Hobart Restaurant Bitch

Goodness me ...

2011-11-06T12:40:00.002+11:00

Well, it's been some time. Had another baby. I'm done now. Thank you. Having said that, I'm not going to be any more use as a restaurant reviewer than I've been for the past three years, so it is time to say goodbye for now.

Thank you to those who shared the passion, disagreed with me, supported me, and pissed me off. It's been a blast.

GW the HRB

Orizuru is Lost

2011-01-11T14:18:00.002+11:00

Orizuru has been tarted up.

There is a beautiful counter of reclaimed timber, an open kitchen inviting you to peek in, a tiny sushi bar (which I missed when I arrived), and a cute (if confusing) cubby hole in which to pay one’s bill. Black ropes hang from the ceiling to demarcate a square section of the restaurant (why, I don’t know – perhaps to house non-existent couches??). Behind the counter is an intriguing piece of what I suspect to be reclaimed Japanese commercial visual merchandising – large squares of Japanese kanji alternating with squares of blackboard. Cool.

But …

Cleaning products, buckets, dirty tea-towels, a responsible service of alcohol poster, boxes piled to waist height, a dishwasher tray stacked with tumblers … Jarring against the attempt at a clean modern-Japanese design aesthetic.

And then …

My tempura was soggy. And service was sloppy … but they were understaffed.

Here’s the thing … when you take the plunge and tart up a well established eatery like Orizuru, the rest of the socks need to be pulled up too. The food needs to be spot on, the service needs to be tight, and for heaven’s sake at least some tidiness!

There was nothing wrong with the old Orizuru … the pine tables and paper screens had a 70s fishing wharf authenticity, and progress is a good thing, but loyal customers (like me) want to feel that despite the new surroundings, the place they loved hasn’t been lost.

But sadly, Orizuru is lost.

I was right the first time

2011-01-05T12:05:00.002+11:00

Was thinking this morning about the compromises one becomes prepared to make when trying to get out and about with kids.

I've been to the Margate Pancake Train for brunch (never done that before) ... and was surprised by just how good the cofffee and the pancakes with bacon and maple syrup (don't knock it til you've tried it) turned out to be. Better yet, the toddler-in-tow had a ball eating his "bekkin" on "Thomas".

But then I forgot my acidic impressions of old and ventured back to the ball, I mean Nose Bag. What was I thinking? Toys. They have toys, I thought. Well. The service was friendly and prompt. And that's the best I can say. Our food was tres, tres, average. The coffee was awful. And the toys were absolutely FILTHY! Now, I'm not a clean freak by any stretch. Build up their immune systems I say. But jeez this was shocking. To top it off, the object of my ire all those years ago gave a passive-aggressive little huff because Toddler left some finger prints behind. No running amok, no throwing things, no tantrums. Just finger prints. So much for child-friendly. Honestly.

So here's my tip for the child endowed: Take crayons, toys, portable DVD player (whatever it takes) and go to your usual haunts. Forget so called kid-friendly, head for the good gear.

Here's my other tip: Try out the Margate Pancake Train for something different. It really is worth the drive.

Ah, yeah, sorry about the delay!

2010-11-01T12:50:00.002+11:00

What can I say ... it has been two and a half years! What happened? Well, when they say "your life as you know it will end" once you have kids ...

Friends, we're just going to have to take this slowly. I know you want to know nought about nappies, teething, and [heaven help us] breast feeding, so you'll just have to bide a while as I slowly re-enter the world of dining grown-up-style.

Step 1. Have babysitter, will eat.

Was recently invited to an event at a "gentlemen's club". And no, I wasn't the entertainment. A black tie affair at the Tasmania Club. Quail entree - very excellent. Perfectly medium rare eye fillet. Excellent wine list. This venue is for members and their guests only, and is perhaps something of a hidden Hobart treasure. If you can get past the stuffy formality of this old world relic, find a member, get yourself invited, and go dammit!

Step 2. Dine during the day.

Breakfast has become the new dinner. Well, for those of us who are up before dawn! Lower Sandy Bay's two beachside venues: the Beach House and the Ball Bag, I mean Nose Bag, are both kid friendly and do good coffee. Food at the Beach House is far superior.

