Man vs Meat

Meat and men and meaty men.

A phrase that sums up "Grillstock" quite nicely.

So the annual Christmas work-do came around (very belated- more like a new years shindig), and instead of opting for the usual chain restaurants to gorge in , we thought we'd try something new and support a local business.

Our resident piercer (for all who don't know- F.Y.I,  I work in a piercing shop) had heard on the grapevine about a certain "Grillstock challenge", where a champion's t-shirt and a bottle of house BBQ sauce was on offer for anyone who could complete the array of food in 1 hour or under. "Easy!" (famous last, testosterone fueled, words...).

Up we rocked, ready to be out-meated, where we were greeted and seated on the large communal bench that spanned the length of the restaurant; a kind of 'last supper'/ hill-billy saloon love-child layout. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. The dull red lighting and scrapbook-esque wallpaper soon got our deep south juices flowing, just in time for the trays of food, piled high with tasty meat treats to appear. I say trays and I mean trays- there's no messing about in Grillstock.

I tucked into my 'Smokestack Burger', consisting of 1 patty (or 'Burger' to those getting confused with the Simpsons character), topped with pulled Pork with a side of fries and 'slaw' (Cowboy for 'coleslaw'), and MY GOD was it good. Not being one for Pork normally, this baby converted me. Tender and tasty, the accompanying american square cheese and gherkins made it potentially one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. And I do love a good burger.

Tooth pick 'nd all! 

The star of the show however, was the 'Ultimate low 'n' slow BBQ meat feast' a.k.a The Grillstock Challenge. All four meats (pulled Pork, Chicken, Ribs and Brisket), a 'hot link sausage' backed up by lashings of Slaw, BBQ Beans, Burnt ends, Cornbread and finished with a pile of fries- just in case the meat alone wasn't enough. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. With an hour on the clock umpired by the Grillstock team, a quick pep-talk, and a motivational photo of the person currently holding the most ridiculous record of finishing in 19 minutes- (a 20 something size-8 girl), our piercer got underway.

He's not small. In no way is he fat- I think "hench" is the word I'm going for. (He'll love that). And after a couple of days of drinking water to expand and train his stomach, (yeah, he took it pretty seriously), I was convinced he could complete it with absolute ease. How wrong was I. Half and hour in and the sweat started to show. Finished were the chicken, ribs, chips and slaw- pretty impressive in itself, but no where near a clean tray. A rival competitor commencing his meat challenge next to us, sparked some what of a masculine surge within our teammate resulting in the devourment of 3 ribs and a slab of cornbread. Somehow the prospects of finishing were looking bleak, and with this dawning upon his meat-filled mind, a cease-fire was declared. 1- 0 to Grillstock. Bravo.

A concentrated competitor on the left

An entertaining and appetite-pleasing, (understatement of the year), evening was successfully had by all thanks to the unique restaurant that is Grillstock. We left, stomach's swelled, smiles on and only a chunk of pride missing from our failed competitor. Better luck next time, ey!

A must visit if you find yourself hungry whilst roaming the streets of Bristol.

Remember kids: Meat, Music Mayhem!

p.s.- they have their own Grillstock Festival- how cool is that?!