Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint

One of the benefits of visiting a place with a large group of people is that you get the opportunity to sample a wide variety of dishes. I was fortunate enough to have my work Christmas lunch at Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint by the Queen Victoria Market. The upstairs eating area is spacious and bright, although with the warm temperatures in Melbourne having a table with sunlight streaming in over us meant it did get a bit hot (even with the fans overhead).

The place uses traditional pit smokers to cook all their meats, which really results in some great tasting selections. As we were a large group we ate off of the set menu ($38 per person), with dishes brought out to the table on large trays to share. Our meat selections were the Angus beef brisket, Carolina style chopped hog, beer can chicken and sausage. All of them tasted absolutely amazing. Our vegetarian friends were served red bell pepper stuffed with vegan beans, which they also enjoyed.

There were also a number of sides with the menu, including burnt end beans, mac & cheese, dill pickles, cornbread, potato salad, coleslaw and farro salad. Once again all of these dishes were delicious and complemented the smoked meats. We even got a few orders of French fries for the table, which were also tasty. 

Overall this was one of the best barbecue places I have been to in Melbourne. Every dish tasted great, and we were all very full by the end of the meal. I'll definitely be back for another visit in the future.

Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint
456 Queen Street, Melbourne
Open seven days a week from 12-3pm and 6-9pm

Smokey's All American BBQ

Tucked away off Bay Street in Port Melbourne lies Smokey's All American BBQ, a family-friendly joint with not a hipster in sight. The walls are full of state licence plates, basketball is on the TV, and the service is warm and friendly. The menu reads like a classic diner with a wide range of dishes, along with barbecue there's Philly cheesesteaks, burgers, chili dogs, Po' Boys, and sloppy joes.
 

The pork ribs came out on a bed of fries, a couple pickles and a Kansas City style bourbon sauce. They were smoky, tender, and cooked flawlessly, the meat coming right off the bone. The sauce could have had more spicy-sweet kick, the ribs were well seasoned and the generous portion of chips were crispy and well-seasoned.

The Texas BBQ chicken was also well cooked and tasted , with another liberal portion of chips.

We grabbed 3 sides - coleslaw, BBQ corn, and of course, mac and cheese. The coleslaw stood out between the three, clearing the pallet from the BBQ meat.
 

For dessert, the pecan pie caught Nicole's eye and we had to order it. The whipped cream on the side bring back a hit of the diner feeling again.

Smokey's would be great for those who want to dip their toes into American BBQ with their family. It feels familiar, warm, and inviting.

Smokey's All American BBQ
144 Rouse St, Port Melbourne
(also 256-260 Chapel St, Prahran)
Open Mon-Sun 11am-11pm

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! In the US, Thanksgiving is a public holiday celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November. The day after Thanksgiving is also a public holiday in many states and for good reason - you need to recover from the feast. Thanksgiving is commonly believed to have started by the Pilgrims as a harvest celebration.

Thanksgiving dinner usually the biggest eating day on the calendar. It's not certain that the Pilgrims at turkey at the first Thanksgiving, but now turkey, an animal native to the Americas, is usually the centrepiece of a turkey dinner. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and pumpkin pie are all commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner.





Here's a video on the origins of Thanksgiving:





More Eagle vs Roo posts are coming soon!

Trick Or Treat

Happy Halloween! It is amazing how popular Halloween is becoming here in Australia. Each year you notice it more and more, and many stores have caught on by selling costumes, pumpkins and the all important fun size candy. I do think the take up is being driven by children as they see a day where they can dress up in costume and go from house to house to get free candy.

I have many fond memories of Halloween as a child. My brother and I would carve pumpkins and go trick or treating around the neighborhood in an assortment of costumes over the years (many of which were handmade by my Mom). It's always amazing to see how people decorate their houses, and of course taking home a big haul of candy is a child's dream come true.

Here are my favorite Halloween candies that I would hope to get in my bag while trick or treating. Unfortunately most of them aren't available in Australia.

Smarties are little pill sized candies in white and pastel colors. Each color has its own taste, and you get around 15 of them in a roll.

