The Roundhouse Taproom 62 Peel Street, Central Tel: 2366 4880 Open: Tuesday to Saturday 6pm-midnight, Sunday noon-9pm Cuisine: American, specifically Texas-style barbecue Price: about HK$250 without drinks. There's no service charge. Ambience: friendly. The dining area is small, so you'll probably see the staff moving the tables around to accommodate different groups. Recommended dishes: we ended up trying almost the entire list of barbecued meats. We liked most of them, especially the beef, which isn't surprising because Texas is cattle country. Combo A (HK$220) gave us a quarter pound of smoky, tender beef brisket and a quarter pound of moist pulled pork. The combo came with unmemorable side dishes of potato salad, "chzy squash", fried pickles and sliced white bread. The beef short rib was expensive at HK$400, but it was delicious - very juicy and tender, with less smoke and more pepper than the brisket. The house-made sausage (HK$60) had a natural casing and coarsely ground, well-seasoned meat. The Frito pie (HK$65), which we ordered out of curiosity, was surprisingly good. It was Frito corn chips covered in a mild, beany chilli. Pros: the meats were so flavourful that we didn't need to add any of the three sauces offered. Cons: the tables are tiny, round and tall, and the stools, which are high and backless, are uncomfortable after a short time. The pork ribs (H$158) were rather dry and not nearly as good as the other meats. What else? The beer list is extensive, with an excellent selection of craft and draft beers. susan.jung@scmp.com
