Itās been roughly 655 days since our first visit to the original Big Easy on the Kingās Road. On that occasion we were blown away by the whole experience, the atmosphere, the food, the service, everything! We were also told that they had secured another space in Covent Gardenās Maiden Lane. We waited with bated breath for news of the new Big Easyās grand opening. We waited and waited and waited and sometimes forgot about it. Maybe what weād been told was a sick and cruel joke, or perhaps the deal had fallen through, whatever the reason, it had gone very quiet on the west end front.
It was Big Easyās founder, Paul Corrett who threw open the original Kingās Road Crabshack and shared his love for all things American and his desire to offer āGood food, served right.ā Fast forward twenty years and the Covent Garden branch is finally ready to rock and lobster roll, and finally that invite arrived.
The new restaurant is in the original home of the Charing Cross & Strand Electricity Supply Corporation (click here for a history lesson.) Where as the original Big Easy modelled itself on simple a Gulf Coast crabshack, the new one is a lot more refined, the Kingās Road branch looks like it evolved whilst Covent Garden was designed. Very well designed. Many of the Victorian power stationās features have been kept, the copper conduits, heavy girders, exposed brickwork and concrete floors all remain. And industrial lighting, planked walls and aged leather chairs and banquets have been added. The two bars are spectacular, hundreds of bottles backlit for a stunning effect.
The restaurant may look and feel more āLondonā but the menu is definitely still 100% USA and thank God for that! Actually itās not God we have to thank but one of the biggest names in American BBQ, pit master Pete Daversa (Hill Country, NYC). He works his magic in the massive open āwall of fireā kitchen with its Argentinian parrilla grills, rotisseries, wood-burning ovens and two monster smokers imported from Texas. Rumour has it that these smokers had to be lowered in by crane and the restaurant refurbished around them. Sounds a little extreme to be true.
We were seated downstairs and as the live house band sang the Blues we got over excited about the menu. First, letās get the drinks sorted. There were a couple of cocktails on tap and once I discovered that their Old Fashioned Ā£8.50 used in-house infused smoked maple syrup it shot right to the top of my hit list. Donāt be disappointed by the size, this is a sipping cocktail to be enjoyed slowly, although a tad more in the glass wouldnāt have gone amiss. Saff went old skool with a āSlushieā. Her frozen PiƱa Colada Ā£8.50, retained all the totally tropical flavours but had an extra alcohol fuelled kick! Thatāll be the two different white rums, Koko Kanu liqueur and the Absinthe!
Starters were an easy choice ā the Original voodoo chicken wings Ā£7.95, served with a blue cheese dipping sauce. Iāve had them before and Iāll have them again, they are simply the best buffalo wings this side of the pond (with Meat Liquor coming a close second). Saff wanted to try the Pit smoked thick cut bacon with pickled watermelon Ā£6.95 as recommended by Rachel Phipps, but this bacon came with our main. So to avoid a meat overload, she ordered the Pick ānā lick shrimp in the shell Ā£8.50, in a hot and spicy sauce. Proper big and juicy prawns, the sauce wasnāt hot enough for Saff and it hid in a puddle at the bottom of the bowl, but the prawns had that authentic grilled flavour.
The pit masters here donāt use any BBQ sauces on the meat in their low ānā slow cooking process. Everything is smoked over oak chips, using rubs not sauces to flavour the meat. With all this pit master pedigree we skipped past the seafood (although the lobsters are flown in fresh from Nova Scotia, weāve tried them before) and dived head first into the Bar B Q Blowout Ā£17.95 each (for two or more to share).
The portion was gigantic and served up on a tray the size of a dustbin lid. The sticky blackened BBQ chicken wings got us off to a flying start, the North Carolina chopped pork packed a smoky punch. The dry rubbed St Louis pork ribs were just that, dry (but nothing a good dollop of house made BBQ sauce couldnāt fix). My favourite by far was the Texas sliced slow smoked brisket, thin slices of tender beef with an incredible salty rub crust. We need to go to Texas real bad! The pit smoked thick cut bacon mentioned earlier was missing but we didnāt notice till the following day as we were immersed in meat heaven. The second black mark of the evening, but weāll let them off ā it was soft launch week after all. And I shouldnāt forget to mention the blue cheese dip, slaw, potato salad and pit smoked beans that come on the side. Donāt worry folks, itās totally acceptable to ask for a doggy bag.
We asked for a time out before dessert to give our digestive system a fighting chance to recover from our meaty marathon. During this little break Saff asked Mike, our fantastic and chatty waiter, to choose her a cocktail. He came back with a Miami Vice Ā£14, half-frozen strawberry daiquiri and half piƱa colada ā a perfect 2-in-1 combo. I went for the other on tap cocktail, Vieux CarrĆ© Ā£8.50, this was even smaller than the Old Fashioned. Smaller yet stronger, too strong in my option, Bulleit Rye Whiskey, Martel VS Cognac, Benedictine liqueur with bitters. Enough to give me an involuntary head twist.
My stomach was will suffering from our super-sized Bar B Q Blowout, so I decided to order a colonel Parker X-rated Shake Ā£9.50 of Bulleit Bourbon, banana liqueur, milk and peanut butter ice-cream [yeah right, because that won't be filling, Ade]. I also āborrowedā a couple of spoonfuls of Saffās Chocolate Fudge Cake Ā£5.50. She ordered this cake at the original Big Easy, this Taste of the West Gold medal winner was made in small batches by a āsecretā Cornish company. We asked Mike if the fudge cake here was from the same supplier, he said that it was baked in-house. Wherever it was made didnāt really matter, it was dense yet moist, sweet but not sickly and came swimming in a gooey chocolate fudge sauce and a big dollop of vanilla ice-cream.
We loved the feel of this place, there was a real buzz about it. The live band certainly adds to the atmosphere but itās the authentic US menu that makes the difference. Sprinkle on great portion size, excellent service and an interesting drinks list and, the slightly dry ribs and missing bacon aside, we couldnāt really find anything to fault. The original holds a special place in our hearts but the Kingās Road is just that little bit too far from our Bankside base. Covent Garden, on the other hand, is dangerously closeā¦
For full review and more pics go to http://welovefood-itsallweeat.com/2014/03/21/pit-masters-of-the-universe-big-easy-covent-garden-12-maiden-lane-covent-garden-london-wc2e-7na/
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