Amex Eats: Slow-cooked winter warmers in Brisbane

Gerard’s sits on the Valley’s fairy-lit James Street, playing to a packed crowd of fine diners. The bistro’s share menu includes a dry-spice-rubbed brisket slow cooked for 12 hours and finished on hot coals. The full ensemble includes a bowl of garlic yoghurt, herby ricotta salad with sumac and house-pickled peppers. Wrap it all in crispy flat bread and you’ve got some damn fancy finger food.

Italian chef Dario Brugnoni makes his ribboned pappardelle from scratch and tops it with a rich confit duck ragù for the optimal bowl of comfort food. Don’t like duck? Opt for the lamb ragù and tagliatelle instead – same diff, all the yums, and both pair equally well with a glass of Italian red. The restaurant is tucked in a cosy enclave in Rosalie village where you can secretly feed your pasta-fixated gluttony.

This mega-cheesy, pickle-laden, mustard-oozing sanger is bulked out with soft pork and is everything your diet hates. Amp weekend cheat calories with a side of criss-cross waffle fries and a Budweiser, or slurp a happy hour thickshake between 3-5pm. Given the delightful possie on leafy Racecourse Road, consider settling in for an afternoon at the bar. Slow-cooked baby back ribs are on hand when you get hungry again.

Warm yourself from the inside out with a rich tagine from Brissie’s eminent Middle Eastern locale. Big chunks of lamb tear under your fork and swim in a soupy concoction laced with couscous, olives, preserved lemon and a hit of spice. Mushroom heaters allow Brisbanites to entertain their alfresco dining habits throughout winter, with a water feature and greenery creating the welcome atmosphere of a tropical resort.

Get in on the craic with a pub lunch of hearty Irish stew and a pint of Guinness. The Irish head chef has jazzed up a family recipe by serving slow braised lamb and root veg stew in a case of flaky pastry, and this sits alongside a good dollop of creamy mash. Consider it respectable stomach lining if planning a Friday arv sesh with your cronies.

This casual joint smokes chicken on the bone for three to four hours to give your average chook a flavour boost. Try the sweet, soft meat as half a bird at dinner or between brioche at lunch with housemade barbecue sauce ($19). Lunch combos let you go all-out with a glass of beer or wine and crisp Cajun fries. The cowhide bar and US flag feature wall channel the American barbecue feels.

Mrs Brown’s is a hub of fun and food amid the high-rise jungle in Newstead. The missus is no secret to the locals who cram elbow-to-elbow on weekends to get jolly and share plates of mouth-melting lamb, slow roasted in garlic and thyme. Korean fried cauliflower makes a devilish support act and the mild osso buco massaman curry runs a hot second in the slow-cooked stakes.

Enjoy the cosy embrace of this American-style diner while wrapping your chops around a baguette loaded with 20-hour site-smoked brisket. The goods are drizzled with housemade molasses barbecue sauce and ranch dressing, and come wedged between pickles, white onions and red cheddar. The fact this beauty goes for $15 with fries between 11.30am-3pm Mon-Sat just sweetens the deal.

Slip behind Madame Rouge’s heavy red curtains and experience 1920s Paris with a bowl of beef bourguignon. Head chef Gert Pretorious steps up a traditional French peasant dish with fine cuts of Angus beef infused with quality Burgundy wine before ladling it over creamy mash. Cubes of lardon and a scattering of micro herbs give added pop. Use your complimentary sourdough to gracefully lick the plate.

One of South Bank’s latest additions is good ground for a rollicking night out, with a German band on stage and a giant hunk of meat on the table. Eat away ze winter blues with brined and slow-steamed pork knuckle that’s finished in a 220-degree oven to crisp up the skin. Enjoy with a generous complement of sauerkraut, apple compote and mash… plus a German beer (obvs). A pretzel starter is optional but encouraged.