I love Lucky Voice in Soho, but whenever I visit I try to avoid eating for most of the day.
There are two reasons for this:
- My singing ability increases proportionately to my level of drunkenness and so an empty stomach means a couple of drinks and I’m in the singing ‘zone’ and can murder various songs.
- I can gorge out afterwards at American rib place Bodeans, which is just over the road.
Bodean’s comprises of an upstairs no-nonsense takeaway/café and a smart basement restaurant, with wood panels, baseball on numerous plasma screen teles, various U.S. lagers (served appropriately cold) and Bruce Springsteen, the Killers and other classic American bands on the sound system. It might not be everyones cup of tea, but as an unabashed fan of the old U.S. of A, I like it.
Our party of 12 had booked into the restaurant and by this point the beer muchies had set in and so I orderd some nachos to start and then a half rack of ribs and pulled pork for my main.
Pulled pork is a Bodeans speciality. It is slowed
cooked pork that just melts in the mouth and is packed full of BBQ flavour. Once again it didn't disappoint.
The best ribs I ever had were in Memphis (after visiting the city I see why Elvis had an overeating problem!) and I still dream about them: they were beautifully seasoned and marinated with meat so tender it nearly bought tears to my eyes. While Bodeans doesn't reach those heights the ribs are still pretty good with plenty of meat on them and a smoky BBQ flavour.
The mains come with crunchy, creamy homemeade coleslaw and fries and just for good measure I shared some onion rings as well. Mention also needs to go the impressive range of BBQ sauces that are found on every table, which can add an extra kick to the ribs if you think they need them.
If you do visit then i'd urge you to stick with the specialities of the house as the only dishes that drew any complaints were the prawns (overcooked) and the chicken (dry), but people who stuck to the red meat were delighted.
Service was good and we were asked if we wanted more drinks before the last one had been finished and the food all arrived together despite the large order.
All in all a good meal and Bodean's just needs to keep on doing its thing...
