Barbecue with all the fixin’s comes to Collingwood

Praise be to whoever it is handing out spirituality cards – American BBQ is now fully established in Melbourne and it’s not going anywhere soon.

BBQ is big business in the States, with invitation-only events, pretty fancy dollars to be won and pit masters are worshipped. The rest of the world is catching on to this traditional cooking subculture and we have not been left behind.

The Gem on Wellington St, Collingwood is the brand new kid on the BBQ block  we all know and love this Melbourne icon and now they are firing up their pits on a Sunday afternoon for y’all to get fork busy. On the contrary to being a newby, The Gem’s owner, Tonino Cordisco, has been playing around with ‘Q’ing for the last 12 months in order to get it just right.

And a damn fine job too –  the beautiful beast that you will smell before you ever see is the Klose wood fired smoker imported from Houston, Texas last September. Tonino has been on multiple research missions to the worlds BBQ Mecca, working on authenticating his menu with a tasty mix of meats and side dishes.

A few precious stokes of hot coals and temperature gauge set just right, The Gem is producing a very succulent brisket with a delicious circle of glistening fat, an essential BBQ criterion. The succotash is the winner of the sides, a sweet/savoury combo of corn and beans, whilst the  buttermilk dressed iceberg salad is just downright delicious.

The mac n’ cheese sure is creamy but they need to do a little overtime on the cheese grater here. All dishes are served with house made original BBQ sauce and a smoky jalapeno sauce that has more kick than a buck with a thorn in its butt.

Before we exhaust every innuendo in the Texas dictionary, we can tell you that for $28 you get to choose four meats and four sides presented on a plank as big as a border house cat, stuffing you to the brim of your ten gallon. Throw in an extra tenner and you will get a slice of sweet potato cheesecake and cobbler and ice cream. Best get your face a fixin’ before they are packed to the coop rafters!

Texas BBQ is available on Sundays only.

THE GEM BAR AND DINING
9419 5170
289 Wellington Street
Collingwood VIC 3066
Tues – Thurs after 3pm, Fri – Sun after 1pm
Email: info@thegembar.com.au