At the risk of dropping a name (please forgive me, I find it an appalling habit), I was once asked by the producers of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations to recommend a restaurant in Sydney that was capturing the zeitgeist of the city at the time. I thought about it for a while and then pointed them to Porteño not only because South American food was so popular, but also figuring that Anthony might like the whole package there from the whole beasts on the grill, the asador Argentinean style to the tattooed chefs.
For this year’s Big Day Out, those two tattooed chefs Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz have gathered a group of fellow chefs in each state for a concept called Chow Town. It’s an idea that originated at the sister festival Lollapalooza in Chicago. Festival goers will be able to buy food beyond the usual festival fare at affordable prices made by these hand picked restaurants.
This also opens the chefs up to a new audience that perhaps would not have tried the restaurant and is a reasonable entry price for festival goers to try the restaurant’s food. As the concept is so new, prices and portion sizes are yet to be figured out. Portions will be between $10 and $15 and will be roughly the size of a hamburger. And each state’s Big Day Out will feature Ben & Elvis’s hand picked restaurants, indigenous to that state. Melbourne’s lineup includes Golden Fields, Huxtaburger and St Ali while Perth, Adelaide and Gold Coast all have their own home grown stars.
El Jimador Wrestling Bar anyone?
So one sunny day, Belinda and I set off to explore Chow Town at the Big Day Out. Enter the hottest day in Sydney’s history with scorching temperatures out at Olympic Park officially reaching 44.7C /112.46F. Walking felt like swimming through glue and we spent time hydrating as much as we could. Girls in tiny shorts and midriff baring tops saunter past with guys wearing wet tshirts or singlets and thongs.
The signage isn’t brilliant and the only map given is a vague, small one in the booklet. We pass a frozen Coke stand and resist the temptation-the queue looks forbiddingly long and we keep our eyes on the prize. So after stopping about half a dozen staff, we arrive at Chow Town.
Walking from the entrance, it appears after you walk past many the other food stands and stadiums so many festival goers may not have come across it until too late. Admittedly, we’re eating quite late at 2:30pm but it took us a while to recover from the searing heat. There are coloured picnic tables set up with some under trees. And as promised, all of the chefs are there behind their stalls.
Chow Town stalls
Rojo Rocket Chef Alejandro Urbina with tostada de atún & tostada de aguachile
We started off at one end at Rojo Rocket. Rojo Rocket is a restaurant on the Central Coast with chef Alejandro Urbina from Playa del Carmen in Mexico. We both loved the fact that there was one item on the menu: the Red Hot Chilli Peppers which happened to be the headlining act for this year’s B.D.O.
Rojo Rocket: Red Hot Chili Peppers with a Killer Sauce – $10
Although we expected smaller chilli peppers, these are actually two large green peppers, slightly spicy and filled with a soft mixture of beef mince and sultanas. Each is then battered and deep fried until crispy and a creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds are scattered on top. It has a mix of creamy and crispy textures and the flavours are absolutely heavenly together.
Rojo Rocket: Ceviche De Pescado – $10
This was tangy and fresh, the tanginess of the lime and lemon serving us well in the heat along with the onion, tomato and coriander. However, the cup was a little difficult to scoop the ceviche out of with a corn chip.
Rojo Rocket: Tacos De Camarón – $10
These lightly battered prawn tacos were served on a corn tortilla with chipotle and pineapple salsa. My kingdom for a tray of these as they hit the spot perfectly. The pineapple was sweet and soothing for a hot day like today while the prawns were fresh and the taco soft.
The Apollo Chef Jonathan Barthelmess (left)
Forgive me but in this heat, I couldn’t have the fried cheese or lamb souvlaki on offer at The Apollo’s stand but I tried a sample of it at the preview event where the more formal shots were taken. The fried cheese with oozing, sweet, dripping honey and aromatic oregano has an appealing crispy edge and a gooey centre. On the day, this was served at a larger size for $9 while the lamb souvlaki was $12.
The Apollo: fried cheese with honey & oregano
Hartsyard Chef Gregory Llewellyn
Hartsyard: Country Fried Chicken Legs – $15 Hartsyard hot sauce
The hit at the media launch was the Hartsyard Country Fried Chicken and oh my, how a crowd of adults can get excited when they see a plate of fried chicken coming towards them! The chicken is wet brined and then cooked in a 64.5C water bath for two and a half hours and then placed in an ice bath until completely cold. It then goes into a buttermilk marinade for six hours, coated with seasoned flour and then fried at 155C. And then anyone worth their mind would simply dunk this in the addictive hot sauce and eat and realise that cooking these at home would be a lot of trouble but eating them much less.
