Slim's Pork Chop Express, Liverpool

Slim’s Pork Chop Express, or the lovingly abbreviated ‘Porkchop,’ opened in August of this year atop Seel Street, next door (and kid cousin) to Salt Dog Slim’s. Following on from the meaty theme of the world beer emporium next door, Porkchop specialise in smoked meats, bespoke cocktails and all-round good vibes. They have a Josper grill and everything (no, I’m not sure what that is either but it sounds formidable). 

The restaurant is themed around 1986 cult classic/box office flop Big Trouble in Little China, so film fans will enjoy the little nods to Kurt Russell’s disaster of an action movie in the decor (see their really cool mural on the wall as you enter) and in the menu. Oh, and the music is eclectic, so your unavoidable food coma will at least be accompanied by sufficient crooning, anywhere from Queen to Interpol. But enough about aesthetics because the proof is in the pork.

On your first trip I’d recommend taking along a few friends and building a tray of different bits to get a feel for the menu. It really comes down to your taste in meat but the smoked sausage and beef brisket are must-trys. (I’m yet to attempt the T-bone with bone marrow butter, mainly because at £50 I’ll have to wait until my ma’s catching the bill for that one.)

But I will tell you to get the Coach Bombay Fries on your first visit… and on every subsequent visit thereafter. This is a twist on egg and chips and hands down the best thing on the menu. Imagine your egg and chips but with confit of duck, duck gravy, a fried duck egg thrown on top, a garnish of raw spring onion and grated cheese. If that doesn’t give you an itchy Insta-finger I don't know what will.

Another irresistible creation is the Philly cheesesteak spring roll. Having eaten the sandwich version in its US birthplace, I was apprehensive when ordering. The rolls are part of the Low Pan banquet (smoked belly pork char sui bun, Philly cheesesteak spring rolls, homemade siu mai, salt and pepper ribs all for £12) and they manage to live up to their bready counterpart. As for the rest of the banquet, the ribs are on the skinny side and the texture of the char siu bun isn't a patch on the Chinatown fare.

Drinks-wise, there’s no shortage of options. The ones that manage to hold their own within this menagerie of meat are the rhubarb-infused gin and tonic, the Jack Burton Julep (in super trendy Woodford Reserve tin) and the rhubarb and Aperol spritz. Those with a younger palate will enjoy their specially mixed Gasoline Sweet Teas. And if you have little ones (or if you just want one) then their milkshakes are immense.

But what I like most about Porkchop – food, cocktails, music and décor aside – is something ethereal and intrinsic. When you ask the staff what they think about a dish, or if they could recommend you one, their eyes glaze over as if they’ve slipped into a Homer-Simpson-thinking-about-donuuuuuts-esque daydream. You get a genuine, well-reasoned and serious answer. You can't teach that – that comes from the soul/stomach. It also smacks of the kind of staff who love what they do; and there’s no better endorsement for a customer.

Every member of the Porkchop team seems dedicated to the same vision: to know and serve great eats, beats and booze. So apologies in advance if you develop some sort of smoked meat/rhubarb gin-induced addiction like poor, poor me. [Mary Kate Menear]

If you liked Slim’s Pork Chop Express, try: 

Snoop Hoggy Hogs (Hogroast kiosks), Liverpool

NoLIta Cantina, Liverpool

Luck Lust Liquor & Burn, Manchester