friedchicken

Butter

Posted on by leolawrence94

Butter, Sydney, Australia (our farewell to Sydney!)

Warning: this post contains images that may cause drooling.

Brace yourselves, boys and girls, for I am about to recount to you the tale of the most wonderful restaurant concept upon which I have ever stumbled. The place: Butter. The time: fried chicken time. If you have been keeping up with my blog, you’ll be aware that fried chicken is probably my most raved about food because I believe it is terribly underrated (see post: Bridge St. Garage), but for all those newbies out there let the record state that I love fried chicken with all my heart. Interestingly enough, I also love champagne. Perhaps even greater than my love for champagne is my love for sneakers. Enter: Butter, a hybrid sneaker, fried chicken and champagne bar located in trendy Surry Hills.

On arrival, two things stand out at this establishment (things that one has a fair amount of time to ponder while inevitably waiting for a table at this popular joint). The first is the giant glass wall showcasing the best of the best sneakers around, adorned lazily with champagne bottles. I’m talking Jordans galore. The second is the sweet sweet sound of hip-hop music. These snazzy kicks combined with hoppin’ beats and champagne bottles make for an atmosphere reminiscent of what I should imagine an after party hosted by Drake might look like. One can only hope that I discover whether my suspicions are correct in this regard. Once you’ve wrestled your way to a table (try and hold out for the bar at the window for ultimate people watching between the sneakers), the menu will grab you. You have a choice of different amounts of fried chicken (3 pac or size 13s – genius) or a number of other options such as the cheezus sandwich, which has my personal recommendation.

As if the names of the items on the menu weren’t witty and amusing enough for hip hop fans, the heat rating of the sauces you can choose is also original and fantastic. It starts out with naked, then OG (original gangster, if you didn’t know), fire and finally hot AF. I’ll leave you to google the last one if you aren’t a millennial or present on social media but, for the avoidance of doubt, this one is really really hot so tread carefully. I went for the cheezus sandwich with a side of shoelace fries. The sandwiches come with their own sauce so there is no need to choose how hot you’d like it, which is helpful since I don’t trust myself to make the right decision in this situation. The cheezus comes with a delightful honey mustard sauce and coleslaw. I appreciate the tradition of coleslaw with southern cooked meats but will always think of it as a pointless garnish, so I will leave you to decide how the coleslaw rates. Sorry, coleslaw.

Having been fortunate to try more than my fair share of fried chicken and even more fortunate to sample this delicacy in the Deep South aka the home of fricken, I came in with high expectations since this is perhaps the only food I feel almost qualified to be snobbish about. I can happily say that Butter met those expectations with flying chickens, which were juicy and tender while the batter was crispy with minimal grease. A solid show all round it appears, as Ole Sib seemed very taken with her OG 3 pac also.

To conclude, Butter is an excellent establishment to enjoy some good quality fried chicken and feel classy while enjoying the large selection of champagne. Plus, you can rest assured that all your friends will think you’re super cool and you can leave the establishment safe in the knowledge that now you will be the OG of your friendship group since you clearly have impeccable taste in restaurant and sneaker.

http://www.buttersydney.com.au

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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