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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 2, 2014 9:05:12 GMT
The new big thing in dining here in Melbourne is American style barbeque and ribs. We unexpectedly found ourselves to be child free tonight so we decided to go out for dinner. There are 2 restaurants that I have heard great reviews for recently, and it was a toss up between "Ike's Rack Shack" (specialising in ribs) or "Le Bon Ton" (Louisiana & Texan style BBQ). How to choose? We decided on Le Bon Ton. We couldn't get in until 8:30pm so I now have 1.5 hours to decide what to eat. Any suggestions? Here is the menu: Starters: Bon Ton chicken wings- Pit smoked for two hours over cherry wood. Gulf style crab cakes with streaky bacon, bell pepper, celery & Old Bay aioli. Freshly baked jalapeño and cheddar cornbread muffins served with honey whipped butter. Texas Chili Cheese Fries Traditional Texas beef and pinto bean chili, sharp cheddar cheese sauce, and crispy fries. Spicy fried calamari, roasted poblano salsa, pickled jalapeño tartar sauce. Southern-style buttermilk fried chicken with cracked pepper white gravy. Texas caviar (black eyed peas) with pico de gallo, white flour tortilla chips and ancho crema. Sandwiches (All served on soft brioche): Pit smoked beef brisket ends, damn good BBQ sauce, coleslaw and house made pickles. Fried green tomatoes, red oak lettuce, coleslaw, sharp cheddar, aioli and house made pickles. Wagyu Cheeseburger, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and aioli. Mesquite smoked pulled pork shoulder, white onion, sharp cheddar, special sauce and house made pickles. Cheese: A selection of artisanal cheeses and homemade accompaniments. Salads: Iceberg and red oak lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion, smoked cheddar, pepitas, crispy corn tortilla strips and chipotle ranch dressing. With: Blackened market fish Spicy fried calamari Southern fried chicken tenders Flame grilled tequila marinated prawn skewers Pit Smoked Meats: 18 hour mesquite-smoked Riverina grain fed Angus beef brisket. 12 hour mesquite-smoked pork shoulder. Le Bon Ton signature jalapeño and sharp cheddar bratwurst. Cooked over cherry wood coals. The Smoker’s Lot- All 3 of the above served on a single board. Sides: Creamy mashed taters with chives and bacon bits. Macaroni salad, bell peppers, cheddar, peas and pickles. Tangy coleslaw with cabbage, carrot and onions. Iceberg salad with dill, radishes, baby cucumber, onion and lemon. Borracho beans tomato, onion, cumin, coriander, chipotle and beer. A selection of house made pickles - padron peppers, jalapeños, radishes, gherkins and baby onions. Beer battered jerk onion rings. French fries, spicy ketchup and aioli. Homemade Pies: Pecan pie Chocolate cream pie Warm Apple pie Banana cream pie OMG I am so excited!!! It all sounds so delicious!
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Post by gar on Aug 2, 2014 9:23:19 GMT
I hope someone wakes up before you go
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 2, 2014 9:26:02 GMT
Hee hee Gar, I just looked up the time in the US and it's anywhere between 2:30am and 5:30am!! Oh well, I'm sure I can decide what to eat without any help.
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Post by bluepoprocks on Aug 2, 2014 9:41:29 GMT
I am awake unfortunately it's my weekend to work.
I would have picked the place with ribs. BBQ ribs are so good.
I would get the crab cakes or Texas Chili cheese fries 12 hour mesquite smoked pork shoulder mashed potatoes with chives and bacon and pecan pie.
I hope whatever you pick is delicious and you have a nice dinner.
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gsquaredmom
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Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Aug 2, 2014 9:44:26 GMT
Awake but have not had any if that. I doubt you could pick wrong. Do you want chicken, pork, beef or seafood? Then decide from there. The smoked pit meats plus coleslaw plus a good bread to soak up sauce plus fried green tomatoes would be my choices if I were choosing. I cannot refer back to your list on my phone so I not even sure it is all there. Eta mashed potatoes. Assorted pickles. Warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream or pecan pie with chocolate sauce.
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Post by anniefb on Aug 2, 2014 9:48:06 GMT
It all sounds good - have a great meal. Last time I was in the US friends in Texas took me to several BBQ places. Brisket seems to be the meat of choice there
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Post by lilacgal on Aug 2, 2014 9:52:28 GMT
I now want BBQ for breakfast. It all looks so good!
Personally, I like pork BBQ with creamy slaw. The crab cakes sound amazing as do the mashed potatoes. You can't go wrong with pecan pie for dessert. I think you'll enjoy whatever you get!
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BarbaraUK
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Jun 27, 2014 12:47:11 GMT
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Post by BarbaraUK on Aug 2, 2014 10:52:59 GMT
I guess you will, at least, be on your way to the restaurant now, enjoy your meal and your evening. And guess what I really want for dinner tonight......any or all of those menu choices would do .......and we don't have a BBQ restaurant within 20 miles!!
