If one thing has become clear to us over the past week, it's the power of the hamburger.
And the hamburger joint, well, it holds a special place in people's hearts.
It must be something to do with the ease of eating a hamburger, as well as the flavour combination.
Back in the day, we were a keen devourer of the famous Wambie Whopper hamburger near Wamberal Beach on the Central Coast.
We'd go for a surf with our mates, then grab a whopper and a chocolate milk.
So we can relate to the stories about Keith's Kitchen in Pacific Street in Newcastle, not far from the beach.
Keith's Kitchen was part of Newcastle's beach culture, but it was also part of the town's family culture.
Keith Hector, 84, of Tingira Heights, fondly recalled the burger joint.
"The whole family would get hamburgers, sit in Pacific Park and have a good feed," Keith said.
They'd also go around the corner to "a little place in Hunter Street called Shipmates", which had "beautiful fish and chips".
"They were the two most popular places up the top of town," he said.
As readers would know, we've been asking whether Keith's Kitchen was in Pacific Street or Hunter Street. Hamilton's Geoff McTaggart had wanted readers to solve the mystery because he believed it was in Hunter Street in the 1950s.
Stockton's Pam Hartigan believed there was a second Keith's Kitchen in Hunter Street, near Civic Theatre.
Keith Hector, though, said he knew Hunter Street well in that decade.
"We used to go along Hunter Street a lot. We used to walk everywhere. I can honestly say I never seen another Keith's Kitchen down that way," he said.
Keith said he and his wife Fay had "a good time in those days".
"We lived at Merewether. We used to get probably a tram in those days around to the railway station, then we'd walk up past the Great Northern, up through Pacific Street and get our hamburgers," he said.
"The wife loved beetroot. I'd always say beetroot on one, not on the other."
Beetroot on hamburgers is a real divider. Bit like pineapple on pizza. For the record, we like both.
Anxious Wait
Kevin Weimer said he was a regular customer at Keith's Kitchen in Pacific Street during the 1950s.
He said the burger joint was "opposite the Swansea bus terminal".
"It was always an anxious time as to whether the rissole would be cooked before my bus left," Kevin said.
"In my late teenage years, it was a must-stop place after a visit to the Clarendon or the Pacific pubs," he said.
He added that "beetroot was a must" in the "great hamburgers".
Thursday Burgers
Lorraine Tindall said she and her husband used to visit Keith's Kitchen every Thursday evening after she finished work.
"We would sit inside and both have a hamburger with the works - meat pattie, tomato, bacon, egg, beetroot, lettuce, onion - what a feast," Lorraine said.
Then they'd catch the bus to their new home in Adamstown.
"I worked at Fifth Ave Beauty Salon, which at the time was upstairs on the corner of Hunter and Crown streets. It then moved to Darby Street but sadly it's no longer there."
- topics@newcastleherald.com.au
