Firedoor Restaurant in Surry Hills, Australia

When I went to Basque Country last year, there was a Michelin-starred place called Asador Etxebarri featuring a very cool array of wood-fueled grills that I wanted go to. But as a last minute solo diner without a ride into the hills nor a reservation, I just couldn't make it happen. Well, it turns out that the chef at our lunch venue down here in Sydney today is an Etxebarri alumnus. And it is an amazing place: the wonderful aroma from the grills hits you once you walk in (23 Mary Street, +61-2-8204-0800). There are multiple fires in the kitchen, with each pit using a different kind of wood, I believe.

I was blown away by the food, starting even with a simple plate of slightly charred cucumber, radish, and fennel crudite with a smoked roe cream. Course by course was just delicious, particularly a grilled octopus with smoked tomatoes, a bavette flank steak with grilled broccolini, or that cod above with grilled romaine and pil-pil sauce. It was awesome sitting at the counter watching chef Lennox work his magic, shifting the food around between parts of the grill like a dance, resulting in a beautiful smokiness in the food.

Yes, yes, and yes, this is easily one of my favorite restaurants in the world right now. In some ways, it reminds me a bit of Burnt Ends, but is arguably even better with its array of local ingredients over multiple grills, more accessible inventory of tables, and slightly lower prices. Now, "lower prices" is relative, as the chef's menu was a whopping A$95 (US$68) excluding wine pairing, but that's still cheaper than Burnt Ends. And I'd easily prioritize this over NOMAD on my next trip to Sydney. Heck, I'd travel to Sydney just to eat at this place again. Yes, it was *that* good.