Late Night

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Le Bon Ton – Collingwood – Sunday 28 June 2015 – Lunch

Otway Ranges pork shoulder

Otway Ranges pork shoulder

When our waitperson was taken aback with my innocent statement “he’s a big eater” I was surprised. Equally, she was surprised having thought I’d said “he’s a big vegan”. As we had a laugh, we both nodded to the fact that you don’t bring a big vegan to Le Bon Ton.

Baja Fish Tacos - Smoked corn salsa, spicy avocado, radish & roasted poblano crema

Baja Fish Tacos – Smoked corn salsa, spicy avocado, radish & roasted poblano crema

Le Bon Ton is hallowed by night owls who grace the dining room through to the early hours of weekend mornings. Today, we are far more civilised venturing in for a late lunch. I had never been to the pub previously here, but it looks no different from the outside to all those years ago; grungy and a complete dive.

Fried Chicken - Southern style buttermilk soaked tenders with cracked pepper white gravy

Fried Chicken – Southern style buttermilk soaked tenders with cracked pepper white gravy

Inside however there is inventiveness and detail, especially in the beautiful bar area. There are several different areas that are spacious and comfortable. The floorstaff we encounter are friendly and know the menu backwards. Their guidance on what and how much to order is good, and it is easy to grab their attention for another beer.

This is Southern American barbecue, from Louisiana to Texas. We are hungry, deciding to order several dishes to share between myself, Catherine, and her aptly named brother, Angus. To begin we share Baja fish tacos and the fried chicken. The chicken is perfectly cooked, has huge flavour from the generous seasoning, and comes with plenty of jalapenos to provide some kick, softened by the white gravy. The tacos are a good size, with a finger of crumbed fish swimming in avocado and the cream of roasted peppers (called Poblano). The smoked corn salsa works in well for another punchy starter. Great beer food!

Lilypad

Lilypad

For main we focus on one of the meat dishes available and try several sides. We choose the Otway Ranges pork shoulder which like the other meats is cooked for twelve hours over iron bark and fruit woods. It is fantastic, the slow cooking making the meat extremely tender, and the marinade doing the rest. Along with the pork we tried the mac and three cheese, tangy coleslaw and fries. You can’t beat great fries, especially when they are this seasoned, teetering on the edge of oblivion, but not quite falling over it. The spicy ketchup served with them is addictive.

Of the other sides, amazingly I liked the coleslaw more, even though I could taste the onion for a while after finishing. The mac and three cheese wasn’t as creamy as others and probably needs to be served in cast iron, clay or the pan to keep it hot through the meal. Even average mac and cheese is good though and this one is duly finished off.

Mac and 3 cheese

Mac and 3 cheese

There is a good selection of cocktails, beers, wines and spirits (focussing on Absinthe). Catherine tried the lilypad which she enjoyed, served with a very interesting leaf on top that I can’t name but it is spicy! Angus and I stuck to some well known US beers like Sam Adams Boston Lager and Coors.
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It took a while to make it to Le Bon Ton. Now that I have confirmed it is a great place, hopefully my memory bank will remind me the next time I’m in need of a great feed at 2am after a big Friday or Saturday night. Though lunch or dinner at any time here is equally exciting.

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Belle’s Hot Chicken – Fitzroy – Sunday 1 March 2015 – Lunch

IMG_3500Chefs say all the time that “less is more”. It is obviously a figurative phrase that is probably better said as “focus is the most important ingredient”. To add a diner’s perspective, there are not many pared back menus that have focus and intelligence that I don’t love.

I can be easily confused. But walking into some restaurants and reading the menu I can be sure that the owners have not first determined the strengths of the chefs and based the food and accompanying aspects around it. More and more focus is becoming a feature. Small, carefully crafted menus, that everything else about the restaurant is derivative of. In years it will not be the exception but the rule, resembling the same way seasonal produce became the norm.

It started with blackboard menus that by their very nature are temporary. It has now developed into restaurants, not just surviving but thriving, doing hundreds of covers a night, where before you couldn’t guarantee a crowd so you had to make do with the corner take away joint. Think of souvlaki stands. Now the equivalent is a Jimmy Grants or the slightly fancier Gazi. Think what places like Hunky Dory have done to the corner fish shop; or Fonda and what it has done to our version of “basic Mexican”; not to mention the number of burger joints serving up greatness making the chains unnecessary from most angles. This is all over a small amount of time.

Well, the best example in recent times of brilliant focus is Belle’s Hot Chicken. It is difficult to compare the Southern fried chicken here but if you are comparing to one we all know, and some love (KFC) it is like last year’s AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and Sydney. To explain, BHC makes KFC look worse than second rate.

The menu is short and sweet, meaning everything on it needs to be exceptional. It is a choice of different cuts of chicken (along with a fish, and a mushroom option), in a sauce ranging from mild to extremely hot, with several classic sides on offer, and a few specials too. The other theme is the natural wines on offer, which is intriguing, and will be highlighted in a new bar next door (coming soon).

IMG_3499We ordered according to our preference. There is no way to make this sound right so I’ll just say that Catherine is a breast girl and I am a leg guy! Catherine’s “tenders” done Southern (ie no heat) were still beautifully cooked and definitely true to their name. My “dark meat” cooked medium had just a steady kick but definitely added good flavour and I recommend having at minimum medium heat for this reason. Personally, I like chilli, and although I have a medium heat threshold, next time I’ll be opting for the “hot” which is the mid-point on the heat spectrum. The “Old Bay fries” on the side are as delicious as chips come, and the coleslaw was nice too, although a touch heavy on the mayo as is often encountered in American cooking.

Catherine had a glass of the palate-refreshing slightly sweetened ice tea. I had a glass of the Arneis, which was viscous and acidic enough to provide a nice balance to the fried chicken, with a good amount of forward fruit. As we finished our baskets of chicken it hit me how well thought out this relatively little restaurant is, with attention to detail and striking features (namely the “diner” sign) all adding to the experience. Nothing tacky whatsoever, and definitely sleek for a fried chicken joint. Our waitperson was polished too, making light work of the many tables in her section.

It is hard not to be impressed by everything Belle’s is dishing out. It might seem simple at first glance, but this is a fried chicken restaurant done exceptionally well.

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