Admittedly, we’d never visited St Baxter’s until now and boy are we kicking ourselves that we hadn’t dropped in earlier. After you read this article, you’ll understand why. You’ll find St Baxter’s Californian Eatery overlooking bustling Brunswick Street, which links New Farm and Fortitude Valley.
After spending time working in California, head chef and part owner Sarah, was so inspired by the food flavours and techniques that she not only brought back this style of cuisine to Brisbane but also named the eatery after the chef who taught her his ways. The semi formal dining feel really enhances the Californian beach vibes the food is inspired by. This transcends into the menu with the ability to order hearty street style food as well as more complex refined options. This is where we started the night with a beautifully fresh and acidic ceviche with avocado mousse, jalapenos, radish, pomegranate and passionfruit.
After trying St Baxter’s delicious fresh tacos, we have no problem in saying that these are Brisbane’s BEST tacos! With a winning combination of fried chicken, jicama (native root vegetable found in Mexico and South America) slaw, barbequed corn and chipotle mayo served on fresh blue corn tortillas made by Burringbar based taqueria, Doña Cholita.
If you’ve seen my previous Instagram posts, you’ll know I’ve recently discovered a love for Doña Cholita Mexican tortillas, so you can imagine my excitement when it was announced that their tacos are made using Doñna Cholitas blue corn tortillas. Their gluten free corn tortillas are free of genetically modified ingredients and are made using nixtamalized maize flour, an ancient process where corn kernels are soaked in lime or wood ash and then rinsed for a more nutritious result.
As the main event, we indulged in St Baxter's sticky lamb ribs and fragrant watermelon and lychee salad. The ribs, which are soaked in brine for 12 hours and then slow cooked for an additional 12 hours, are flavoursome and exceptionally tender. To accompany this dish we were served truffle and parmesan fries, made with shaved truffle. The aroma itself, is enough to make you salivate. None of this truffle oil business, Head Chef Sarah, sources shaved truffle and mixes this through the aioli to create a flavour packed dish.
And lucky last, the Dulce de Leche dessert, because we like to finish on a sweet note. Homemade caramel ice cream sandwiched in between two chocolate chip cookies, served with salted caramel popcorn and dulce de leche, a caramel sauce made from condensed milk.
St Baxter's Californian Eatery
693 Brunswick Street, New Farm, QLD
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Thursday: 4pm - 10pm
Friday: 12pm - 10.30pm
Saturday: 8am - 10.30pm
Sunday : 8am - 9pm