The canonical Sugar burger – this was once the highlight of a heavy night out. After jostling past hostile bouncers and emerging from a sweaty pit of overenthusiastic men, there was always a fresh-off-the-fire, juicy Sugar burger to look forward to – a beacon of bacon-filled promise shining brightly through the grimy, alcohol-sodden club scene.
The early days of the Sugar burger have long been thought of as its best. Those were the days when a little cart with a steaming hot plate stood outside H20, serving what was then known as Colombo’s best burger. But as the years waned and the stirrings of nostalgia set in, Sugar’s crown fell into question: was the Sugar burger really that good – or were we all just drunk?
Retrospectively, the deliciousness of the burger may have been that winning combination of actual tastiness peppered with a bit of nostalgia and generous lashings of inebriation. With the onset of age and years gone by, who can really remember the exact piquancy of the sauce or the juiciness of the patty? So we revisited the Sugar Cart – now outside Silk – to see if nostalgia had got the better of us, or if the Sugar burger really had become a sad shadow of its former self.
The verdict. While no taste can really satisfy the reminiscent salivating mind, the Sugar burger remains in good health. While it may not be quite as amazing as it was back in the H2O days, it’s still a darn good burger. Heavily smothered with a secret brown sauce and sandwiched in with crispy onions, mustard and mayo, this is a satisfying, tasty meal that you certainly don’t need to be drunk to enjoy. If you’re looking for a late night snack or a post-party pick up, this is a good spot to swing by. Conveniently located on Maitland Crescent, it’s near the city’s main watering holes and dance halls – so never too far out of your reach. While not quite reaching the height of our exalted memories, we’re glad the Sugar burger is around. It’s still good.
