An 11.4kg suckling pig rolled in on a trolley somehow trumps all of the above.

A group of bloggers recently attended a ‘Pig & Pinot’ dinner at Chophouse, a moody North American inspired steakhouse located in the inner city.

The dinner was hosted by the restaurant’s General Manager, Adam Heathcote, who gave us an entree into what Chophouse does best: quality produce that’s sourced direct from the fields and retains its freshness and integrity.

Adam addressed the issue of educating the public about food. It seems that mass production and genetic modification has really brainwashed our conceptions of what food should look and taste like. One example is heirloom carrots, which is purple in colour – not orange.

Adam’s passion and dedication towards fresh local produce is truly inspiring. Chophouse’s black truffles, for instance, is sourced from the Southern Highlands, which makes them incredibly fresh having been out of the ground for less than 24 hours. I think it’s fantastic to see Chophouse support local suppliers, paticularly while they’re in their infancy.

The Mt. Lowe truffle featured on our ceviche of Hervey Bay sea scallops, which was served on the shell. It was very subtle, though the smell and taste was there. The scallops were luscious in texture, sweet on the tongue. That said, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with this dish as a ceviche, I felt it was lacking in acid and possibly a little extra dressing.

We also tasted an entree of jamon and Italian buffalo milk mozzarella. I found it a little difficult to evaluate this dish as I’m not really a jamon fan. In terms of flavour, I thought it was a nicely balanced dish, highlighted with the addition of roasted fennel, onion and almonds. I particularly liked the onion, which was beautifully rendered with balsamic. There was no rawness at all, only a smokey sweetness that was so incrediby surprising. I don’t think I’ve had onion that well cooked before!

When the big ticket item rolled around, we all went a little pork mad. Executive Chef, David Clarke carved several platefuls of the suckling pig, topped with plenty of crackling. Though it was obvious that the highly sought after parts were the nose, tail and ears.

Accompanying the sucking pig was a caesar salad ‘wedge’, a cauliflower gratin and green beans. The caesar salad was my pick of the three – so refreshing to see caesar presented so well in a restaurant. No sloppy bowl affairs at Chophouse, it’s all class!

Our dinner ended with a dessert of caramelised banana cheesecake. I thought it was a simple dessert with very little fanfare – until Adam brought over bottles of Hennessy and Grapa. I don’t think I’ve ever had dessert paired with 43% alcohol before. The Grapa was intriguing, very floral and spicy, but much too heavy for my liking. Interesting concept though.

We also devoured slices of Chophouse’s signature chocolate block, served on a wooden board with a mini cleaver. The block is made in house using a combination of milk and dark chocolate from Lindt. It was the perfect coffee accompaniment.

Chophouse will shortly be launching a 1920′s inspired New York carvery with a rotating daily special. The menu is yet to be finalised, but suckling pig is definitely on the cards. Stay tuned!

Chophouse
25 Bligh Street
Sydney City
NSW 2000
# 1300 246 748
www.chophouse.com.au

Open Monday to Friday from 12pm until late and Saturday from 6pm until late.

Beschico

At Beschico, there is only one thing on the menu: fried chicken. Fried chicken this style, fried chicken that style, fried chicken with rice, fried chicken with fried rice… This does fill me with confidence, the chicken must be so good here that there’s no need to offer anything else.

What's fried chicken without some beer to wash it down?

We eventually settle for the Half Classic Half Hot combo. At $29, it is probably not the best value meal around but there are 16 pieces of reasonably sized chicken, which is plenty for the two of us (perhaps even plenty for 3).

Half Classic Half Hot combo - $29

Here is a gratuitous picture of delicious fried chicken

The Hot style is covered in a sticky, slightly sweet hot sauce that leaves a nice tingle on the lips. The Classic style is crispy and is great with the mustard or sweet chilli dipping sauces or on their own. The chicken is just as satisfying as a bucket of KFC, but perhaps without the guilt trip.

Beschico Half n' Half Combo

Beschico

Beschico is a must visit if you love fried chicken. You’ll be surprised by how much the chicken is just like the Colonel’s – but in so many ways, Beschico is a whole lot better. And judging by the number of people ordering takeout from Beschico during our visit, we’re sure it’ll have lines out the door soon enough.

Beschico
Level 2, 41 Beecroft Road
Epping NSW 2121
# 02 9869 8188

Open daily for lunch and dinner until late.

I knew instantly after reading about The Counter, we needed to make the trip to Crows Nest to take in this authentic American burger joint to relive the fond memories of our last trip to the US.

Noone was sitting at the counter!

So on a cold, wet winter’s night, with empty stomachs and stuck all the way in the lower North Shore, Ms. Taste and I headed to check out The Counter. The restaurant is as classic an American diner can get (with a hint of Aussie locality thanks to the live rugby feed on the large flatscreen TVs). Even our waiter had an American accent!

Strawberry Milkshake

I had the strawberry shake which, surprisingly, was made from real strawberries. Oh the joy of fishing out bits of little strawberries from the bottom. I would describe the size as ‘Aussie modest’ (as opposed to the ‘America ridiculous’ we had in Las Vegas which was twice the size). I was still able to finish it off before we left – no wastage!

Half n Half - Sweet Chips and Onion Strings

I really liked these sweet potato chips. A nice alternative to regular french fries, I only wish more places would have these. The onion strings were pretty good too, but after also having them stuffed in my burger, I couldn’t finish this off.

The Counter Burger

When it came to selecting our burgers, the multitude of choices we were offered meant analysis paralysis. After much deliberation, I choose the preset Counter Burger. It has the smaller 150g size beef patty (weighed after cooking!), sauteed mushrooms, onion strings, provolone, lettuce, tomato and a sun dried tomato vinaigrette. It tasted just as good as any American burger, minus the heart aching fat factor.

Ms Taste chose the custom built option: wholemeal bun, 150g size beef patty, grilled onions, beetroot, provolone, mixed lettuce and red relish sauce. In case you haven’t already`guessed, she was trying to recreate the McOz – bring it back McDonalds!!!!

Custom Burger

The Counter
118 Willoughby Road
Crows Nest NSW 2065
# (02) 9436 2700
www.thecounterburger.com

Tuesday to Wednesday – 11:30am-9pm
Thursday and Friday – 11:30am-10pm
Saturday – 12pm-10pm
Sunday – 12pm-9pm

For other reviews on The Counter, check out what some of our favourite bloggers had to say:

Lisa’s recent trip to The Counter at Spicy Icecream

Spicy Icecream

FFichiban’s completely awesome visit to The Counter at Here Comes The Food:

Here Comes The Food

Stephcookie’s head to head review of Grill’d and The Counter at Raspberri Cupcakes

Raspberri Cupcakes

A great, comprehensive review at Not Quite Nigella on The Counter:

Not Quite Nigella