Jazz City BBQ, Darlinghurst

I think it has all been a while since the anticipated opening of Jazz City BBQ with the promise of lots and lots of barbeque meat! LB Slaya, Cassanova, KC and I arrived early this Thursday night just a little before 6, perhaps a little too early as they hadn't even opened their doors yet (we were just a tad too keen). But once inside, we instantly felt like we were in one of those cute American diners with the red booths lining the walls of the small restaurant.

Menu

The menu is short and concise, offering five items with the promise of Southern American smokey char. It's simple really, you just let Chef Dan McGuirt exactly how much of each meat you want and he'll cut and weigh it for you!.

Dan slicing up the beef ribs

Are you guys digging his shirt or what? When he was about to cut us our beef brisket, he asked us, "Would you like the fattier or leaner cut? I would recommend the fattier cut, it's much more tender and juicy." How could we disagree with the man?

Housemade sauces

There are plenty of sauces for you sauce junkies to choose from. And if you're anything like us, you're just going to go for the whole shebang and may as well try everything!

Clockwise from top: cornbread / complimentary sliced white bread / pork ribs / beef ribs / beef brisket / coleslaw / complimentary raw onion and pickles / pulled pork (centre)

While I did love the flavour of the pork rib, it was a tad on the dry side, as was the pulled pork. But with all the sauces on offer, may as well drench it with that, hey? And let me give you a little tip - ride the sauce rainbow. You may be asking, what the heck is that? Mixing all of them together of course! The beef brisket was indeed awesomely fatty as promised and fat is flavour when it comes to barbequed meats. I was pleasantly surprised by the beef rib as I normally prefer pork ribs over beef ones but this was beautifully smokey with every bite. The meat slid of the bone real easy as we bit it straight off the bone - gotta get those fingers dirty when eating ribs! But what I really fell in love with were those pickles. Sweet with a little punch of sour, I couldn't help going back for more. And that cornbread. Soft, fluffy like a good muffin, and slightly sweet, our only regret was ordering one to share. Next time, one for each person!

I forgot to take a picture of the pecan pie we had. Though tiny, it was a pretty sweet end to the meal. Unfortunately they didn't have key lime pie on the menu tonight which was not a problem for us. We ventured down to Jazz City Milk Bar for dessert!

Banana cream pie, $10.00

I have nothing to say but this.

Oh. My God.

THIS WAS AMAZING. SO AMAZING. Well worth the trek here. A crispy base, layers of vanilla custard chocked full of banana pieces in between, along with whipped cream on top, made this dessert so delicious. The ripe banana really made this pie - it felt like I was eating banana custard!

Satisfied with the ending to our Southern style meal of comfort foods, we slowly walked back towards the city. But not before making a pit stop at Hungry Jacks because Cassnova and KC have black holes for stomachs. Next time, that key lime pie will be eaten :D

Jazz City BBQ
200 Goulburn St
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours 
Lunch Wednesday - Friday: 12:00noon to 2:00pm
Dinner Wednesday - Saturday: 6:00pm to 10:00pm (or until Sold Out)
Closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 





Jazz City Milk Bar
Republic 2 Building Courtyard
Palmer Street (between Liverpool and Burton Street)
Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

Opening Hours
Lunch  Thursday-Saturday: 12:00-2:00pm
Dinner  Tuesday-Saturday: 6:00-10:00pm
Closed Sunday & Monday

Mexico Food And Liquor, Surry Hills

Hearing great things about Mexico Food And Liquor, my friends and I decided to fill up our stomachs here before heading over to the Art Gallery of New South Wale for this year's Archibald, Wynne and Sulmain Prize (I really enjoyed the Wynne Prize exhibition this year - it's worth going!). Located on the site that was previously District Dining, it is a very short walk from Central Station. I was quite sad about being unable to visit District Dining before it closed down, but why be sad when there's Mexican food to enjoy? Ole!

Hello purdy flower. Hot sauce condiments on the table for those who like it spicy!

Coffee & maple braised pork spare ribs, plantain chips, herb salad, $16.00

Ribs!! Who doesn't love ribs? They are meant to be messy to eat and best done with your hands. Forget cutlery! These ribs were so tender, fall off the bone, and had a wonderful sticky sauce coating. I wasn't sure what to expect from the plantain chips, but they were reminiscent of a savoury banana. Quite addictively crunchy. I just realised when reading the description that we weren't given a herb salad...

Smokey beef arrachera, charred onions, pork crackling, pineapple mayo, $7.00

I was very disappointed when the taco hit the table because it was a small portion when paying $7 for a taco and the filling looked sparse. What it lacked in size however, made up for it in flavour. The beef was wonderfully smoky and the onions (from the tiny pieces we got) and pineapple mayo melded the flavours together with a sweet finish. Pork crackling was nowhere to be seen though. I also noticed amount of filling was a inconsistent around the table. Pity about the lack of finesse about these details.

MEXICO’s fried chicken, $14.00

The let down of the taco was quickly made up for with the fried chicken. Succulent fried chicken!! Awesome dipped into the aioli which was less spicy than expected despite the sprinkling of paprika on top. Nonetheless, that was good aioli and good fried chicken.

Caramel braised pork, snow pea shoot, green chili, poblano crema quesadilla, $14.00

Not expecting the portion sizes to be so small, we were still hungry an unanimously agreed with the braised pork quesadilla. Crunchy tortilla outer encasing cheesey innards. Amazing of all sorts when smothered with green mayo on the side.

It was too early for drinks as we were having lunch here, but maybe I'll come back and give those a go. The food was good and it was simple to share. Just go easy with the ordering as it can become quite easy to rack up a bill! Especially if you're going to order a few tacos by the looks of what we got that particular visit.

Do you all prefer to share dishes and try a bit of everything, or do your preferences lie with ordering a main dish to have by yourself? Personally, I think sharing is the way to go!

Mexico Food And Liquor
17 Randle Street
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
9211 7798
http://mexicofoodandliquor.com.au

Opening Hours
Open 7 days from 12 noon until late