Laurie Dee's - Epping

Ah, Epping. One can say many things about this sprawling industrial suburb, both good and bad. Today I'll focus on one of the good things, and that is Laurie Dee's, located at Pacific Epping (or Epping Plaza, depending on who you are) just outside the cinemas.

Good old Laurie Dee's is a little different to what we usually hit up when we're hungry for a burgy. There's no murals, or vegan and gluten-free options. The burgies don't have hipster names and onion rings aren't on the menu. There's not even that many burgies on offer, with just four to choose from. On top of that, they call out your order through a speaker system, which you can even hear from the toilets. One gets the feeling that this restaurant was selling burgies before they became cool.

I had the Laurie Dee Double, which packs two freshly minced beef patties, grilled onions, melted cheddar, Special D Sauce, tomato, lettuce, diced pickles and green relish. The patties here aren't thick at all, and they are very well-cooked. It's not fancy, coming wrapped in tin foil and dripping grease. For all its flaws though, it actually does taste good. The lettuce crunches loudly with every bite and you feel like everyone in the restaurant can hear you eat (at least in the silence between public burgy announcements). The tomato is cut into thick slices and not only are they thick, but you get more than one slice. The patties themselves taste homemade, like something your mum would cook up on a Sunday afternoon and the buns are soft, but not super soft and sweet like other more refined establishments.

Chloe had the Bacon & Cheddar Double. This comes with two freshly minced beef patties, melted cheddar, crispy bacon, onions, Special D Sauce, tomato, diced pickles and BBQ sauce. The edges of the bacon are crispy, and nearly each bite has a strong burst of pickles. It is also quite greasy, but Chloe didn't mind.

The fries are actually not just fries here, so I will give them a quick rundown. I'm not sure if it's because they're drowned in chicken salt, but Chloe and I love them. We only bought one serve to share between us, which was a mistake in hindsight because we ended up racing each other to scoff as many of them as possible. Since there's no onion rings here, they're a shoe-in.

We also had a vanilla shake. Their shakes are thick (yes, everything here is thick except for the patties!) and ice cold, and made from frozen custard. They go down well with the chicken salt and grease.

Pricing

Quite reasonable. A Laurie Dee Double and a Bacon & Cheddar Double both cost $11.95 and a serve of plain fries will set you back $4.70, not that the fries are actually plain. A shake is $6.95

Ambience

I thought I was Marty McFly in Back to the Future. I haven't transported back in time, but I imagine Laurie Dee's would do quite well in 1950s America.

Dietary Requirements

Vegetarians will struggle here. They can choose between a cheese melt sandwich or a garden salad. If you're vegan, just forget about it.

Address

Epping Plaza, opposite Reading Cinemas.

The Last Bite

Worth hitting up if you find yourself out in Epping. Tie it in with Reading Cinemas (we watched Crazy Rich Asians after) and you have a cheap feed and movie.