Jus Right

SERVING UP THE PERFECT BURGER IS HARDER THAN IT LOOKS, BUT ONE PERTH BURGER BAR IS CONSISTENTLY HITTING THE MARK. BY BELINDA CIPRIANO

   
What makes a good burger - ah-mazing? I get this question asked of me a lot. To some it’s the delicious, tender patty, while for others it’s the sweet taste of the relish or a combination of both.

   Like most people, I love a good burger and when asked who makes the best in the city I have got to give it to Jus Burgers, time and time again.

   Jus Burgers, the brainchild of foodie Justin Bell, opened its first store in Leederville in January 2009 and has since expanded to Subiaco, Fremantle and more recently Northbrige.

   And while the Guvnor, Spanish Snag, Mullet and Pommy all sound like a prelude to a cheesy joke, they are in fact all names of the delicious burgers available at this burger bar/institution.

   On my recent visit to Jus, I ordered the Pommy Burger with a side of onion rings while my friend ordered the Spanish Snag with a serve of chips.

   My Pommy burger was just as I remembered it – how could I forget (I don’t even look at menu anymore, even though I should) it’s the only burger I order off the menu and it never, ever fails to disappoint.

   Western Australian Amelia Park Beef, which is Meat Standards Australia approved, hormone free, char-grilled, cheddar and back bacon served on a Turkish bun with homemade aioli, relish, lettuce, tomato and Spanish onion – this burger is to die for – especially for those who are a bit more carnivorous.

   The Spanish Snag devoured by my friend was equally delicious and similar to the Pommy burger but served with chorizo sausage and sweet red peppers instead.

   Our sides were just the right size and having never tasted the Jus’ onion rings, I have to say I was impressed.

   Made fresh daily, as with everything served up by Jus, these delightful rings were the perfect accompaniment to my delicious burger and left me more than satisfied.

   I love what Justin Bell has brought to Western Australia and the way he supports WA growers and suppliers but most of all I like that his burgers are always jus right!

   JUS BURGERS NORTHBRIDGE

   Open:

   Monday and Sunday 11.30am to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday 11.30am to 10pm

   Where:

   Shop 11/189 William St Northbridge 9227 0668 www.jusburgers.com.au  

HUNGRY FOR IT Jus Burgers director Justin Bell tucks in to a Pommy burger 

The delicious Pommy with a side of onion rings.

Jessica follows up on Ruby’s Campaign

IT’S not often your fictitious novel becomes reality but that’s exactly what happened to author Jessica Rudd, daughter of former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

   The 26-year-old’s first chick-lit novel Campaign Ruby, which was based around the plot of a prime minister overthrown by his female deputy, was released just as her dad’s leadership was challenged by now Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

   Her second penning, Ruby Blues, is a follow up to the first novel and finds the main character Ruby Stanhope going through the lows experienced when working with a first-term government that isn’t faring too well.

   Speaking to Jessica during her whirlwind book tour around the country, the Canberra-born, Brisbaneraised and now Beijing-based writer said she was excited to be home and was looking forward to meeting everyone on the tour.

   “I miss everything about Australia,” she said.

   “I’m really looking forward to travelling around the country and getting back to WA. It will be great having a chat and a laugh with everyone – I love what your great state has to offer.”

   Describing the character of Ruby in her second novel as a bit of a cow and a best friend in a terrible mood, Jessica said she decided to write the sequel as she knew the character had a lot more to offer readers.

   “Originally the idea of Ruby came from when I was living in London with my husband and it was in the middle of the financial crisis,” she said.

   “At the time, a lot of investment bankers were losing their jobs and one of the things I wanted to explore with Ruby was that sense of having lost your job and the depression that comes with that, and also the excitement that can come from the clean canvas.

   “I took her way out of her comfort zone when she lost her job as an investment banker in London. I put her in Australia and I put her in politics.

