How these three Burger Wellys stack up in Election Year
October 13, 2020
They’re two of the most anticipated events of the year, and Kiwis are out in droves, ready to have their say about both: the New Zealand General Election (17 October) and Garage Project presents Burger Wellington (12-31 October).
Burger Welly kicked off the second half of Visa Wellington On a Plate in the Culinary Capital yesterday, and Wellingtonians are exercising their democratic rights, choosing from a line-up of 243 burgers across the Wellington region. Some are controversial, some are more conventional - but one thing’s for sure, like any good politician worth their salt, they’re all vying for your attention.
Whilst these three burgers avoid party affiliations, we thought it was only appropriate you should give them a go in an election year. You’ll enjoy them, no matter what your political persuasion.
Bellamy's by Logan Brown - Garden to Burger
Garden to Burger - Bellamy's by Logan Brown
Could there be anything more appropriate than having a Burger Welly at Parliament less than a week out from Election Day? We’d have to give that a nay, so stop into Bellamys by Logan Brown, housed in The Beehive, to try its Garden to Burger, with prime angus beef patty, Garden to Table beetroot relish, zucchini pickles, lettuce, crispy onions, Zany Zeus feta whip and housemade tomato sauce in a potato bun, with triple cooked beef fat fries.
The veggies in this burger are all sourced from a little garden within the grounds of Parliament, which is tended to by children from multiple local primary schools. They grow, prune, water and weed this little veggie patch as part of the Garden to Table programme, encouraging kids to learn the essential skills they need to be food-resilient and nurture sustainable food sources. This burger definitely errs towards the greener side of politics!
Photography by Backbencher: Roll Over...Boomer!
Roll Over.... Boomer! - The Backbencher
Just a leisurely stroll across the road from Parliament, The Backbencher features Roll Over... Boomer! We can only assume this is a reference to Green Party MP, Chloe Swarbrick’s retort of “OK, Boomer” to a Boomy-aged National Party member as they heckled Swarbrick whilst she spoke about the importance of her generation taking action to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
In the same way Chloe Swarbrick is ready to challenge the status quo, Roll Over... Boomer! is an unconventional take on the classic burger, with a filling of Massaman pulled lamb and a brown basmati and wild rice rosti, Fix & Fogg savoy salsa, tomato, red onion and papadum in a chargrilled naan, with oven-baked Kashmiri red jacket wedges.
Photography by Good Boy: The Kerre Woodham Stack
The Kerre Woodham Stack - Good Boy
You can’t have politics without media commentary, which is why you should try Good Boy’s Kerre Woodham Stack, named in honor of the Kiwi journalist/radio commentator and former Newtown resident. Back before she was reporting headlines and she was Kerre McIvor, she lived in the south Welly suburb (the Good Boy crew even got her permission to use her name for their burger).
Just like any good seasoned journalist, this burger is straight up, to the point and - every politician’s worst nightmare - a bit in your face, bringing some interesting twists: a beef patty with sumac smoked tomato, cheddar, whiskey shallot jam, dill pickled cucumbers and mustard mayonnaise in a Shelly Bay Baker brioche bun.
Whilst in 2020, we won’t be going ahead with the Visa Wellington On a Plate rating process, where you rate your favourite burgers, dishes and cocktails - you can still hold your own democratic process by favouriting the items you want to try and sharing them with your friends (just click on the heart in the upper right hand corner of each pic).
Check out the Garage Project presents Burger Wellington 2020 line-up. If you ask us, it’s a tough race!
For more Festival information, check out VisaWOAP.com.