Sunday 17 February 2013

Trunk Diner

275 Exhibition St
Melbourne, VIC 3000

“Where’s the fire?” My sister asked me as we walked up to Trunk Diner. Turns out the very smoky smoke wasn’t coming from any fire source; or rather, no fire that wasn’t cooking delicious smelling burgers and bacon within the diner itself.




Nestled in a sunlight-dappled garden full of rustling leaves, Trunk is a green oasis in the CBD. Need a quick lunch with a work friend? Trunk Diner will supply you with that burger, salad, or midday coffee you need. Hoping to seal that business deal? Ply your business partner with wine in the garden, courtesy of Trunk the elder – Trunk Restaurant.



The Prettier Sister


Since my last visit, Trunk Diner has gone from carport with clear plastic sheets for walls, to a bright diner with lots of windows opening out into the garden. But the menu hasn’t changed much, and I mean that in the best way possible. The page-long menu is still stuffed with what most would consider to be quintessential diner options (burgers, hot dogs, milk shakes), with a touch of the gourmet (quesadillas, Cuban sandwiches), and something for the healthier ones (salads, a lack of fun).


Trunk Burger ($10) with Cheddar ($1.5) and Crispy Bacon ($2) with Small Chips ($3)


But we were here for one thing only – the Trunk Burger ($10). Now this burger has a fun build-your-own quality to it. You start with 175 grams of wagyu patty and salad on the side – already a mean burger, given the juicy, medium-rare patty was second only to a good steak – then add what you will to it. In our case we just went for the no-brainer additions of Cheddar ($1.5) and Crispy Bacon ($2).




I then made my sister put some obligatory vegetables into it, and you have yourself all the good stuff in life between two soft buns. I loved how you could really taste the cheese melting into all the crevices of the beef, and the smokiness of the bacon. The burger may look fairly demure but it’s actually very masculine and surprisingly dense of a meal. I will admit that it is a bit out of balance, as the salad was by no means enough to counteract the thick patty, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We also ordered a Small Chips ($3) on the side, which we could only barely finish off.



And that irregular chomping was the work of my sister, I swear, for real this time.

Golden Gaytime Milkshake ($8)


What’s a burger without a milkshake? And the Golden Gaytime Milkshake ($8) had to be ordered. We slurped up this concoction of honeycomb and toffee and caramel and vanilla ice cream up in no time.


Shredded Chicken, Cheddar, Roast Red Peppers, Tomato, Coriander, Spring Onion and Jalapeno Salsa Quesadilla ($10)

Shredded Chicken, Cheddar, Roast Red Peppers, Tomato, Coriander, Spring Onion and Jalapeno Salsa Quesadilla ($10)


I had unwittingly eaten an entire banh mi (that’s a Vietnamese baguette, for all your poor souls who have never had one) just two hours earlier, so I wanted something a tad lighter than a hunk of beef between bread. And as much as I love their portobello mushroom quesadilla, it was time to try something different – the Shredded Chicken, Cheddar, Roast Red Peppers, Tomato, Coriander, Spring Onion and Jalapeno Salsa Quesadilla ($10). I couldn’t really taste the promised myriad of vegetables but what I could taste was a politely cheesy and chicken mixture between the soft bread. It was by no means boring though, and I got extra kicks from the Jalapenos ($1.5) I ordered on the side.

I hate conclusions so I’m not going to write one. It’s almost 1am and I’ve been working way too much this week.

Rating: 15/20 – affordable luxuries.

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