Carlisle Street is on the up and up. At one time all it had going for it was one or two cafes and a really decent watering hole. Now, even Grill’d have set up shop in Balaclava. But, you can’t call Ziggy’s Eatery a late bloomer. This mom and pop store has been there for many years before the boom. These days though, they’ve had a refurb, made some noise on social media and have expanded from their wraps, sandwiches and salads, and are quite proud of their burger list. There’s a burger for everyone in there ranging from the extreme high protein, double Recovery burger to a pork belly or a vege option. It’s a little store that gets quite busy, so if you’re lucky enough to not live too far away and don’t feel like stepping out the house, simply order online and get it delivered. I decided to go in store and check out their simple Cheeseburger. It came out on a brioche bun with a a 150g beef patty, home made smoked cheese sauce, bacon, tomato & Spanish onion.

Mentone’s little hub has a lot going for it. The locals can get themselves into a decent cafe for brunch, or get themselves into town with the train station front and centre. Nowadays, thanks to Burger Lab, the locals can get themselves a decent looking burger too. The guys behind the operation are Anthony Pinzone and Chef Lochie Greig-Moore who are all about a relaxed environment with organic, sustainable produce. There’s a clear sense of “chill” throughout the place, with friendly staff, plenty of beer on tap as well as local specials for students to come and bitch about their Maths teacher. Their burger list isn’t as scientific – as was expected – from their name and branding, but instead they’re pretty classic options. The craziest they go is with their prawn burger that has a squid ink, black bun. But we’d never go down that path. To make up for that silliness they also offer chicken wings and ribs. I chose to sink my teeth into a Free-Range Bacon Burger that came on a seeded brioche bun with a beef patty, ‘Hagens’ Free-Range Bacon, melted organic Raclette cheese, tomato sauce, lettuce, tomato, diced shallot and mayo.

Across from the Botanical Gardens in the heart of Melbourne lies a little bit of Paris. Not the Paris of shopping or dainty cakes. It’s a bistro with a clear vision. A vision of steak and fries. Partnering with Adam North from Hopkins River Beef, Jason M Jones took one of his favourite Parisian experiences – eating at the Le Relais De L’Entrecôte – and brought it to the old site of a former Melbourne instutute, the French inspired Lynch’s. Some younger heads would remember it more as the Millswyn or Louie, or just that place you saw the expensive looking people enjoying a summer cocktail as you gruelling sweated past along the Tan track. This time around, Jones is hoping to turn Entrecôte into a more of an approachable, neighbourhood bistro. If Steak and Frites aren’t your thing then they offer oysters, salads and have a extensive breakfast menu where let’s face, you’d order a croque-monsieur above all. Their Cheeseburger peaked our interest and it arrived on a soft brioche bun with pickles, gruyere cheese, mayonnaise and a Hopkins River beef patty.

There’s not much to look at along the Huntingdale rd strip. That’s because it’s really just mix of shops, factories and a whole lot of Monash Students off to Uni. But for a place that’s all about hamburgers and feel good food, that’s just the kind of place you’d want to be, servicing your hungry workers and hungover students. Opening in 2014, Burgled prides itself on being a Sports Bar, inviting all to watch “the game”, enjoy a beer or two and of course try one of their many burgers. They’ve chosen a bit of an “around the world” theme to create their namesakes. You could try something from Japan which is a panko crumbed chicken patty or something from the Middle East which uses a falafel patty and babaganoush. I took a seat outside on a warm Sunday and was pretty taken with the American Style “Gettysburger” they had created. It came with a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, caramelised onion, pickles, mustard, aioli, cheese and ketchup.

It’s hard to find, only seats a few people and pumps out a modern take on a classic – all the makings of a successful Melbourne eatery. Bad Boys Burgers are cheeky and definitely don’t take themselves too seriously, apparent in their burger themed artwork that covers the walls. They’re run by a small crew but that doesn’t mean they’re not up to the challenge of serving the flurry CBD lunchgoers that you usually see lining up out the door. The hungry folk of Melbourne can choose anything from a chicken, pork, mushroom or beef option but there’s also sweet treats like Hershey’s milkshakes if your in that thirsty hungry zone. I went for their namesake and ordered the Bad Boy that came on a brioche bun with a Wagyu patty, bacon, cheese, cos lettuce, tomato and Bad Boy sauce.

If you’re a Southsider, there’s a good chance you’ve never been to this end of Johnson St. That’s because there really hasn’t been much reason to go, unless you’re an old school Collingwood fan or a junkie (or both). Nowadays the “other side” of Johnston St is picking up and it’s mostly to do with Dr Morse. The renovations took about a year but they’ve worked their way from a little coffee dispensary to a full blown bar and eatery. Big glass windows greet you as you walk straight past the bar into their oversized beer garden (straight to another bar). They’re pretty proud of their food and drink so you’ll always see some little brewer taking over their taps for a weekend or a pig on the spit as a bit of a treat for the locals. What excited us was their Weekend Menu, which slightly differs and is made a little more straight up and down to their every day dinner haul, offering an all day breakky and stuff like Fried chicken & kimchi sandwiches. We managed to grab a beer and their Classic Beef Burger that came with a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mustard and pickles on a brioche bun.