Jenny B.
Yelp
Much like Tom T., I'm from the South - the mecca of smoked meats. Unfortunately, Old Faithful didn't conjure any feelings of being back home. But, that isn't to detract kudos to anyone in this town for starting up their own business especially in the restaurant business. The red tape alone is enough to detract anyone. Then throw in 'smoking meats' in Australia, in Perth, and well, that is some ambitious and expensive business... your smoker alone (and to get it here) must have cost a small fortune.
In true Texan fashion, I went big on my selection. I unfortunately didn't know it was .70 wing night (Wed), otherwise I would have gone that route! This is my breakdown of my order.
Rushmore:
It states this feeds 1-2. I can't imagine this feeding a grown man. Two women (one pregnant) with two additional sides and a milkshake and we almost ate the entirety. This leads me to think of tapas. Southern food means that you have to leave with a doggy bag because you're so full and you paid $7.99 with sweet tea included. Not $35 a person.
BRISKET: I'm an avid brisket lover. This brisket had an incredible bright red smoke ring, but was definitely missing bark. I didn't find the flavor to be intense and reached for the vinegar based sauce on the table as some pieces were quite dry.
PULLED PORK: I found the pulled pork to be really good, well above the brisket. It was very tasty on its own. I can't say I enjoyed the presentation of the 'pulled' pork. It was far more chopped than anything and in the dim lighting, it kind of had the same texture/look as tuna.
Rushmore Sides:
COLESLAW: While I know coleslaw isn't the hardest thing to fix. People do, in fact, mess up cabbage. The coleslaw was good by my opinion.
POTATO SALAD: To be honest, I'm super picky about potato salad. I didn't spit it out in disgust as I have from store bought places. But, the flavor wasn't memorable to me. I couldn't put my finger on the spice they used in it (maybe cumin?), but I didn't enjoy it enough to finish it.
RED BEANS AND RICE: This was actually probably one of my favorite dishes. We've only ever used smoked sausage in our red beans and rice recipe, but I enjoyed Ol' Faithfuls spin on it. It had a great flavor.
BREAD: Crusty, 'gourmet' bread is taboo. It just doesn't work to sop of meat juice and sauce. What you need is a Mrs. Baird Australian version - straight, non-nutritious white bread.
Sides:
ONION RINGS: These, were by far, the worst dish possible. I am not sure what kind of breading was used... but it was more like dough... like puff pastry wrapped around the thinnest slice of onion. If you are looking for legit onion rings, go to Johnny's Burger Joint in Canning Vale. This place was not it.
FRIED PICKLES: Now here is the caveat for fried pickles. I know it is incredible hard to fry the pickles here. But, I kind of feel like they used won ton wrappers to encapsulate the spear. Again, this is not a traditional battered pickle.
Drinks:
CHOCOLATE BOURON MILKSHAKE had a great flavor, but consistency was just off. Is there ice cream in this? There was nothing to 'thicken' it up, but just a soupy, lukewarm beverage?
Venue:
The venue itself is very nice. Bathrooms are fantastic! The music was insanely loud for a Wednesday night at 6 p.m. I could not hear my friend across the table and the restaurant wasn't full at this time. Paying anything over $15 a person should warrant waitstaff - meaning you'll be getting your own plates, silverware, drinks, etc. For a 'casual' place, you aren't paying casual prices. If you pay by credit card and you want drinks, you'll be dinged a double surcharge on your credit card as you must check out for drinks at the bar. Ridiculous.
To recap, get the pulled pork, red beans and rice and coleslaw. Wednesday is wing night at $.70 a wing - definitely a bargain here and pass on the onion rings unless you like yours doughy. Bring cash if you want to booze it up.