   “In Ruby Blues, two years on, she is struggling at work, her relationship is disintegrating, the Government is doing terribly, and she’s just finding it hard to get that sense of fun and adrenalin back into the game.

   “But even now, I don’t think Ruby is finished yet. I think she has a lot more to do with her life.”

   When asked about what her family thought of her book this time round, considering the sequence of events following Campaign Ruby, Jessica said they were extremely supportive of her writing career but her dad and husband have yet to read the book.

   “My dad hasn’t read it yet, nor has my husband and one of my brothers hasn’t read it yet,” she said.

   “But mum has and she loved it. She was really thrilled and gave me encouragement along the way but I am looking forward to seeing what dad, my husband and my brother think of it.

   “It’s always really interesting when you give your work to the people you love because they are always looking for you in your protagonist, even if subconsciously.

   “My brother said to me last time ‘I can really hear your voice in Ruby’, which kind of frustrated me to be honest because I tried really hard to create believable Brit.”

   Jessica read excerpts from her book Ruby Blues at her book launch at the Joondalup Library last week.


belindac@communitynews.com.au  

Fashionista’s tips for the new season

Fashion blogger Alyce Cowell gave out style tips at Westfield Innaloo last week.Pic by Dom Menegaldo

WESTFIELD Innaloo got a visit from Alyce Cowell, one of Australia’s savviest shoppers, as part of a series of in-centre events held around the country last week.

The 23-year-old fashionista whose job it is to shop and blog for a living hosted the events, which showcased the current spring/summer trends and answered questions about the biggest fashion challenges of the season.

The former editor of Covet Magazine and Sportsgirl stylist said the style session at Innaloo involved making over two local women, discussing key trends and investment pieces for the wardrobe.

“The style session was fantastic; we taught the ladies how to get more for their money by building key investment pieces for their summer wardrobe and how to take them each from day to night,” Alyce said.

“Our two Facebook fans who were chosen were naturals on stage as our real women models.”

With spring in full swing and summer just around corner, Alyce also talked about the trends of the season and how they could be worked into most wardrobes and suit different body types.

“Colour blocking is the biggest spring/summer trend but we’re also seeing big movements towards other trends like boho, animal print, white on white, monochrome and stripes,” she said.

“The trends for this season are great because they’re all really adaptable for different ages, shapes and lifestyles.

“It can be daunting experimenting with new trends, so my tip is to tailor it for you.

“For example, if you’re not an animal print person but would love to start wearing it, try adding an accent instead, through a heel or clutch until you’re comfortable.”

Other tips she offered shoppers was to add a bit of colour to an outfit with accessories and to buy a great pair of jeans.

“It sounds boring, but when you have the building blocks of your wardrobe sorted, you can start having fun with trend items and mixing and matching for multiple looks,” she said.

“A pair of well-cut jeans that suit your shape will never date.”

NEW LOOK, NEW MENU @ Rydges CBD Restaurant Perth

I haven't written a personal restaurant review on this blog for a while. There's a few reasons why - I do it a lot for work and just like everybody else like to enjoy dining out sometimes without having to take notes, pics etc, secondly you can read a lot of my reviews in ishoperth and lastly I haven't come across a great lunchtime feed in a while - that is until I dined at the Rydges CBD Restaurant last week. This, well this I had to share.

I had actually heard the hotel's CBD Restaurant had gone through a few changes including with their menu and their new head chef Sam Southall (who I interviewed earlier this year see ishoperth interview below) so when thinking of places to dine for a girlie catch up I thought I'd give it a go.

The lunch menu (see below) is reasonably priced with the most expensive item on the menu Wagyu @ $62. On this day the two of us tried the Cauliflower Soup with truffled hazelnut honey (AMAZING!) for our entree and the linguini with meatballs, parmesan, tomato, tomato and basil was my choice for a main.

I'm not one to go for soup when I dine out, because I'm usually left underwhelmed, but this delicious and light dish served in a little le creuset pot was just beautiful. Creamy but not rich and just delightful I could have easily had a second serve - yum!

