The man behind the famed Beatbox Kitchen, Taco Truck and All Day Donuts brings Melbourne another stellar eatery. It’s called Juanita Peaches and it’s a little bit of East L.A in Brunswick. For the last couple of months it’s been mainly a fried chicken joint, but there’s a Cheese Burger on the menu now that should get peoples’ attention. Why wasn’t it on the menu from the get-go? It just wasn’t ready yet. Raph Rashid has been perfecting this burger for the last 5 years. He wanted to create a cheese burger that you’d keep coming back to, something you don’t feel like you need a python-like jaw to eat, something with the perfect balance of bread to meat. One of the things that took the longest to craft was the bun. Raph calls it a Boogie Bun, and it’s like a potato bun made love to a brioche – solid but spongey. When you order, you’ll see the guys place the buns in a giant steamer, along with the cheese on the top bun creating the signature “Up-Cheese”. He also minces his own Victoria Grass Fed beef, meaning that from top to bottom it’s all Raph’s Cheese Burger. It comes with 120gm Grass Fed beef patty, double cheese, mustard, onions, pickle all on a Boogie Bun. You can order extras like an extra patty or chilli peppers, but the chef recommends keeping it as is.

Frozen yoghurt and burgers aren’t generally something you’d ever link. But with these two being some of the biggest food trends to hit Melbourne over the last couple of years, it isn’t a surprise that there’s now a place you can get them at the same place. YOMG (Yo My Goodness) started out in 2013 as a funky little fro-yo joint in Mordialloc. Knowing they were onto a good thing, with the place packed with sugar crazed Tweens and anxious First-Daters they’ve now spread to six locations, even as far as Cairns. But their fro-yo store in Glen Waverley has a difference: it’s a burger joint too. There’s a lot on offer with eleven burgers on the menu that go from your standard cheeseburger to the vego-friendly potato cake burger. Enjoy your fries five different ways from classic to smothered in pulled pork or opt in for a shake done old school or fancy-like. It’s hard to get a seat in there most nights but I patiently stalked three tables simultaneously waiting for a chance to eat my burger in a civilised manner. Of course, when my buzzer started to vibrate I went up and grabbed the Yo My with Cheese that came on a glazed sesame seed bun with a Grass Fed Angus patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and secret sauce.

You wouldn’t expect this kind of place in between the factories and apartments behind Chapel Street. It’s actually been there quite a while disguised as Tryst Bar, where many Melbournians have enjoyed a drink or two. Now, as the brother venue of local watering hole Sweet Water Inn, Leanord’s House of Love is does both drinks and killer food. Their menu has been setup by Chef Nick Stanton who’s worked his magic at Woods of Windsor and Nieuw Amsterdam. It’s a pretty straight up and down kind of thing. Basically, some decent drinking food that’s going to keep you in the hunting lodge-style cottage for quite a while. You can help yourself to some fried chicken, charcoal chicken, chicken fries, a few salads and then a couple of burgers. It can get pretty hectic in there on weekend so be aware, you might find yourself sitting outside. Which is fine when it starts warming up, but Melbourne can be a bit of a bitch, so either take a coat or be prepared to be fitted for a beer jacket. Lucky for us we were inside and decided to go for their signature Cheeseburger that came on a brioche bun with a beef brisket + short rib patty, special sauce, cheese, onion and lettuce.

You might have first heard of 1090 from their Northcote escapades. Their food truck was a hit with a whole lot of people so it makes sense now to take over the space of a previously underwhelming burger joint (Detour) in Richmond. The spot couldn’t be better. With a handful of pubs all around, what better way to lure in those who’ve had one or two too many on an afternoon session. Don’t be fooled by the name. You will spend more than $10.90 when visiting. The “1090” refers to their tight lipped ratios of beef cuts they use in all of their patties. All we know is it’s 100% Grass Fed Black Angus. The venue itself is brightly lit and seats line the walls as you peer into the kitchen waiting for your name to be called. Not ideal for groups (there are mainly just tables for two), but seriously, who needs chit-chat when you’ve got a burger to eat. We watched as a few burgers were brought out to other customers and figured that a single patty burger wasn’t going to cut it on this night. We took it upon ourselves to indulge in the Thunderburger. It came on a soft hamburger bun with double-beef, double-cheese, bacon, chilli-mayo, ketchup and pickles.

This is the definition of a passion project: know what you want, work your butt off and then make something awesome. A guy by the name of Paul Hendrie is behind Thornbury’s Kustom Burgers. He brought his love of burgers together with his love of cars to create a one-of-a-kind diner. Sure, parts of it looks like a regular old diner, but then there are all the bits that’ve come out of a chop shop. There are tables made of old truck boots, stools like tractor seats, and an actual truck who’s tray doubles as a slot car racing track. Of course then you come to the burgers. All designed by Paul himself, named after classic beauties like the F150, FJ Holden and the Imapala. Some of their burgers are classic beef favourites, but they also do a Fried Chicken one, even Chilli Dogs and wings. I couldn’t go past the EH Smashed Burger. I opted for the classic hamburger bun (you can go for brioche if you like), with 2 smashed Angus grass-fed beef patties, double bacon, double American cheese, lettuce, onion and a house-made special sauce.

It was once a KFC and then turned into an Indian restaurant, but now, sitting almost lonesome on the side of Burwood Hwy is On It Burgers. All the tell tale signs from the Finger Lickin’ Good days are still there. So it’s even cooler that inside is a pretty cool, craft beer loving, burger slinging restaurant. They opened in late 2014 to much local fanfare but the buzz has has worn off a bit and now you won’t be left elbowing people away for a table. They pride themselves on their premium Grass Fed beef burgers, with 9 on offer there’s more than enough to keep you wanting to come back again. Same goes for the fries and shakes. Pick anything from Truffle & Parmesan fries to a Toasted Marshmallow milk shake. But there’s a dozen more options. I was tempted by The Luke burger that comes with bacon jam and a black bun (maybe next time) but went for their names sake, the On It Burger. On an Artisan Bun it comes with a Grass Fed Beef Patty, American cheese, Smokey On It Sauce, lettuce, red onion, tomato and pickles.

In 2011 this Merivale Group venue hosted a few burger lovers to one of their most memorable burger experiences to date. Back then it was called Lotus and sadly it ended up closing down. But not for long. Inspired by the Fishing Clubs of Nantucket, The Hamptons and Cape Cod, The Fish Shop opened up to Sydney-siders hungry for a different take on Fish n Chips. There’s fish everything here: fish tacos, fish fingers, fish schnitzel and fish burgers. But when designing the menu for The Fish Shop, the Merivale Group owners knew they couldn’t just let the legend of the Lotus Cheeseburger die. Amongst all the sea shanty, maritime paraphernalia sits a proud statement of burger genius – Dan’s Famous Cheeseburger. Former Chef of Lotus, Dan Hong once described his creation as “bun, meat, onions, sauce, cheese, mayo and pickles – it is a proper burger – no fancy shit”. So it’s a good thing that Chef Jeremy Strode has tried to mess with it too much. I sat down on a sunny Saturday and eagerly ordered the burger that almost lead me to quit this wicked adventure of ours.