Surly's

Surly's in Surry Hills was on my list of places to dine at... and then when I discovered the latest Zomato Meetup was being held here I was even more happier to partake.

The Zomato crew and Surly staff set up the function room upstairs to cater for the bloggers and Zomato staff. In front of each seat they had takeaway boxes (which held wipes), some special take-home BBQ sauce and a customised menu. The little gift packs were a nice touch.

The details gone into the night included the hand-made labels for each sauce bottle (Surly's will soon sell their own sauces as well) and also made the table cloth for the occasion.

It was fantastic to meet the staff at Surly's and after mentioning my interest in smoking meats I was taken behind the scenes to see their commercial grade smoker and to meet their chef with a smoking passion.

It was great to chat to some fellow Sydney bloggers as well and to discover what a noobie I am to the food blogging scene. It's encouraging to know theres so much more to grow which was great as I love setting goals to achieve.

We started off with the crinkle cut chips... nothing fancy... it was great to just have something to nibble on to increase the appetite.

The thing to take note is to try the sauces on the table. They look like your normal ketchup and BBQ sauces but they're not. The sauces are mind-blowing. It really reminds me of a simple creation I make at home which is basically pepper, ghost chilli sauce and BBQ. The sauces are on the table should be used on the smoked meats as most come out without sauces. It pairs well with and for me nothing makes a meal more appetising than higher spice levels.

Next out was their smoked sausage... it has it's own BBQ honey mustard sauce that also has a fantastic kick to it...

That fried chicken not only looked mouth watering but was succulent as well. It's soaked overnight in buttermilk.. the way it should be. People sometimes have issues with that as buttermilk can leave a slightly sour linger to it but I love how it really makes the chicken juicy on the inside and a fantastic golden crunch on the outter. It's definitely up their with respects to the Fried Chicken scene in Sydney.

For me the beans and the coleslaw were my least favourite of the night. I understand it's purpose as  sides and these were just simple sides to help contrast the taste of meats and sauces.

Personally the non-stop meats were not overwhelming and I loved the smokey goodness of each dish and the addictive addition of the sauces.

One of the highlights was their cornbread. So good... its fluffy and compliments so well with the meat or just as great on its own.

The smoked ribs just fell off the bone. A nice combination of fat and meat which meant on its own with no sauce and just dry rub.. it was still pretty fantastic... and if you decide to drizzle some sauce... it's just in a league of its own. Surly's provides an alternate way of serving ribs as opposed to the usual Hurricanes style that most restaurants copy.... and I think this non-smothered-in-sauce technique is just as good if not better. You really have more of a chance to taste the quality difference.

We were shocked to see our plates taken away knowing that we still had Pulled Pork coming. This was a slight mistake on Surly's part but it was great to see the chef personally come up and serve us the Pulled Pork. I enjoyed the smokey taste but it was still a bit on the dry side for me. 

I loved the fact they had Coors on tap. The beer was refreshing and easy to drink and paired so well with the smokey meats and heat from the sauces. Despite it being below ten degrees outside that night, I still smashed down two cold ones quite easily.

The decor was done meticulously with the intention of recreating this North American pub scene feel... which means no fancy shmanchy new furniture. They decked it with old arcade machines and even shuffleboard tables... though maybe they should put up some rules on shuffleboard because we all starred blankly at the massive table.

The art work, neon sign, wooden bar and American flags really replicated the atmosphere that they were going for and the lights across the ceilings were a nice touch.

It's exciting to have good ol' American grub done right.. and done by people who know how to do it...
This place gives you plenty of reasons to go back... my next adventure is to go back for a burger, some Mac 'n' Cheese and the lip-smacking brisket.