The linguini was cooked perfectly al dente (to the tooth) and the combination of tomato, olive, basil and parmesan is always going to be a winner for me. Add to that melt -in-your-mouth meatballs and I'm a happy girl. 

It was a pleasant afternoon and sitting amongst the city suits lunching it was nice to relax and not worry about going back to work or even having to write anything down - just perfect. So next time you're in the city drop in and say hello, have a bite, or enjoy a drink and say I sent you ;) Bom Approveito!

Linguini with meatballs, tomato, olives and basil - YUM!

NEW LUNCH MENU

My interview with CBD Restaurant head chef Sam Southall

Frocktober in November - Melbourne Cup EDITION

Apologies for being MIA over the last few days, I'm on holidays, have family visiting from overseas and  it's been CRAZY BUSY!!! As well as this I've been a little under the weather & trying to shake off a cold hence Oct 31st's lack of FROCK.

As promised though 31 frocks for Frocktober so I kept the Frock theme going on until Tuesday which was Melbourne Cup Day.

Those of you who read my blog know I am OBSESSED with anything Spring, Autumn - racing and carnivals. The glamour, the excitement, the champagne - everything about racing carnivals gets me excited. This year however there were a few things that didn't go my way and I ended up doing something completely different and suprisingly enough I had a fabulous time and would do again if the opportunity came up.

You see last year I decided (after being so annoyed at missing last year's cup, you can read about that HERE ) that I would be in Flemington this year. Turns out it wasn't meant to be don't ask and I ended up with nothing to do - cue my lifesaving friend Dianna (who also won an award for best dressed on the day) who organised a girly lunch with a few of her favourite girlfriends at Burswood's Modo Mio Restaurant.

Anyhoo after dealing with the drama of not being able to attend The Cup, I resigned myself to the fact that it probably wasn't going to be worth going to anyway (I mean really, who goes to these things anyways - I'm looking at you SJP, Miss Jay, Shurley & you Joan Collins) and maybe, just maybe it wasn't my time to get back there. That of course was until I got a beautiful invite for brunch with Dan McPherson, Vince Collosimo, Rikki Lee and MEL B!!!! I think I died again just quietly!!!

But it gets better so after coming to terms with the fact that I was not going to get up close and personal with my celebrity free pass (Dan McPherson for those of you playing at home) I again got back into the spirit of celebrating Cup Day at one of the nicest restaurants in Perth and decided a new frock was in order - you know, to make me feel better and for Frocktober of course!!

This is where it gets funny people, funny for you, not so funny for me - new shoes, new frock, vintage head piece RTW and a BLOODY wardrobe malfunction!!!! My beautiful dress, bought the day before ruined with the husband having to strategically remove it from me as I had a mini (OK it was major) meltdown in the bathroom. Once removed I tried fixing it, I did, but could not think of anything more scary then my backside on display while guests tucked into their barramundi - cue operation back-up dress.

My back-up dress, which I now refer to as the one that saved the day, was lovely - just lovely but what broke my heart the most was no matching headpiece (the unfinished person in the pic below is me). Race-day is all about the headwear and on the biggest day in our Racing Calendar I had no head piece cue the violins. 

Anyways to finish on a high note, it really did turn out to be an awesome day with lots and lots of laughs, good food, copious amounts of bubbly, fashion and dancing. And as for those of you wondering what happened to the dress - it went back the next day and as for Melbourne Cup Day 2012, I'm already onto it ; )

Burswood Glamour 

About to tuck into the yummy fare @ Modo Mio

Insalata Misto Mare - Yum!

Dish of the day - Tiramisu

Dianna & I dancing off the alcomahol @ Eve

Frock deets: Frock by Wish, Necklace by Sportsgirl, Ring by YSL, Shoes by Wittner and purse vintage - my high school ball one actually!