Brat in a Burger – Wellington on a Plate
Today we went to Café L’affare for lunch with my wife and one of our sons. This was not a random visit as I wanted to sample their entry in the burger competition as part of Wellington on a Plate. This is a food festival where restaurants, café, breweries, and food producers show off the best of their products.
Café L’affare was very busy and bustling as they handled the end of the Sunday lunch rush. Sausage Boy and I ordered the burger, while my wife ordered chorizo with sautéed potato, rocket and poached eggs. Café L’affare obviously know quality sausages. The chorizo used in this dish is the Argentinian chorizo criollo from Park Avenue, see link. This dish looked appealing and my wife considered it tasted even better. The chorizo is excellent, the potatoes and eggs made for a great lunch dish on a chilly Wellington day. I did have a couple of pieces of the chorizo and recognised the taste of one of my favourite snarlers.
The burger was described on the menu as: Park Avenue Quality Meats venison bratwurst with Parrot Dog IPA infused mustard, braised onions, slaw, and Kapiti smoked Havarti on an Arobake bun with caraway salt dusted fries.
I really enjoyed the burger and so did Sausage Boy. The sausage used in the burger is a great one, see link. This sausage is described as venison, it is a 50% pork and 50% venison sausage, I consider this reduces the gaminess of the venison and puts more sweetness into the sausage filling. At Park Avenue these sausages sell as venison rost bratwurst. Rost is a German word that means “rust” in English. The paprika that is added to the sausage is the inspiration for the rost name.
The burger is constructed by heating the cheese on the bottom bun, the sausage is then coiled over the cheese, mustard, braised onions and slaw are put on top of the sausage. The bun is placed on top with a skewer that has a gherkin at the top placed through the burger.
This is a great burger. The sausage has a mild paprika taste which is complemented by the smokiness of the cheese. The hops of the Parrot Dog IPA infused the mustard and I enjoyed the flavour of onions. The slaw adds texture and a few vitamins to the burger. This burger works through a combination of flavours that are smoky, hoppy and spicy. They combine to form an excellently balanced burger. Well done to Café L’affare for a very enjoyable lunch meal. I would recommend a visit to College St, and either of these two dishes would make for a great brunch or lunch.
We have tried to bring our kids up with reasonable table etiquette and manners. However these pictures of Sausage Boy’s plate and my own may be indication that more work is required.
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