Never do I come away from a place without any positives - there's always something I like, whether it be the staff, the decor or the food, I always find at least one element I like - but isn't it wonderful when you come away from a place and all of these hit the spot, well let me tell you about my Tuesday night when I was invited to the relaunch of Bubbacue!
So Jane from JPR invited me down to the relaunch of Bubbacue - located at 12 Callender Street Belfast this little gem boasts the ethos of - 'Fresh Food Fast' and boy do they deliver. Originally a smoke house which served meat with sides of... meat, Bubbacue have moved with the times and introduced a new, more diverse menu.
Now this menu still provides the old charm that Bubbacue was best known for, but also introduces us to healthier options, a wider range of sides and and for me, a particularly hard choice - do I go Bubba-Bowl or do I stick with tradition and do Sandwich? I opted for the bowl - a choice I am very pleased with, it was outstanding! Bonus, Laurie got the sandwich so I was able to steal a few bites!!
So we were also treated to a mix of chicken wings, accompanied by a blue cheese sauce and some complimentary Bubbabrew (i'll talk about this later) before hitting the aptly named production line - this is where the fun began - you approach the front counter and here you decide on type of meal; Bowl, Salad or Sandwich and you then pick your filling! Beef Brisket, Shredded chicken or the most beautiful pulled pork I've ever had - honestly this was tender and juicy, seriously if this had of been in the Garden of Eden, Adam would have been no where near that apple!
After this you move round the counter and you pick your dressings - an array of beauty - rocket, relish, caramelised onions, pickles, bubbaslaw, cheese, rice, potato, GRILLED HALLOUMI (my Lord) salad among others...here I had some real issues as I wanted it all, all of it, in my bowl, right now please.
I know what you're thinking, this can't get better? Yes is Bubba can, those glorious words were uttered next, "what sides would you like?" - Again a massive choice, fries, cornbread, mac-cheese to name a few, obviously Mac N Cheese was shouted by me in excitement - but fully understandable - this was like no other Mac N Cheese, made with blue cheese and topped with some kind of heaven dust every bite was a joy.
So after the food I must take a minute to mention the staff - laid back, friendly and efficient! They were under pressure with 60 of us all hounding them for a chance to try this super super food, see image below which represents us to see just how well they coped under extreme pressure.
On a serious note, John and Karen should be very proud of their staff who not only smoke the meat for 12 hours but make everything from scratch, using only fresh ingredients and all in house - the food definitely showed that care had been taken and even a wee bit of love.
What a great night, top food, locally brewed beer (reminded me of Belfast Blond) friendly staff and about 60 reasons to go back - 4 of these are definitely the sauces on each table - to semi quote Pokemon 'Gotta Try them all" (apologies). Two thing's are for sure, one, I will definitely be back and two, with food this good there's sure to be a bubba-queue to get back in!
