Tag: american bbq

Categories
American

2 Smoking Barrels – Wollongong NSW Restaurant Review

2 Smoking Barrels had been on my radar for about 12 months until I finally had the opportunity to go. Their quite limited lunch opening hours, number two hours (12PM-2PM) per day five days per week, meant that it took a couple of goes before I was able to time my post-nights nap and wake up early enough for the drive back from Nowra to Sydney, passing through Wollongong in the middle. I ate in the last fortnight of their location on Flinders St, though hopefully as they expand into their new premises next month (far past once this post is actually published), they might also expand their hours.

2 Smoking Barrels offers generally standard American BBQ fare, with a mixture of rolls (burgers), meats, and sides on offer. Like sister restaurant Babyface Kitchen, some classics here are enhanced by an Eastern influence, for example their pit smoked beef brisket roll ($19), served with a drizzle of miso ranch sauce along with the standard “Carolina” barbecue sauce, a combination that actually does work. Sauce aside, the brisket in the burger was deliciously juicy and tender, with a good ratio of fillings to bun, but what in my mind was a bit of an extreme price.

The hot links ($10 for 100g), again served with a mixture of sauces, were equally juicy and flavourful, so much so that I found myself dripping juice onto my shirt at multiple times throughout this meal (in my defense, I had just worked 13 hours, napped for two, and then driven for one). Despite the quality, again the value proposition seemed suspect.

COMMENTS My friend, colleague, and housemate asked me if I thought that 2 Smoking Barrels was “worth a detour” on the way up from Nowra back to the inner-West of Sydney. Worth a detour kind of implies something specific when it comes to restaurant reviews, in a two-star kind of way. That said, I do think it’s worth taking 15 minutes out of a 2 hour trip to go to this restaurant if you really want to go. What you’ll need to consider for yourself is if it’s worth the money spend.

2 Smoking Barrels
2/83 Crown St, Wollongong NSW 2500
(02) 4295 0135

Categories
American

BlackBear BBQ – Wetherill Park & Blacktown NSW Restaurant Review

I’ve enjoyed Black Bear BBQ ever since my first visit during internship; back whilst I was living and working in the Deep West. Their little restaurant in Blacktown’s industrial district was my first introduction to Texas-style BBQ, and even though it took a few attempts to try and go (their opening hours were very strange at the time) I finally managed.

My first bearlesque adventure in 2018 was with their Hungry Bear Breakfast Box, featuring big slabs of their beef brisket, pork belly, a hot link, two sunny side up eggs, and some baked beans. My memory fails me (it’s been three years), so enjoy the pretty picture instead. This item is no longer available on their menu.

I recently had the opportunity to enjoy a quick takeaway meal just as the Delta variant of COVID-19 struck Sydney, which is almost funny looking back at it and writing this in the early days of the Omicron strain.

These tater tots ($6) started off pretty strongly. Freshly fried and seasoned with parmesan and rosemary salt, each little tot came with a nice crunch and a warm centre. Unfortunately, as is often the case with deep fried starchy and cheesy foods, as these tots cooled down they started to taste a little bitter. Unavoidable.

The O.G Burger ($14), not to be confused with an O&G Burger, was pretty good. The beef brisket patty was moist with a good mouthfeel, while the salad added a good degree of freshness to balance out the fatty patty and associated cheese. It’s a good thing that this burger is essentially the same as the cheeseburger but with extra salad, as any other differences would have meant us ordering both.

The Hungry Bear Box ($32) is designed to satisfy not only a hungry, but also a peckish* black bear. While you can order Black Bear BBQ’s boxes with a choice of either beef brisket or pork belly for a slightly lower price, truly hungry bears are able to experience a tasting of both, along with a jalapeno and cheese hot link (sausage), some potato crsps, pickles, and coleslaw. Both the pork and beef were tender and juicy, though both my partner and I preferred the brisket over the pork. The hot link is quite tasty and nice, and at $4 a pop are great as a stand-alone or add-on order.

COMMENTS
Black Bear BBQ is a true friend to bearkind. I’d recommend every (non-vegetarian) bear that every there was to gather here.

I have been informed that the word peckish does not describe a bear who wants a little bit of everything, merely a bear who is a little hungry but not fully hungry. I refuse to look this up, and what I don’t know can’t hurt me.

Black Bear BBQ Blacktown
11/27 Forge St, Blacktown NSW 2148
(02) 9672 3353

Black Bear BBQ Wetherill Park
93-97 Newton Rd, Wetherill Park NSW 2164
(02) 9756 1117



Categories
North American

Surly’s American Tavern – Surry Hills NSW Restaurant Review

We woke up to news of a Biden-Harris victory and then spent lunch at Surly’s American Tavern, an American themed pub and restaurant in Surry Hills, seeing off our favourite Kiwi anaesthetic colleague back across the pond.

sweet potato chips with poutine topping

The sweet potato chips with poutine topping ($14) was good. The sweet potato chips were crisp, despite being drowned in a fully adequate helping of gravy. The cheese curds were soft and not too hot.

BBQ Platter

The BBQ Platter ($45) was ordered as a result of my indecision. There were so many meats that I wanted to try, but so little time. It consisted of 18 hour dry rubbed beef brisket, 12 hour pulled pork, Smoked chicken thigh, Texas hot link sausage, and smoked chicken wings with pickles, onion and corn bread.

The beef brisket was not bad, quite moist.
The pulled pork was not exciting at all.
The smoked chicken thigh was nice, and it was nice that it was skin on
The Texas hot link sausage was quite tasty, good.
The smoked chicken wing I could’ve lived without – it would’ve been better as a normal wing.
I didn’t eat the corn bread. It gave me too many flashbacks to the weird frozen cornbread delivered from Third Wave Cafe in Melbourne.
The pickles were fresh and tangy and good.
The coleslaw was actually really good.
Chips were fresh.

Seatings are timed for 2 hour intervals
News coverage of Joe Biden’s presidential win was being played throughout our entire stay there.
4/5.

Surly’s American Tavern
182 Campbell St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
02) 9331 3705

Surly's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato