Crumb Street Kitchen – Hobart, Tasmania [now closed]

Pulled pork.

Funny name, but one of the culinary world’s greatest gifts to mankind!!

Paired with a tangy, spicy sauce or chutney, and some freshly baked bread, you’ve got a match made in heaven.

Watching cooking shows from around the world by Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, Adam Richman and others, pulled pork is one of those dishes that has kept popping up, yet doesn’t seem to have made significant inroads into Australian cuisine (well, Tasmanian cuisine anyway…!). Perhaps it’s the increasing prevalence of fast foods? Maybe we’re just too impatient? Maybe it’s our obsession with the original white meat? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that the one key ingredient in the perfect pulled pork is time.

Whether it’s in the marination of the meat, or the slow cooking over a low heat, this dish needs plenty of time and patience! To get the perfect pulled pork you’re probably looking at up to 24 hours from start to finish. But let me tell you, the end result is worth every minute of the lip drooling, tummy rumbling wait!! Soft, tender and, to quote the oft-used yet perfectly apt term, ‘falling off the bone’, pulled pork is an absolute delicacy in my books!

So back in late 2012 when Karen first start reading rumours of a new cafe in town called the Crumb Street Kitchen that was serving pulled pork, we had to get in on the action!!

It took us a while, but we finally got there and the experience didn’t disappoint.

The front desk and menu

For myself it was the Pulled Pork Bun with Carolina Sauce and Slaw, while for Karen it was the Burnt Brisket Bun with Green Tomato Chutney and Slaw.

mmm...pulled pork and beef brisket...

mmm…pulled pork and beef brisket…

Both the pork and the beef were cooked perfectly, with an awesome crunchy exterior and a soft, gelatinous centre. Both sauces complemented their respective meats really well, offering a hint of spice and some rich tang. I’ve always been a bit ‘whatever’ when it comes to coleslaw, and it was pretty much the same here (who eats cabbage anyway? seriously…). Regardless, it did provide welcome textural contrast to the other ingredients.

Whether you eat in or take away, all food is served in pizza boxes

Overall it was a fantastic meal, and great value for only $12 each. It’s such a shame (or perhaps it’s a good thing??) that I don’t work in the Hobart CBD, because I’d be in there every day!

The service was was quick and efficient, and while the interior is uber-casual it didn’t feel like you were compromising your gastronomical integrity, like you would at a Legs ‘n’ Breasts or Maccas.

A massive thumbs up from both of us, and a promise to return and try some of the other dishes on the menu!

The interior

The interior

Taste – 5/5
Coffee – NA
Menu – 4/5
Atmosphere – 4/5
Service – 5/5
Value – 5/5

Overall – 4.5/5