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suzette
Junior Member
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Jun 26, 2014 23:35:03 GMT
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Post by suzette on Aug 2, 2014 12:08:43 GMT
I would get The Smokers Lot, beans or coleslaw and Apple Pie
It all sounds delicious! I don't live in Texas, but we are famous for our Bratwurst in Wisconsin.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 2, 2014 12:11:11 GMT
Oh Lord, now I want bbq. What did you finally chose?
Also, I don't know about the rest of the world's bbq menus, but that is a "fancy" menu (aka more gourmet.) The places I go, if you are even offered mashed potatoes, there isn't anything added in. And I can't think of a single place that would serve "aioli"- mayo, sure, but it would most likely be assumed and not mentioned.
But that fried chicken sure sounds good. I love fried chicken. LOVE IT.
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Post by gonewalkabout on Aug 2, 2014 13:11:43 GMT
I would have gone for the mesquite pulled pork.
Big difference between the individual states when it comes to BBQ too. Texas is so different from carolinian or northern. Even north and South Carolina are different.
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Post by farmdpea on Aug 2, 2014 13:17:52 GMT
Oh, I wish I would have come online when I let the dog out. Let us know what you got, because it pretty much all sounds yummy to me! I agree that it's fancier than the BBQ joints here, by the sound of the menu. Now, I want a pulled pork sandwich at 8 am!
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 2, 2014 13:43:41 GMT
It all sounds good to me. Although, just fyi there is no such thing as "American" bbq. Some is sweet, some vinegary, some dry rubbed, some wet... it's regional, and people are VERY adamant about their bbq! lol. It's kind of like the chili debate -- beans? no beans? ground meat? small pieces of meat? what spices? We have a chili cookoff in my neighborhood every year and the trash-taling that goes on over the listserve is pretty funny. Anyway, come back and report what you ended up ordering.
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Post by farmdpea on Aug 2, 2014 13:53:30 GMT
That's a good point monklady. In North Alabama it's a mayo-based white sauce that grilled chicken is dipped into.
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Post by Merge on Aug 2, 2014 13:59:15 GMT
Hope you enjoyed your meal! That all sounds delicious but waaaaay fancier than traditional Texas barbecue. The best barbecue here is usually ordered at a counter, served on butcher paper and eaten at a picnic table.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 2, 2014 14:00:27 GMT
It all sounds good to me. Although, just fyi there is no such thing as "American" bbq. Some is sweet, some vinegary, some dry rubbed, some wet... it's regional, and people are VERY adamant about their bbq! lol. It's kind of like the chili debate -- beans? no beans? ground meat? small pieces of meat? what spices? We have a chili cookoff in my neighborhood every year and the trash-taling that goes on over the listserve is pretty funny. Anyway, come back and report what you ended up ordering. That is SO true. I am a sweet bbq sauce kind of girl, although I do appreciate a good vinegar based sauce too. And, don't forget, there is a whole art to the bbq sandwich. Cole-slaw or not? And then you get into the whole how to make the "right" cole slaw. Lord, people can get up on their high horses and argue for days about the right way to make, prepare the sides, and eat bbq.
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Post by peasapie on Aug 2, 2014 14:02:37 GMT
I love crab cake and pulled pork, cornbread and coleslaw.
There's a Justin Timberlake restaurant here in NYC that serves delicious pulled pork platters.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 2, 2014 14:04:17 GMT
Hope you enjoyed your meal! That all sounds delicious but waaaaay fancier than traditional Texas barbecue. The best barbecue here is usually ordered at a counter, served on butcher paper and eaten at a picnic table. Not to mention plastic forks and paper napkins that fall apart the first time you use them. LOL Some of the best I have ever gotten is from the guys with a smoker hitched up to his truck on the corner of a busy intersection/parking lot.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 2, 2014 14:08:39 GMT
Hope you enjoyed your meal! That all sounds delicious but waaaaay fancier than traditional Texas barbecue. The best barbecue here is usually ordered at a counter, served on butcher paper and eaten at a picnic table. Not to mention plastic forks and paper napkins that fall apart the first time you use them. LOL Some of the best I have ever gotten is from the guys with a smoker hitched up to his truck on the corner of a busy intersection/parking lot. My church recently did just this. Through our community outreach person we heard about some small businesses that people were wanting to start. There was this one guy who, with his wife, had this dream of starting a bbq truck. So we rented him a couple spaces in our parking lot which is on a busy road and right at a major bus stop. It was VERY popular. Sometimes we'd have meetings on Saturday morning and if we didn't get out there by noon in the beginning he'd be sold out. Then he started making more, once he got the feel for it. It was great. Now true confession... I didn't like his bbq because it was the vinegary kind. I'm more of a sweet bbq gal. But obviously there are a whole lot of people who disagree with me because people would be lined up down the side of the parking lot to buy some. lol
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Post by farmdpea on Aug 2, 2014 14:24:31 GMT
Some of the best I have ever gotten is from the guys with a smoker hitched up to his truck on the corner of a busy intersection/parking lot. Or a shack! I swear, sometimes I question the ability of these places to pass the health inspection, but taste seems to be inversely proportional to building structure.
