The calm after the storm…
Never underestimate the popularity of a burger.
And when I arrive at Charlie & Co in the brand new Westfield in the Sydney CBD for lunch with Nic and Amy, I certainly should not have when I see the queues. It seems I am here along with many of the CBD population and as I am waiting in the queue chef and owner Justin North stops by to say hello. “We planned for 200 people a day and last night we served almost 700!” Justin says. He is about to get into the kitchen to start slicing into the hamburger buns that have just been baked. In one week they go through one tonne of meat and one tonne of chips.There are currently ten chefs and order takers in the kitchen area being watched through the glass panels by hungry hordes of diners who are standing in line for their takeaway burgers.
A 6 foot high stack with trays of golden burnished buns is wheeled past and Justin says that they were only just baked around the corner. In April 2011 they will open up their bakery shop when Phase two of the Westfield development has been complete and for now the bakery is in operation to bake the hamburger buns. Although some stores like Gucci, Sass & Bide and Little Joe are open in the complex, many of the ones on the upper level are yet to open.
The Charlie of the Charlie & Co is an American man Charlie Nargreen who was nicknamed Hamburger Charlie. In 1885 when he was a mere 15 years old Charlie was selling meatballs at a fair in Wisconsin using ground hamburg steak. As sales were sluggish he smashed a meatball and some onions between two slices of bread so that people could walk and eat at the same time and thus became a hamburger pioneer and Charlie & Co is a tribute to him. The “& Co”. is a tribute to the local food producers that create the ingredients for these burgers.
There are two lines here at Charlie & Co. One and I am in the one where you can sit in their own enclosed area and have table service. You can also get takeaway and stake a claim on any of the nearby food court tables. Like all of North’s restaurants and eateries, service is very friendly but due to the crowds they won’t seat you until most of your party has arrived as the space is quite small and there is a fairly fast turnover with a typical wait being 20 minutes in the queue. There is a staff member handing out menus to the people in the queue and I pore over the menu while waiting for Nic and Amy to arrive (and this post is a combination of two visits, one with Mr NQN too). There is a range of burger from your traditional beef, a chilli crab burger, a Mexican burger, a hot dog, toasted sandwiches, a couple of salads and some of the best fries you will ever taste.
The whole Charlie & Co chain was started on the legend of the Plan B wagyu burger. For me, no burger has bettered it. They have a version of it here but this one has a slightly different topping with a beetroot relish instead of pickled beetroot. At the eat in area you can order wine and beer and there are also bottled Phoenix organic and Charlie’s drinks. We chuckle at the tomato sauce bottle labels which are already showing signs of wear in this very new eatery that only opened on the 28th of October.
Wagyu & Co burger $18 eat in ($16 takeaway)
Oh wagyu burger, how much do I love thee? This burger is slightly different to the one at Plan B so I am curious to try it. I wondered if they could improve on it and I think they might just have. And how? By adding pickled gherkins and aged cheddar which I absolutely love in burgers. And instead of having the slice of pickled beetroot like they do at Plan B, they have a beetroot relish (which promptly finds its way onto my dress). And the bun, well it’s that fabulous buttery brioche bun which I wish all burgers were served on. It’s heavenly, soft and rich.
The Federation Burger $16 eat in ($14 takeaway)
Onto the Federation burger which appears to be their “burger with the lot”. Amy and I are sharing burgers although we all end up sharing everything in the end. This has a seasoned Angus beef pattie, aged cheddar, a fried egg, bacon, sauteed onions, iceberg lettuce and tomato on a sesame sourdough bun. The meat patty is very thick although not quite as soft as the wagyu and the burgers have a lovely smokey char taste to them going well with the smokey bacon and sweet onions. And did I mention I love aged cheddar in burgers? There is more “juice” on this burger with the tomato and as a result the burger bun on the bottom falls apart when it comes to eating it. Funnily enough, when I brought Mr NQN to have one the very next day he asked me why I didn’t bite through the whole burger and my only defence to that is that my mouth simply couldn’t open wide enough-sad but true! And did I find this burger compared to the wagyu? For me, the wagyu is richer and more petite and much easier and didn’t fall apart to eat so the wagyu burger still has my heart. Plus the bun tastes like butter so what’s not to love?
