What I like is the nerdy-geeky old school gaming feel. There's even an arcade machine in the corner (that may be decorative - I didn't get close enough to look). What I also like is the open kitchen, watching the staff hard at work cooking and assembling and also mildly concerned (or amused) at the pool of black grease hanging off the ceiling...
- 8bit with Cheese (beef, tomato, lettuce, red onion, pickles, mustard, cheese, ketchup, 8bit sauce) $9.50 - I had to try the namesake standard burger for a comparator. It was quite nice however to me the patty was too thin. Considering they advertised medium-rare (did they advertise this or was I just hoping/expecting this?), it was too cooked for my liking and I can see with a thin patty how easy this is to do;
- 1 Up Mushroom Burger (crumbed mushroom, cheese, tomato, red onion, green tomato relish, lettuce, mustard, 8bit sauce) $10.00 - the vegetarian burger offering had a lot to live up to considering the incredible BrodVeg (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/brodburger-canberra-2014). There's no way it could've compared given the ingredients (essentially the same as the beef burgers but with mushroom) but having said that the burger overall was good quality and tasty;
- Chilli Cheese Fries (beer battered fries, chilli beef, cheese sauce, jalapenos, spring onions) $8.50 - ever since MEATliquor (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/meatliquor-london-03-2012) Chili Fries I've had to order these every opportunity I get. Good on 8bit for an offering. I haven't found one that gives me the same feeling, including using the one from the MEATliquor Chronicles cookbook, but 8bit had a good solid attempt with a strong cheese sauce. It's not a replacement but for now it'll definitely do.
I'll be back, not just because I'm now going to be local, but because I want to.
Next time I would order the After Burner (beef with chilli) or Golden Axe (fried chicken) burgers, the Fatal Fury hotdog (topped with chilli beef reminiscent of my best ever dog at MEATmarket), chilli cheese fries or the excessive looking Loaded fries, and wash it down with an unhealthy sounding Strawberry Cheesecake milkshake.
02-2016
I decided to have a second run at 8bit after wandering through Footscray deciding what pho I should have.
After re-reading my earlier post, I settled on the After Burner and the Loaded fries.
After Burner $10.50 was definitely a more enjoyable burger for me than the 8bit. The brioche bun was particularly soft with crunchy edges on the flat side adding nice texture. The beef was once again thin and more cooked than the advertised medium rare. The collation of tomato, red onion, lettuce, jalapeno and the fused sauces of chilli, chipotle and mustard worked well. I think the cheese made it too much for me and toward the end it was the dominant flavour.
Loaded Fries $10 was excessive. The first few bites were great, of potato gems with crispy salty coatings, chilli beef, cheese sauce, salty bacon and some pickles, cucumber, jalapenos and onions for contrast. Toward the end, the saltiness of the gems and bacon and cheese got too much for me and I couldn't finish it (I suppose it wouldn't be expected for one person to finish an entire serve though). I think the gems were nicer than the fries from last my visit, but I'd have to think hard whether it would be worth ordering the Loaded over Chilli Fries just for that.
After all the saltiness as I stood to leave I asked for a cup of tap water. It was refused and I was told "we don't serve tap water". I'm expected to buy a bottle of water or another drink? Sorry, but that's crap.
06-2016
I couldn't decide what to eat for a birthday lunch. Of all things, I looked to the internet and various "what is my favourite food" surveys and their incredible inaccuracy and bias toward food types of the commoners. Not that common foods are bad, but I doubt these surveys were designed with the connoisseur of any food in mind.
Nonetheless with an indecisive mind and no other guidance, the three common themes were fried chicken, burgers and 40% junk food (which really isn't that much). I decided a fat treat of 8bit seemed to fit.
The Golden Axe burger has a thick fried chicken patty a bit of slaw and some token cheese. The chicken had decent texture and some crisp coating but the flavour seemed very mild and didn't really have a strong "chicken" presence. What stood out the most was an intense slightly buttery flavour from the bun and possibly the chicken, as well as some kind of burnt sensation from the chicken coat. The butter taste was much too strong for me and I'm surprised how it even got there at high levels.
The potato gems reinforced themselves as delicious salted parts ruffled to maximise fried surface area, crisp and good. Even the small serve was too much for me to finish on my own but that doesn't detract from how good they are.
I'll stick to the After Burner burger (with or without cheese) and some gems (loaded or naked) to share from now on. The dog does intrigue me still so perhaps give that a go.