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Deleted
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Oct 8, 2024 6:38:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2014 15:37:59 GMT
I would get The Smokers Lot, beans or coleslaw and Apple Pie It all sounds delicious! I don't live in Texas, but we are famous for our Bratwurst in Wisconsin. Amen. And let me tell you that you do NOT want to order bratwurst in Texas. Texas is great at a lot of food, but bratwurst isn't one of them. (ETA: Although I've been promised that if I go to New Braunfels to the Wurstfest, I will get authentic bratwurst.)
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Post by lumo on Aug 2, 2014 15:41:38 GMT
Briiiiiiiiiiiisket.
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caro
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Post by caro on Aug 2, 2014 15:44:17 GMT
It all sounds good to me. Although, just fyi there is no such thing as "American" bbq. Some is sweet, some vinegary, some dry rubbed, some wet... it's regional, and people are VERY adamant about their bbq! lol. It's kind of like the chili debate -- beans? no beans? ground meat? small pieces of meat? what spices? We have a chili cookoff in my neighborhood every year and the trash-taling that goes on over the listserve is pretty funny. Anyway, come back and report what you ended up ordering. That is SO true. I am a sweet bbq sauce kind of girl, although I do appreciate a good vinegar based sauce too. And, don't forget, there is a whole art to the bbq sandwich. Cole-slaw or not? And then you get into the whole how to make the "right" cole slaw. Lord, people can get up on their high horses and argue for days about the right way to make, prepare the sides, and eat bbq. Hope you enjoyed your meal. In GA where I live it's pork BBQ with a sweet red sauce. But I like beef brisket the best if it's done right.
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 3, 2014 3:23:37 GMT
Well it was a fabulous meal! But we are going to have to go back to try all the things we didn't get to try. I was warned to go with a group so you get to try everything but it was just the 2 of us because it was a last minute thing. This is what we ate: Freshly baked jalapeño and cheddar cornbread muffins served with honey whipped butter. Texas Chili Cheese Fries The Smoker’s Lot - 18 hour mesquite-smoked Riverina grain fed Angus beef brisket, 12 hour mesquite-smoked pork shoulder, Le Bon Ton signature jalapeño and sharp cheddar bratwurst cooked over cherry wood coals. Beer battered jerk onion rings. I really REALLY wanted the mashed potatoes but they had run out! We also wanted to get pecan pie, but we were both so full that there was no way we could fit it in. We didn't even finish the meat or the onion rings. I wish I had ordered the coleslaw, it looked delicious and would have been a nice light accompaniment. We will definitely go back to try some of the chicken dishes and the other things we didn't get to try. I think next time we'll take the kids, they'll love it too. Oh, and because it was an American restaurant and we had an American waitress (who was great) I felt obliged to leave a tip. Tipping isn't common here although a lot of people do tip at restaurants, but nowhere else. Our bill came to $104 (including $24 for 2 beers!!!!!) so I rounded it up to $120. That's the biggest tip I've ever left. Here is a quote from a recent article I read on line: Here's the whole article
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 3, 2014 3:27:00 GMT
Hope you enjoyed your meal! That all sounds delicious but waaaaay fancier than traditional Texas barbecue. The best barbecue here is usually ordered at a counter, served on butcher paper and eaten at a picnic table. Not to mention plastic forks and paper napkins that fall apart the first time you use them. LOL Some of the best I have ever gotten is from the guys with a smoker hitched up to his truck on the corner of a busy intersection/parking lot. Our meals were served on good old tin army plates! And the food vans are HUGE here right now. I know there are some awesome American style food vans around that have also got rave reviews.
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 3, 2014 3:28:01 GMT
Oh, I know what we are having for dinner tomorrow night!
The best BBQ I've ever had was at a gas station in San Antonio, TX. I wondered if your stomach could literally explode, we ate so much. We were there for 5 days and sent back twice!
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Post by shevy on Aug 3, 2014 3:28:13 GMT
Yum!
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Post by anniefb on Aug 3, 2014 5:56:30 GMT
Sounds fabulous
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AllieC
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Post by AllieC on Aug 3, 2014 6:08:21 GMT
That sounds amazing Meg. I was reading a review in the Herald Sun yesterday for a bbq place and it got my mouth watering. I think my next trip to Melbourne might involve visiting one of these places.
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oaksong
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Post by oaksong on Aug 3, 2014 6:22:06 GMT
It sounds like you had a great meal! I had to chuckle at the cheese course on the menu, though. That's way too fancy for any barbecue place I've ever been to!
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