Ze Pickle, Sydney, Australia

Surry Hills, a bustling suburb of inner Sydney, is a veritable mecca for the foodie in search of quirky cafes and funky restaurants. Falling into the latter category is Ze Pickle, a craft beer and burger joint with an original menu and a too-cool-for-school vibe located in the heart of the suburb. Like many restaurants in Surry Hills, Ze Pickle is decked out like a converted warehouse with exposed brick walls and industrial light features. However, this establishment differs in its sense of character. Neon Pac Man fixtures adorn the walls, but not in a garish way, while one whole wall is covered in burlap sacks printed with marijuana advertisements. If you look up at the ceiling next to this wall, you’ll find a pair of black sneakers hanging by their laces, a signal that, in the real world, means this is a place where one can purchase illegal substances. To Ole Sib and me, our recognition of this just meant that perhaps we were almost cool enough to be in seen in this restaurant (doubtful).

With items on the menu such as the ‘Doughnutfukwitdis,’ (this place is clearly not for the fainthearted parents out there) which features Nutella smoked bacon and a glazed doughnut in place of a bun, ordering was no easy feat. We both settled on the 3AM burger, a wagyu beef burger with maple-glazed bacon, guacamole, ZP house sauce and ‘Kanye’s cheeze sticks’ – a South Park pop culture reference about which Ole Sib enlightened me. I was just enjoying the fact that they spelled cheese with a z and chicken wings as ‘chicken waaangs.’ What a place. Before we tucked in to our burgers, we started with Ze Chips, a visually stunning and gastronomically outstanding plate of fries drenched lovingly in an IPA beer cheeze sauce, ZP sauce and maple bacon. I have no more words to describe this so please refer to the photo below and attempt to contain your drool.

Next up to bat was the star hitter, the 3AM burger. This was possibly the most unique burger I’ve ever had the pleasure of sampling. The maple-smoked bacon had a delicious sweetness that was unusual in a burger but welcome nonetheless, however the feature to write home (or a blog) about was without a question the cheeze sticks. The molten cheese was a glorious shade of orange and flowed out freely from the crispy golden packages nestled within the burger. I wasn’t aware that cheese sticks were a necessary component of a magnificent burger before this experience and yet now I feel that no burger would be complete without them. What a conundrum. The only tiny opportunity for improvement in this outstanding creation would be the addition of more guacamole but with the extortionate price of the avocado only rising (to keep up to date with this pressing issue, Google ‘First World Problems’), I won’t hold Ze Pickle accountable.

One would think that after the aforementioned gluttonous feast had been demolished we would be sent rolling home to vegetate in a preferably horizontal position but, alas, no. We had more land to conquer and it took the form of deep fried Oreos in doughnut batter with toffee caramel ice cream and liquid Nutella. I have previously not been the most eager of food lovers to jump on the deep fried dessert bandwagon but thought it my duty as the creator of this educational blog to quell my nay-saying brain and dive into the deep end (a risky play, given my unequivocal love for Oreos) with this unchartered territory. I was overwhelmed with joy upon realising that this bold dessert only enhanced my passion for Oreos and swiftly pushed the decorative glacé cherries (empty calories, amirite?) away to allow for a more efficient attack. A show-stealing finale in a show full of show-stealers.

We finally called it a day and trundled home in a warm, carb-induced stupor, knowing that we had battled triumphantly against our restrictive stomach walls in the name of culinary research and lived to tell the tale. In long overdue conclusion, if you ever had any doubts about deep fried cookies, let me assuage your fears as someone who has made it through the tunnel and safely out the other side with a fresh perspective on battered sweet goods and possibly 5-10 more pounds of body weight.

http://www.zepickle.com