The Handcrafted chilli crab burger $17 eat in ($15 take away)
This was a burger that I was really interested in trying. You don’t often see a chilli crab cake burger on a menu. This one is a Thai infused crab cake with Asian salad, cucumber, lime mayonnaise and sweet chilli jam on a sesame bun. The patty is moist and juicy and almost like one of those Asian fish cakes but much fresher and not rubbery at all. The overall sensation is fresh and sweet.
The Maiden Marrakesh Burger $15 eat in ($13 take away)
I try some of Nic’s marrakesh burger which has premium ground lamb flavoured with parsley, mint and cumin served with harissa, tzatziki and preserved lemon on a sesame bun. The yogurt, spices and parsley lend this a very fresh flavour and it has the right balance of flavours on this satisfying burger and the smokey char flavour on the patty is particularly good on this.
The Charlie Chilli dog $14 eat in ($12 takeaway)
The Charlie Chilli dog has a pork sausage, fried onions, green chilli, mustard and sweet tomato relish on a soft baguette. One thing I didn’t realise when I bit into it is that it had a very hot English mustard and I must admit that all that I tasted was the screamingly hot mustard so I didn’t love this as much as the burgers as I couldn’t taste the rest of the hot dog. The pork sausage is not your typical hot dog frankfurter, it is more like a regular pork sausage.
Chilli Chicken wings $10
The crunchy lightly coated chicken wings are very good indeed. They are deep fried and doused in an Asian sauce-almost sweet and sour but not quite with aromatic star anise and other spices. They’re not particularly hot so no need to worry there, in fact if anything they taste black peppery rather than strong with chilli. My only issue? These need to come with lots of napkins and refresher towelettes because your fingers get sticky!
Parmesan and truffle fries $8
As soon as I pop one in my mouth I smile. Double. Fried. Chips. Yep, a double fried chip is a thing of beauty. Crispy and never, ever floury the chips are first fried once and then fried again just before serving to achieve an almost translucent effect giving it a crunchy but not oily sensation. And not only that but these are topped with parmesan and truffle salt. Oh yes, yes, yes! In fact my mouth started salivating like one of Pavlov’s poochies when I saw the picture of these again.
Onion rings $7
Looking hand dipped and home made which is not necessarily a bad thing. These are crunchy and good although it must be said they just didn’t get much of a look in after the parmesan and truffle fries. Jan Brady syndrome again.
So tell me Dear Reader, what’s the longest you have queued for food?
The only time when there isn’t a swarm: either early or late after 3pm!
Charlie & Co
Level 5, Westfield
Cnr Pitt St Mall and Market St Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 8236 9200
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85 Comments | Add your own
Lorraine, this came just in time! I was disappointed by the wagyu beef burger at Bills yesterday. I was recommended to go to Plan B. Now I have this option! Will try to go tomorrow!
Those burgers look delish and the fries look EPIC!!!
Gourmet fast food seems to be the new black.
Wagyu burger – what luxury! And parmesan and truffle fries..ok, now that’s just silly indulgent..hahaha..
That Charlie Chilli dog looks good! People must be happy with their burgers if they are happy to wait for so long. They do look good though.
(longest I’ve waited was over an hour for yum cha once in the city. Went at the wrong time!)
Putting that on my list. Pronto!! YUM nothing like a great burger! x
mmmm those burgers look good! Perhaps I will have to venture into the city?
OMG! You find all the best places!! I would have happily devoured everything on your table, although I might have skipped the federation burger to make a little more room for the fries! It all looks delicious. Wagyu, aged cheddar and beetroot relish on a brioche, YUM! That is truely inspired. I think I would have managed to get my mouth around any of the burgers
oh my – who knew the lure of a good burger would create such big crowds!!!
What a great concept. Designer burgers really are super popular at the moment. I wish Justin North would consider coming to Bris Vegas- the likes of Grill’d just don’t do it for me and I’m a burger fiend.
