South Restaurant, Neutral Bay, a second visit

Please note South has now closed

One of the disadvantages to foodblogging is the complete inability to go back to a place. No matter how much you've enjoyed your meal, there's always somewhere else to go being that this is Sydney and there are more restaurants than you can poke a fork at. However after our first meal at South I had a craving for the ribs. An intense craving. I'd managed to procure one from Gina's plate only to lust for more, not helped by South's proximity to where we live. Every time we'd drive past it, I'd think of the ribs. So a return visit was scheduled, indeed it was scheduled with the same group of friends we originally went with as they were also hankering for a repeat. And I had my ribs, yes I did.

The day we visit is also the day that South received a huge almost full page very positive review by Helen Grreenwood in the Sydney Morning Herald. So we're lucky we've booked. Indeed many people show up without bookings to be told nicely that the tables are booked.

There are some must trys, obviously the finger licking, lip smackingly good ribs are to be ordered. In fact everyone bar Phillippe (who doesn't share) and Hot Dog (who in a friendship-stretching gesture has taken up Phillippe's non sharing cause with a difference-he won't share his meal but he will partake in our meals) wants to share so that we can try as much as possible.

We start with the Hot Wings, those vinegary deliciously sauce wings from last time. It's something Hot Dog can't go past and he reluctantly offers us some.

Our other entree is one that Leo recommended, the Crawfish Pie which is an open pie in a vol au vent casing housing a deliciously cream rich Crawfish filling. It's divided into 6 as no-one wants to miss out and a firm crowd favourite. Hubby uses his bread roll to mop up every last trace of the sauce. I'm so intrigued by the sauce that I ask Leo about it and he tells  me that it's blend of spices interestingly including thyme which I am not a fan of at all but he says the key is to keep the spice blend subtle which makes sense as I usually bypass anything with thyme in it and I can usually sniff it out unless it's very subtle.

The item that many daydreams were made of arrives, and true to form, they're meaty and fall apart soft. Cutting them apart is easy, just the gentlest nudge is needed after an initial knife cut. They're soft, saucy and flavoursome and as good as the first rib I had last time.

Hot Dog's order of Chicken Enchiladas arrives and I manage to snag a small piece despite him trying to move his plate out of reach. It's good but the other dishes on the menu are the pick for me.

The country fried steak is a very thick piece of steak, battered and deep fried and then served with a  country style gravy which resembles a bechamel. It comes with a huge stack of fries and a side greens. It's been a while since I've eaten a steak this thick and wide being used to the small tall fillets that restaurants serve and I like the flavours to this and the mild sauce on top.

The Jambalaya, described as a Cajun rissotto is full of wonderfully smokey sausage. It is indeed like a soupy risotto, packed with different flavours but the smokey sausage reigns supreme.

Cajun burger

A dish that the SMH said lacked the panache of other dishes is warmly welcomed by us. Perhaps there have been changes since the review as the Redfish is delicious. It's full of flavour from the Cajun spices and the Sauce Meuniere is delicious. Even though it is the last dish to arrive and everyone is feeling very full, we polish it off in no time.

And because you know dessert is so important in Southern cuisine and we know that dessert is so good here, we share a couple of desserts, the Pecan Pie (last time it disappeared before we got a chance to try it) and the Sour Cherry Cobbler with ice cream.

_Sour Cherry Cobbler _

The Sour Cherry Cobbler comes with a buttery pie topping on top of the delicous Sour Cherry filling and a generous scoop of good ice cream (not that diabolical stuff that a lot of places serve). It's warming like a pie or crumble and gives the same comfort factor.

_Pecan Pie _

The Pecan Pie is gorgeously thick and studded full of pecans, I adore Pecan Pie but rarely make it. It's home made and despite feeling extraordinarily full and wearing a corset dress, Teena and I manage to finish this. Yes oh yes, the South has definitely come to the North and we like it.

South Restaurant

222 Military Road (corner Waters Road), Neutral Bay, NSW

Tel: +61 (02) 9908 5225

Open :

Lunch: Saturday 12noont-4pm

Dinner: Monday to Saturday 6pm-10pm

http://www.south-restaurant.com/