A handful of chips stuffed between two pieces of bread, smeared with a thick layer of butter and, depending on which part of the world you live in, added sauce, vinegar, gravy or aioli is all that's required to create the ultimate carb-loaded meal.

In the UK, the chip butty consists of two slices of bread but, in Australia, it's better known at fish and chip shops as the chip roll, or chip burger, served on a bun or long roll, but the intention is the same: carbs-on-carbs.

The general rule of thumb is that fancy sourdough or anything that sells itself as offering the benefits of fibre has no place on a chip butty.

The chip butty is having a bit of a moment in Newcastle, popping up on menus at The Edwards and Bao Brothers, while burger joint Rascal paid tribute to the butty earlier this year with their version which combined salted chips, soft butter and nacho cheese ranch on a toasted milk bun.

The Edwards' new head chef Michael Portley couldn't resist putting a chip butty on the restaurant's bar snack menu, keeping it simple with sliced bread, crunchy chips, a good smear of butter, and soaked in gravy.

"To me, the whole point of a chip butty is just that, not to deviate away from the original idea," Portley says.

"It's such a classic snack and there's a lot of childhood nostalgia that goes along with it, too. It's fun and so approachable, and I think pretty much anyone can enjoy it.

"Chips doused in gravy is the angle we're going for."

Here's a few places to find a chip butty (or the burger version) in Newcastle:

The Edwards' version sticks with tradition, serving a classic chip butty on two slices of bread, loaded with butter, crunchy chips and finished with house-made chicken gravy.

"I wanted to do something a bit fun with it and take it to the next level, dousing it in chicken gravy, because, well that's pretty hard to beat in my book," head chef Michael Portley says.

"Chips and gravy, chip butty, put it all together.

"We roast off our chicken bones to make a nice brown chicken gravy, cook it out with a little bit of burnt butter for added buttery goodness and that's it."

Portley says super-soft, thick-cut bread is the key to a good chip butty.

"Plus lots of butter, fresh fried chips and then we boil up the gravy, pour it all over the chips, give it a good soaking, and give people the option of tomato sauce because, I think, you can't really go without it".

Don't shy away from mopping up the gravy with the bread.

The Edwards' chip butty is available from 3pm until late on the bar snack menu.

Check it out.

What began as a favourite snack among the staff has found its way on to the menu at Bao Brothers.

The bao masters have teamed with Mayfield West Kebabs & Charcoal Chicken to feature their hand-cut chips as the star on their chip butty "baorger".

"Charcoal Chicken make amazing chips, so we thought we would bring the bao burger with the chip butty combo as a monthly special," Bao Brothers' Dave Griffin says.

"We get their hand-cut chips, cooked once, and then we finish them off and serve them with chicken salt, plum ketchup, liquid cheese and some burger pickles, so it's a bit of a take on the chip butty."

The collaboration is the first in a new monthly series called Friends of Bao that will see Bao Brothers collaborate with "food heroes" around Newcastle. The chip butty bao burger is available throughout September at Bao Brothers at The Corner (Charlestown Square) and their new shop at Stockland Green Hills.

A day at Newcastle Beach isn't complete without a trip to Scottie's for a fried feast to finish it off. The East End restaurant's takeaway window is the place to find the chip butty. It's been on the menu forever and remains a firm favourite with those on the hunt for fuel after a day at the beach.

Scottie's use a golden toasted bun, airy and fluffy on the inside, and perfect for soaking up the creamy, garlicky aioli that is generously smothered on the bottom half. The butty has a good handful of their legendary crunchy chips stuffed between the bun, topped off with a squirt of barbecue sauce.

The other upside? It will only set you back six bucks.

The fish and chip shop opened last year (occupying the space once home to Henry Penny) and has already earned a following for its fresh, hand-cut chips.

Owner Paul Maroulis has been in the takeaway game for more than 40 years, so he knows a thing or two about cooking the perfect hot chip.

The chip and gravy roll is served on a classic burger bun with stacks of chips and finished off with a good coating of gravy. Add cheese or, if too much carbs is never enough, try the double scallop burger.

"We do whatever the customer wants. We do chip rolls with cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce, tomato sauce, gravy," Maroulis says.

"We do scallop rolls, too. The main thing is that everything is fresh.

"We use hand-cut chips on our rolls and get through about 300 to 400 kilos of potatoes a week."