Southern/Soul

Mr Scruff’s

Poutine Chips with Cheese, Gravy and Bacon

★★★★☆

Salt & Vinegar Onion Rings with Scruff’s Special Sauce

★★★☆☆

Beef Burger with American Cheese, Cos, Pickles, and Scruff’s Special Sauce

★★★☆☆

Crispy Chicken Burger with Pickled Ginger, Kewpie Mayo, Cos and BBQ Sauce

★★★☆☆

Snickers Waffle with Peanut Praline, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream and Shaved Chocolate

This was a lot smaller than I anticipated.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

I can totally understand why this place is so popular. The vibe is great and the food is pretty damn tasty. The best thing about Mr Scruff’s is that every Wednesdays between 6pm – 10pm the food is HALF PRICE! And it’s not like the prices here are expensive to begin with, so it works out to be a seriously awesome deal.

Mr Scruff’s

60 Smith St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 9995 3881

Home

The Collection

Cucumber Gimlet (cucumber infused gin, lime, elderflower syrup, orange bitters shaken and charged with sparkling wine)

★★★☆☆

Nilla Killa (vanilla vodka, apple, strawberry liqueur, vanilla shaken and served tall)

★★★☆☆

Mac and cheese croquettes with hog crackling crumble and cajun aioli

★★★☆☆

Buffalo chicken wings in hot sauce with blue cheese dressing

★★★☆☆

French fries with slow cooked chilli beef and cheese sauce

★★☆☆☆

New England lobster rolls (crayfish, baby cos lettuce, kewpie mayo)

★★☆☆☆

Southern fried chicken, country gravy, cornbread waffles, whipped maple butter

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Brilliant cocktails, good variety of dishes, prompt service, charming decor.

The Collection

328 Bridge Rd, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9429 8333

http://thecollectionbar.com.au

Rockwell And Sons

Fried Chicken Sandwich

Crispy tender juicy chicken, iceberg lettuce, buttermilk dressing and Crystal Hot Sauce served on a lightly toasted brioche bun. The only regret was the abundance of sauce which quickly led to a soggy sandwich.

★★★☆☆

Buttermilk Biscuit, Sawmill Sausage Gravy, Poached Eggs

Not the most attractive of dishes but a Southern breakfast classic that I had been meaning to try for some time. While I enjoyed the light slightly flaky buttermilk biscuit, the poached eggs were unfortunately overcooked and the Sawmill sausage gravy was EXCEEDINGLY seasoned (particularly with salt, pepper and thyme). I had to drink a lot of water after sampling this dish.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Come for the burgers.

Rockwell And Sons

288 Smith St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 8415 0700

http://www.rockwellandsons.com.au/

Pistol Pete’s Food N Blues

93a Little Malop St, Geelong 5221 0287

Southern Style Fried Chicken

Crispy fried chicken covered in tasty spices. Be sure to try this with hot sauce for a deliciously spicy kick.

= ★★★

N’awlins Taster Plate

A surprisingly filling tasting plate that consisted of grilled andouille sausage, cajun fries, okra, fried shrimp and gumbo. Each dish was terrific but the stand out item for me was the gumbo. The rich stew was a thick blend of aromatic spices and flavours, and contained shrimp, chicken and sausage.

= ★★★

Overall:

Who would have thought that such a great place existed in Geelong? Pistol Pete’s serves up delicious Southern American food in a casual setting where fantastic Blues music is played non-stop, and live Blues acts perform regularly.

Note that orders are taken at the counter and that this place is closed on Mondays.

East of Everything

Level 3, 72 Auburn Parade, Camberwell 9882 4216

Cajun sweetcorn fritters with avocado salsa

Crispy fritters packed with juicy corn kernels and lightly drizzled with a spicy Cajun sauce. My only complaint with this dish was that there should have been more of the terrific avocado salsa!

= Good

Pulled pork quesadilla

Sweet smoky pork. Delicious!

= Good

The “Dom” – beef debris served on a bed of crispy chips with Cajun remoulade and pickles

If only this dish came with slightly more beef and slightly less chips it would have been perfect.

= Good

Southern fried chicken Po’Boy

Crispy tender chicken + fresh crunchy coleslaw = a winning combination

= Good

Peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake

Solid and difficult to cut through, this sweet homemade cheesecake was reminiscent of a Snickers bar.

= Not bad

Overall:

Quietly hidden away up a small flight of stairs, East of Everything know how to serve up some great Southern food. The menu is small and simple, the atmosphere relaxed and the staff friendly.

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack

238 Victoria Street, North Melbourne 9329 9888

Crispy Fried Clarence River Organic School Prawns

Katie’s Crunchy Corn

Katie’s Fried Chicken & House Baked Cornbread

Seasonal Jambalaya

Thoughts:

Crispy Fried Clarence River Organic School Prawns – crunchy prawns dusted in corn masa flour and smoked paprika, served with lemon and hot sauce. A very addictive dish = Excellent

Katie’s Crunchy Corn – baby corn ‘chips’, salted ricotta, chilli and coriander. A bit pricey considering how little food you get = Good

Katie’s Fried Chicken – covered in an array of marvellous spices, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, served with ranch sauce and terrific fries that were crunchy and well seasoned. Don’t forget to try the chicken with their BBQ sauce = Excellent

House Baked Cornbread – deliciously light and fluffy with a hint of sweetness = Excellent

Seasonal Jambalaya – a pleasant combination of new season okra, local mussels, prawns, and spicy kranski = Good

Overall:

Delightfully quirky and nautical themed (which includes a giant plastic shark head that sits in the middle of one of the tables), this laid-back place serves up pretty darn good food. The tables were covered with newspaper which makes sense as eating here can become quite messy. Service was friendly and orders were taken at the kitchen counter. My only gripe with this place is that they use styrofoam boxes to serve up some of their food. But apart from that, I really enjoyed my visit to Miss Katie’s Crab Shack.

Note that this place is cash only.