I love going on little food adventures!
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Dotti sent me a photo of a Mister Gee burger, with a note saying, “they’re not far from you!”
She was right too – parked in an old car wash on the border of Five Dock and Haberfield, this hipster food truck was only a short drive from home. I picked up my friend Carol on the way and we arrived at 6.20pm – 10 minutes before official opening time.
It was raining and cool, and the queue was already snaking out of the undercover shelter by the time we got there. And you know what? At fifty, Carol and I were, without question, the oldest people there…
It was dark by the time we got towards the front of the queue.
“How old are you?” I asked the two young Asian guys standing in front of us.
“Eighteen”, one of them replied.
“Seriously? Does your mother know you’re here? And do you think she’d be happy that you’re standing in the rain?”
They laughed so hard – I turn into everyone’s mad Chinese mother at any opportunity…
Inside the truck, music was blaring and a crowd of young workers were moving at speed – I counted eight people behind the counter.
On offer that night were “Geeism” burgers (beef patty, oakleaf, tomato, onion, kimchi mayo, bacon, havarti cheese), chilli cheese fries and baklava shakes. As you can see, I’d given up on getting stoically wet by that stage and had pulled out my purple pocket umbrella…
The young guys in front of us ordered five burgers (two with double patties), four trays of fries and a baklava shake between them. They were planning to eat the whole lot on their own. It’s hard not to respect appetites like that! The person in front of them ordered a triple burger, which was so humungous that I had to take the photo below.
By this time we’d been waiting for an hour and ten minutes, and friendly strangers had started sheltering under our umbrella…
So was it worth it? Absolutely! It was great fun, everyone was cheerful and patient, and I thought my burger was the best I’d ever tasted. The meat was flavoursome, incredibly tender and cooked to medium perfection, the brioche bun was soft and just the right size (I don’t like burgers with crusty buns) and the kimchi mayo was divine. The fries were a nice accompaniment, albeit not outstanding.
Pete and Big Boy enjoyed their burgers too, Small Man less so. He prefers something with a bit more chew – this one was all a bit too tender for him.
If you’re after a cheap foodie adventure and you’re willing to stand in a queue for an hour or so, the Mister Gee Burger Truck is delicious fun. Burgers are $10 each, fries $5 – cash only.
More details on their Facebook page. And check out Lorraine’s review on them as well!
Love food carts, Illinois makes it so hard to have them here so they are few and far between.. Twittered!.. c
Thanks darling – it really IS a long way between food carts in your part of the world!
Ooh I’d stand in the queue…especially if you let me share your umbrella….I hate getting wet ;)
Oh I’d insist. We’d cuddle up close to stay warm! :)
Proper burgers – that’s what I like to see:)
I don’t know what a proper burger really is (I have friends who insist it’s not “proper” without beetroot and egg!), but this one was certainly the best I’d tried! I since read on Lorraine’s blog that they use grassfed Tassie beef!
Any time you have to queue and the end result is good food, is a WIN Ms Celia :)
Hahaha…you’re so right, Fran! My days of queuing for crappy takeaway are long gone! :)
Wish we had burger vans like this around here celia, sounds like a fab foodie adventure.
Andrea, it really was! It was a lovely crowd of people – surprisingly, no-one really got impatient (not even me!).. :)
Nice looking burger & I admire your patience – I’m not sure I’d be willing to queue for an hour for a burger.
Well…I didn’t know when I got there that it was going to be quite that long.. :)
It sounds like a true experience, rather than just buying a burger. I can’t believe how much those guys ate (teenage appetites are not part of my world!)
Anne, I’ve been feeding teenage wolves for years, but I was in awe of those two young men – SO much food! :)
I love food carts but there’s not too many of them where I live – one reason being the difficult winters!! It was fun reading about your adventure – and what a menu that food cart has – very impressive ‘foodie’ ideas like the baklava shakes and kimchi mayo !!
Cecile, they only offer the one burger each time – I guess folks have a lot of faith in the food truck, because it’s a bit different each time! :)
Oh – that’s very interesting!! You’re right – their customers have to really trust them – and have adventuresome palates !!