P.S I crack up everytime you say Jan Brady syndrome. Poor Jan, but sooo true.
Mmmm, the crab burger sounds great!
The Marrakech burger looks the business. Justin is on a winner. The wagyu was great for the price point when I had it
I definitely want the wagyu burger – because it’s the only one with beetroot! The longest I have queued for food is at just a shade under an hour there.
Great post Lorraine! I know, the queues at Charlie & Co have been crrrazy… But I’m happy for Justin North and his team, it pays off to serve quality food so good on them.
I had the Federation burger and I really loved it. Although I’m with you, there’s NO WAY that thing was going to fit in my mouth in one bite without a total disaster
Will have to try the crab burger next time, looks delicious too.
Let me see… The longest I’ve queued for food was probably at Pierre Herme in Paris right before Xmas. Queued for over an hour to get one of his Xmas logs. I remember tourists were taking pics of the queue in disbelief. In the end it was totally worth it, although I wouldn’t queue for food like that every day!
I’m salivating. I’m planning a shopping trip later in the week at the new Westfields, so I’ll definitely be stopping here! Longest queue? Zumbo’s
(or was it….?)
Thanks for this post Lorraine, I was there a few days after it opened and it was crazy didn’t order as there was a 40 minute waiting time and I had shopping to do! But have planned to go back with my hubby and son but will either go before midday or after 3! Thanks again
90min on opening night to have our orders taken, then another 20min to get the order – but yeah the wagyu and fed burgers with truffle fries were worth the wait!
Those burgers look scrumptious!
Unfortunately, I have zero patience so if I have to wait for a table, I will go somewhere else. So 10 minutes is probably my queuing for food record. ^_^
Oh it looks great
I’m actually heading up there today so will def get the chips. They look delish! Still deciding o the burger though. They all look so great!
I waited about 45 minutes at Adriano Zumbos but did come home with a bounty of desserts so it was totally worth it
Thanks Lorraine, you have made my Monday once again!
I have not been brave enough to venture to Charlie & Co – fearing the crowds, that being said I have been dying to go!
I visited the new Westfields on opening weekend, and I am still a bit traumatized.
For that hot dog, burger and truffle fries though – I know where I will be patiently waiting..tommorow!
Screw the crowds and the queues, there is wagyu to be had!
Longest queue – At Taronga Zoo. About 30 resentful mins. But as they have a monopoly on the food there unless you bring your own it isn’t surprising I suppose. Baby elephant joy made up for the waiting!
The burgers look fabulous. We queued for nearly one hour for lunch at Laduree in Paris once, but there was an incident during our wait to which the police were called (crazy man came in and started grabbing food and taking bites – hugely amusing as his demeanor was so French!) which kept us entertained. Oh, and the food was worth the wait!
I am, however, always intrigued how (embarrassing admission follows) the Cheesecake Factory always tell you the wait is 45 minutes and it is always less than 15.
The day that Guzman and Gomez finally opened on the North Shore in Crows Nest there were free burritos, and I LOVE their burritos… and the queue was easily 20 minutes…
The other place i always end of queueing is Mamak! Even at the new one at Chatswood everyone has already worked out it is there! There was an hour queue when i turned up for lunch a few saturdays ago.
P.S those fries look AMAZING!
The burgers look great but my mouth is drooling at the thought of fries with Parmesan and truffle!!
great post. the burgers looks amazing! Longest I queued for is the ksubi sale. I waited 3 hrs in the rain and in the end as it was over crowed, i walked out empty handed.
I’m sold on the parmesan and truffle fries. I’m not sure how long I’d queue for them though. I lined up for about 15 minutes to have a macaroon from La Duree in Paris and another 20 minutes for a gelato from a world famous gelateria in Rome. Both totally worth the wait!
Beetroot always falls on clothes, particularly white ones. I queued for ages at Eataly in Turin for a table. It was more a push and a shove than a queue, but worth it.
