MOUTHFUL. The writer gets stuck into one of his favourite burgers. Jim Freeman
A good hamburger is a meal unto itself but a great burger is a feast and a gastronomic delight.
I do a lot of travelling in and around my hometown of Stellenbosch.
This means there are a lot of burgers involved… because I love them. So-called gourmet burgers might seem a little over the top but, given that even Spur’s burgers range in price from R110- R150, paying a few bucks extra for a delightfully presented offering comprising the best ingredients is a no-brainer.
Sorry non-carnivores, you lose out this time round although every eatery featured here offers veggie options.
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This makes my list not only because TV braai judge Bertus Basson’s food is fantastic, but also because this burger joint’s name translates to The Free Man (near enough, anyway).
My choice, the Bennie Griessel (R135 + R35 for chips), is named after one of the chief protagonists in Deon Meyer’s crime novels.
It features 180g of free-range minced beef, double cheese, mustard pickle, and an awesome bun.
The latter is baked offpremises and delivered fresh each day. Each burger order comes with a voucher for a R10 ice-cream cone.
There’s never a bad time to visit but my favourite is before, during or after the periodic street soirees during which up to 30 local wine estates showcase their wares just a few metres away.
The main picture on this page says it all. I ordered the Prof Black (R165 comprising a 200g beef brisket patty, smoked mozzarella cheese, tomato jam, cucumber pickle, red onions, rocket aioli, and shoestring fries).
My lady, Rose-mariè, opted for the Korean Chicken option (R170 for deboned buttermilk-marinated crumbed chicken thighs, kimchi cabbage, mayo, chilli, and garlic sauce).
We were so busy with these mouthwatering burgers that we hardly exchanged a word for almost an hour. We did, however, manage to quaff a bottle of Warwick’s Professor Black Pitch Black heritage Bordeaux blend.
The “posh” burgers are only offered on weekdays and are a must on a cold, wet, winter’s day. MOUTHFUL. The writer gets stuck into one of his favourite burgers.
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My “Kasteel” friends Bev and Peter Voigt introduced me to The Barn as a great place to enjoy a burger and local beer a few years ago and I’ve been a regular returnee.
It’s also the only place on this list that features a lamb burger. I’ve never been able to resist the combination of 250g of lean lamb mince smothered with a homemade blue cheese sauce (R169), chips and a craft lager.
And the fact that there was a Pictures: Jim Freeman A great burger is a feast and a gastronomic delight blazing fire to offset the deluge outside made the trip into the Swartland all the more memorable.
The beef burger (R159) is a “quarter-pounder” topped with Camembert and a blueberry reduction. Trust me, its delish.
When I heard chef Aviv Liebenberg was the star in the kitchen of this hideaway eatery with the endearing name (a pun on the French word for chips and “let’s scoff” in Western Cape vernacular) in the province’s culinary capital, I had to give it a try.
Liebenberg has (and continues to) work alongside such luminaries as Reuben Riffel and Richard Carstens at Tokara.
French fries (“triple-cooked frites”) might be the main attraction at this garden eatery with servings starting at R55 and rising to R80 if you prefer them tossed in truffle oil and served with Parmesan-truffle mayo.
But adding a 100g beef and cheese burger (R70) was more up my alley.
The burger comes with all the good stuff – a seeded bun, mayo, ranch dressing, tomato, red onion, chopped lettuce and BBQ sauce – and is best enjoyed with a pint from the Franschhoek Brewing Company.
Pork is rarely found on burger menus other than in shredded form or (heaven help us) as a slab of deboned rib.
But jovial butcher JD de Villiers works magic with the meat from his piggery on this wine farm on Stellenbosch’s northern fringe.
JD, who has made his mark as a farmer and master braaier of such things as lamb on the spit, recently turned his hand to shortorder cook when he moved into the kitchen of the fledgling bistro at Heins Family Wines.
I dropped in one Friday with my friend Tinnie Momberg who is as enamoured with pork as I am.
It was one of those crisp yet sunny winter days in the Western Cape and we decided a bottle of Heidi Heins (de Villiers) Dry Rosé would be just the thing to enhance the subtle summery flavours of delicately seasoned pork topped with creamy Brie from Dalewood Fromage.
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