Jackson's Court Charcoal Chicken, Doncaster East by Obelix

I like the village-y feel of Jackson’s Court, Doncaster.  It has something for everyone and it’s made up of local small businesses, not conglomerates.  Several cafes, grocer, deli, butcher, post office and an unexpected concentration of hairdressers.  As it happens my hairdresser is located there and one day whilst eavesdropping on a gaggle of women gossiping whilst getting their hair styled, I learnt that the charcoal chicken place at Jackson’s Court is pretty dang good.  So I decided to give it a try for dinner.  I call this reconnaissance.

 
It was comforting to see that this particular charcoal chicken shop used Lilydale’s free range chickens.  I ordered one of the family packs for $29.  This came with a mammoth sized charcoal chook, large bag of chips, tubs of gravy, peas and coleslaw.  This was enough to feed Kiddo and I for several days over several meals (sidenote: by day 3 I was thoroughly sick of chicken). I only mention this as it is an indicator of how many you can feed with the family pack.  I think a family of four would be stuffed to the gills with it.  Or if you have very young children or relatively light eaters, it could easily stretch to feed six. 

I shall cut to the chase to the charcoal chicken.  It was definitely one of the better charcoal chooks – tender, moist with the charcoal flavours coming through without being over powering.  There was a bit of stuffing, not the wet wodge of stuffing you would normally find in a supermarket roast chook.  It was a minute amount, almost like a seasoning inside the carcass. 

The chips were ah-mazing!  Good thick cut crunchy chips with a light sprinkling of chicken salt.  Generous bag of the stuff. 

Unfortunately as wonderful as the chook and chips were, the gravy and peas were a bit meh.  The peas themselves were ok.  They were just peas.  But the gravy was so full of starch, I could have tipped it out of the container and it would have stood on its own.  Even when served hot, the gravy was still in solid form.  It was a bit off putting.  The coleslaw was so so.  It was standard cabbage and carrot affair with standard issue mayo from a jar.  A bit too heavy on the dressing for my liking. 

Verdict:  We liked it. 

Overall: 
Jackson’s Court Charcoal Chicken does great charcoal chicken and chips.  I would definitely go back for the chook and chips but would steer clear of the lack lustre sides.