Whew, it has been a busy few weeks but I have made it to the end of my first semester teaching and the end of my first year as a PhD student. It has been a busy year with lots of new adventures but it has been really good. I have my formal defence of my research proposal a week from Thursday and will be glad when that is done and approved and I can move on into heavy research!
I have been told by my Aussie friends that I needed to try a hamburger the way Aussies eat their hamburgers. I was a little skeptical at first because of one key ingredient....beets! Or, as the Aussies call it, beetroot. What you say? Yes, they really do put beets on their burgers! In fact, they can hardly fathom having one without it. I personally, would rather have pickles, but Aussies don't have hamburger pickles, the little thin sliced pickles perfect for a burger...it is a sad tale, I know!
Anyway, this is what you do to have a real Aussie burger. You go to a diner or burger joint...this is what the one we went to looked like. It is a little hole in the wall kind of place that serves Fish & Chips and burgers.
You go to the counter and you say "I want a burger with the lot, please" (because we want to be polite and all) although the Aussies would probably say something like "Hi Mate, can I get a burger with the lot? Ta, mate." (Ta means thanks)
Then you wait a while, while they construct this burger. Forgive me, the picture below is about 2 bites into it because I forgot to take a picture of this huge thing.
What is on it, you ask? Let's see if I can remember...lettuce, tomatoes, beef, beets, a fried egg, Aussie bacon (which is kind of like Canadian bacon, I miss American bacon, but I digress), pineapple, barbeque sauce, and fried onions.
What is on it, you ask? Let's see if I can remember...lettuce, tomatoes, beef, beets, a fried egg, Aussie bacon (which is kind of like Canadian bacon, I miss American bacon, but I digress), pineapple, barbeque sauce, and fried onions.
It pretty much starts to disintegrate as soon as you eat it from all the juices and such and Aussies say that it is a regular occasion to have beet juice running down your arm....nice.
This is what mine became after trying to keep it together...a big pile of what once was an Aussie burger.
All in all, it wasn't bad, it was pretty good. It doesn't replace my favorite American burger from some place like The Chicken Oil or even Whataburger....but it was good! Next time, I think I will hold the beets!
All in all, it wasn't bad, it was pretty good. It doesn't replace my favorite American burger from some place like The Chicken Oil or even Whataburger....but it was good! Next time, I think I will hold the beets!G'day!
Heather