One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and peppermint, so Junior Mints are an absolute dream candy for me. They were even made famous in an episode of Seinfeld.

I love Twix bars with their combination of cookie and caramel covered in milk chocolate. At least they sell them here in Australia so I can buy some whenever I feel the urge.

Hershey's assorted miniatures are a great way to get some different flavors of chocolate in your trick or treat bag. You have the classic milk chocolate, special dark (which I would give to my Mom), Mr. Goodbar with its peanuts and Krackel with crisped rice.

Nerds are little hard tart candies in an assortment of flavors. The best way to eat them is to open the box and then tip them into your mouth.

Hopefully those Aussie kids heading out to trick or treat tonight will get the candies they want. Remember the etiquette of trick or treating is to only knock on doors of houses where the lights are on. And if you are a teenager, you are too old to be trick or treating - it's really an evening for young kids.

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna opened earlier this year in a space on Bourke Street that used to hold a Chinese restaurant. The interior is decked out with booths shaped like caravans and Winnebagos, along with a bunch of picnic benches in the middle of the room.

The focus of the menu is burgers, with 8 different types on offer. They also have an extensive list of alcoholic drinks, including spiked milkshakes. Since Kat, Zoran and I were there for lunch and had to go back to work we didn't partake in the drinks menu, but did each try one of the burgers.

As Kat is a vegetarian she had the Cynthia Benson burger, which contains a mushroom patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. Mushroom patties can be very hit or miss, but Kat was impressed with this burger.

Zoran had the KSA burger, which is their signature dish and contains a premium Australian beef patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. He thought it tasted good, although it had a bit too much sauce on it.

I went with the Francis Underwood burger, which is the same as the KSA burger with the added bonus of a mac and cheese croquette in it (if you are a House of Cards viewer we did question why BBQ ribs weren't the additional ingredient). The burger tasted good, but it was a bit overwhelming to have the mac and cheese within the burger itself.

We also ordered the beer battered chips to share, which were very tasty. And after having a large, juicy burger, we were very impressed that they supplied moist towelettes at the table so you could clean your hands after eating.

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna
87 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Open Tuesday-Sunday from 11:30 am-late

Meatmaiden

Meatmaiden is a barbecue restaurant located in the basement of a building on Little Collins Street in the city. It has an industrial feel that starts with the metal stairs that lead you down into the spacious restaurant, which has both booths and tables to sit at. My friends Mary and Tash joined me for dinner tonight and we ordered a variety of mains and sides from the menu to share.

As the name suggests, they have numerous selections of different types of meat from either the grill or the smoker to choose from. We got the O'Connor pasture-fed flat iron steak, which was grilled so tender and tasted amazing.

We also ordered the BBQ eggplant and roast tomato main, which was our favorite dish of the night as the roast tomato was so flavorful and added a lot to the taste of the overall dish.

For sides we got the shaved fennel and pomegranate salad, which was so refreshing and light with its citrus dressing, as well as the mac & cheese, which had a fantastic breadcrumb topping and was really creamy. If you are feeling more extravagant you can order the lobster mac & cheese dish.

Of course we couldn't leave without having dessert, and we ordered two dishes to sample. The Bourbon creme brulee was lovely and smooth, but the real winner was the lemon meringue pie that they served deconstructed in a glass with lemon sorbet on top. It was one of the best desserts we have ever tasted.

Meatmaiden
Basement, 195 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Open Monday-Saturday 12:00-3:00 pm and 5:00 pm-late

Welcome To Thornbury- Digging For Fire BBQ Kitchen and Gumbo Kitchen

As the popularity of food trucks grows in Melbourne, there are now permanent food truck parks popping up around town with a rotating group of trucks on any given day. Last month Welcome To Thornbury opened on the site of an old car manufacturing factory on High Street in Northcote. With up to six trucks at any given time, an indoor bar and outside seating, the venue is licensed to hold over 700 people.

Belinda and I went to check it out tonight, and even on a chilly evening the place was packed with people. Another bonus is that each truck gives you a buzzer when you order, so you can go grab drinks and a table while you wait for your food to be prepared.

