The Buffalo Bar | 169 Mary Street, BRISBANE CBD QLD 4000
So
what do you get when the team from Mighty Mighty - Cue & Brew in
Fortitude Valley take over the site of the old Belgium Beer Café in
Brisbane…. An American food Bonanza!
The
other travel bunnie and I recently had a hankering from some hardcore
American Chow and given the bunnie pad is only a stone-throw away
from the Buffalo Bar we decided to do it.
Getting
a reservation was difficult as the initial interest in this new
American eatery is still extremely high (and don’t forget that it
is the silly season) so we had to make do with a time slot of 5:30 –
7:00pm.
The
interior for those of you who hadn’t previously been to the Belgium
Beer Café is warm, simple and homely (which is very much in line
with the heritage building it is situated in). The staff however were
as energetic as you would expect from a newly opened food venture.
We
got down to business quickly and as I was having flashbacks to our
time in the USA, I was immediately drawn to the LARGE selection of
Buffalo Wings. After much debate (with myself) I went for eight
pieces of the Salted
Cola Toffee wings
($12 *no longer available*) (with all wings coming with a side of
celery and the I-Cant-get-enough-so-I-asked-for-more Blue Cheese &
Buttermilk Dipping Sauce). Now I like to think that I am a bit
of a wing connoisseur given that the other travel bunnie has assured
me that after making a batch of home make spiced, crispy wings once a
fortnight I have perfected the art (his words not mine) so when I say
that the wings I ate here were finger-licking good you can take my
word for it. I also had some Monterey Jack
Corn Bread -Smoked Dripping Butter ($3.5)
before I hoed into my wings but I must say that while it was good it
could have done with a little more zing in the dipping butter.
The other travel bunnie elected to start with Jalapeno
Poppers - Blue Cheese and Buttermilk Dipping Sauce ($9)
and he loved the flavours but was again hoping for a little more
spice (but you can guess where his dipping sauce went). His
main, which was hands down the dish of the night, was Crispy
Fried Duck and Waffles - Cold Smoked, Crispy Fried Duck, House Made
Waffles, Sour Blueberry Compote, Maple Hollandaise ($34)
and it was amazing. That’s it. Nothing more to say. AMAZING. The
duck was perfectly smoked the point where the each shred of its flesh
gave off a tantalising aroma as it passed my (well of course we
shared) lips. Then, the crispy skin just took the dish the extra step
to balance its textures. The waffles also served their purposes
which was clearly to up the buttery Hollandaise sauce that the duck
was swimming in.
So
there you have it. Hearty, heavy, sticky American goodness in the
heart of the CBD. And to top it off, a huge selection of American
Craft Beers with the other travel bunnie assures me also assist in
washing down all the food.
Total
Bunnie Dollars Spent: $71.50