Wow those burgers look pretty amazing. My ears perked up when I read “chilli crab burger” but the picture was not quite as enticing as the idea. Was it real crab or that fake ‘crab stick/seafood extender’ (aka cows stomach)? At that price I would hope there would be at least a little real crab in there.
Those buns do look very nice and I might even have to give up my mission of being gluten free for a month, just to try one!
A memorable wait for a meal was at a restaurant in Florence. They were so popluar that at any time there were at least 50 people waiting outside. The staff would bring plates of lovely cheese and bread and other goodies to pass around the waiting crowd. Sometimes a glass of wine as well. There was always a good vibe going and we never resented the wait. The food once you got in was sensational and also served with generosity. The first time we went there my son was a baby. And since Italians love babies and children so much they were exceptionally nice to us. They kept bringing us tons of extra dishes “just to try” and we had to take a tiny bit and pass the rest down the communal table to our fellow diners who were getting a tad jealous. When we were leaving they gave us a bottle of wine to take with us. Ah…Italy!!
Oh wow a tone of meat!! That is so crazy!!
That chilli crab burger sounds so good!!! Definitely my must-try item when I go.
I think I am the only person who has not been here yet! I’m hoping to rectify that on Thursday, but only if the crowds aren’t too big. All the burgers look good, but I’m keen to try the Wagyu Beef (will watch out for the Beetroot Relish) and the chips.
There’s almost nothing better than a good, juicy burger! My mouth’s watering over the Wagyu and Federation burgers!!! Lorraine, May I have your job?!?
That mile-high burger has my hubby’s name written all over it. He’d be drooling over it in a heartbeat.
i… i have no words.
must go.
now.
I think this place could be my idea of heaven Lorraine, gourmet burgers are the business.
Longest I’ve waited in a queue was about 45 minutes in London for a version of Death by Chocolate cafe, lots of fun and worth the wait. (wish I could remember the cafe’s name…., memories are only serving up the oooie gooie chokky yummyness)
I think Justin North is on a winner here judging by the crowds, queues and delicious food. I’m itching to check out the new Westfield, have heard so much about it from family and friends. Charlie & Co. will be on my list.Hopefully sometime next week.
The longest I’ve had to wait was recently at Toko’s, a ridiculous two and a half hours for a table, granted it was a Saturday night but no-one should have to wait that long, especially on an empty stomach!
Omg! Those truffle & parmesan chips were amazing! I can’t wait to go back
Wow! Charlie is older than I would have thought!! 15 years of age in 1885
*giggle*
Seriously though, I have to just dream about all the lovely things you blog about most times as your neck of the woods is a mere 1,000kms away. *sigh*
cannot get enough of those fries! hehe..I sent Justin North the inspiration for a crab cake burger
not sure if he got it from my email though 
Oh. My. Goodness. I am not kidding, the moment my eyes lit on that federation burger, I started drooling. For real! Not just comment-speak. Might have to duck into the CBD just to eat a burger, hubby will think I’m nuts. Actually no he’s used to it.
The longest we’ve ever queued was when daughter insisted we go to Mamak for her birthday. We waited about an hour I think.
Oh, I definitely want the crab burger!! I’ve never come across that on a menu in my life. Looks divine!
Those pics….I am drooling, and going to get a burger for lunch now. So much for Mondays diet!
Wow, this place looks amazing!! I wish it were in Melbourne. I’m not surprised it is so popular. All the burgers look fabulous (I must try a wagu burger soon!). as do those incredible fries! I think the longest I have queued for food is 10 mins maybe? For ice-cream in noosa
Heidi xo
I was at the new Westfield yesterday, having a Campos coffee at the place next-door to Charlie & Co… me & a friend were going to buy a burger…but we had already had lunch, so we were advised not to by friends
I may just have to buy one next Sunday though
The longest I’ve had to wait in a queue for food…an hour…and we didn’t even get our food!!
Thank goodness we didn’t have to pay! 