I decided to try Digging For Fire BBQ Kitchen, which offers a variety of barbecue meats that you can have either on a roll or in a bowl with your choice of salad. I ordered a bowl of the slow cooked lamb shoulder with tahini and lemon dressing, pickles and pomegranate on an Israeli cous cous, sunflower seeds and spinach salad. The lamb was quite tender and tasted good with the other elements of the dish.

Belinda ordered from Gumbo Kitchen and got The Dom, which contains 12 hour braised beef shredded with Cajun gravy, served on fries with Cajun mayo and pickles. The beef was quite tender and for a bit of a decadent dish she thought it was great. We also got the Cheesy Mac Croquettes, which were very yummy. Having previously eaten at Gumbo Kitchen, I can also strongly recommend the mesquite smoked pulled pork po'boy with Louisiana BBQ sauce, Cajun slaw and pickles.

Welcome To Thornbury is a great venue and will be the perfect spot to grab a food truck meal as the weather warms up heading into summer.

Welcome To Thornbury
520 High Street, Northcote
Open Monday - Thursday from 5:00 pm; Friday - Sunday from 12:00 pm

Mason Dixon American Sandwich Bar

In the US the Mason-Dixon line is considered the boundary between the North and the South. In Melbourne it is a yummy place to have lunch. Justin and I finally managed to escape the office to try out the Mason Dixon American Sandwich Bar, which is located in a food plaza along Collins Street. It has a range of sandwiches to choose from on the menu, including different types of reubens, cubanos, pulled pork and hoagies.

Justin decided to eat "South" and ordered the Carolina Pulled Pork sandwich, which contains slow-roasted pork, coleslaw, dill pickles and Carolina BBQ sauce on a brioche bun. He thought the pulled pork was super tender and that the flavors were subtle yet tasty.

I chose to order "North" and had The MD Reuben, which contains the classic ingredients of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on toasted rye bread. It was very tasty with its high quality corned beef, and the dill pickle and pretzels really emphasized the New York deli flavors.

For dessert I couldn't resist the peanut butter pie (complete with whipped cream). It was really good with a chocolate top, crumb base and peanut butter filling that wasn't too rich.

While we were eating the American owner Garrett Huston came over to say hello and check on how we were finding the food. I really appreciated that level of customer service and the obvious pride he takes in the food he is making. I look forward to returning and trying out more of the sandwiches on the menu (I already have my eye on The Rachel).

Mason Dixon American Sandwich Bar
7/480 Collins Street, Food Plaza, Melbourne
Open from 9:00 am - 3:30 pm Monday to Friday

Trailer Park Melbourne- North America

Food trucks are hugely popular in the States, and Melbourne's stable is slowly growing with a range of trucks serving food from all over the world. Trailer Park Melbourne is back with a cuisine of origin battle going on each weekend in August. This week's food was themed around North America, so we had to make the trip down to Village Melbourne to check it out.

Our first food truck was Smokin' Barrys with their slow cooked BBQ. We tried the chili cheese fries, nachos with pulled pork, and pork ribs with coleslaw. Of the three dishes the nachos were our favorite, and while the ribs were good they could have used some more BBQ sauce.

Our next truck was Mr Burger, who serve my favorite burgers in Melbourne. You can't go wrong with the classic Mr Burger cheeseburger and fries. Yummy as usual.

Our favorite dish of the day came from the Toasta food truck. You wouldn't have thought that a grilled sandwich would grab your imagination, but you've never had the Mack, which contains pulled pork, mac and cheese, and BBQ sauce. It was decadent and really delicious.

After a bit of a break we were ready for some dessert, which we got from Jay's Yogurt. The guys in the truck were super friendly, and you get to choose your flavors and they will blend them into the frozen yogurt for you. We tried out two of the specials from their winter menu. The Hot Apple Cup contained hot apple crumble, a frozen yogurt blend with rose water and pistachio, and was topped with Persian fairy floss. It was like a Middle Eastern apple pie. We also had the Coffee & Cookie with frozen yogurt blended with cold brew coffee and Charlies cookies. Both provided a refreshing end to our afternoon at Trailer Park Melbourne.

