Friday, November 29, 2013
Unknown
That's right. You read it. Buns and Balls. Facing the ever popular Hugo's Pizza opposite as well as the other well established restaurants near by, you damn well better come out with all guns blazing and what better than to do so than to start with the cheeky promise of 'Juicy Buns and Tasty Balls'. That certainly grabs attention.
Boasting a in-house DJ, a groovy and retro fitout, street art and a share able menu; Buns and Balls, run by the Darling group, is a vibrant boozy den chockful of meatballs and burgers and good times. The night was headed by the ultra amicable Simon Hancock and the rest of the staff aren't too shabby either. With booze free flowing, the night was on.
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| Watermelon, Lime and Vodka 12 |
Freshly juiced cocktails start the action. The watermelon juice cocktail was super fresh and you could taste it all the way in here.
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| Pineapple, Gingerbeer, Vodka and Bitters 12 |
Pineapple cocktails are the way to go here. They're all the great things shaken up; bitter, the slightly astringent ginger, sweet and sour pineapple action, foamy creamy top and you've got a party in your mouth going on.
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| Tofu Meatball 9 |
The tofu 'meat' balls, filled with dense tofu with a crunchy exterior wrapping it were super delicious. They're just absolutely fall apart and goes perfect with their spicy tomato sauce.
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| Chargrilled Steak Salad 12.5 |
The beef salad was a little lifeless here which was the general consensus. The gentle crunchy leaves were quite nicely dressed but the beef was a little dry.
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| Chicken Salad 12 |
On the other hand, the chicken salad was easily the better of the two. It feels a little more complete with the rest of the vegetables and croutons happening and especially with the spicy chilli sauce that really jacks up the flavour of the chicken.
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| Grilled Chicken 10 |
The chicken burger was definitely my favourite of the night. You get a lot going; chilli sauce and crumbed juicy chicken, cheese and mayo and the other usual suspects. It's sort of like a more refined Oportos burger and there's definitely nothing wrong with that. All for a measly tenner.
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| Sweet Potato Fries 6 |
Goes perfect with their sweet potato fries. They're well seasoned, soft on the inside, sort of crispy on the outside and with a fantastic flavour. Happy days.
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| Ice Cream Block 14 |
Dessert was written to be a surprise and first came in the form of ice-cream cookie sandwich. Whilst I was having particular issues with the hardness of the cookies (in my eyes Subway cookies still are the best cookies ever made... mmmmm just thinking about it...) and plain ice cream, there's just something deliciously tasty about it that makes sharing so hard.
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| Doughnut Bites 8 |
What appeared to be Krispy Kreme donuts were gently warmed through and came with a chocolate dipping sauce. Simple but utterly delectable.
Burgers and meatballs (if it hasn't been obvious already) are what's happening here and that's their passion. With the exception of the excellent 10 dollar burgers, prices are here and there but are generally acceptable particularly for the area. The place is as hip and grudgey as any can get, the food was great, moreish and ticks all the right boxes for a good night out in the Cross. I mean, what more could you want.
Petit4s attended this tasting with a guest courtesy of Sian from The Darlin Group.
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