Tonight I tried a Parma burger from Lord of the Fries in Hindley Street.
Lord of the Fries is a brand new (to Adelaide) 100% vegetarian ethical eatery which sells burgers, hotdogs and sides, so I was keen to check it out (I get a real sense of serenity when eating in a place that only does vegetarian!). It is a small fast-food restaurant with an American-subway vibe. Most of their burgers and hotdogs are heavy on the pickles, onions and ketchup, which makes me think of them as a vegetarian substitute for the major US burger chains.
Lord of the Fries’ grand opening actually isn’t until next week, and it was clear that everyone is still a bit new. For example, they forgot part of our order at first. Also, depending on who took your order, you either got your sauce directly on your fries, or on the side. I’d recommend this as more of a take-away shop, as it was quite noisy and crowded, and their largest tables only seated four people.
The Parma burger has a chicken-style patty, Napoli sauce, diced onion and ketchup, vegan cheese, and vegetarian bacon, and it costs $10.
Now, first things first: I remember bacon. Calling anything “bacon” that is not actually bacon is really just setting everybody up for disappointment.
Apart from that, I thought my burger was fine. The chicken-style patty was nice, and the vegan cheese was delicious and creamy. It’s probably not something I’d travel into the city for; however, if you’re craving Macca’s but you don’t want to eat a dead cow, then I think this would hit the spot nicely.
Three styles of fries are available: classic, chunky and shoestring. We got the classic fries, and (surprisingly given the name of the restaurant) they didn’t seem to be anything special. There were many that were over-browned. Thankfully, a huge range of tasty-sounding sauces are also available to go with your fries. We enjoyed the Indian sauce. The fries also come with a tiny two-pronged toothpick so you don’t need to use your fingers – this was my favourite thing!
As you’d expect, Lord of the Fries has lots of other vegetarian burgers on their menu. I’d like to try some of their others at a later time, if I’m in the area. At the moment, this is their only Adelaide location, but they have stores in other states (and NZ).
Flavour: 6/10. The flavour was mostly good. Soy bacon is weird.
Satiety: 8/10. The burger was medium sized, but the serving of chips was generous.
Structure: 8/10. Structurally sound!
Chips: 5/10. I would try the chunky or shoestring fries next time; both of these looked better.
Overall score: 6.5/10. Exciting concept, fingers crossed they perfect the execution.
Please note: All reviews on this site are intended purely as personal opinion. Prices and ingredients should be checked with the retailer.