Broulee Burger

On inter-state assignment on behalf of the Tasty Burger crew, Joel-ee endured a logistical nightmare to get the EOD board through the gates of Canberra International Airport (note the TLA) and hitch a ride in a souped up Scube down to Broulee Beach, just south of Bateman’s Bay for weekend of surf and a few quiet ones.

While the company and pit stops on the way down were suitably dodgy, the accommodation turned out to be a magnificent, not-so-little beach house overlooking Broulee Main Beach and Broulee Island. The walk from porch to waves was small and quick – but unfortunately on this weekend, so were the waves. The beach break clearly contained superb potential for epic conditions – gentle sand slope with at least 2-3 breaks to choose from. However, the small size did not deter the punters. Throughout the weekend, a decent size crew of young and old were to be found bobbing in the 1-2 foot swell, patiently waiting for the rogue 2½ -3 footer to emerge and provide a ride. Cameron O’Neill, (aka Pooffy the man-slayer), the outstanding organiser and happy host, was out for his first surf of 2006, but tackled those waves with the gumption of a South Coast teenager chucking a Mainy on a Friday night – with skill and perseverance. Steve Brown, the finest beer chilling, CEO toppling and coffee-running Canberrian known, provided more than adequate supervision of the picturesque porch.

Personally, I preferred the gentler, less current affected waves of the Main Beach (pictured below, with island in background), but just a few Ks down the road is the South Beach with a breakwater to provide a bit of shelter form its more exposed nature. A word of warning though, there were a couple of local looking grommets who seemed prepared to protect “their” waves and a few “pleasantries” were exchanged with this intrepid traveller.

But were there burgers to be had…. ? Between Canberra and the coast in a town called Braidwood, I went for the chicken burger at the local watering hole, The Mail Hotel, a fairly standard country Australian pub with more TVs and pokies than teeth. Unfortunately, the burger was a pitiful affair, with a slightly grey fillet mashed between brown-ended lettuce and sticky buns – Not Tasty.

Thank goodness for the local Broulee take away shop located in a quaint terrace just across from the Main Beach, specialising in burgers and pizza - I would dare to guess they crank during peak season. While the filling and patty were of average inspiration, they did offer a choice of four different sauces – BBQ, sweet chilli, spicy chilli and standard. Opting for the BBQ, I found it not terribly drippy, which was a mild disappointment, but good flavouring overall. Most importantly, after a 2-surf-session day, the burger was most welcome – Tasty.