New Hope

Sunshine at last! I decided to go for a walk at lunchtime, down to Dixon Street, to find The Hangar - home of Flight Coffee, one of Wellington’s premium coffee brands.

Only, I got The Hangar mixed up with Memphis Belle (home of great coffee, but no burgers). After a quick check around, and a consultation on my trusty burger spreadsheet, I decided that Eva Beva would be a good location for a lunch burger. It also fits my professed desire to spread my wings and try new places. In I went.

At lunchtime, it was not crowded – in fact only a couple of other tables were taken. This isn’t generally a good sign, but I pressed on. I ordered their burger, which is called New Hope. I don’t know if the bar’s owners are avid Star Wars fans, or there’s another reason behind the name…no further information was given. The WOAP website describes it like this: Beef patty, grilled portobello mushroom, Garage Project Aro Noir beer onions, pickles, Zaida's milk bun. And it looked like this:

That's a burger!

As you can probably make out, this is a big wide burger bun. And housed inside it is a big wide burger – no real estate issues here. It’s topped with cheese (unmentioned in the blurb), onions and mushrooms, and there was the inevitable tomato and lettuce combo beneath the burger. The bun was correctly toasted inside, and the patty cooked medium rare. The whole thing was served with fries dusted with herb salt. This, my friends, is a burger! The milk bun soaked up the juices from the onions, mushrooms and beef with no integrity issues.

The Garage Project beer match was Death From Above, a fruity and powerful American ale.

As you know, I’m one to be picky, to find fault. But as I consumed this burger, it became increasingly obvious to me that this was what a burger should be all about. There wasn’t anything fancy, no gimmick, no unusual sauce, relish or garnish; just a well-cooked burger, in a bun, properly proportioned, with fries. I can find no fault with this burger. It is a 10, a king amongst burgers (hey maybe there’s some kind of marketing idea in that…).

So maybe that's why this burger is called New Hope. Because, after all the frippery and gimmicks, there's a new hope for burgers.