Simon Food Favourites: The Morrison

25 November 2013

Parlour Burger at The Morrison: Burgers, CBD Sydney (25 Nov 2013)

225 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://themorrison.com.au

New $10 burgers in town

The Morrison gave away 500 free burgers today between 12–2 pm although they vanished in only 20 minutes so I had no chance of scoring one for a late lunch. $10 is still a pretty good deal for a burger so I tried the The Original Morrison Burger with Chipotle Mayo ($10). I was pre-warned by service that it's served pink in the middle. They weren't wrong. I've had medium rare before although I would have preferred a bit more colour on the surrounding meat to make it visually look a bit more cooked and more appetising to the eye. Nice fresh ingredients were used and the chipotle mayo was tasty with a pleasant hum of chilli. Bun was enjoyably soft although more toasting of the inside surface would have done wonders and a slice of melted cheese would have been great. Decor is nice and seating consisted of mostly high chairs which isn't conducive to a long comfortable stay on the small circular tables. Retro music fans might have loved the 'Valerie' by Steve Winwood and 'Fernando' by ABBA playing loudly in the background — it certainly brought back memories for me, good ones I think.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Reasonably priced menu, Service was friendly, Freshly shucked oysters next door although I don't think you can order them to enjoy in the Parlour Burger

CONS: Medium rare pattie might not be everyones preference, Pattie was a bit pale on colour to my liking, Small tables and high chairs won't allow you to get too comfortable

MUST TRY: Fish burger and sides next time

VERDICT: Another reasonably priced burger place with deep fried sides that every pub seems to be offering these days. It could be a hit if the pink centred patties and retro music goes down well with patrons. I would have preferred by pattie to be a bit more cooked though.

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The Original Morrison Burger with Chipotle Mayo ($10) — quality ingredients, tasty mayo, pattie a bit pale in colour

Nice soft bun although would have liked it a bit grill toasted on the inside. If it was it was very subtle.

Medium rare probably not everyones liking

Pattie a bit pale on the outside and would have preferred more colour and grill flavour, and possibly more seasoning

Mince quite course so tended to break apart a bit too easily or perhaps because it wasn't grill charred enough on the outside. The firm curved edge of the lettuce leaf tends to push the pattie apart when eating.

Table setting and table order number

$10 burger menu — probably try the fish burger next

Tempting sides — I must try next time

Charcoal is good for you — although I've always heard differently

1000 free burgers given out but unfortunately I was too late to get one at lunch. Apparently the 500 at lunch went in about 20 minutes.

Mostly high chair seating which is not conducive for long stays

Clean toilet upstairs and excellent hand dryer

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26 August 2013

The Morrison Hearts Oysters Festival launch dinner, Sydney (30 July 2013)

225 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://themorrison.com.au

Many oysters make much love

Thanks to Savannah PR for inviting me to the Oyster Festival launch dinner at The Morrison. I'm a huge fan of oysters, especially when they're freshly shucked and full of brine so I certainly had my fair share of the Waterfall and Le Petit Waterfall Oysters that were served by Ralston Bros Oysters. I even had an oyster shucking lesson by Ben Ralston. It took me a stressful 5 minutes to open just one but apparently I did a pretty good job of not slicing up the oyster or my fingers for that matter. The Oyster Martini starts boozy and ends with a boozy oyster. I started tasting the oyster brine about half way through the drink and it's definitely not for the light drinkers. First course was Poached jurassic pacific oyster with spicy ginger soy broth. Massive oysters like these seem to be best cooked rather than enjoying raw. I found the broth quite salty due to the soy sauce and not particularly spicy but the oyster itself was cooked well and plump with flavour. For mains Head Chef Sean Connolly was in the zone plating up Carpetbag Steak with rock oysters, Dijon mustard, prosciutto and wild watercress. I've never heard of carpetbag steak before which apparently was all the rage in the 1950s and 1960s which is before my time. The oyster added a creaminess and saltiness to the perfectly cooked steak which was enjoyable and tasty. The jus was intense in flavour although very salty. Duck fat chips were very good and a crowd pleaser. To finish Oyster shooters became the dessert. I picked the Verdita, pineapple, coriander, jalapeno, mint which packed a flavour punch followed by a juicy oyster.

Check out more of the event photos here http://on.fb.me/18T5Nup

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Oyster happy hour everyday during August for only $1

CONS: I'm sure $1 oysters will make the bar area crazy busy

MUST TRY: Freshly shucked oysters

VERDICT: Oyster lovers are well catered for in this restaurant

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