Frankie's Smokehouse - Woolloongabba

Grabbed a quick end of week lunch with a friend last week for a long overdue catch up. Not wanting to stray too far from home, we went to Frankie's Smokehouse in Woolloongabba, a fairly popular American BBQ joint that I've heard a number of good reviews about.

A booking is recommended because the place is quite busy. Parking is also very hard to find.

 

As expected at a bbq place, the menu had all the essentials, ribs, brisket and pulled pork in various combinations along with some salads and sides. 

We ordered at the counter and were given a buzzer for our food. Luckily for us, the food didn't take too long to come out.

This was the platter for two. It came with beef brisket, hot links, pulled pork, slaw and pickles along with some fries and bread rolls. We added a serve of brisket since we were dining as a group of three. Of the meats, the brisket was my favourite of the evening, moist and tender, it was a little bland in flavour but went well with the bbq sauce. I didn't particularly like the pulled pork as it was quite dry and stringy, but again the sauce rectified this. The salads were ample but didn't stand out in particular, although I did enjoy the sour crunchy pickles. The side of chips was very generous and crispy, fresh out of the fryer. The bread rolls were fairly average though.

As we had a third person, we also added a serve of loaded fries. This was topped with pulled pork, brisket and sauce. Again portions were huge and the fries were fresh. My earlier misgivings about how dry the pulled pork was was alleviated by the ample amount of sauce. 

For three people, there was definitely too much food and we had to get some take away. Overall, I would say that there are better options elsewhere for American BBQ. It wasn't too bad but I would be in no rush to return any time soon.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

Espresso & Matcha's Saporous Expedition - Sydney: Noodle Night Markets

Not gonna say too much in this post, but rather wanted to share some of the photos I took of the noodle night market in Sydney when we last went. Unfortunately it had rained most of the day, so that impacted the environment a little bit. It also didn't help that we went out just before it was due to close because my afternoon nap went a little too long...

Chicken skewers from Hoy Pinoy were as good as always, sweet with glaze and sticky with honey. Made for an excellent start to our meal.

Satay chicken wraps had a surprising amount of veges in them, and were far more refreshing than I had anticipated. The satay was wonderfully nutty, and the chicken was tender. I liked the doughy pancakes that they were wrapped in.

Although we could get them in Brisbane too, there is no substitute for hot chips on a cool night, so we settled for some extra long fries from harajuku gyoza. The fries were no doubt long, but tasted very processed (as expected), but were still crunchy and satisfying, especially when topped with kewpie mayonnaise.

Fries = Love

 

Perhaps next year I'll get to hit up the Melbourne markets too...

Greenglass - Brisbane CBD

With our rare opportunity to be working on the other end of town for a couple of days, I definitely took advantage of the situation and headed to Greenglass, which has long been on my list, but my extreme laziness had prevented me from walking across the city during the lunch hour. Going with Iron Fist, he was temporarily confused when I mentioned where I had intended to have our lunch, thinking that I had actually wanted to go the establishment next door instead ∑(O_O;). This misunderstanding was quickly addressed when I lead him up the dark stairs leading up to Greenglass.

In spite of the bustling exterior, the restaurant was relatively tranquil. I loved the difference in environment and the peaceful respite it provided.

 

We were presented very quickly with a drinks menu. I was slightly confused at the lack of a food menu to begin with, but this was clarified when the waiter came around with a chalkboard menu. Perhaps they change their food menu often. There were only a handful of options, but quite a few were captivating, and I liked the fact that they had a variety of light and heavier options.

Despite the variety of options, our decision was quick and unanimous. After a short wait, our food was soon delivered to our table.

My companion had the rib fillet steak frites, which he quite enjoyed, but also felt it wasn't rested well enough, seeing as he had ordered it medium rare, but ended up with a plate somewhat soaked with blood.

Mine was the smaller version of the Steak Frites, being the Sirloin cut. As usual, I ordered it rare, and it was done just as requested, with a deep pink centre. The steak was a little fatty for my liking, but at least it was all situated along one strip to the side, allowing me to remove it with ease. The steak itself was harder in texture than expected, but not overly chewy. I really enjoyed the pepper sauce, which was very sharp and had bite. The salad was fresh and could have done with a bit more vinegarette, and I really enjoyed the large portion of shoestring fries which were very crispy and tasted well with pepper sauce.

Price Range: $15 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment:8/10

The Apo - Fortitude Valley

Having recently gone to Gerards to enjoy quite a delightful (and last) breakfast, I had made a note to go and try out The APO which is run by the same owners as Gerards and conveniently also situated at fortitude valley. 

Making a lunch reservation for the 12, we were the first ones there. Faced with the option for indoors and outdoors at the back, I naturally took the inside option. Despite the abundance of natural light from outside, it was still a little dim for my liking. 

 

The food menu was contained on one page and the drinks menu on another. There was a lack of subheadings in the food menu, but we were easily able to identify the entrees, mains and desserts. I liked the innovative menu which contained quite a few dishes I hadn’t heard of. 

First to arrive was the Puffed tendon Aleppo and sumac spice. Not knowing what to expect, I can only describe it as a lighter version of prawn crackers, less the seafood taste but with additional sumac, it definitely did not taste like the tendon that I’m used to, and made for quite a tasty appetizer. 

Also from the entree selection was the Smoked tartare, pickled artichoke, potato crisp. I really enjoyed the freshness of the smoked salmon, which was contrasted by the potato crisp. The seasoning also added quite a bit of depth to this delicious morsel, which quite similar to the salmon taco I had at Nobu recently. 

For our mains, my companion and I both ordered the highly captivating Steak frites with cafe de paris. I enjoyed the steak, which was cooked perfectly rare, very tender without being overly fatty. The cafe de Paris could have been a bit more seasoned though, as the butter and herbs were extremely mild in taste. The fries were also only fried very lightly, and could stand to have been browned a bit more. 

Our dessert consisted of my companions favourite Profiteroles, mushroom custard, olive caramel, cocoa. Despite the strange combinations, it was actually quite tasty to have the unique scent of mushrooms and olives in a dessert context. I note the puffs were deliciously crispy and the custard wasn’t overly sweet. My companion quite enjoyed this dessert.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Environment: 7.5/10