As soon as Mrs. Selfish and I hit the ground in Australia, we immediately started a search for Australia’s unique cheap eats. Surprisingly, this turned out to be southeastern Asian food. Apparently, Australia doesn’t have much in the way of a native food culture, there were some exceptions, however – pies and burgers.

The real kicker, however, is that food in Sydney is expensive. $3 for a donut expensive, or $5 for a chicken sandwich from McDonald’s expensive, or $20 for a sandwich from your local hipster joint expensive. The plus side is that pretty much anywhere you eat in Sydney is good. I’m half convinced you could walk down the street blindfolded and find a good meal – just be prepared to bring a load of cash.

With that in mind, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to find some of Sydney’s best “cheap eats,” starting with burgers.

Burgerlicious – the chain restaurant

Our first stop on the burger tour was Burgerlicious, located near Sydney’s Chinatown. We were expecting a cute sit down place, but the vibe was definitely more of a late-night post-drinking fast food joint. We later found out it was a local chain.

We ordered the “Jalapeso” as a meal for $14.90, which was filled with grilled onions, bacon, lettuce, avocado, jalapeno relish, and salsa. Since it was a meal it also came with chips, and a beverage.

The flavor combination was interesting, but it was an otherwise standard burger. The bun was a little soggy, and the lettuce was slightly wilted. The fries were more “chip” style, which usually means they are bigger and blander than the french fry style of fry.

We also ordered the “Parezian,” for $10 which had onions, mushrooms, camembert cheese, mustard, salad mix, sour cream, and tomato relish.

Where the “Jalapeso” was different, the “Parezian” was just disappointing, and slightly dry.

VERDICT: While on the cheaper side of burgers in Sydney, Burgerlicious was definitely not worth the money. While some of the concepts were interesting, the execution was a little lackluster.

SCORE: 6.5

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