I’m glad you enjoyed the burgers after queuing for so long, I think i would have given up especially in the rain! Your comment to the boys made me laugh, I would have thought the same :)
Stefanie, I’m so glad someone else appreciated how funny the situation was. The two young men in front of us were cracking up – one of them said, “oh no, I’m getting wet, I’ll get siiiicckk…” :D
Celia, when we are out at night I look at the kids these days and wonder what are they still doing out and why aren’t they covered up! :) I wonder if the boys finished all their food? I can’t believe how much they ordered, having said that my 11 year old nephew eats a whole rack of ribs plus sides, the waitress couldn’t believe it the last time and he’s a skinny kid.
I love a good food truck. Queuing for a burger makes total sense to me.
Good for you, Jen! It was fun – I reckon I’d do it again. Maybe not in the rain though.. :)
Wonderfully warm post [even with you in the rain!] to read on a Easter Sunday morning: slept in after Daylight Saving going – of course!! Now: am not into burgers but love the place and what they actually serve and would not mind an iota tasting their kimchi mayo either!! Looked like a very companionable wait!!
Thanks Eha! It really was a very pleasant experience! :)
Love food carts, but sadly here in Adelaide local businesses are less than impressed by the food trucks allegedly taking away business requiring the local council to not only limit them, but take action which indirectly will lead to the food truck culture in my opinion withering away!
Glad you enjoyed your experience and the burgers look yummy Celia!
Thanks Jo! They really were good!
Would love to stand in the rain with a bestie & laugh, joke, share stories & a delicious burger like that – just for the sake of a good memory Celia! It was like I was standing right there with you under the umbrella (just to protect my straightened hair from frizzing & turning into a forest!) hahaha…sounds great! I’m off to check out Lorrzz’ blog now. x
Lina, thanks for joining us virtually! :)
Celia, you’re never too old for adventures like this. Standing in line talking to the people around you, having a joke, that’s what life is made of. So much better than lining up at a takeaway store(you know who l mean). Would do the same for a yummy vegetarian bowl:)
Jo, I think there are some vego food trucks in Sydney! Do you have any in Melbourne?
It’s so much fun there and the burgers are great! I’m with you on the soft bun! Thanks so much for the shoutout too darling! :D xxx
After we went, I said to Pete, “I’m sure I read about this on Lorraine’s blog!” and sure enough, there was your post, with all the info I needed to know about the burger and Mister Gee! :)
There probably is Celia. I don’t eat out much anymore. Went out for lunch yesterday for the first time in months. Had a lovely veggie burger and salad. I think if you aren’t eating out much then you do do enjoy the few times you do.
p.s. l still think you are a bread making master:)
Looks like great value and a bit of fun Celia. I think you may well be a hipster x
Pete says I can’t be hipster because I don’t have a beard, I don’t drink single origin coffee and I don’t ride a fixed gear bike.. ;-)
Well that does look like fun!!! I have heard there are some food trucks in Brisbane now, I must check them out!
Liz, it was a hoot! Hope you find some food trucks up north! :)
I do so enjoy a good food truck meal! I can see my boys being the ones ordering several burgers in a couple years!
Gretchen, just so much food! I did wonder if they planned to stay up all night gaming.. :)
That sounds like wonderful fun! And you’ve described the food so that its making no my mouth water.
Clare, it was so delish! The meat pattie was outstanding! :)
Ah yes, the young Bloggeratti have been out in force on this one, so the average age of queuers is very young indeed!
Ah, that would explain it! I did wonder how they all knew about it! :)
That’s a long time to queue so I’m glad you were in a friendly crowd and that you had your handy umbrella. I do love these sorts of businesses where you get a good quality meal for a really good price. I love the look of the burger and the fries sound terrific xx
Charlie, lucky it was close to home! The burger was outstanding, the fries were good, but more as an accompaniment than a stand alone. Everyone who ordered a burger seemed to be ordering fries to go with them! Your big boy would have fit right in with the folks queuing up! :)
Celia, sounds like fun! In my town, food trucks gather one Friday a month at a location near me. I’ve only managed to go once, but it was a hoot!
Jean, sounds like a fun monthly outing!
We have no food trucks way up here. I hoped they might have one during the holiday seasons but no such luck. Mister Gee and I would be great friends.
Maureen, you’d love these. Apparently proper American burgers have soft buns – not crunchy ones. And they don’t come with beetroot and egg. :)
These speciality food trucks are very popular in Boston and they do a bang up business. I say good for them & love that entrepreneurial spirit.
If I didn’t know you better Celia, I would have thought you were trying to cut in line in front of those youngsters :)
Di, I wasn’t trying to cut in front, honest. But they were dawdling, so I did give them a poke with my umbrella.. :)