Charlie & Co. @ Westfield Sydney

I regularly surf the net for new eateries and put them into my wishlist. Slowly they're getting checked off and Charlie & Co. was one of the recent places to be crossed off the list. When this place first opened, it was welcomed for a few reasons: the opening of the new Sydney Westfield (I LOVE THE FOODCOURT) and that it's owned by none other than Justin North, Mr Becasse.

As soon as this place opened, there were countless blog reviews within the first few weeks of opening but what puzzles me is the rating on Urbanspoon. 50% is way too low for an eatery owned by Justin North. Still, I had my hopes so when my mom decided to come out to the city for lunch, we decided to give Charlie & Co a try.

I got the Charlie Chili Dog, my mom the Southern Federation (?) burger. It's new on the menu so I couldn't find the name on the menu on their website. We shared the infamous truffle and parmesan fries.

The Charlie Chili dog. Visually, it was quite pretty but I expected the chili to be served as a relish or sauce. The sweet tomato and mustard relish was nice and the sausage was juicy. I loved the brioche hot dog bun and nibbled on it even when the fillings were gone.

Again, it would have been better with the chili served as a relish or sauce. I had to squeeze it in with my fork but it kept popping out as I bit into it.

Mom's meal. The colour of the toasted bun makes you salivate but the plate looks empty with just the burger on it. The burger itself wasn't that nice. It was dry and bland. You can't really taste the jalepeno and it really would have added that much needed flavour. I took two bites and didn't eat my share.

So the burgers didn't wow us. BUT! these truffle fries sure did. Crunchy and well seasoned. It also had a garlicy flavour that really worked well with the oiliness of the fries and they were fried to crunchy perfection. I should have just gotten two bowls of these.

My mom was definitely not pleased. As a chef, she holds high expectations especially at a famous restaurant. She criticized the burger for its size, cost and lack of flavour. Sadly, I had to agree and I sadly walked away with a dissatisfied mother and stomach.