San Antone by Bludso's

Two years ago, opening a barbecue joint in Melbourne would have hit the meat storm right in the eye. Today we've reached that point of the trend where passions are flagging. Only the true enthusiasts will continue to queue with much enthusiasm for 'cue, and only the best places that jumped on board the bandwagon will survive.

In the past four years Melbourne has gone from having barbecue that only the uninitiated could love to having an acceptable, and now fist-bump-worthy scene. Places like LP Quality Meats in Sydney and Fancy Hanks in Melbourne are both serious restaurants and seriously good.

To open in that market, you better be bringing an A game.

But if anyone could smash that brisket out of the park surely it would be San Antone, an outpost of Texas-style barbecue joint Bludso's, considered among the best in LA if you're talking the tiny Compton original where it's all about brisket eaten off your lap in your car.

Kevin Bludso grew up doing trips to Texas, where his grandmother taught him the ropes. In 2013, his hole-in-the-wall was picked up by a backer who applied the recipe to a glitzy, cocktail-slinging joint in Hollywood. Now, the $2.50 roulette end of Crown Casino is Bludso's unlikely third home.

It's a big, clean sports bar with Coors and Bud beer signs, big screens showing college football and ice hockey and huge wooden slats barricading in those bright Mexican ceramics and bull heads people buy for their relatives on holiday.

Taking a further step left from the Compton Bludso's format, San Antone adds Mex to the Tex barbecue, which means ceviche, Tecates and quesadillas with pulled pork alongside your hot links and corn bread.

Ceviche is a nice idea for those less keen on tackling a mountain of meat, but our modest-sized plate of fridge-cold prawn nubbins, avocado, tomato, chilli and diced scallops needs a far bigger acid and salt kick to give it the vibrancy it should have. We leave ours and move to fried green tomatoes, which are essentially an excuse to eat slightly doughy fried batter masked by a tangy cream dressing.

Corn tortillas for tacos are properly warm with a smashed black bean cargo that has a good wallop of chilli heat. But why so crazily stingy on the manchego cheese and shredded iceberg? It's as if it's Mexico's less legal export.

So the Amex side is a little disappointing. But you came for what's coming out of the Ole Hickory smoker behind the glass. You can get your ribs, pulled pork or brisket by the 100 grams or order a tray with a bit of most things for $64, or $89 including the pork spare ribs.

Texturally the chicken is the standout by a mile, all snappy skinned, lightly yellow from the smoke with the exact amount of give so you can twist the bone out clean while the meat maintains full juice.

The barbecue sauce is also a highlight, with that dead-on piquancy and heat of vinegar, smoky chilli and dark caramel sugars. Good, since you need this to jazz up pulled pork that's on the drier end of the spectrum and lacking permeating smoke.

Our brisket is forgotten from the platter and may have been forgotten in the smoker too. It's uniformly brown and crumbled – neither pulled nor sliced. A photo to LA friends gets an outraged reply.

Cornbread is the sweeter cake-like variety served with a sachet of Crown Casino's own butter. Mac and cheese is legit in its sticky buttery cheesiness, though the coleslaw is soft and wan, bringing little in the way of freshness.

Roasted banana cream pie doesn't look as good as it sounds – it's oxidised so comes out grey – but it does taste like you expect bananas, biscuits and cream to. Pecan pie would be better if warmed through.

Still, nowhere in Melbourne has so accurately captured the feeling of being in America, although it's specifically the vibe of being in a barbecue joint in an airport, which has its own strange appeal: the hostess-waiter double act; the big iced teas. Service is super upbeat, although teamwork seems poor – no one crosses the floor to help a colleague in the weeds. Which means one person hanging out while you wait for your waiter to become free.

The reality is, San Antone is an average barbecue restaurant – not bad, but in 2016 it's outmatched. Still, barbecue is a patient practice and perhaps time will heal all. Till then, pass the sauce.

THE LOW-DOWN
Pro tip Get extra sauce
Go-to dish The chicken is the highlight and good value at $14 a half
Like this The Yaks Barbecue Festival is returning in February. theyaks.melbournebarbecuefestival.com.au