Two Yolks is Jem Jacinto’s ode to the quintessential American cheeseburger.
With no expense spared, it’s about taking a humble, grab-and-go fast food item, the burger, and doing it right. Not just right, even. Making it excellent.
Gem is an entrepreneur for the people. Having left his roots in Hawaii and LA where his food journeys began, Jem and his family have brought us Finn Poke and Sydney’s Daily Greens.
“Obviously, COVID has been a difficult time for everyone in the industry,” Jem says, “but we have had such phenomenal support for Finn Poke from Burleigh locals that we wanted to put our new concept store here,” he tells us.
That store, Two Yolks, his new ‘baby’ that took two years to build from concept to launch, is another of Jem’s missions to bring us a premium food offering without the accompanying price tag. As always, it was about securing the right venue as well as getting the details in place.
“We saw a gap in the market for a casual grab and go breakfast or lunch, where you could come in after a surf or take your meal and sit on the hill,” he says. Seeing such high foot traffic past his Connor Street venue as people embark on their pilgrimage from the village hub of James Street to the famous white sandy beach, Jem’s vision extended to include dinner as well as breakfast and lunch.
With Jem sourcing the best of the best ingredients direct from producers, we’re eating free-range smoked Bangalow Sweet Pork bacon and pork (which Jem says has a unique flavour profile), Byron Bay Mozzarella Company’s haloumi, free-range organic eggs and Cape Grim beef.
But there’s even more to the equation than that. With the help of his friend Chef Charles Olalia, Jem has developed an egg-centric menu of over a dozen burgers that raise the bar on the art of the burger. Yes, there are a few exceptional other dishes, but we’ll talk about them later. First, the burgers…
“It’s about balance of the burger; getting the bun to meat ration right so that you can taste the hero ingredients,” he says. “Then you can have a party in your mouth.”
“Making a really great burger has many elements,” Jem tells us. “Firstly, this is a potato roll,” he says, pointing to the OG experience, the Meat Cheese Bun which he says should be renamed ‘The Purist’. “Potato rolls are really famous in the US, but you don’t see them as much here,” he adds, pointing out that they’re not as thick as some Aussie buns. Delicious, though, the Main Squeeze attests, as it disappears bite by bite.
“Then, there are the other ingredients. We use the authentic American cheese to get the high melt factor right. The burger is difficult. This is an authentic ‘smash’ burger, all the rage in the States. It’s juicy inside, with charring and crust on the outside. That’s how we wanted it to be.”
“We wanted a great quality 100% grass fed beef. That’s why we use Cape Grim. The grass and even the water in Tasmania make a difference to the meat. We get the beef ground to our own specification, just to get the consistency right, and it’s a double patty.”
With farm-laid free-range eggs on many of the burgers, they are referenced in both the restaurant name (the lucky ‘Two Yolks’), as well as in the venue’s bright orange feature colour that characterises the yolks of a true farm egg.
Free-range chicken also features on the Spicy Chicken Fried Sando, the burger more my style with a fillet of deliciously house-brined succulent chicken breast, shredded lettuce, mayo and cheese sandwiched into a bun.
“It’s not just throwing around the jargon, it’s about following through with quality all the way,” Jem says.
And nowhere more so than with the triumphant Two Yolks ‘Grande’ Burrito. This, my fine friends, is my favourite dish: organic scrambled eggs, tater tots (yes, they’re back!), guacamole, Bangalow bacon, Byron Bay haloumi and chipotle mayo all wrapped up in a soft burrito. This is the brekkie burrito I’ll dream about…until I get to share another one… the mother of all burritos packed full of goodness.
There is a great range of beverages to accompany your meal: SOCO coffee from Melbourne, a flavour profile that suits a range of palates, juice squeezed fresh daily, or your choice of 15 local craft beers – ten core beers and five special edition beers that may change with availability.
It’s all enough to make you crow, really, such fine food that will keep you coming back. We can even take the family, with gluten-free buns and vegan burgers available on the menu. Now that wasn’t something available in the 60s!
Two Yolks, 13 Connor St., Burleigh Heads Open: Daily 7am — 9pm
NOTE: Good Food Gold Coast dined as a guest of Two Yolks.