Hartsyard: Poutine $15
It’s probably a little mad going for poutine in this weather and this is Hartsyard’s homage to poutine sans cheese curds. Their poutine is a scaled down version of the one that they do in the restaurant with large chunks of soft beef chili, fries, cheddar, ranch dressing and hot pepper vinegar.
Longrain Chef Louis Tikaram
Longrain: Ka Pow Beef – $15
It really sort of makes sense that the stands with food from hot weather cuisines fared well and apart from chicken satay sticks, the Longrain stand had Ka Pow Beef with stir fried beef, snake beans, wild ginger, holy basil & rice. On top is a sunny side up egg and I’m pleased to see that there’s lots of chilli in it – it’s not too hot but gives it a nice level of spice.
Longrain: Vanilla Tapioca with fresh fruit – $10
The only problem with a cold dessert is that about 5-6 minutes after you sit outside in the sun, this ends up being quite a warm fruit salad. Still, we like the slip of the silky tapioca pearls and the small chunks of fruit salad.
Three Blue Ducks Chefs Darren Robertson, Mark LaBrooy
Fun fact, I once got an email from a reader that lives in New Delhi, India who implored me in no uncertain terms for more on Mark LaBrooy from Three Blue Ducks so this picture is for her.
Duck Salad with Chili Jam, Green Mango, Bean Shoots, Fried Eshallots & Roasted Cashews $10
They’re nice enough to give us a large serving as they know that we’re sharing. The chilli duck salad with crunchy fried shallots, plenty of fresh herbs and salad and pieces of roasted cashews. It was fresh, crunchy and flavoursome and a good portion size for the price.
Iced Tea with Lemongrass & Ginger and Coconut Water $5 each
Okay, these weren’t quite the drinking coconuts that were on the bar but rather ones in cups. I can’t tell you how glad I was to see plenty of ice in a drink and this along with the iced tea with lemongrass, ginger & mint, although not particularly strong was welcome in the heat. And once these were drunk, we made use of all of the ice popping the cubes down our dresses and rubbing them on our scorched limbs.
Porteno Chefs Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz
Porteno: BBQ Wagyu Beef Brisket w/ Old Bay Coleslaw on a brewski bun – $12
By the time the temperature on our phones showed 46 degrees, we knew that it was time to retreat. We got two of the Porteno burgers which were easily transportable and took them back to shelter. They were softer than soft buns with bbq brisket wedged inside with coleslaw and a slice of cucumber pickles to give it freshness and crunch.
Porteno: 16 hour Chipotle Chili Pulled Pork w/ Pickle, Old Bay Coleslaw on a brewski bun – $12
The beef brisket one reminded us of a smokey corned beef with the sweet but distinctly hops flavoured beer bun encased both the pulled pork and the beef brisket. We took this back to the media room to eat after a few hours and it was worth waiting for as we would have been too full for these monster sized buns otherwise.
But on the way, you bet that we stopped by this sprinkler stand that dispersed a fine and instantly cooling mist of water on everyone. Some clever girls were even eating their watermelon wedges under there in an effort to cool down. I jump under for about ten seconds to cool off.
“That was the best ten seconds of my life!” I say to Belinda before facing the heat again.
So tell me Dear Reader, would you have gone for the Chow Town food over regular festival food? And are you a hot weather or a cold weather person?
NQN and Belinda attended as a guest of the Big Day Out but all meals were paid for independently.
