Braddon's transformation continues

Went to LSR new BBQ&BYO venture the other night.

Got potential but still a ways to go.

Brisket – should be able to be pulled apart by hand but not this, too thick cut and dry. Should be brining or injecting first.

Ribs – 2 ribs on the BBQ plate for 2. 2 RIBS, that would be one each! Apart from that pretty reasonably cooked.

Pulled pork – not bad, albeit heavy on the chilli

Fried Chicken – pretty good but a breast piece not a wing as is traditional and arguably better. If you want to keep to the tender suggest boned thigh pieces instead.

Chips excellent

bread – prefer the traditional white fluffy

Pickle appeared dried out ie it had been cut and not kept in pickling juice

Chilli pumpkin and feta salad was well made

The boss was working which is a good look.

All up, a ways to go yet but it won’t take long with a loving hand on the smoker, to be the best BBQ in town.

rubaiyat said :

Now that would work instead of through the Gungahlin cow paddocks, bereft of even cows let alone any other signs of life.

Ahem… I’ll have you know Harrison has a working farm smack bang in the middle of it complete with, you guessed it, cows. There are also sheep on the far side of Horse Park Drive. These sheep must have been separated from the flock that hangs around Braddon.

Lonsdale Street, Braddon has me rethinking our family’s intention to move out of Canberra.

Braddon and New Acton are the first signs of real life, unmolested by the death’s touch of ACT Planning.

Be nice if the proposed Light Rail actually ran from Dickson down the centre of Lonsdale Street and then continued through Garema Place and the City onto some useful destination such as the Parliamentary Triangle and beyond to Manuka/Kingston etc.

Now that would work instead of through the Gungahlin cow paddocks, bereft of even cows let alone any other signs of life.

rosscoact said :

Ezy said :

There are places in Canberra and Australia that do incredible justice to these types of BBQ. Some of my better bbqs I have had here in Australia than in their country of heritage. You just need to follow your nose!

Where?

Tosung Charcoal BBQ in Manuka and Hangari Kimchi in Dickson are good examples of Korean BBQ.

For the American BBQ – I really enjoy Smoque. Their brisket and pulled pork have been hits the 4 times I have eaten there. Smoque do seem to be hit and miss for some people though, but I think that this style of food scares people off due to it being really heavy. Smoque are involved in BBQ competitions all around Australia, they aren’t just in it for the trend like some of the other BBQ places popping up in Braddon.

There is another BBQ place I need to check out in the Northside of Canberra somewhere. Sorry the name escapes me.

I have eaten at a few BBQ places in Melbourne and Sydney. Highlights for American BBQ is Le Bon Ton in Melbourne
http://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/le-bon-ton-collingwood

Also Fancy Hanks is really good.
http://fancyhanks.com

Heading to Sydney now… Churrasco in Coogee is really good Brazilian BBQ.
Porteno is awesome as well for Argentinian style BBQ – their place is just undergoing some work as there was a fire in their building. Check out their cookbook ‘Recipes for a Good Time’ http://www.porteno.com.au

I remember the old days. The hardware was run by a couple who lived next door to us. And didn’t Happy’s Chinese Restaurant start it’s days in Lonsdale Streetlong before moving to Garema Place. All the taxi drivers used to eat there as you could park right outside the door. Alex Mildren had a car yard there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Mildren. Lonsdale Street was the meeting place for teenagers in the early 60s.

Reading this article prompted me to dig out a photo I took of Lonsdale street a couple of years after it was opened back around 1950. This photo http://vk2ce.com/Canberra/mystery_pic.jpg was taken looking over our back fence towards Black Mountain. The shed is Cordner’s Fruit and Veg barn and became the home for a Shell Garage and Beaurepaires. To make the road they cut down a pine break similar to Hyde Park which ran along the western side of the new road. The street itself was the original rail line through to Yass but was never finished.
The street quickly became populated with motor vehicle type businesses, auction rooms, pet shops, hardware and produce stores. With all the high rise residential buildings in the vicinity it is no surprise that it has become a foodie hangout.

Mess said :

Alexandra Craig said :

Holden Caulfield said :

Looking forward to all the complaining when Braddon is full of all-new developments and its hipster charm has been lost as if nobody saw it coming.

As to the places to eat, have been to Black Fire (pretty good), 86 (very good), 80/20 (very good), Autolyse (not bad), Debacle (reliable and honest), Italian and Sons (usually very good) and The Hamlet (Mr Papa chanchitos yum yum).

I agree – I was super disappointed when they announced that the building with Lonsdale St Traders was being ripped down. I think it was always the plan, but it’s still sad. I’m also devastated that the Zambreros (their first store too!) is gone, because sometimes – you just need a burrito.

I think I’m the only person who doesn’t like Mr Papa. I tried the pork belly roll/burger thingy, and their chicken wings. SO BLAND. People told me afterwards I was supposed to put all the different sauces on to get flavour, but to me that kind of isn’t a thing. Like, I shouldn’t have to douse something in sauce for it to taste good. I thought that was the responsibility of the chef.

I had the pork belly burger today and it was really great, not bland at all and I only had the one sauce on it.

If you want a great burrito then head down to Guzman y Gomez which will take about 7 minutes walk from Braddon. It’s about the same to the Zambero’s in the bus interchange as well.

I don’t mind Guzman y Gomez, I just really like Zambreros. There is a Zambreros in Civic, but means that if it’s late or dark I have to find a park in the Mooseheads carpark which can sometimes be a pain – I hate walking around at night… I’m a sook!

Ezy said :

Another point – If you are upset about Lonsdale Traders disappearing, don’t get too attached to The Hamlet.

I wonder if the opening of The Hamlet has taken much business away from the Mandalay Bus. It’d be cool if there was a bit more room at the top of Lonsdale Street so all the food vans could fit in one place.

Ezy said :

There are places in Canberra and Australia that do incredible justice to these types of BBQ. Some of my better bbqs I have had here in Australia than in their country of heritage. You just need to follow your nose!

Where?

Another point – If you are upset about Lonsdale Traders disappearing, don’t get too attached to The Hamlet.

rosscoact said :

Alexandra Craig said :

I think I’m the only person who doesn’t like Mr Papa. I tried the pork belly roll/burger thingy, and their chicken wings. SO BLAND. People told me afterwards I was supposed to put all the different sauces on to get flavour, but to me that kind of isn’t a thing. Like, I shouldn’t have to douse something in sauce for it to taste good. I thought that was the responsibility of the chef.

Alexandra, you are so right. If your barbeque needs sauce to make it taste good then you’re not doing it right. Hell, the whole point of rubbing and creating a bark is so that another level of flavour is created which is then chopped or mixed into the meat so that little flavour bombs hit your tongue as you eat.

There is so little exceptional BBQ being created in Australia (and none in Canberra that I’ve experienced)

Mr Papa isn’t BBQ. It is Peruvian street food – yes, they have different sauces to put on your food. It is like having BBQ, tomato or sweet chilli sauce to choose from. Each sauce will give that dish a unique flavour.

In regards to the comment of ‘little exceptional BBQ being created in Australia’. You do realise there are so many different types of BBQ out there? The Australian idea of BBQ is nothing more than a hot plate with a few snags and minute steaks thrown on. How about American BBQ by way of Smoker? Argentinean BBQ using an Asado? Middle Eastern BBQ (hello kebabs!), Korean BBQ, Jamaican BBQ… MAN MY MOUTH IS WATERING. Point is, there are so many types of BBQ. There are places in Canberra and Australia that do incredible justice to these types of BBQ. Some of my better bbqs I have had here in Australia than in their country of heritage. You just need to follow your nose!