Hudsons hits uMhlanga
THIS week, Luke and I were once again hobnobbing with the uMhlanga set at another Cape import – Hudsons, The Burger Joint.
Founded in Kloof Street, Cape Town, in 2009, it promises a great burger every time. This is the first store in KZN and has taken over the spot where The Dutch used to be. On a quiet Tuesday night in the Village, it was heaving with parties of hipsters and their girlfriends, office workers, families and the guys and gals about town.
The restaurant has kept quite a bit of the quirk from The Dutch, but added tables and bar stands. It’s functional but funky. With all tables full, we were offered a spot at the bar, which we accepted happily.
And then came a few craft beers on tap which we enjoyed while deciding on the menu. There’s a good range, and while the wine list may be limited (it covers most options), there’s a good selection of cocktails, and frozen margaritas, which can be ordered by the litre.
Obviously the thrust is burgers, but there are some pub meal-type starter options, and some salads. These may include chicken with boiled egg, Parmesan shavings and Caesar dressing, or chopped up beef patty with jalapeño salsa, Cheddar and crispy sweet potatoes. Starters include crispy chicken strips with roast garlic mayo, or mac and cheese croquettes with truffle mayo.
I really enjoyed the fat jalepeño poppers wrapped in bacon and served with a blue cheese mayo. A perfect counterfoil to a pint. Luke liked the falafels topped with garlic mushrooms, truffle mayo and Parmesan. I liked the flavour mix, though the
falafels could perhaps have been a shade fluffier. Enjoyable all the same.
And then there are the burgers. The added bonus here is you can order a 180g or 250g burger depending on the appetite. These are Hudsons’ own signature beef patties, but there are options with an ostrich patty, or chicken breast, or even a falafel or chickpea and lentil patty.
And for the super hungry, you double up anything with an extra patty. Plus you can always swop Cheddar for blue cheese, or feta for Cheddar, etc.
The range of toppings too is appealing, with the names summing things up nicely. There’s the La Di Dah with onions, blue cheese, avo and biltong shavings; or the Badass with habanero chillies, jalapeño jam, white onions and Cheddar. A number of the options are spicy.
I enjoyed the burger patties – they were home-made and had good flavour. They also weren’t overcooked. I opted for the classic, which was bacon, cheese, chilli and battered onion rings. It was a pleasant combination, although the onion rings could have been crisper. The chips sadly were not exciting and certainly not the skinny chips advertised.
I also thought Luke’s pulled pork burger with Cheddar cheese and fried egg, while it might not look that appealing, was enjoyable and not something normally seen on Durban menus.
Sides might include sweet potato chips, truffle mayo fries, onion rings or disco fries. There’s a house salad too, and slaw.
Desserts take in an espresso chocolate mousse, waffles with Lindt chocolate sauce (I admit I was tempted), chocolate brownies and ice cream cookie sandwiches.
Luke looked no further than the cookie monster – a monster shake in a monster glass that took in a Bar-One, Oreo crumb rim, cream and choc-chip cookies.
But salted caramel, Lindt brownie and peanut butter are popular, of course.