Pistol Pete's Food N Blues

The American food trend has even made it to Geelong, and tonight while in town for a gig at The Workers Club Belinda and I tried out Pistol Pete's Food N Blues. Its focus is on Southern and New Orleans style dishes and also has live music on Thursday-Sunday nights. It is an intimate space and we were able to get a seat along the wall near the kitchen despite not having a reservation.

There are a range of options on the menu, including burgers, po'boys, southern fried chicken, gumbo and different plates of meat with your choice of sides. I decided to have the vegetarian jambalaya with okra (also available with chicken and andouille sausage). The dish was full of flavor and tasted good, and was the perfect amount of food to fill you up.

Belinda chose the pulled pork plate, which featured 200g of their low and slow roasted pulled Australian free range pork with a great barbecue sauce. For sides she had the coleslaw, Cajun fries and a salad. The coleslaw was on point, but I didn't really taste the Cajun flavor on the fries.

If you are around this part of town Pistol Pete's Food N Blues is a good solid choice for a meal, and then you can stick around for some live music.

Pistol Pete's Food N Blues
93A Little Malop Street, Geelong
Open Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday 12-9pm, Thursday 12-11:30pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm-12:30am

Po' Boy Quarter

Emanating from the success of the Gumbo Kitchen food truck is the permanent restaurant Po' Boy Quarter on Smith Street (or as we like to call it, Little America). Serving up authentic New Orleans food to the people of Melbourne, their menu features an assortment of Cajun specialties including gumbo, oysters, catfish, and po' boys.

It was a warm evening so we grabbed a table outside on the sidewalk. Of course we had to order a po' boy, and Danny got the deep fried shrimp one with tomato, lettuce, pickles, mayo and hot sauce. He thought it had a nice fiery sauce, was generous with the shrimp and tasted good. We also shared a side of shoestring fries topped with Cajun mayo, which were cooked perfectly.

Nicole had the red beans and rice, which you can add pork or andouille sausage to if you are looking for a non-vegan option. It tasted good and had a subtle bit of spice to it.

The food here is reasonably priced, and if you are after some drinks and cocktails you can hang out in the bar Huey Long's which is located out the back.

Po' Boy Quarter
295 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Open seven days a week from 11:30am - 11:00pm

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

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

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