Beautiful Burgers
Local eateries are showcasing special burgers this summer, as they participate in Burger Nation.
The humble hamburger is getting a glow up at two local eateries. Mean Burger and The Cove Café have joined Burger Nation, the annual, nationwide competition that celebrates burgers and the bars, cafés, food trucks and restaurants that create them. To compete for the best burger in Aotearoa, the two eateries have designed luxe dishes that will only be available from Wednesday 29 January to Sunday 2 March.
At Mean Burger in Mangawhai, The General is a rich, umami burger dreamt up by chef Scott Holland. Two wagyu beef patties topped with smoked and American cheese, burnt butter and black garlic mayo, Tartufata sauce and McClure's Sweet & Spicy pickles are encased in a brioche bun. It’s a redo of Mean Burger’s 2024 Burger Nation entry, which was “a huge hit for Burger Nation 2024 that had many people coming up over the year asking for its return,” says Holland.
At The Cove Café in Wapu, head chef Luke McGowan has perfected the Smoking Beef Babe, a dish that showcases three 100g smoked Wagyu patties, pickles, aged cheddar, taleggio cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, and housemade Hulk Verde sauce, which adds zesty lime and green chilli to the already flavour-packed sandwich.
“I wanted to create an impressive taste explosion of a burger,” explains McGowan. “This burger celebrates local produce from Left Fields market garden, whose tomatoes and lettuce are the freshest around. You’re guaranteed a waterfall of flavours when you bite into this beast and lots of melt-in-your- mouth goodness.”
The General and Smoking Beef Babe are joined by hundreds of other burgers available from the Bay of Islands to the Catlins during Burger Nation, which was created by Aucklanders Nick Brown and Becs Caughey, in collaboration with McClure’s Pickles. Diners get to vote on their favourite burgers in four categories – Meat, Plant, Seafood and Chicken– as well as a People’s Choice award.
“The humble burger is legendary for good reasons: it’s an affordable flavour bomb of a meal, it’s portable, takes very little time to eat, and done well, is so incredibly satisfying,” says Burger Nation co-founder Nick Brown. “This summer we want to see Kiwis get a crew together, go and try an amazing burger or three, and then take a minute to tell us which is the best in the country.”