Crown

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San Antone by Bludso’s BBQ – Southbank – Wednesday 23 December 2015 – Lunch

Share platter (beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken, chicken sausage, served with coleslaw, mac and cheese, and Texas beef chilli) along with pork rib tips.

Share platter (beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken, chicken sausage, served with coleslaw, mac and cheese, and Texas beef chilli) along with pork rib tips.

The growth in American barbecue in 2014 didn’t quite seem to grip 2015 in the same way. We have been educated in the virtues of slow cooked and wood roasted meats, and believe me, no one is arguing with the product.

I was always cautiously optimistic that the reasonable price of the product, in no small way resulting from the less popular cuts of meat, would hold sway, giving barbecue devotes two reasons to continue the patronage. At San Antone by Bludso’s BBQ, a very large, very full restaurant, ensures that American barbecue is here to stay, with the pull of Crown in toe.

Today I’m with mates who have definitely subscribed to the gospel of brisket et al. They know what to order straight off the bat, throwing in an extra dish for good measure. The meat platter is $64 to share between two. We get two between the four of us, but there is no doubt that with a few extra sides you could easily share one between three. The meat platter not only contains a good amount of brisket, pulled pork, chicken sausage, and roast chicken, but sides of coleslaw, and mac and cheese. The extra dish thrown in was the pork rib tips (short, meaty sections of rib attached to the lower end of the spare ribs), and we also had a go at the chilli fries.

My first taste is of the brisket and it stayed my favourite on the platter. It is beautifully tender, and whether dipped, drenched, or kept clear of the Texas chilli sauces, it is a hit. At about this stage, Redders announces that his NBA team is up by 17 points and that is when I notice the amount of US sport on the various TVs which is a big selling point to many. The next try is of the chicken sausage which makes me question why chicken isn’t used more often in sausages because anything with that much salt and spices is bound to taste great.

The roast chicken itself is excellent, and quite substantial, but is the meat that I associate least with this cuisine. An extra bit of brisket and a bit less chicken is worth some thought. The pork rib tips are a little fiddly, and don’t fall off the bone like some ribs, but it is rubbed in a nice spice mix, and is rich in flavour.

I am a sucker for good sides and the coleslaw, and the mac and cheese, do not let me down, though they are no match for the meats. I’ve found some mac and cheese that almost merits ordering on its own, but given the reasonableness and generosity of the platter you couldn’t expect it to come out in a clay pot or fry-pan which I’ve seen work best.

The knowledge of the boys on both the food, and Puch on the beers, means our waitperson has an easy job, but even as the shift changes, there is no lack of service. On the other hand, things have gone downhill in the NBA and attention is shifted to the wealth of American craft beers, and the virtues of gridiron/NFL, but not before Barca shows us some incredible NBA footage of Tracy McGrady.

The restaurant is massive, but one thing Crown does well is make sure the large spaces seem a little more intimate, and are adequately themed. With the stamp of both the taste and design from the main man, Bludso, “literally straight out of Compton” they have the ingredients for longevity. While there is pressure to do well, there is also a ready-made tourist (and local) market around here that does half the work.

San Antone does an excellent job in the areas that count, and devotes of American barbecue would be crazy not to check it out.

San Antone by Bludso's BBQ Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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What is an experience worth?

There is an incredible amount of talk at the moment, and a reasonable buzz, regarding a restaurant picking up from Bray in the United Kingdom, and putting down at Crown.

Like most visitors to Crown, there is a chance The Fat Duck will overplay its hand and go broke, or have the experience of a lifetime, riding lady luck for all she is worth. More than likely the migration will be successful, creating a ripple on take-off, a splash on landing, and glide through six months of calm waters before taking off again.

Heston Blumenthal is a business. Much like Greg Norman took an amazing golf swing and turned it into a multinational brand icon, Heston has done the same with his trade. Like it or not, business is business, and for his latest venture, possibly one of his most elaborate, the romance is deafened by the dollar signs.

Ordinarily, taking any business and moving it across borders is extremely difficult, requiring careful management and detailed organisation. No doubt Heston’s business advisers are responsible for a good portion of what you are paying for lunch or dinner between February and July 2015 at Crown. The staggering price tag per person for the tasting menu is $525. If you enjoy having a couple (or more) with your meal, and you tip, I find it hard to see a couple having dinner for less than $1,300 (and I am being rather conservative).

Why then are many of my friends in Melbourne putting their names down in the ballot? Because Heston and his advisers are geniuses. The marketing says that you are going to have an experience like no other, that you only have a short time to have that experience without travelling over a day on a plane, that if you don’t you may be left out of dinner conversations forever more, and that if you get a result in the ballot it is like winning lotto.

It is my belief that, in fact, the ballot will be undersubscribed (and potentially filled by high rollers). There is a remarkable difference between having an interest in dining somewhere, and forking out average weekly earnings to experience it. There is an even more exceptional difference in those who have previously dined at extremely expensive restaurants, and those who have watched a television show that is full of theatre and fun. I know this point can be taken the wrong way, but there is a certain skill (or delusion) in separating the dining experience and the cost.

Experiences I’ve had at restaurants like Per Se, Eleven Madison, Le Maurice, Arzak, Attica and Momofuku, have been easily talked down by the same people who are potentially going to pay a lot more for The Fat Duck. The arguments of being able to have ten meals that are almost as good for the same price, that the restaurant is full of snobs, and you just end up feeling intimidated, are all fair arguments at times. What it comes down to is the state of mind you are in when entering the restaurant, how the floorstaff shape your experience, and whether you can separate the price tag from each mouthful.

I have put us down in the ballot. I think not being able to pick a date is strange and I think the price is too high. One thing I suggest is not reading one review, one blog, speaking to one person who has been there before you. If I get a table I am going to try to go with as reasonable expectations as possible and not compare each aspect with the other restaurants I’ve been to. Hopefully I can do that, and hopefully it is one of the best dining experiences I’ve had.

At $525 I expect it will be a great experience, but there is a very good chance it will not be the best. I can live with that.