Big Day Out
http://www.bigdayout.com/
http://www.bigdayout.com/chowtown/
Melbourne
| Golden Fields | Anada | Cookie |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Fields lobster roll – $12 Vegetarian rice paper rolls – $9 Fried chicken bahn mi – fried chicken, Vietnamese slaw served in a baguette – $10 Peanut butter and chocolate ice-cream sandwich, salted caramel – $6 |
Salt Cod Croquettes – $3 Patatas Bravas – $5 Otway Ranges Chorizo Burger with Grilled Peppers – $10 Churros with Chocolate – $5 |
T Rex Chicken Wing & Green Papaya Salad – $10 Garlic Chive Dumplings with Pickled Chilli & Soy – $10 Cookie’s L.A.M.B. Curry with Rice – $10 Honky Tonk Noodles – $10 |
| Huxtaburger | St Ali | RB’s Fried Chicken |
| Huxtaburger – $10 Red Hot Chili Burger – $10 To-Foo Fighter Burger – $10 Crinkle Cut Chips – $5 |
My Mexican Cousin – $10 Secret recipe corn fritters with red hot chilli jam & halloumi Super Granola – $8 Honey toasted granola, goji berries & vanilla bean yoghurt – $8 Chickadee – $10 Chicken burger with bacon, chipotle mayo & avocado Moo Sanga – $15 Premium angus beef, rocket, mustard, pickled red onions & gruyere cheese |
RB’s fried chicken sandwich w/ slaw, pickle on a jalapeño cheese bread – $10 Fried chicken taco w/pickled cabbage, lime mayo & salsa Roja – $6 Fries – $6 |
Adelaide
| Chicken Baby by the Vendor | Jack Ruby | Devour |
|---|---|---|
| Char grilled Chicken Sandwich w/ Smokey Mayo, Crispy Bacon & Pickles – $10 Bucket of Chicken Baby’s Wings – $15 Choc-dipped Frozen Bananas w/ Cornflake Crunch, Coconut, Peanuts or Pop Rocks – $5 |
Pork belly & slaw burger – $9 Beef cheek, lemongrass & tamarind soft taco w/ cucumber lime salsa ‐ $8 Chilli cheese fries ‐ $7 |
Donuts Sundae – $10 Peanut Butter Jelly Panna Cotta – $10 Lemon Tart – $10 Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich – $10 |
| Veggie Velo | Simon Bryant | The Grace Establishment |
| Quinoa Burger – $10 vegan Haloumi Burger – $10 Deluxe Vegetarian Burger – $14 Salad – $5 vegan, gluten free Add a quinoa patty – $5 Add grilled haloumi cheese and pineapple – $5 Chilled Mango and Coconut Chia Parfait $5 vegan, gluten free |
Salt & Pepper Tofu – $12 Kway Teow – $13 Wok charred soft rice noodles , Kangaroo Island lentil sprouts, chili, garlic chives & bean curd “crackling” – Vego, Vegan on request Gado Gado – $12 Shaved raw vegie salad, Queensland “red skin” peanut sauce, RSPCA soft boiled free range egg, springy fried tofu Banana & Bee Pollen Chocopops – $6.50 |
Grace Cheeseburger – $8 Swiss cheese, tomato ketchup, pickle, american mustard Spit roasted suckling pig bun with slaw and homemade BBQ sauce – $8 New York style chilli dog – $8 Spi |
Perth
| Clarences | El Compa | Lalla Rookh |
|---|---|---|
| 500gm of fried Chicken Wings with spicy or plain aoli – $12 Panzanella salad in a sourdough bowl – $8 Mushroom arancini with fetta whip – $8 |
Tacos & Quesadillas $5 each OR any 3 for $12 Tacos Tinga: Chicken in Chipotle & Tomato Carnitas: Slow Cooked Pork in Orange Bistec: Seared Beef, Black Beans Nopales: Cactus in Tomato Salsa Quesadillas Tinga with Cheese Nopales with Cheese Bistec: Beef, Black Beans with Cheese |
Grilled piadina, prosciutto San Daniele, tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil – $10 6” polpetone sub, italian slaw – $10 Salad of cherry truss tomatoes, cucumber, pickled shallots, candied prosciutto – $10 |
| Snags & Sons | Andaluz | Greenhouse |
| New York Style Hot Dog – $8 Organic loafers baguette; caramelised onions, mustard, chilli & ketchup + Jalapeño sauce, chipotle mayo & parmesan |
Chicken & Seafood Paella – $13 Spiced Pork Empanadas with Salsa Verde – $7 |
Green Papaya Salad – $8 Caramel Braised Pork, Rice – $10 Cinnamon dough |
Gold Coast
| The Kettle and Tin | Top Shop | JR’s Smokehouse Barbecue |
|---|---|---|
| Confit Duck Nachos with re fried beans, tomato salsa, avocado & sour cream – $10 Pil Pil Prawns with Papas a lo pobre (poor mans potatoes) – $12 |
The American Burger – $10 Beef, double cheddar, dill gherkins, chopped onion, ketchup, mustard and mayo The Mission Roll – $10 Hot roasted chicken with a snow pea slaw, Top Shop Chili sauce and mayo on an organic soft burger bun. Mushroom Burger – $10 Braised mushrooms with beetroot, sunflower sprouts, goats cheese and relish |
Carolina Pulled Pork Roll – $12 12 hour slow smoked pork shoulder served on a roll and topped with coleslaw and Carolina BBQ Sauce Texas Beef Brisket Roll – $12 12 hour slow smoked Angus Beef Brisket served on a roll with Texan BBQ Sauce, onions and dill pickles |
