As restaurants evolve so do menus. And The Curious Squire has launched a new Southern American-inspired menu, with Head Chef and Pitmaster Drew Akin at the helm.Drew was there to tell us about this inspiration behind the menu, from people he’s met to his Mama’s and Grandmother’s recipes.

Everyone’s heard of ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café’ right? Well now you can get them at the Curious Squire! Inside the crunchy, fried, well-seasoned case is a soft, tart slice of tomato served with ranch dressing and house sauce.

Next up we tried the sweet potato fries: long and stringy with a lovely sweet flavour.

Following was the 18-hour smoked pulled port quesadilla. This was my favourite dish of the night. Soft, smokey pork inside a warm quesadilla with a five-cheese blend and a hit of heat with slices of jalapeno. The sour cream and tomato salsa with corn helped offset the heat.

Next up was the chicken and waffle, and Drew tells us this dish dates back to the late 1800s when the slave trade was abolished. Waffle with fried chicken, American streaky bacon, pickle and ‘real’ maple syrup. I wasn’t quite sure how this was going to work – mixing the sweet and savoury. I was pleasantly surprised and somehow it all seemed to work: the soft waffle, fried chicken, salty bacon, sweet maple syrup and tart pickle. I would certainly have this dish again.

The final savoury dish of the night was Cajun black kingfish. The fish was soft with a dark spicy crust. The spices are cooked until they turn a dark chocolate colour, bringing out the flavour. This was served with lettuce and a roast corn salsa and remoulade.

And we finished with a S’more – my first one! Sandwiched between two wheat biscuits (Granitas) was roasted marshmallows and Nutella. A gooey, sickly sweet dessert that’s such fun!

I really enjoyed this food and I love hearing Drew talk about his menu and the inspiration behind it. You can certainly tell he is passionate about his heritage and the food he puts on the plate.

 

** I was an invited guest.