Burger Culture, 3 Cole St, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 7156

Burger Culture, situated opposite Santorini Greek restaurant just off Nelson Place, pre-dates the likes of the now common Grill’d burger chain.

In fact, it was the first place Bennie and regularly hit to get our hands on affordable American-style burgers, different from the Aussie style and without setting foot in a pub.

We had many fine meals there.

But somewhere along the way, we ventured elsewhere, and I recall that on our last visit we were a little underwhelmed in particular by the thinness and mediocrity of the beef patties.

So I’m interested to check the place out again in what is an impromptu lunch in terms of venue.

Jacqui of Urban Ma and I had headed this way with a specific eat shop in minds, but it’s closed so we make do in a locale loaded with eating options but precious few really good ones.

And while what we get at Burger Culture will not win any awards, we nevertheless really enjoy our lunches.

The interior is bustling with lunchtime activity, so we grab an outdoor table even though it’s a rather chilly spring day.

For me, it’s the culture classic (above, $7.50) with “lean beef, tomato, lettuce, onion, tomato relish and culture mayo” with bacon as an extra.

For Jac, it’s the New Yorker (below, $11.90) with “lean beef, caramelised onions, swiss cheese, tomato, lettuce, tomato relish and culture mayo”.

The first and best thing that impresses me about my burger is the patty – this one has a real nice, real beefy texture and flavour, and the bacon is fine, too.

But I envy Jacqui’s more diverse and interesting sandwich – there’s mustard as well as the advertised ingredients.

What impresses both of us most about our meals is that combo deals encompassing chips and a can of soft drink are offered for a mere $3 extra.

This means that, cost-wise, Burger Culture combo deals pretty much end where Grill’d stand-alone burgers start.

That’s good!

Our chips are just OK, though – we reckon they could be hotter and little more well done. But we consume them happily with little plastic tubs of tomato relish and chilli mayo that cost us 50 cents each.

The Burger Culture website is here.