Bam Bams Fried Chicken & Burgers - Reservoir

With the pubs closed, fishing banned and footy postponed, I've had plenty of time to keep up with chores and take household responsibility. This pandemic is quickly turning me into a proper adult, causing me to leave my mid-twenties boyhood behind. In spite of that, I still insist on reviving this cheesy little blog. Boredom doesn't always breed the best in us so I took leave from my slow and laborious apprenticeship as a home cook and ordered Chloe and I some burgers.

In a show of gustatory partnership, Chloe and I ordered the same burger. The Barbie contains double  beef, double cheese, bacon, Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, onion rings and gherkin. The smashed patties and buns are soft and despite coming across as big on paper, the burger is actually easy to grasp and a very clean eating affair. Spillage, much like the burger in the last review, is minimal. The cheese here is melted to perfection and is a delight to pick off the wrapper. The sauce is sweet and tangy and overall there's not a lot I can say about this creation that's negative. I do, however, think it could benefit from some additions. Maybe a bit of onion or a second sauce could dilute the sometimes overwhelmingly meaty taste and add another dimension of flavour to the burger. Maybe a hash brown could be thrown in to break up the patties and improve the burger's overall texture. Or maybe this burger was made for meatheads and I like my burgers a little more on the omni side of things.

I also ordered the Standard burger. While the dull name certainly needs a bit of work, the burger itself does not. The mustard, cheese, onion and pickles in this burger combine to make several points of flavour, making every bite interesting. The soft milk bun and smashed beef patty make chewing a delight, producing that melt-in-your-mouth feel. I had extra cheese and a tasty rasher of bacon added for extra flavour, which went down well. The salty, savoury taste of the bacon provides an excellent counterpoint to the sweet, tangy vibes of the onion and pickles. This burger truly rates as one of the best we've ever had.

We got sides of chips and onion rings as well. The onion rings at Bam Bams are among the best we've had. Optimal crispness and minimal grease are what makes these particular onion rings a winner. The chips are a little soft and soggy but well-seasoned and somewhat substantial. They sit somewhere between french fries and steak fries in terms of thickness. This peculiar balance was something that I appreciated.

Head-to-Head

Both Chloe and I agree that the Standard beats the Barbie by several lengths.

Pricing

The Barbie Burger Pack (burger + fries) will set you back $23 while a Standard Burger Pack will set you back $19. Extra cheese is $1 and extra bacon is $2. A side of onion rings is $6. 

Ambience

We actually picked up our order at the store and it certainly had that closed, lockdown feeling to it. It would be a clean, neat little place to sit down and have a burger during normal times.

Dietary Requirements

They have vegan options here but they're all faux chicken. If you're looking for faux beef, you're outta luck.

Address

24 Johnson Street, Reservoir, in the area known as Keon Park.

The Last Bite

We've had Bam Bams before and we'll have it again. If I were Dan Andrews, I'd list venturing into Reservoir to satisfy a burger fix as essential.