Pig ears and big beers (review)

I'm always one for wanting to try something new and different so when Ryan told me about a restaurant in Melbourne that dabbles in 'nose-to-tail' eating and matches that with an incredibly expansive beer selection, which they also use in their cooking wherever possible, I knew we had to try it out.

Being a Saturday night, we were a bit apprehensive about getting a table without a booking. Luckily though, this wasn't a problem and we were seated at the bar (in front of the beer taps!) and served by Chris, who also happens to be one of the co-owners - perfect! Presented with a beer menu about 50 pages long, Chris asked us what we would like to drink.. uhhh? Of the 250+ beers to choose from, I decided on a tapped wheat beer to start off the night (which was on the first page of the beer menu) with some pork crackling to nibble on while we perused the menu.

The menu is intended for grazing - a series of small 'share' plates so you get to sample a lot of different textures and flavours. I would have loved to try everything on the menu, but Chris recommended 4 to 6 dishes between the two of us, so we selected two to start - Grilled hop-smoked ox tongue with piccalilli and Braised rabbit with chorizo and creme fraiche.

The ox tongue was incredibly tender and had the most intense smoky flavour which was perfectly matched by the pickled flavour of the piccalilli. I've had ox tongue before at a barbecue restaurant in Japan and I thought that was tasty, but this definitely over shone my previous experiences.
 
This was my first taste of rabbit and I have to say, I was pretty impressed. The meat was moist and flavoursome (and really not the flavour that I had expected!) and the chorizo was tender and smoky and added a great flavour to the dish.

Ready for round two, we ordered one of the specials of the evening - Pork shoulder. The meat was, again, deliciously tender and moist and the sauce provided a beautiful flavour, dotted with little bursts of saltiness from the capers in it.

By this stage I was ready for another beer and looked a bit more closely at the selection. I found a page of "fruity ales" and was taken by the raspberry ale. Chris asked me if I liked sweet things, which, of course, I do, but he made the suggestion that the raspberry is excessively sweet and that the framboise Belgian style might be a better choice. I was thinking it was going to be a hint of a raspberry flavour, but still taste like beer. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. Even the framboise, the less sweet version, was incredibly sweet and tasted more like a raspberry cider than a beer. Bad choice on my part. Luckily, this was the only one of the night.


Although it probably wasn't really necessary, we decided to mix up our next meal and order something vegetable based. There was a small selection of these dishes on offer, but what they did have all looked really tasty - quinoa with roasted cauliflower, sheeps milk labneh and mint; pumpkin and smoked cheddar gratin with chestnut crumble; and beetroot carpaccio with grilled haloumi, smoked almonds and pickled beetroot stems, to name a few. Chris suggested the beetroot, as it would go well with the dishes we had already ordered, and when it arrived, we couldn't have been happier with the choice. The plate was beautifully presented and tasted just as good as it looked - the fresh beetroot was super thinly sliced, the haloumi had just the right amount of saltiness and the crunchy smoky almonds provided great texture. Thanks for the suggestion Chris!

By this stage with all the beer and food we were pretty stuffed, but had just enough room for one more round. We consulted the dessert menu - each choice with some hint of beer in it - but decided for one last hit of meat. Possibly what some would consider an 'adventurous' choice, what better to finish the meal than pigs trotters stuffed with black pudding and served with braised lentils and crispy pigs ears. This couldn't have been tastier!!

Perfect balance of pork and apple-infused, house-made black pudding (so it didn't taste like undercooked blood, like some other bad black puddings I've had). The pigs ears were chewy and gelatinous and really tasty!

The verdict? An absolutely incredible meal. It was evident that each dish had so much thought put into the flavours and the presentation and shows that the team at Josie Bones really know their food. Chris was a wonderful host to us, open to answering all our curious questions. He is also incredibly knowledgeable about his beers and easily matches personal tastes to the beers they have on offer.

The decor and layout of the restaurant is rustic but well considered, with hints of quirkiness in every corner.

So, if you're in Collingwood (North-east Melbourne city), I highly recommend heading to 98 Smith Street and treating yourself to a whole beast eating experience. And why not chuck in a few beers while you're at it!

Enjoy!

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