Me & 3 friends were going to see “Wicked”, and decided to eat at Chat Thai across the road…BIG mistake!! It seemed as though everyone else had the same idea. We put our names down and waited…and waited…and kept waiting. Finally the maitre d’ told us that our table would be next, so he took our order, and we waited for our table to be free. Well, another 15 minutes, and the people at our table were taking their time – they’d already paid their bill, but decided to stay and talk for a while. We only had 20 minutes to eat & take our seats for the show, so we had to tell the man that we needed to go. He told us that our food was ready, but the table wasn’t! So we left – they wouldn’t even give our food to us as take-away!
It’s good to know that there can be a 20 min wait – the queue always looks so long, I ask myself if it’s worth waiting. Judging by your impressions, YES it’s worth the wait! And the truffle chips sound amazing. I’m off to get in line now….
I could never tire of a fantastic burger and these burgers look absolutely incredible! Especially the yummy wagyu burger…mmmm….
Will have to try one, I have seen the crowds waiting for their burger and will wait until it’s a bit quieter.
The longest I have waiten is around an hour but then we got told that they had run out of something.. It took them that long to realise!
Amazing. There is nothing like a really good burger, and I think that Australia will soon pass America as the burger capital with all these fantastic burger restaurants that have moved well beyond the boring processed cheese, meat and sauce variety!
The hot dog is the thing really calling to me though – and those chips, wow!
I have to say I won’t wait for food though, if I’m hungry I will eat whatever is in my path rather than wait……….
Parmesan and truffle fries? Wow, that’s something i’d like to try.
Fingers crossed one of these stores bobs up in Melbourne sometime soon.
tell me that you ate all that food. ALL OF IT.
Ommm nommm nommm
I love how most of the things on the menu were chili-infused and I love the idea of Parmesan-truffle fries.
Would you believe I actually spent an hour in line trying to get a plate of char kway teow on a trip to Singapore? How was I to know that hawker stall was so popular!
What a yummy and mouth wathering burger! I just love melted cheese.
Looks delish! Fries + truffles – how could this not have been thought of before?!?!
I queued for over an hour for cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in NY … totally worth it though!
I went to Charlie & Co. a few weeks ago.
I’d been at a Belvedere event earlier so needless to say I can’t remember too much!
I waited around 10 minutes and then got in the queue for the eat-in. I didn’t realise they were separate lines.
I loved my marrakech burger and I’m keen to go back when I’m sober and give it another shot!
The crab burger looks lovely!! Hard to imagine the queues you guys had down there, it must be something special
Beetroot – while the stain is still wet rub it with salt (any salt I’m sure) and it will wash out. The longest I’ve waited for food is approximately 2 hours at a place called Something Fishy that make everything from scratch (and is delicious). Their electricity went down so they had to cook with gas. They kept us busy by playing board games with us. It was great and so was the food,eventually.
I came here the other day and miraculously avoided the line to dine in!
oh burgers are never underestimated in LA!! You remember In-N-Out, right? Hee hee…and we have so many gourmet burger places around here. We don’t have crab burgers though!!
an hour and a half for chat thai! I don’t think I could wait that long again (especially when I’m told it will only be 15-20 minutes…every 15-20 minutes!)
Those fries sound amazing!! I might head into the city for them alone!
Longest queue for food – over 3 hrs @ Tim Ho Wan in HK – cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world – totally worth the wait, and I’ll do it again next time I’m in HK.
Can’t wait to try Charlie & Co next time I’m in Syd – last time I was down I went to Justin North’s Plan B and had the Wagyu Burger – fantastic!
I cannot wait to try this place…I particularly can’t wait to try the parmesan/truffle chips. Your description of them has confirmed what I suspected…that they would be divine!
You gotta love good burgers like that! And truffle chips are great… Can’t wait for lunch now!
The chili crab burger sounds amazing! Yea, never underestimate the power of burgers!
Hehe, that beetroot relish was destined for your dress. You should take me along next time and we can be beetroot covered sisters
I would be paralysed with indecision here, they look so lovely. I agree that a good burger is very hard to go past – something about burgers just speaks to your belly.