Step 3. Get excited about something

The much promised, then hopes-dashed, now much-promised-again Belgian baker is [definitely] opening in Taroona. Been to Belgium ... so I'm a bit excited about the prospect of a real waffle. Please, oh please, oh please.

Oh, and Garagiste anyone? Where is that babysitter ... gotta get me there [not sure about those commie shared tables though].

That's it for now ... thanks to those of you who have remained vigilant for me getting my act back together. Posts won't be frequent, but they will heppen.

Glad to be back,
HRB ;-)

Where's Georgie?

2008-06-08T12:26:00.002+10:00

After something of a sabbatical, Georgie will return soon with not a nice word to say about anyone.

Catch as Catch Can

2007-10-29T11:23:00.000+11:00

Here’s a brief note on Catch, located in the old Rockefellers site in Morrison St at the waterfront.

Delicious. Stylish. Friendly.

Check out the website if you will (although it looks like the listed menus might be out-of-date). Better yet, just go. Apart from the screaming hyena at a nearby table (surely it wasn’t that funny, love), the ambience was as tasteful and warm as the food.

We sampled:
• Carpaccio of beef – Divine
• Cured ocean trout – Gorgeous
• Fish cake with king prawns – Not bad
• What I really loved … The Fish Pie – Wholesome, old-fashioned, gorgeous.

Go check it out. I’ll definitely be back!

GW

Me Wah Marque II

2007-09-25T21:35:00.000+10:00

I really had to give this some thought. And why the rush? Me Wah's own website (http://www.mewah.com.au/) doesn't have their Hobart restaurant listed and even their Hobart online Yellow Pages ad shows an interior of the Launceston flagship.

It took me three visits to come to write anything, and then I'm still not sure. Here are the main things to consider:

1. This is a classy joint. More staff than you can poke a chopstick at. Crisp linen on the tables. Gorgeous silver rests for spoons and chopsticks. A wine list (and after dinner drinks trolley) to get rather excited about (even if your wallet chokes).

2. The service is very attentive. Shared dishes are not just plonked in the middle of the table, but served out to each diner. White wine is stored in a grand ice "bucket" (more a ceremonial-style bowl) in the centre of the room once opened.

3. Enclosed banquet rooms are just asking for trouble. Delightful (on the whole) decorations indicate money has been well and truly spent. Even the toilets are a treat.

4. Food? That's where I get stuck. Have been for dinner twice and lunch once (no yum cha ... sorry gang). On each occasion the meal averaged $100 per head (including wine). Not cheap. But that's silver service, isn't it?

Here's what I've sampled:

Soups - Have tried the Shark Fin Soup and the Duck Soup - both awesome

Wild Harvest Scallops - Average (better at Golden Harbour)

Jumbo Oysters - Over the top, should be experienced at least once

Seafood Medallions - Best avoided

Crab Dumplings - Beautiful the first time, subsequent samplings good but didn't repeat that standard

Duck Sang Choy Bao - Great (if somewhat OTT)

Vegetable Curry - Terrible, very "maggi"

Salt & Pepper Prawns - Not great (better at Golden Harbour)

Whole Fish - Snapper? Who knows? Disappointing regardless

Peking Duck - Delicious even if serving size disappoints

Dessert sampler - Amazing. Fantastic bird-shaped pastry thing stuffed with red bean paste (not to everyone's taste), and other delights

And more ...

To be brutally honest, I think you will get much better food (on my experience, others beg to differ) at Golden Harbour. For about half the price or less. Naturally you will not get the same experience though.

Me Wah is a "special occasion" restaurant. It plays this card for all it's worth. Lions at the door, wait-staff saturation, gorgeous decoration, and so on. Go for a treat. But unfortunately this won't become your Friday night regular (or your Sunday lunch hangover cure). Will I go back? Shit yeah, but it will be for a cashed-up banquet. None of this dicking around with the al a carte menu. Banquet options start at $65 per head.

To be fair, this place is based on the reputation of an outstanding Launceston Me Wah tradition. It is a grand enterprise in its infancy. There are enough elements to give a hint of Little Bourke St. I say, let's give it a chance to find its feet. Be patient.

