So, I suppose I should start this week with a
little bit of a confession. I began this series by saying that I was new to Melbourne, and I did just move down here from Adelaide, but I also tried to move down here back in ‘06 as well. For a variety of ‘unrelated to this article’ reasons, I only lasted four months before moving back, but I did spend quite a bit of time on North Melbourne’s Errol St, since I was living nearby, and I wanted to cover it in an article since I remembered it being a reasonably good place to be, and there was an awesome burger place I really wanted to get in here, even though it was a touch above the kind of price range I’d usually have covered.
Luckily for me, a class excursion took me out around the Queen Victoria markets on my designated ‘research for the blog’ day, and it’s only a quick hop, skip, and a jump from there to Errol St. I’m not going to give you directions here, but it’s really not that far from Melbourne Central, maybe a ten minute walk if you’re not rushed. At any rate, I was a little underwhelmed when I got there.
A lot of the stores and restaurants I remember are gone and nothing has taken their places, it’s a weird declining gold rush town kind of feel that begs for a Scooby Doo episode, but lacks anything of real interest. However, and this is a pretty big conditional, one store that still exists (although, admittedly under a different name) is Urban Burger.
As I said before, the price is slightly above what I would normally put in here; I spent a little under $15 for the most basic burger with chips and drink, but they were glorious! If you’re in to burgers, and who isn’t, then these guys are worth a bit of a hike out of the CBD to get to.
Not to leave you with so little, I’ll also tell you about The Workshop. It’s a bar near RMIT, on the corner of Elizabeth St and A’Beckett St on the floor above the bookshop, and the food is well sized, damn tasty, and cheap. The space itself is pleasant, the staff quite jovial, and the booze plentiful. So, give them a look in, too. For reference, though, the entrance is on the A’Beckett side of the building behind a roller door.
This is what you’re looking for:
Alastair Collins
