurous burgers on the menu, calling on prominent Vietnamese flavours with the pear and nuoc cham. I was intrigued how the pear would come into play within the burger, my first few bites were spent trying to work out what everything was and with each bite I grew to like it more and more. The pear was sweet which worked well to counteract the tangy sauce, the flavourings were balanced well. Fist bump to the burger vessel which appeared to be a milk bun. The only downfall was the chicken, it was a little dry. Still, a pretty strong chicken burger, for my FBAS Facebook fatties a 3.9/5 pickles.

The second burger of the day was the ‘Cheeseburger’ –w/wagyu beef patty, pickles, cheese, ketchup + mustard $11.00 + bacon $2.00. I’m actually a little sad I live so far away I can’t eat this more often. The antithesis of a cheeseburger, no frou frou, just the bare bones good stuff. The patty was well seasoned, juicy and had a welcome bit of pinkage inside. The stand-out was really that super crispy bacon, with the fat well-cooked so it shattered with each bite. As well as the perfect amount of both mustard and tomato sauce. A strong 4.2/5 pickles.

We rounded out our meal with a serving of ‘Chilli Cheese Fries’ –w/ranch sauce and bacon $13.00. These tipped us over from happy and content to unbutton the jeans status, which is my general happy go to place. The chips were cooked well, crispy on the outside and despite being slathered generously with sauce, they didn’t go limp and soggy. We loved the kick of chilli as well.

Really pleasantly surprised with the quality of the burgs in the Gong. You guys should consider yourselves lucky! One to keep in mind for any trips down south.

I couldn’t complete the trip  without stopping in at Sifters Espresso for a quick flat white. I then went back a few weeks later with Alex in tow. I mean, a casual coffee joint, pumping out smoked meat sandwiches out of shipping containers… Wollongong why you tempt me so? Such a novel concept.

Bianca