Cheap Eats - Miss Kays Brisbane

https://www.facebook.com/misskaysbrisbane

My recent vacation to Brisbane held many surprises, in particular the number of openings and closings of restaurants.  When I lived in Brisbane, I knew there were lots of changes afoot, but like the proverbial 'frog in hot water' you don't really notice the change in temperature until it's too late.  Coming back after eight months away was like being dropped into a vat of boiling water, the changed foodie landscape was plain to see.

Knowing about my love of burgers, I'd been told by a number of friends and followers that there was a great new burger joint in the CBD and that I 'had to check it out'.  It was a huge coincidence that I'd noticed Miss Kays at around the same time, ironically, located at the site of the Villager (see post here), which had closed during my time away.

SC was off with her cousin, who she'd bumped into while we were walking up the Queen Street Mall, so I took the opportunity to leave the girls to catch up and made my way around the corner to Miss Kays.

I quite liked what they'd done to the George Street diner, which had been set up as a Gastro Pub for it's run as the Villager.  While the same base layout was in place, the facade and interior had been completely remodelled.  With red neon signs visible from inside and out, there was no mistaking the place, it was clearly a burger joint.

It was a quiet afternoon, and I'd clearly missed the lunch rush, which suited me just fine.  I hate waiting in queues and I'd probably just have kept on walking if Miss Kays had been busy.  The menu was plastered up on the wall behind the counter, but I grabbed one of the menus laying around on the bar and took my time looking over the options.  It has the feel of a typical US style burger joint, and the colouring and options reminded me heavily of 5 Guys out of the States.

Keeping it simple, I just ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a shake; about as traditional a burger meal as you'd hope for.  My shake came out a little earlier than my burger and the salted caramel with caramelised popcorn certainly looked the goods.  There was a thick squeeze of salted caramel sauce around the inside of the glass, plenty of whipped cream and sprinkles of popcorn. I normally love salted caramel, but the sauce and the milk had not mixed well and with so much whipped cream on top, I couldn't mix it up so well.  I had to drink a fair bit of milk before I could start to mix it up and even then, I didn't love it.

My burger and fries came out together and my heart immediately sank.  The fries looked ok, the were presented in an old school paper cup, but they were a little pasty to eat.  Golden brown and crispy on the outside, just as you'd like, but almost powdery potato on the inside.  I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I didn't eat too many of them.  

But, I'd been stalling eating the fries, delaying tucking into a very disappointing looking burger. There was a lot of bun, a huge amount compared to the beef patty inside.  The burger had no depth to it, looking flat and unappealing.  Inside was a beef patty with double American cheese, pickles (which I picked out), ketchup, mustard and a secret Miss Kays sauce.  It just tasted like a Macca's cheeseburger, which was not a great comparison, and was all sauce, which made the bun a bit soggy.  The patty was crispy and overdone on the outside and medium rare on the inside, like it had been cooked quickly over a high heat.  I didn't like it, no, not at all.

My last memories of burgers in Brisbane were of Howzatt and Chur Burger, both pretty decent burgers and I'd even had fond memories of Miel Container, which was hit and miss at times. However, my Miss Kays burger was one of the most disappointing I'd ever had.  Even the cool vibe and lovely setting couldn't save the burger.

I've read some reviews and had some interesting debates with fellow bloggers, who've all had great burgers at Miss Kays, so maybe there's something there and they were having an off day.  I guess I'll never know, but I'm almost certain I'll not be back.

@FoodMeUpScotty