McDonald’s Australia rolls out gourmet burgers with beets, guacamole, more

A burger topped with tomato jam and a fried egg and served on a fancy wooden board is something you’d expect to find at a trendy gastropub in Los Angeles. In Australia, it’s just another meal at McDonald’s.

The fast-food chain is testing a gourmet burger menu at a location in western Sydney, reported Mashable.

The menu includes the option to build your own burger with a selection of new toppings and buns. First, you choose between a brioche, “crunch bun” or no bun. Then decide how many 100% Angus beef patties you’d like on your burger.

And if you want cheese, there’s “sliced cheese,” which resembles American cheese; Swiss; Coon Tasty cheese (a lactose-free, gluten-free Australian cheese); or Colby Jack cheese. Then you can choose to top your burger with guacamole, grilled pineapple, grilled mushrooms, tortilla strips, bacon, caramelized onion, beet, fried egg and more.

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous than McDonald’s “special sauce,” otherwise known as Thousand Island dressing (sorry to burst your bubble), you can go for tomato jam, chipotle mayonnaise or herb mayonnaise.

You can choose to order your burger at the counter or visit a touchscreen kiosk. A video play-by-play of the ordering system by YouTube user erfanau can be seen above.

The kiosk allows you to reserve a seat inside or out. Because this is now a gourmet burger joint, feel free to call the outdoor area a veranda.

Once you’re seated, the food is delivered on a wooden tray. The fries come in a metal basket, similar to what you’d find at the trendy Father’s Office in Los Angeles.

Depending on how well the new menu does, it could be expanded at all McDonald’s locations in Australia. The price for a build-your-own burger starts at $8.95, and some of the toppings are 50 cents extra.

Hey, can I get fries with that? Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_