Me Wah Alert!

2007-08-28T00:00:00.000+10:00

Get your engines ready ... Me Wah in Sandy Bay opens Tuesday 28th August, 2007.

If you're reading this over your morning coffee, that's tonight fuzzballs!

Stay tuned,
GW.

Salamanca Nights

2007-08-24T12:31:00.000+10:00

The new bar Observatory above Blue Skies (where Sisco’s used to be) reminds me of a very large version of a classic Melbourne/Sydney cocktail bar. Most impressed by the sexy light fittings and funky furnishings. Definitely worth a peak. A fine cocktail was followed by a fine white, which we paired with nibbles from the tapas menu. I’m not sure why they call it a tapas menu, it seems more like an entrée menu to me … in other words, these small dishes are pretty generous. And very delicious. The salt and pepper calamari is a must-try.

In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much we belatedly realised we were too late for a restaurant dinner elsewhere. Like Mary and Joseph, we could not find anyone in Salamanca who’d take us in. Until we were directed to the Lower House.

The Lower House is a funky conversion of what was once the Elbow Room. Excellent use of the space has created a warm and intimate feel. Service was welcoming, and very attentive for a large late-night venue. The menu is available until midnight, so we sat ourselves down with another fine white and a very generous tasting plate (they have several varieties of platter for those who want to pick, and much more besides).

In short, Friday nights in Hobart have grown up a little. Our experience was an exciting foray into two very good venues that are a step outside the Hobart norm.

About time.

Have a great weekend!
GW

Mikaku - Spawn of the Devil

2007-07-27T14:45:00.000+10:00

Quite simply the most disgusting meal I have ever had.

I'm a sushi pig. Everyone knows that. And in general I'll eat anything not nailed down. But ...

Mikaku in Salamanca Place has been famous for its sushi buffet for years. Almost as famous is the filthy carpet and nauseating toilets. But hey, we'd figured we're not eating off the floor or the toilet, and so over the years the sushi buffet has been an occasional indulgence in gluttony for gluttony's sake.

That is, until a recent weekend.

We arrived just after opening. Being just after opening, we thought we'd be first-ish in line for a super-fresh sushi buffet hog-fest. Maybe God was trying to tell me something about gluttony (a bit late now), but instead of super-fresh sushi, this is what we found:

The mayonnaise tasted tinny - was it off?
The omelette atop the "egg sushi" was grey around the edges. How long had it sat there?
The rice in each piece of sushi was stale.
The tonic in my g & t was flat.
And then there was the tuna ...

The "raw tuna" was chewy, very chewy. It was chewy for a very good reason. It wasn't tuna.

Sitting on the counter behind the sushi bar was a lump of silverside sitting in its open supermarket packaging. This is what was being sliced up and passed off as tuna.

Silverside.

Raw silverside.

For the sake of your health, for the sake of all that is holy, avoid this place. I'm of a mind to call the health inspector. Look out, here comes another wave of nausea!

p.s. If you want sushi there are only two things you need to know:

Orizuru in the Mure's complex
Kawasemi in Moonah

Both have Japanese masters in the kitchen. The only authentic Japanese to be had in Hobart.

Golden Harbour

2007-07-10T16:41:00.000+10:00

Golden Harbour sits quietly minding its own business in Hunter St, under Zero Davey. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of spot, next door to Saffron. I was completely put off when I tried to book a table over the phone. It was way too hard. But something made me persist.

Oh lordy, my China Syndrome quest may have yielded the unholy grail of hangover cures ...

The evidence:

Wonton soup that has redefined my opinion of what great wonton soup looks and tastes like. A delicate broth reminiscent of the royal Chinese cuisine we tasted in Vietnam. A bowl with seaweed and wontons that looked so appealing and so fresh that I expected wee fishies to be darting in and out of the seaweed. The wontons were little burstlets of flavour and I could have eaten this all day.
Steamed scallops served on the half shell - fresh, plump, and had to be teased free of the shell. Served with crushed fresh garlic, rice vermicelli, and a delicate mirin-style sauce. Gorgeous!
Salt and pepper prawns with shells that shattered in the mouth - yes people, eat them with the shells on (unlike the indelicate manhandling I watched at the next table). Salty. Peppery. Prawny. Yummy.

