You may remember I was invited to attend a special bloggers event at Bodega Birmingham, part of the Bitters ‘n’ Twisted group hosted by Brumderland. They now have a new sibling right next door called Buffalo & Rye which offers a taste of Americana in the City Centre – perfect if you want to get away from the overload of German tat one street away during this festive period.
The Bitters ‘n’ Twisted lot are an eclectic bunch, aren’t they! It’s great to see a local chain differentiating instead of providing carbon copies serving the same dull food. Anyway, you’re not here for a rant on consumerism; you’re here to see lovely places with pictures of food (at least I hope so, otherwise I think you’ve clicked the wrong blog!).
The decor has gone for part Deep South/Prohibition Bar, part New York Loft and it’s an interesting combo, with a few figurines dotting the walls:
Whilst receiving our first cocktail of the day, a Mountain dew Collins, I had a quick peruse through the menu:
It’s stoked with twists on American classics and we got to try a fair few of them too!
First up was a hearty portion of Buffalo chicken wings, served with crudités and a cheesy dip. Smothered in hot sauce, they were a great tasting way to start the tasting session.
Round 2 was a taster of the smoky beans, which were a blend of pit smoked beans with a touch of BBQ meats. They had the right touch of sweetness to balance the smoky flavour and one of the other bloggers was a big fan.
Last of the sides (which was actually more of a main) was the chilli cheese fries. They are skin on skinny cut fries, slathered in beef chilli, cheese, American mustard, chopped gherkin and Jalapenos.
It was a truly mammoth portion with nice and rich chilli.
Then onto the mains! And the first was a ‘Pimp Doggy’. A beef frank smothered in sauerkraut, emmental and russian dressing.
The beef frank was wonderfully tender with a nice ‘snap’ when biting into the casing. The sauerkraut wasn’t overly bitter and blended well with the cheese.
And onto a burger, we were even given suggestions on how to tackle it!
I’m a big fan of the flipside myself! It prevents juices escaping dontcherknow.
The burger we sampled was the Buffalo Black Burger. Two beef patties ‘murican cheese, sauteed onion and black pudding too!
The black pudding gave a nice earthy taste to compliment the juicy burgers and sweet sauteed onion.
The final main we tried was a (slightly) healthier one – Kale and Butternut Squash Salad bowl: wilted kale, roasted squash, goat’s cheese, pan-roasted chickpeas, candied pecans, tahini and honey dressing.
It was probably my surprise favourite (I know! A salad!). The sharpness of the feta cheese worked amazingly well with the tahini and honey dressing, and I went back for another mouthful.
To mix things up, we also sampled off the Brunch menu pancakes in three varieties
- Blueberry jam maple syrup and clotted cream
- Bacon & maple syrup
- Caramelised bananas, cinnamon toffee sauce & chocolate sauce
I enjoyed them all but you couldn’t beat the classic combo of bacon, syrup and pancakes. Mmmmmm….
To wash it all down, we were treated to a cocktail masterclass with a bourbon honey and apricot smash, which I managed to video!
It was a very happy way to end our visit and I’ll be sure to return again soon!
Disclaimer: For this event, I was a guest of Brumderland and Buffalo & Rye who provided all food and drinks; this provides no bias to the post This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.
When: 15/11/2015
Where: Buffalo & Rye, Bennetts Hill, Birmingham
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