Burger Challenge at Atlantis Takeaway – Hobart, Tasmania

Atlantis.

Fabled kingdom, land of milk and honey, recalled fondly by Plato as the ‘great and wonderful empire’. Home to brave warriors and wise kings, yet ultimately enslaved by their own pride. The wrath of the gods was swift and total, condemning this legendary paradise to the cold, unforgiving waters of the Atlantic.

Glenorchy.

Fabled suburb, home of the third largest shopping centre in Tasmania, recalled fondly by the Governor of the day as the ‘glen of tumbling waters’. Home to weekend warriors and cunning Centrelink recipients, yet ultimately enslaved by the lure of a baby-bonus plasma.  The wrath of the gods has not yet befallen Glenorchy. Surely it’s only a matter of time…*

Unlike many other fast food business in the area, Atlantis Takeaway has maintained a consistent presence on Main Road, weathering the storms of economic uncertainty and the fickleness of the public palate to become a source of sustenance to many of the workers, residents and travellers that pass by its bright blue façade.

Atlantis is clearly in the business of fast food, with a good selection of deep fried favourites, but also giving a number of fresh options such as sandwiches and, most importantly, burgers! But in saying that, the shop also has quite a good range of other goods that you may want to stock up on, in the event that you’re a little unsure of braving Northgate and its rather unique breed of teenage natives.

I didn’t drop into Atlantis by chance. It had been recommended to me, so I had some hope that it was going to be a decent burger.

Alas, it was not.

Unfortunately I’ve lost the tasting notes I took after consuming this burger (yes, I’m getting serious now!), but the one thing that remains etched indelibly into my memory is the overwhelming sense of ‘bland’.

At no other time when eating a burger have I ever woken up half way through and thought to myself, “This is boring”.

Because it was. It was dull, insipid, uninspiring. It didn’t taste bad, it just didn’t excite me. Standard fillings of tomato, lettuce, cheese, beef patty and an egg normally combine to give some semblance of good flavour, but in this case they were just…whatever…

The patty was certainly better than average, yet I still suspect that it wasn’t home made. A little bit too regular in shape and a slight chewiness point to this being a supermarket job (albeit better than most!). The other ingredients were all of good quality, but they didn’t seem capable of pulling together to create anything larger than the sum of its parts.

I suspect the main culprit to be a lack of seasoning. Whether it’s in the meat, or on the ingredients, you’ve got to have some sort of seasoning to add some ‘zing’ to a burger (or any good food for that matter!). For me, I just couldn’t taste it. Maybe it was an anomaly, but I suspect not.

Overall?

To be honest I don’t think I’ll be back. Plenty of other fish in the Atlantic for this burger devotee!

Taste – 2/5
Patty – 3/5
Bun – 4/5
Ingredients – 3/5
Condiments – 2/5
Presentation – 3/5
Stuffable* – Yes
Value – 3/5

Overall – 2.5/5

*Can you stuff it in your face without a knife and fork?

Burger Challenge Round-up

So how does Atlantis Takeaway compare to our other contenders?

This one falls squarely in the ‘Blue Collar’ category, but is no competition for our current front runners in Red Jaffa and Budgie Smuggler.

White Collar Burgers

Tasman Quartermasters – 4.5/5
Chrome – 4/5
Burger Got Soul – 2.5/5

Blue Collar Burgers

Red Jaffa – 4.5/5
Budgie Smugglers – 4.5/5
Argyle Take Away – 3.5/5
Atlantis Takeaway – 2.5/5

* Glenorchy isn’t really that bad, but I love a good stereotype (and they have got the Captain to keep the streets safe)!