tippler's tap - teneriffe, brisbane. often hearing about this and trying to picture the location, i would never have thought that it would be located where it is. tippler's tap is right in one of the side streets in the upper north, surrounding by residential apartments and industrial work sites; in fact, the brewery is so low-key that it is easy to drive by without any notice. one night, i went as part of a group of four to try this place out; my brother-in-law planned on meeting his friend up in brisbane, and he had been there before knowing how good it is thus recommending it. factor in that it is american cuisine we are talking about, and the other half being me and my dining buddy were happy to come along.
this place was particularly chosen, since the ribs are only served on wednesdays which was the day that my brother-in-law happened to be up. many other people were getting that same idea. these ribs are just not any other ribs. they are actually cooked in beer. speaking of which.....
beer lovers are in for a treat. at any one time, there is an offering of eleven different types of beer on tap with dozens more bottled including cider and wine options. while the guys i was with certainly partook in trying a couple of varieties, i did not - i am, by choice, a non-drinker. these are not just any sort of regular beers though, there is a collection from around the country and even going international. there is at least that to recommend without any resolving bias.
as for the food, the cuisine that was being aimed at certainly seems to be american. even the way it is presented is reminiscent of the american diners. each order comes in the brightly coloured baskets; we are talking finger food here. nothing here peaks above $15-20, which is a good budget because you could feed a football team on a budget with the menu. this place is not really a tapas-style eatery; a couple of menu items can create a simple & wholesome meal. plates might be a bit of an issue when sharing; after a bit of rearranging some spare baskets managed to be used for the scraps.
the setting is relaxed and low-key, the kind which is great for catch-ups with friends and/or colleagues. it seems to have been fitted of out an old house, many renovations made to the place maximising an alfresco atmosphere. apparently, there is quite a bit on the inside but i never ventured past the front dining area. so, the most effective i can sum up the vibe of where i was is that it is like the porch of a cabin (albeit urbanly displaced). this place stands alone as far as a bar goes, thus one anti-recommendation is anyone who wants to do a pub crawl involving here.
the waitress serving us was really friendly, and in part because of my infatuation with american food, culture and people was really appealing because i could detect her accent was american as such. plenty of food was being brought out with a smile.
in hindsight, and it tends to be a male thing to do, the four of us probably ordered way too much. the first example is that no-one thought or considered that the ribs would be served with a side of fries. that would make sense come to think about it. the food orders were as such: three people ordered ribs, and one (me) ordered the chicken wings. for sides, there was one of fries, two of onion rings, and one of corn.
there was not anything really wrong with the food. everything was basically scrumptious and really filling. the ribs are massive and tender, with a moderate amount of sauce on them. sometimes the meat can be pulled right off the bone and other times not so much; basically, it has the erratic nature of eating ribs which makes it all the more fun.
now, if you can remember from chinese restaurants how they generally do salt and pepper squid, then that is the best way to describe how the chicken wings are presented. one kilogram of these suckers were served in a basket, all for only $10. the wings are really big, they also have a lot of meat on them and are tangy from the pepper coating. the obligatory blue cheese sauce is served on the side with them. they were succulent and juicy, even the crumbs that fell into the bottom of the basket were not ignored.
having to decide between fries and onion rings has got to be one of the hardest culinary challenges that exists. this is especially so done in the american style, and tippler's tap from experience it is as such. you have beer battered fries, and the onion rings are panko crumbed and giant, both well on offer. these were nothing sort of tasty, scrumptious even. the fries are served with ailoi and the onion rings come on their own, that sounds about right.
lastly was the corn, sort of a black sheep in some ways. there are a few aspects to laud about it nevertheless. it is dusted with a smoky marsala that includes paprika and cumin, a few jalapeno are placed on top and a bit of cabbage. the corn in itself retains a smoky flavour, and was juicy and sweet. again, the serving is considerable and might have been the one healthy aspect of the entire range of items ordered for the meal.
meeting with a friend would be the perfect gambit to try this place out, beer drinker or otherwise. in an age where lots of places are trying to look unique, and ironically a lot end up looking similar to each other, this can still have that word attributed to it. it has a laid-back ambiance, is in a side street for the feel of a quiet place and provides a good array of american food - some of which is difficult to find elsewhere in the city. it is safe to say that we are on to a winner here.