They advertise themselves as purveyors of Fine Chinese Cuisine ... and I'm glad to say I didn't feel this was an overstatement.

The setting is very comfortable. No laminate or vinyl to be seen, instead there are carved timber tables and very solid chairs. The service was attentive and considerate, if a little awkward at times. Booking by telephone is a feat in communication - but well worth it. I'm not sure I'm convinced by the wisdom of the big screen TV airing Chinese variety shows, but I'm sure I'll grow to love it.

The sad thing is that Sunday lunch is by booking only. No bookings, they're closed. So, as far as my spontaneous hangover cure goes ... there'll be a little less spontaneity involved. Until of course they are regularly hounded by the likes of us for a Sunday lunch ... then it should be on for young and old!

Oh, I forgot to mention Golden Harbour is great value. Four of us shared:
2 bottles of Nobilo sauvignon blanc
Wonton soup each
Steamed scallops with rice vermicelli and garlic
Whole steamed fish with garlic and ginger
Salt and pepper prawns
Rice
Total price ... $160. Most excellent indeed!

AND THEN we went back for more. Our second outing was a brave dip into the other items on the menu. Beans with mince. Sounds appetising, non? Well let me tell you buster, don't screw your little nose up until you've tried it!

In stark and grossly disappointing contrast was our visit to the Bund in Shanghai. The elegant interior set my expectations way too high. The team from Sen's is behind the scenes, so the duck should be a corker. Our meal (not duck) was less than great, our waitress should have been wearing L-plates (and perhaps she was), in short everything that could have gone wrong did. BUT I'm putting this down to opening niggles. This could be a great restaurant once they settle in. However, the pending birth of Mee Wah in Magnet Court is going to be a big competitor. Let's hope there's enough good will for everyone. At this rate we'll soon be referring to "Sandy Beijing".

In the meantime ... Get thee to Golden Harbour in Hunter St and try those damn scallops!

GW

Lucky Me

2007-06-14T10:00:00.000+10:00

When I was a little girl in Launceston, "Lucks Corner" was the little butcher in town just up the street from the umbrella shop. I loved the umbrella shop, it seemed old fashioned and mysterious. Then one day the man who sold umbrellas died. The story was he dropped dead behind the counter, with a thin stream of smoke rising from his still-lit cigarette. That's the legend anyway.

Lucks Butchers was a typical small town butcher. Plastic grass, plastic sheep and cows. Big burly butcher blokes behind the counter. But not anymore.

Lucks has been transformed into a classy restaurant. The type that Launceston is becoming famous for. The service is exemplary. Make sure you take the opportunity to seek recommendations for wines matched to your meal.

There was recent chatter on this sight about jamon ... I'm a fan. Lucks does it beautifully.

It's not cheap, by Launceston standards. Pricewise it's on a par with Marque IV or [boo hoo] Choux Shop. The decor is just gorgeous. Imported wallpaper in blue and gold gives an elegant air, with the stunning vintage French 'Lido' billboard hogging the attention from behind the bar. There is a private dining room / wine cellar ... which I am just dying to find an excuse to get a truckload of friends to Launceston for.

Check out their website (which doesn't do the place full justice) - www.lucks.com.au. Unfortunately the online menu is a bit out of date, but it gives you the general idea. And wait til you see the 36 page interactive wine list!

Lucks is worth the drive to Launceston. Make a weekend of it. They do breakfast and lunch too. Maybe if you take a sleeping bag they'll let you camp in the wine cellar all weekend. My idea of heaven!

GW

China Syndrome

2007-04-25T12:56:00.000+10:00

Sen's is gone. My Sunday hangover cure is no more. To be replaced with a Nando's ... This is a sick joke, right?

Believe me, I know the bain-marie at Sen's was the spawn of satan. But anyone eating from a bain-marie deserves what they get. Sen's did great yum cha. In the early days they did the trolleys. So exciting, and such an incitement to gluttony and speed eating. But the trolleys were unsustainable and a la carte yum cha was the result. But it was fine. Lovely dumplings, great Peking Duck Rolls, and what a wonton soup. Once you strayed away from the yum cha, things were perhaps a bit dodgy, but who wants beef in black bean sauce anyway?

