Global burger chain, Carl’s Jr has officially landed in Brisbane. They opened their second Australian store at the Brisbane Domestic Airport Terminal at the end of June, offering travellers a taste of juicy goodness. This is merely the beginning; The fast food giant plans on opening up nearly 300 stores over the next decade. You all know how much we love our burgers (and fast food), so we decided to try it out for ourselves. I must say I was a bit taken aback when I first saw the media images for the brand. They have always been known for their controversial marketing campaigns with ambassadors such as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian; but I wasn’t quite sure how the Australian public would react to such controversy. We aren’t used to seeing raunchy images of celebrities alongside our convenience food. All in all, I think people have been open to the new comer, and have welcomed them with open arms (I think the rarity might have something to do with that).
So if you are catching your next flight from the Domestic Terminal, and need food whilst you are in transit, paying a visit to Carl’s is a given. But If you live here In Brisbane, and you have been waiting years to sink your teeth into one of their burgers, I would recommend parking your car at Skygate and catching the internal bus to the terminal. This way you get to save on parking costs, and you won’t have to think about rushing home, when you feel like a blown up whale after eating. Oh, and dress light, remember you have to get through airport security.
THE MENU
Alright, well back to the food now! At a first glance, the fast food joint, looks like every other burger place out there, but truth is they’re not. So yes, Carl’s Jr is never going to be the next Zepickle (as someone on our Instagram page tried making a comparison of the two. They are two totally different offerings for different markets); It is a fast food outlet, as in great importance is placed on convenience. However, they totally trump other fast food joints here in Australia; not only in terms of taste, but also the quality of produce and the size of the offering (yes, they do big burgers). You will notice the menu has ‘ThickBurgers’, these are extremely large burgers made with Angus Beef and freshly baked buns. Oh and you can taste that the buns are very fresh. The options of ThickBurgers are a treat with Jalapeno, Portobello Mushroom, Guac Bacon; Not your average menu choices. They then have Chargrilled burgers which are almost quite similar to Hungry Jacks, but obviously done in the way that Carl’s does it best. They also have their chicken range and serve up breakfast. And in true American style, they have shakes on offer with their burgers (hell to the yeah). Whether it be a Vanilla Hand Scooped Shake, an Oreo Shake or simply one of their Pineapple Smoothies, you need to get onto it. Oh and did I mention they have Crisscut fries. It’s kinda like everything you see in the movies.
WHAT WE ATE
Jalapeno ThickBurger – Chargrilled Angus Beef with Melted Swiss Cheese, Sliced Jalapeno Peppers, Salad, Santa Fe Sauce on a Fresh Bun. So much yassss to this burger. It was huge and delicious. We both found the patties a little over done but they were still very tasty as a whole. The sizing is a lot larger than we expected, especially with convenience food.
Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger – I am a creature of habit, so whenever I eat greasy fast food, it is always a a cheeseburger with extra bacon. This one in particular, is my new favourite thing. Not one but two Angus Patties, Melted American Cheese, Bacon, Crispy Onion Rings, BBQ Sauce on a seeded bun. Okay, where do I start; That bacon was legit; it was almost candied, and they were very generous with the size. Just the way I like it. To be honest, I am kind of glad that they are at the airport, cos if they were closer to the city, I would probably be there everyday.
Sides – For sides, of course we ordered the Crisscut Fries and the Hand Breaded Onion Rings. The novelty of trying the Crisscut Fries was great, but we need to pay homage to those Onion Rings. They were amazing. Not like your regular onion rings which are commercial and perfectly cut. These are the real deal! They are all hand-crumbed and taste fresh. This sounds bizarre but they almost taste like really good KFC.
View the full menu here
Written by: Aliyah Ravat