| Cabiria | Peasant | |
| Chorizo Bocadilla – $10Truffled Pumpkin & Goats Cheese Tortilla – $10 | PaellaChicken, chorizo, prawn, mussel and saffron – $10 Or Vegetarian – $10 |
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38 Comments | Add your own
Poutine isn’t poutine without the cheese curds! They just look like chilli cheese fries…
All that food looks SO delicious. I hope that you’ve tried real poutine from Canada though (preferably Quebec). It really is one of those dishes that is often immitated but never fully able to capture all the details that make this dish so wonderful (and rustic….and fatening…). I absolutely LOVE your website, by the way! I’m going to try your creamy smoked salmon spaghetti this weekend – but with wild caught arctic char (no salmon here:( )!
i love hot weather but after riding my pushbike home yesterday i nearly died, went straight in the pool.
i envy that you went to the BDO – aaaahhh my younger years (maybe i’ll find baby sitters next year…..)
I would most definitely have eaten at Chow Town, even a greater reason to go to the bdo
Brilliant! After 15 years of festival going I would definitely visit Chow Town. The food at festivals is the one thing I never usually look forward to. I’m living in the UK now and hope they embrace the idea over here throughout the summer festival season. Thanks for the story!
You were outside yesterday? Bless you, it was like a blast furnace! The food looks amazing and surprisingly unwilted, given the heat!
I thought I was more towards the cold weather team, but this couple of cold blast and another one coming shifted me towards hot weather team now. I want summer and food festivals!
Darren Robertson & Mark LaBrooy mmm that was a distracting photo, I can see why you asked for more pics of them! I like the warmer weather but only because I like to swim in our pool and then head inside to the aircon! Can they please set up Chow Town for me where is not so crowded and when it is not so hot?
I’m glad it wasn’t the girls wearing the wet t-shirts! That’s incredibly hot; just like yesterday! I love this idea and I wish it wasn’t just available at BDO. They should have this out at Olympic Park so when you pay all that money to see concerts and shows you don’t have to ruin your evening by eating inside the venue. Those chicken legs must have been wonderful but what an effort! xx
Yesterday was a scorcher wasn’t it? I don’t know how you fared outside in that weather for so long! I was out for about 10 minutes before running back into the comfort of my own home.
This idea of restaurants showcasing their food at festivals seems like a great one! It will definitely help people become more aware of ones they have never dined at before
the food looks delicious as well!
I don’t fare well in the heat. Ridiculous since I live in Brisbane. I often proclaim at the beginning of summer that I am leaving family and friends for New Zealand
I have never been to a festival but Chow Town looks great!
LOVE IT! The Big Day Out food is always a delicious eclectic mix of gorgeous junk, and alternative food. I can’t wait to try the offerings this year at the Gold Coast!!
I always look forward to the snacking even without the new restaurant “line up.”
It is a bummer that all my images will be with an iPhone due to security over DSLR’s :0!
What a fabulous event! Except for the scorching heat, it just looks like such fun and with such fun food. The Mexican food looked particularly authentic and lovely to me. Yes, I would have loved this event. Being a definitely hot-weather kind of gal though, I admit it was a tad hot even for me!
I love that resturants are showcasing their food at festivals such as Big Day Out.
When I use to go to Big Day Out(about 5 years ago) I would have loved to have a better option for food. Hopefully Chow Town will be here to stay.
POUTINE!!! Canada represent! It’s so hard for me to comprehend the heat over there when it’s -11 “feels like” -16 here. Stay cool my dear!
Hi Lorraine, kudos to you both for braving the heat!! Food looks delicous, if I was there I would have chosen the Chow Town food. If it’s mild hot and cold then I prefer cold. If it’s extremes of hot and cold I think I would have to pick hot as I’ve been in minus 22 degrees and I almost cried! Actually I think I did cry…
Oh my goodness I don’t know how you faced that heat yesterday. My friend told me it was like walking around in a sauna! Can I be goldilocks on the heat/cold debate? Not too hot but not too cold!