Sen's is gone. And so begins my Chinese restaurant odyssey in search of a semi-authentic, hangover curing replacement. The first steps in this journey were taken hangoverless, to ensure I had my wits about me. First stops were Ming Court and the Oriental, both in Sandy Bay. Ming Court does great stuffed mushrooms, fairly average Mongolian Beef ... and Peking Duck is not on their standard menu. The Oriental does a lovely wonton soup (certainly in contention to become a Sunday hangover cure - except they don't open for lunch) and fantastic hot pots. I've sampled both the Emperor's Hot Pot and the seafood version. Delicious ... but you have to order Peking Duck 24 hours in advance.

My next stop could perhaps be Har Wee Yee in North Hobart or Flourishing Court on Macquarie St. But neither of these is open for Sunday lunch either. And I'm afraid to say that even though Castle Zayee in Lenah Valley advertises yum cha, the fact that they advertise "Asian and Western Cuisine" leaves them out of the race.

I've got my fingers crossed that Golden Harbour on the waterfront might fit the bill. Although when I rang at lunch time the other day to ask if they do yum cha ... they didn't answer the phone.

Once upon a time I could rely on Sen's to cure my fuzzy head with their clear broths and sweet hoi sin dipped Peking Duck. I could just turn up and eat myself to wellness. Perhaps the long-promised Mee Wah will one day materialise and all will be right in the world.

Sweet White Flesh

2007-04-10T12:40:00.000+10:00

It's crayfish season. Crayfish, crayfish, crayfish. Sucking the flesh from those spiny red legs. Tearing the meat from the tail and sliding it strip by strip into my mouth.

I love crayfish. I can't dive, but my friends can. And do. Why, this very weekend I lazed on the beach while the aquatic-types did their wetsuit-clad thing (no cray pots for them - this in hands on!). From the shore, watching their black neoprene bums bobbing I fantasised about wearing some Esther Williams style swimsuit and diving to the ocean floor, wrestling a cray from his rocky lair and springing to the surface, hair gleaming. At the end of this particular fantasy I walk triumphantly to the shore like Ursula Andress, knife strapped to my thigh. Instead, I satisfy myself with the knowledge that, although I may look more like Shelly Winters in the Poseidon Adventure than Ursula Andress and couldn't catch a cray to save myself, I can eat more crayfish than anyone else I know. In some circles that is akin to drinking a Russian under the table, vodka for vodka. Mmmm ... vodka and crayfish. Oooh, what a combination.

Aahh, crayfish season. How I love thee. And have you seen the great fat scallops this season? What's not to love about this place?

p.s. Yes I know. Crayfish is not a restaurant. Get over it.

Stumped

2007-03-15T22:14:00.000+11:00

I'm stumped and I'm spewing. Not only do I have no idea where to go to dinner tomorrow night, I just wrote a great blog rave about this frustration, only to lose my musings into the bland blogosphere.

Now I'm really, really cross.

And none the wiser re where to go for dinner. Oh, why is it so hard. We're a capital city. We have lots of clever people here. And we have lots of great produce. The sinful fact is I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored.

I want somewhere new, or at least somewhere with a new menu. What happened to all those promises of exciting new playpens for all us little hoglets. What happened to the new Mee Wah in Magnet Court? And what happened to Ruby Chard. Oh, I'm so tired of waiting Chris, just put us all out of our misery.

Lately this site has run the risk of becoming a travelogue for the overpaid and undersexed. Why? Because there is stuff all to say about the local scene. Yes, yes, I know. Lots of people are doing great things here. But greatness is only great the first or second time. By dinner number three, staring down the same menu ain't all it's cracked up to be.

So, here I am. Stumped, cranky, and bored. Better have another glass of wine.

GW.

