Bare Grill – La Perouse

Bianca: La Perouse is one of those odd suburbs, past the riff raff of Botany Bay Port and shipping containers opens up into the vast headland that is La Perouse, with gorgeous views out to Botany Bay and across to Bare Island. One of the largest scuba diving locations in New South Wales. I struggle to breathe on land, I’m not going to throw water and an oxygen tank into the mix. Besides there are burgers to eat….

Step in Bare Grill, home to not only some of the best burgers in the south-east but some of the best in the state. With the recent explosion in part, due to their popularity on FBAS the ‘Fatties Burger Appreciation Society’ on Facebook.

I’d been previously where I sampled a peanut butter special and I had set myself the task of trying one of their simpler burgers. Let’s just say that I’ll need to be returning to fulfil that wish.

We started with a serving each of the Spicy & BBQ crispy Buffalo wings $10 ea. If you’re a fan of wings and drumettes these are a must order. Particularly the BBQ wings.

Waffle fries are pretty much the Lamborghini of fries which I know I’ve said numerous times and Bare’s Epic Fries – Waffle Fries, pulled pork, cheese, spiced aioli, Carolina sticky bbq sauce, bacon topped with shallots $15 deliver the wow factor. Essentially a meal in of themselves, they’re best shared between 4 people with a burger each. The pulled pork (used in one of the burgers) has been the best pulled pork I’ve come across in a ‘burger setting’. Lovingly made by the legend Charles Curnow over at Chefs Kitchen in St Leonards. Fries, cheese, sauce – really how can you go wrong.

The Full Rack of Carolina Sticky BBQ Pork Ribs $45 were soft, tender with those glorious slightly charred edges. With the meat falling directly off the bone. I hadn’t had ribs for some time prior to my visit so it was nice to have something a little unexpected.

Now the burgers – I do like a novelty and I remember when Bare first started making waves over a year ago, it was their branded buns that instantly caught my attention. It’s the small things that sometimes leave such a lasting impression.

Across the table we got a few: the Big Bare – Double beef patty, American cheddar, bacon, caramelised onion, iceberg lettuce and bare sauce $14. These are big intimidating burgers, if you really aren’t hungry I recommended sticking to the top two on the menu or have the doggy bag at the ready. Across the board, all the patties were cooked extremely well and despite all the hoo-hah about med-rare/pink patties, they were all flawless and juicy. For my FBAS fatties 3.9/5 pickles.

The Cure – w/double beef patties, American cheddar, jalapenos, bacon, gherkins, hash brown, fried egg and bare sauce $16 is the perfect hangover ‘cure’. With the runny yolk adding to what already is a saucy burger. The cheese is in abundance so have the tissues at the ready. For those that love some egg porn in their lives 3.9/5 pickles.

For the pulled pork aficionados The Wild West – w/a beef patty, American cheddar, pulled pork, coleslaw, Carolina sticky BBQ sauce $16 makes use of that gorgeous slow cooked and shredded pulled pork. With the slightly sweet BBQ sauce turning this into a delightfully messy little package. I was actually surprised at just how well the pulled pork blended with the beef patty. A great combo. A strong 4.1/5 pickles.

After a brief affair at Burgerpalooza we just had to get The Bare Cockfighter – w/Souther fried chicken, bacon, American cheddar, guacamole, coleslaw, iceberg lettuce and bare sauce $15. So when we ordered we had no idea this was actually a monstrous behemoth of a burger. Two thick pieces of fried chicken! Firstly ridiculously good value for $15, this could literally fuel an entire day. With intermittent napping of course. The chicken was juicy but a touch less coleslaw and crispier bacon would have made for a better burger. The Bare cockfighter gets 3.9/5 pickles.

And lastly The Trip – w/beef patty, bacon, onion rings, American cheddar, hash brown and truffle mayo $17. This here burger is a one way trip to a coronary and one I’d happily go out on. I do get a little overwhelmed by burgers with a plethora of ingredients but once I saw hash brown, onion rings and truffle mayo my fate was sealed. All the buns held up to plethora of ingredients stacked between them and encompassing a vesuvius amount of cheese and sauce. Not an easy task! Had the hash brown been cooked slightly longer and the bacon crispier this would have been a knock-out burger. That truffle mayo was seriously addictive and would make a great dipping sauce for fries. This one gets 4.2/5 pickles.

So eventually I will make my way back here for a single plain cheeseburger…it will happen.

Bring the family on a gorgeous sunny day and make the most of the views!

Bianca

Photos by Alex & Bianca

 

*For Food’s Sake dined as guests of Bare Grills and OMPTY. A special thanks to Manuel and the staff at Bare Grills for looking after us.