It’s official: this sweet and spicy monster is Sydney’s best burger

Here at Time Out, we’ve never met a burger we didn’t love. But if we have to play favourites, the newly crowned NSW winner of the Litt Burger of Origin Competition would rank right up there. Sydney has plenty of incredible burgers to choose from, so it stands to reason that the best of the bunch would need to feature something truly exceptional to snatch the crown. Well, Bar Luca’s Smoke and Candy burger doesn’t disappoint with a topping so unexpected, it’s either utterly batshit or a stroke of pure culinary genius.

Picture it and let the drooling commence: a hand-formed beef patty on a brioche bun topped with American cheese, smoked beef brisket, beer-battered onion rings, liquid cheese, chipotle barbecue sauce, and candied jalapños. Yup, you read that correctly. Created by Bar Luca’s owner Sarah Robbins, the combination of sugar, spice and all things nice impressed judge Cal Stubbs, chef and one of Australia’s most laurelled competitive eaters – better known as @hulksmashfood to his 186,000 Instagram followers. You can order it for pick-up from Bar Luca during lockdown, so if it's within your 5km bubble, give them a shout.

Melbourne’s best burger was also crowned by Stubbs, a double Oklahoma fried onion burger that comes with onions smashed into two beef patties, plus double American cheddar, a potato cake and a dim sim all sandwiched between a bun created by the mad geniuses at Easey’s, so make sure you add it to your post-lockdown to-eat list.

Still hungry? How about a doughnut? Here are the best in Sydney you can have delivered.