The Dip, Sydney City

The Dip is one of the latest Dude Food joints to hit Sydney and word about their tasty Hot Dawgs (that's Hot Dog for any baby boomers and Gen X-ers reading the post) and Pulled Pork Sandwich's has been the talk of the foodie town for weeks.

What's Dude Food I hear my fleet of (one or two) baby-booming readers ask?  Simply put it is American style junk/fast food cooked by cool and hip young chefs.  The food usually has an Asian or Mexican spin to it, and pork as well as tooth achingly sweet desserts are a must.  This article pretty much covers if it you're keen to know more...or not.

I quickly gathered up a group of food-blogging Dudettes (aka chicks who like to eat Dude Food cooked by cool and hip young chefs) to come and try this place out with me one Friday night.  It's a darkly lit place, but with the help of iPhone torches and the help of fellow bloggers I think we all managed to get some semi-decent photos of the food - the food is 100 times better than it looks...trust me!

As is the case with the food-blogger catch ups I've been too the scene is generally chaos.  The Baking Lady From Work, who has come along with me, is reeling at our inability to focus long enough on the menu to actually order. Thankfully for us she quickly takes charge and orders a pile of Starters n Sides for us to try, organises our main meal options, collects our money and heads up to the bar to order for us.  If it wasn't for her I wonder if we'd still be sitting in our Flintstones inspired booth, unfed and happily chatting away and sharing camera tips.

For starters I push heavily for the Grilled Corn ($8.00) as corn is one of my all time favourite vegetables.  Seasoned with lime and mayo and chipotle salt this dish is a winner for me. The Snow Peas ($8.00) are still on the right side of crunchy and the dressing of coriander and vinaigrette takes them to a whole new level making them zesty and fresh tasting.  Adding apple and cabbage together in the Slaw ($6.00) is a stroke of genius - the tart flavour of the green apple sings in my mouth. And of course Salsa Fries ($6.00) are amazing - uber fat, crunchy fries liberally topped with fresh tomato salsa and cheese - heaven!

We also decide to share a plate of the Pulled Pork Nachos ($15.00) as these have become legendary despite The Dip only being opened for a few weeks. Now I have to say the Pulled Pork tastes really similar to the Kalua Pork The Boy made at home a few weeks ago and he is beyond chuffed when I tell him this.  The slow cooked pork has a lovely smokey flavour, and is topped with pinto beans, salsa, BBQ sauce, lime cream and cheese.

Wendy and I are both keen to try the Lev's Dawg ($12.00) and the Southern Smoke Sandwich ($12.00) so we go halvies which gives us a chance to try both.  The Lev's Dawg hit it out of the ball park for me...I have no idea what's in a Kosher Hot Dog, but oh my it sure is tasty!  A soft bread bun houses a smokey hot dog and is topped with salsa, chipolte mayo, yellow peppers and American mustard.  It is so delicious that I then share another half with The Baking Lady From Work.  Hey, we're here for a good time, not a long time. Right?

The Southern Smoke is pretty tasty, but oh so messy to eat.  I end up with pulled pork, BBQ bean, slaw and BBQ sauce landing everywhere but in my mouth. You can't take me anywhere!  I love the addition of the apple slaw - I "might" even try making this at home one day.

And what meal would be complete with our dessert. As I'd studied the menu before arriving for our dinner I already knew that the Cookies N Cream ($10.00) was going to be a must have. The salted caramel ice-cream is AH-MAZING and dotted with pieces of honeycomb and salty/sweet caramel. The chocolate molasses cookies with hot fudge defies description. All I can say is get yourself to The Dip and try for yourself.

The Dip is at 5 Liverpool Street, Sydney and can be found downstairs at The Goodgod Small Bar.