barbecue

Bridge St. Garage (aka the best fried chicken in town…)

Posted on by leolawrence94

Bridge St. Garage, Sydney, Australia

If you’re searching for the best fried chicken in Sydney, look no further than Bridge St. Garage in the city’s CBD. It prides itself on serving ‘good ol’ fashioned comfort food’ with a Latin American twist on American diner classics, such as burgers, tacos and, most importantly, fried chicken. The Garage was one of the first restaurants Ole Sib and I visited upon arrival in Sydney and, ever since, we have been attempting to return to satiate our fried food cravings. However, our quest proved tricky in a city that seems to have an aversion to its restaurants remaining open past blue-plate special times on weekends… Points against you there, Sydney. We were finally successful after two failed attempts (third time’s a charm, I hear) and endless stalking of the restaurant’s tantalising instagram feed.

With no time to waste after having waited months to return to this establishment, we put our orders in with barely a glance at the menu: the fried chicken bucket and a side of fries for me and a pulled pork guacamole burger for Ole Sib. Now let me assure you, readers, that I am no stranger to fried chicken. While burgers and pizza feature heavily in my diet, fried chicken is my ultimate junk food choice, which is a heavy burden to bear given its elusiveness on restaurant menus. Why the noble fried chicken bucket must be reduced to a drunken late night snack or fast food bronze medallist behind those arrogant burgers and pizzas will forever be beyond my comprehension.

Enter the Bridge St. Garage fried chicken bucket, a wonderful assortment of Southern-style wings and drumsticks fried to the purest shade of gold with a perfect crunch to juice ratio (whatever your perfect ratio is, this bucket has it, I promise). They come with three sauces: a blue cheese sauce; a BBQ sauce and a trusty chipotle mayo, all of which can be enjoyed sufficiently given that you get a lot of bang for your buck (bang for your cluck, bang for your bucket… Insert preferred pun) with this choice. While the bucket itself is more than enough to satisfy a hungry stomach, the side of beer battered fries deserve an honourable mention as some of the best fries I have ever had. It turns out most things taste better when beer is involved.

While I raved on about my fried chicken, it appeared Ole Sib was enjoying her pulled pork guacamole burger as the sauce dripped down her arm (when it comes to burgers, the sloppier the better, people). The ordering method for burgers at Bridge St. Garage is worth mentioning here since you order a burger base and then add your choice of protein, which makes for an easily customised experience. Fries are also included with the burger, as God intended.

Despite having eyes only for our food, we both also commented on the décor of the restaurant, which incorporated fashionable retro features combined with an industrial chic vibe. Think subway tiles, exposed cement and neon lighting a-plenty. Couple this with a young man singing old Johnny Cash songs and you have yourself a master class in Americana. I would definitely recommend this as a top destination in the city and look forward to attempting to quash my love for fried chicken in order to try the rest of the good lookin’ eats on the menu. That is, if someone were to let Sydney’s restaurant owners know that occasionally people get hungry after 9pm on a Saturday…

http://bridgestgarage.com.au

BBQ Al Qasr

Posted on by leolawrence94

BBQ Al Qasr, Emirates Palace, AD

If the Etihad Towers are the shining beacons of modernity dominating the Abu Dhabi skyline (see article ‘Ray’s Grill’), then the Emirates Palace is their palatial and more vertically challenged neighbour. However, don’t let this antithetic example fool you. The Emirates Palace is without a doubt the most opulent and ostentatious encapsulation of luxury into which I have ever stepped foot. Situated across the road from the Etihad Towers, this Kempinski collection hotel’s gardens are perfectly manicured. The interior is stunning and, most noticeably, gold. Everything is gold. There is even a gold machine. Having pressed all the buttons, I still have yet to find out how to make this intriguing machine actually produce the precious material I seek but I can only assume that those worthy of it will be able to master the technology. I’m sure I will be let in on the secret soon…

After meandering past the gold machine and – yep, you guessed it – gold bathrooms, we reached the beach area of the hotel where the restaurant BBQ Al Qasr is located. The restaurant is beautifully laid out with tables interspersed in raised cabanas that are accessible by traversing a maze of wooden decking laid out on the pristine sand. We perused the menu that had a handy flashlight attached to it to offer a solution to the evening’s darkness and were brought a selection of breads to enjoy with sundried tomato, olive paste and butter.

Unsurprisingly I ordered beef Carpaccio to start because this is a barbecue restaurant so obviously I wanted my meat to be served raw… I swiftly proceeded to remove the lettuce garnish and enjoyed the tender beef, presented elegantly on a large stone slab and polished wood support. My compliments to the waiters’ wrists for bearing these burdens for the sake of our culinary delectation. The slices of beef wrapped around baby radishes added an interesting and crunchy touch.

For the main course, I finally caught on to the barbecuing idea and ordered barbecued beef and chicken skewers. The presentation of this course was wonderful in that the mini barbecue was brought to our cabana and the barbecue beef and tandoori chicken was served in front of us. While obviously impressive, this was verging on old news after the tableside creations of Ray’s Grill (hyperlink) from the previous evening. (The struggle of eating at good restaurants is real…) The beef and chicken was served with grilled peppers and roasted garlic that inevitably ended up on the plate to my left under Papa L’s jurisdiction. A side of fries may have crept in also since I am a westernised fat person living in the guise of a formerly athletic young person.

For the sake of this food blog I felt it only responsible to indulge in a dessert in order to report on the full range of options presented at this beach side establishment. With this in mind I selected the molten chocolate cake, which was a delight to the senses. Underneath a more welcome chocolate mousse garnish, yet more cocoa-y goodness oozed out of the centre of the rich cake and mingled with edible golden (what a surprise) decorations. It was spectacular.

While enjoying a fragrant jasmine tea to cleanse us of our gluttonous sins, we observed a camera crew filming a large group of excitable young women greeting each other before sitting down to dine. It was interesting to witness since most of the socialising we had seen out and about in the city was quite reserved and quiet, but where better than a palace of gold to host the Real Housewives of Abu Dhabi?

http://bit.ly/1QuRNhK