Trailer Park Melbourne at Village Melbourne
557 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Open from 12-8 pm each weekend in August

Ike's Rack Shack at The Beaufort Hotel

Walk into the Beaufort Hotel and you're transported to an dive bar in the Deep South. You can't escape the feeling you're sitting out on the porch on the Bayou. The nautical themed bar is known for its world class cocktails and Ike's Rack Shack has the food to pair with it.

Ike's has pork, beef, lamb, and even vegan ribs, but on this occasion we went with the pork ribs. The maple syrup and bourbon rib sauce had all the sticky goodness you could ask for.

We moved on to the 'Prince's Biscuit', a burger with fried chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce in a bun made of a buttermilk biscuit. The chicken hit the spot, but the biscuit was a little dry. The fries were well seasoned and were gone quick.

The sides were intriguing. We tried the truffled mac and cheese, which was a little fancy with gruyere cheese, and they added a Twistie crumble crust that brought back that childhood memory of the cheese powder from a Kraft mac and cheese box.

The other was the cornbread doughnut with a bacon and maple glaze. The cornbread was moist and soft with a little crunch from the bacon - it's listed as a side, but it felt like a sweet/savoury dessert.

Dinner is a nice way to start an off an evening - then you can stay at the bar, order an Old Fashioned, and sing old sea shanties with the locals.

Ike's Rack Shack (The Beaufort Hotel)
421 Rathdowne St, Carlton
Open for lunch from 1pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and dinner from 5pm 7 nights a week

Bowery To Williamsburg

Bowery to Williamsburg brings a bit of New York deli to the Melbourne CBD. It is one of the spots my work colleagues and I occasionally visit for lunch, especially around American holidays when they sometimes feature a special dish that will remind me of home. The Oliver Lane restaurant has both outdoor and indoor seating, and the interior is styled a bit like a New York subway station.

The main feature of the lunch menu is the variety of sandwiches that are available for $13, or for $17 you can add a side of your choice, pretzels and a pickle. Sides include different types of salads, but really, you can't go wrong with the mac & cheese (I honestly don't know why you would want to order anything else).

On this visit I ordered what I consider to be their best sandwich - the Reuben. It contains pastrami, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, melted Swiss cheese and pickle on rye bread. No matter how many other sandwiches I try this is the one I always come back to. My work colleague John decided to order the Lechon Asado, which contains Cuban braised pork, pickled zucchini, fennel and celeriac slaw, and garlic aioli on a brioche bun. It was good, but I thought it had a bit too much aioli on it, which took away from the taste of the pork. I am a big fan of the pickle, but for some reason we were served a sweet pickle instead of a dill one on the tray, which for a New York deli place is unacceptable (I'm hoping it was just an oversight).

If you still have room to eat after such a filling lunch, there are several dessert options, including pies, cakes and brownies (yes, you can get it as take away). I grabbed a piece of the baked N.Y. cheesecake ($7) to go for my afternoon tea, and it was a decent sized slice.

There aren't that many New York style deli places in Melbourne, so it's good that Bowery to Williamsburg meets the brief for the most part.

Bowery to Williamsburg
16 Oliver Lane and 123 Hardware Street, Melbourne
Open for breakfast and lunch 7 days a week

Happy 4th Of July

The 4th of July conjures up images of summer, parades, fireworks, swimming, sunshine and lots of food. When you are living in the opposite hemisphere though, you are lucky to find something authentic to eat. Welcome to the life of the American expat in Australia, where you have to celebrate Independence Day in the middle of winter.

Today is a fitting day to officially launch Eagle vs Roo, and what better way to do it than to have a 4th of July BBQ. We headed out in the freezing cold to cook our meat on a public barbecue at a local park. We considered having an outdoor picnic for about 5 seconds, but quickly headed back to the warmth and heating of the indoors. It was so cold and windy outside that we couldn't even light a sparkler!

Since we don't have access to summer foods at the moment (e.g. watermelon, corn) we went with a classic potato salad side to go along with our burgers, sausages and lamb. For dessert, you can't go wrong with a homemade apple pie.

A plethora of American restaurants have popped up in Melbourne over the past few years. Eagle vs Roo will be checking them out in an attempt to find the best ones in town.