I just adore places like this, Lorraine. We have a super one here, best burgers I’ve ever had. But your photos are making me wish Charlie’s was in our area. (I do like my fries a little more well done, though…I love them brown and crunchy.)
oh my goodness this is a SIGN! I just replied to a comment you left on my blog saying I NEED TO FIND A GOOD BURGER PLACE IN SYDNEY and then I came to your blog and saw THIS!! It’s definitely a sign. Can’t wait to try it
As to waiting in a queue for food, my husband was quite dismayed when I waited in line for 90 minutes for the famous Pink’s hotdogs in LA. But it was worth it!
Dave had the chorizo burger yesterday and it was way too dry, he didn’t finish it. Unheard of for him *LOL*. The P&T fries were good though. We went later in the day with friends and the waitress was probably the worst I’ve come across in a very long time.
Oh my NQN! This looks superb! Nom nom nom nom!
Longest I’ve ever waited is over an hour at the Aroma festival in the Rocks – absolute hell with a screaming under 4year old begging for food and drink – it was* the shortest queue mind you :S
Regardless of that I must thank you for this post – We’ll be heading over to the city on the weekend and I plan on indulging here!
That looks delicious!!
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Eppp onion rings!!! yummo!!! …and a TONNE of meat??? … i cannot even begin to fathom the extent of that!
Ohhh yay! I’m so excited to see this! I will be visiting very soon I’d say, although I dislike queues
Everytime I visit the food court I always aim to go to Charlie & Co but the queues always turn me away. One of these days… I’ll come super early and get my burger, I swear!
I don’t normally like meat, but even I could go for the wagyu or lamb burgers. Not to mention the chips and onion rings.
that looks heavenly!
can’t wait until i get a chance to go to sydney ^^
I went to have lunch here last week, saw the line ups and headed elsewhere. Must admit I didn’t realise you could eat in, if I knew that I may have waited. Will attempt to try it once everything has died down a bit.
The burgers look great, but I really do think it is a crime to use wagyu in a burger.
Ooh that Marrakech burger looks scrummy, and I always get parmesan truffle chips like that at Jamie Oliver in Cambridge (heaven!). I don’t know about food (I always eat at odd times at restaurants which I know have a ginormous queue at certain times) – though Jamie in Cambridge always has a wait of about 45 mins (happily this can be done at the bar, with a plate of nibbles) – but yesterday I queued for an hour for a Mulberry sample sale! Ahh, the things we’re willing to do for food and shoes!
B xx
I want to try everything on that menu! We went to the new westfield when we were in Sydney the other weekend and it was packed in the food court! We had just eaten at Mamak though, so we were too full to eat anything. I really wanted some of the gelato from the gelato place though, that looked so good.
as a somewhat claustrophobic person, there’s no way i could work in those tight quarters. i could eat there. oh, buddy, could i eat there.
I’d love to try the crab or the lamb burger sometime soon. The longest I queued for food was 3 hours- and we still didn’t get in to the restaurant! Ended up bailing. It was years ago, the new big yum cha place opened in Chinatown, the huge one, forget the name, never went back. We got there early. They steadfastly refused to let us in. I think there were 6 or 8 of us in our group. Every one else in Sydney was seated and ate. We ended up leaving. Never went back. Still twitch with anger at the thought.
Yum, the burgers look delicious & those chips,mmm.
I think the longesr I’ve queued for food was only an hour.Although I once sat at a restaurant table waiting for 3 hours before any of our order arrived at the table.
Hi NQN,
Could you help me? I know there are a range of beef breeds used for meat, but do different breeds have different flavours? Do certain breeds have certain flavour characterisitics which distinguish them? I have actually wondered this for quite a time.
Ta
W
Oh, by the way, NQN, am really OVER this gourmet burger jag Sydney is stuck on!
This place sure has taken a dive… ate there last week and the foot was a bit of a joke to be honest.
The burger was luke warm and dried out. There was very little resemblance of the fat flavour that a good wagyu burger should have.
The double fried chips seemed like a single fried would have been enough.
At $16 a burger I am sorry to say that’s just not good enough.
Speaking of which, $7.95 for a “large” baguette at nearby Becasse bakery? It’s obvious Justine North has refocused his efforts on making money vs providing quality product.
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