Food.Fun.Stuff: Be My Guest

[ 0 ] June 30, 2009 | Johnna

This weeks post comes from the creator of Diary of a Mad Blacktress, Naomi, who recently took a visit down under, check out this burger joint all the way from New Zealand:

I landed in Queenstown, on the south island of New Zealand on April 7 after 8 hours of driving. Known as the place where bungee jumping was invented, people come to this resort town to enjoy skiing, snowboarding, and extreme sports. If you’re me, you come to enjoy Fergburger.

Fergburger is a burger spot in the center of town on Shotover Street, and every guidebook I read recommended it. When I saw there was already a line outside the door at 6:30pm, I knew the books weren’t wrong. Me and my group squeezed our way inside and salivated–and cracked up–over the menu as we waited to order. I ended up ordering the Southern Swine, which consists of prime New Zealand beef, American streaky bacon (never heard of it, but who doesn’t love bacon?), lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, aioli, and tomato relish. As I watched the cooks put together a line of burgers, honoring every customer’s substitutions and omissions with German efficiency I could tell by the size that I would have to skip the fries. I could barely finish the massive burger, which came on fresh toasted ciabatta bread. The tomato relish tasted like a delicious combination of ketchup and BBQ sauce, and was unlike anything I’ve ever had. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp, and if not for their tight wrapping, everything would have fallen out of my overstuffed burger.

For the few vegetarians in the room, there was the Holier Than Thou: tempura tofu topped with spicy satay, coconut, and coriander sauce, in addition to the lettuce and tomato. They also have a falafel burger I was tempted to get for the name alone–The Bun Laden.

Open from 8:30am to 5am 7 days a week, there’s no shortage of business, with hearty breakfast wraps offered (The Morning Glory has all the fixings of a burger, only with bacon and eggs) any time. The fries and onion rings are equally delicious, but it takes a huge stomach to get both a burger and fries down. Although I was only in Queenstown 72 hours, I had about 4 Fergburgers while I was there. Here’s an excerpt from an email I sent to a friend while I was away:

Subject: I’m pregnant….

Body: With a food baby. Her name is Fergburger.

If you ever find yourself on the other side of the world and are in need of sustenance, check out this place. Just make sure you don’t do it before bungee jumping.

Fergburger: 42 Shotover Street, Queenstown, New Zealand

Picture source: Copyright of Johnna Knows Good Food

Category: restaurant reviews

About the Author (Author Profile)

Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.