I can’t believe you braved the outdoors yesterday!
I might even consider going to the big day out again next year if this is the food on offer.
The food looks good – would definitely go to Chow Town rather than a pie. I like hot weather, but not that hot!
WOOH I’M IN ONE OF YOUR PHOTOS! Such an awesome festival, Chowtown made my day
Hi Hannah! Oh cool! Which photo are you in?
It was fabulous-I hope they do it again 
The Big Day Out chefs were absolute hero’s cooking up that quality and quantity of food in a virtual fire storm. Most venues were sold out by 7pm – a great testimonial that people will brave, heat, queues and whatever else for exceptional food.
Thank you NQN for the review.
the chill fries with ranch sauce look amazing!
You are a trooper for braving the heat to go to a food fest like that. I’ve been reading about how scorching it is in Australia. Yikes. Hope you guys get a nice dip in temperatures soon.
That’s awesome! I love how edgy all the chefs look. So cool. Gosh, I feel your pain! Hope you slip, slop and slapped
Great idea indeed! Such a shame about the heat, but that poutine would be a sell out here in Canberra in the winter
thank goodness for air conditioning and central heating!
The Asian style food is certainly my pick, and such a nice change from deep fried Dagwood/Corn Dogs!
I like my temperature to ideally stay between 22 and 27*, doesn’t that sound perfect? Unfortunately Canberra goes from -10 to 43
The Red Hot Chili Pepper dish seems awfully close to Chiles en Nogada. Do you agree? I recall first learning of this dish one lovely, balmy afternoon in Cabo San Lucas, the day AFTER our fishing charter had been cancelled for a hurricaine. When I tasted this dish, I literally WEPT (my poor mister…). Was it the stress of the trip (is this jerk gonna give us our pesos back?), the weather (seriously God!?) or the food? You have only to taste it to know the simple truth. I have since learned there is a festival about this dish. It is on my bucket list, no matter the weather.
Scorching weather and food my friend, what a fun festival
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Somehow didn’t quiet liken you to a Big Day Out kinda girl or was it all in the name if research Lorraine?
Great food, especially like and would buy Rojo Rocket’s Red Hot Chili Peppers ( perhaps not on such an oppressive hot day like yesterday) and Porteno’s Wagyu Beef Brisket burger,mmmmm!
I love sunny days and warm weather (overcast, dreary, cold days make me feel depressed) but can do without this heat wave that we’re experiencing at the moment!
Clearly the heat didn’t addle your mind lady – you’re speedy on the blog post! Very lovely to see you, glad you survived the day. See you soon, Naomi
Lovely Food…
We are waiting for some warmth in this part of the world…
The food everything looks wonderful!
OMG! Wish I was there @ BDO to sample everything at Chow Town. What a fantastic idea! That chicken leg, duck salad and hot chili pepper is calling my name! Oh my, if only I was there.Please let Chow Town be at other events and venues and not just at The Big Day Out. I love the hot weather but not this extreme. Love this review Lorraine!
Lorraine:
Wish I had been there!
46 is my kind of weather (YES!)
The hotter is gets the more energy I get.
Also true the colder it gets the less energy I have. It is below zero here, so you can envision me as the couch potato.
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie
Chow Town would be a great reason to go to the BDO. Great work surviving that heat Lorraine!! The beautiful looking iced lemongrass tea would have been a life saver in that weather!!
I always love the BDO food but I can’t wait to try the Chow Town version. Lucky you being able to take your DSLR camera in.
I will be documenting the food and events at the Gold Coast BDO using my iPhone
On my way now!
Love the name- Red hot chilli peppers with a killer sauce, Brilliant for BDO. I dont think I would of tried them due to the 45 degree heat!
I am delighted to see that the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a Killer Sauce were there. In the states, we call them chile relleños, and that walnut sauce is wonderful, made with ground walnuts and white bread. It’s a super classic northern Mexican, and very hard to find done with the sauce outside of Mexico! That tickled me! Looks like a hot, but fun day!
fried cheese?
Poutine?
*drools*
I love this idea! Maybe Ill get myself to another BDO again one day…the last one I went to nearly killed me. I cannot do moderation well
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