I’ve never been so happy waiting for a burger. It could be the fact I’m ensconced in a cosy subterranean den playing (and winning at) checkers with my compadre in burger adventures. Maybe it’s because I’m sipping a thick and tasty chocolate peanut butter shake.
But actually, it’s because I know that Kulunu “Jay” Jayakody and Konara “Kona” Prashanth, the owners of this off-Broadway business, are putting heart and soul into the burgers they’re making.
Jay and Kona came from Sri Lanka as tertiary students but found their degrees and passions didn’t align. In 2015, they opened a street food eatery in an arcade linking Glenferrie Station to the high street. Within months, there was such demand for their burger, it squeezed the other snacks off the menu. Resistance is definitely not useless: the joint is now a burger specialist.
Burgers are everywhere. Decent burgers aren’t hard to find. But great burgers? Burgers for eating, not TikToking? Burgers made with belief in the beautiful potential of buns and patties? They are rarer creatures.
The Resistance burgers stand out because they’re high-quality, limited to 150 a day, and their hybrid milk-bread-brioche buns are made here: they’re soft and springy and more than likely to hold up as you eat your burger.
The beef – a mix of chuck, brisket and a secret third cut – is aged for 14 days and ground daily by a local butcher. It works beautifully in La Resistance burger, stacked with yellow and white American cheese, fresh red onion, pickles and piquant house sauce.
There’s a secret chicken burger called the 3-12 (named after the dorm room of the Swinburne students who invented it): it’s an Aussie-American mash-up of golden fried breast, cheese, charred pineapple, caramelised onion and bacon.
Vegan patties are deliciously crunchy and house-made from lentils, mushrooms and oats – and the guys even bake their own vegan bun.
The beer-battered fries here are excellent. I smashed the Middle Eastern version, loaded with crispy shallots, cheesy jalapenos and a medley of chilli sauces.
Though Resistance is obsessed with burgers, this three-level shack has a lot more going on. The wine list is a light-hearted affair – choose between “good wine”, “better wine” and mulled wine in winter. Cocktails are crafted with care: Jay is pretty sure he’s doing Hawthorn’s best Long Island iced tea.
A stay-a-while vibe is reinforced with the provision of board games, books, a couch, guitars and a microphone (there’s comedy every Wednesday and open mic nights for DJs and poets).
Like many Melbourne shopping strips, Glenferrie Road is thick with chain eateries. Resistance is proudly different, an independent business with strong values, a cheeky spirit and a humble commitment to the endless possibilities of the mighty burger.
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