Well, hasn't Brisbane been blessed for another time around? Whether it is the city of Brisbane, or just Australia in general, it seems that the denizens can't get enough of having burger places all around them. Who can blame personally, they are one of the best foods to have as they are simple and you know what you are in for. Getting back on topic, some darlings from further south have migrated north with this being one of them and definitely not the last.
As per usual with the places around here, I was meeting my friend for the normal arrangements. That is lunch and a movie. Business as normal - what does he feel like? From what I remember, it might have been chicken but regardless of what it was then - and regardless of when it is - it is basically a lap around the area looking for possibilities. This place is essentially across from the cinemas, so it was more or less a beeine. I am always prepared for at least two or three other places if the first one doesn't fall through - but this time it did. Here we are at the Brooklyn Depot.
Something to note about the place is the whole aesthetics of it. There are few places nearby that can be compared with the effort put into how they look, and not in a passing way but just to be characteristic in it. This is one of them, apparently taking inspiration from downtown Brooklyn for their looks. It isn't the brightest of places, more going for darker hues with bricks, reds and some neon signs. Seating can be the booths, a bar, or the al fresco option. They fit quite a few people in here, and going to the end this might be the first place that I have been to where paying can be right outside the door. That is a small touch, but could be an efficient to increase and more business along - kudos.
As per usual, we have alright service. It does its job, friendly and efficient plus the food came out basically all at once. Really, I wish there was more to elaborate but there are only so many times the aforementioned descriptions can be talked about in unique ways, especially if it was just doing the job - something has to stick out for further elaboration. Well, service is decent.
Brooklyn Depot more or less has the usual American fare to be expected in a diner. That is a range of burgers which includes a monthly special, hot dogs, a range of nibbles and sides to share and some salads. Also finishing off is a couple of sweets. To have for drinks, expect all the usual offerings of sodas, juices and possibly some beers. What they definitely have is milkshakes available as "PG" or "AO". It is pretty simple fare here, almost like a pub meets a diner.
Well, I thought I may as well get a burger. Looking through the list, there are a number of tasty sounding choices. In the end, I went for the "Filthy Pilgrim". With only elementary knowledge about it, the best way to describe this one is sort of like getting Thanksgiving leftovers on a burger. It was not like most other ones on offer. They took turkey breast, which was tender and not formed into a patty but were more chunks put onto the bread, then topped it off with some house made gravy, a patty of roasted potato and garlic, bits of brie cheese, a herbed stuffing and a sauce of cranberry mayonnaise. Yes, from the sounds of it is one messy sucker to eat; that would be correct. It might not have held together as such, but the mixture of the different items had all sorts of flavours that stood out. With soft potato, a fruity sauce and a bit of bite from melted cheese, there is not too much wrong here. Just expect something a bit different from what a burger entails.
The idea that I had in mind was to get the PMS milkshake (a.k.a. the monthly special), which would have been a banana and Milo combination. But they were out of that. Instead, I opted for their gringo flavour. That was more or less a caramel milkshake flavoured with some dolce de leche and salted caramel sauce, along with having ice cream to make it thick, and topped off with a sprinkling of brownie bits. It was served in that classical metal cup, which is a touch that I have always gravitated towards - I have never really known why, possibly it is that the drink is kept cold. The milkshake itself was pretty good, with cold, creamy milk and a slightly thick consistency mixing in a flavour that was not too sweet surprisingly. The dusted brownies on top was a nice touch.
As well as that, my friend also got some onion rings to have on the side with his meal. By all means this was to share, and I nicked a few of the rings myself. These were twice cooked, and definitely hot and fresh from the fryer. The batter around them was great and crispy, and the onions inside were sweet and tasty. Adding onto it all was a good amount of seasoning mixed through the cooking process - salt makes a whole lot of difference.
It probably is a fairly solid place, and will have plenty of fans abound; to be fair to the Brooklyn Depot, it deserves it. Being a big American food fan, inevitably that has meant I have tried a lot of the new American places opening up around town and eventually it gets a bit hard to compete with others. To me though, as tasty as the food was it ended seeming like just another place for the usual fare. All the needed boxes are ticked as far as competency goes, and I don't hate this place. To me, it is a bit of the same old same old.
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