The Sheep is Back

2007-02-07T15:39:00.000+11:00

Goodness ... That took longer than I expected! Time melts in Vietnam: days, weeks, they roll into months. Or at least they would have if I'd been able to extend my visa. Stayed on in Hanoi for an extra couple of weeks with some friends of my travel buddy. For those of you planning your own sojourn to Vietnam (you're right anon, everyone is going - don't be scared to join them, it's amazing) - here are some handy hints:

1. Beware the Lonely Planet curse!

Any time we ventured into a Lonely Planet endorsee we were swamped with westerners. Service was stretched and food was not on par with less well-known venues. Oh, and naturally these places were more expensive than other/better places. The famous Brothers Cafe in Hanoi was hideous - a buffet (why oh why) of luke warm food. Nuh uh. Not me. Lemongrass in Saigon was the scene of an Aussie punch-up in the street over who was first in line for the next available table! Ugh.

2. When is Ho Chi Minh City - go the royal cuisine!

Nam Ka in Dong Khoi St - This is a very expensive (by Vietnamese standards) option, but well worth it if you can afford a couple of hundred bucks for an amazing meal. Had birds nest soup with REAL birds nest in it (made of - no, not sticks - gelatinous bird vomit!). The food is heavily influenced by what I imagine is imperial Chinese cuisine (shark fin, lotus seed, etc) - Chinese culture has a strong influence throughout Vietnam. China is, after all, only a hop-skip-jump away. For those whose budgets don't stretch this far ... still in Dong Khoi St, try Oso - it's neon slogan out front says it all: No Pay, No Delicious

3. Local Cuisine Favourites

In Hoi An I devoured 'White Roses' (see photo below) by the bucket load. They are delicate dumplings made with tiny puffs of prawn meat in the middle. Yum yum yum. Try Dalat wine - a bit rough for the first few sips, but after that you won't care - you're on holidays and it's cheap! In Ho Chi Minh City don't miss the women on the street sides selling freshly made French-style waffles - they are crispy-crunchy and sweet and made on the spot over little braziers.

4. Throughout Vietnam the word to watch is SALAD!

Lotus root salad. Green mango salad. Banana flower salad. Green papaya salad. Just dive in face first. You'll be as addicted as I was. This is probably what I'll miss most about Vietnam (apart from the amazing people I met along the way).

5. Wine, gin, and jazz

Watch out for ice in some places. Cheaper places often won't put ice in your mixed drinks, cos the water's not so good. Mid-range places will put ice smashed from larger lumps in your drink - we tended to avoid this ice. We found that ice in tubular form was fine. You'll find pretty broad wine lists in many places (Australian, New Zealand, American, French, and Italian wines) and plenty of gin. Ooooh yeah! There are some mighty funky bars and clubs in Ho Chi Minh City (try Manna - cigar/wine/jazz lounge, or the rooftop bar at the Caravelle).

6. Just wander and discover

Vietnam is a safe place to travel. We tended to wander the streets, stumbling from gorgeous local bar to delicious local restaurant. Much more enjoyable and relaxed than the frenzied search for the latest recommendation-du-jour from Lonely Planet, HRB, or the like. Just wander and find your own way.

So that's it. I loved Vietnam. Vietnam loved me back (as evidenced by my sleek, fat belly).

And back to earth ... what have I missed?

GW ;-)

Georgie Goes Abroad ... Again!

2006-12-22T15:38:00.000+11:00

Don't love Christmas? Join the club! My best mate and I decided to avoid the blasted business this year and jetted off this morning like a couple of naughty girls sneaking off for a fag behind the bike shed. Currently I'm in the international departure lounge chomping on bad sushi, which I don't mind at all cos ... We're going to Vietnam! She's been before, but the closest I've been to Vietnam is learning how to make rice paper rolls. But I don't do that particularly well, so I'm excited to taste the real delight.

Have a merry Christmas all. Thanks for the lively debate in 2006, looking forward to boring you senseless in 2007!

GW xx

p.s. The REAL hot gossip is ...

Santa WON'T be coming to:

Francisco's - for being miserly with the seafood on their banquet
Chris Jackman - for making me wait so damn long for Ruby Chard (Pleeeeeeassse Chris, I'm dying here!)
Island Cafe and Criterion Cafe - For taking their reputations for granted and providing crap customer service
Georgie Weston - For being a grumpy old bitch (but I'll be in Vietnam without a chimney, so bah humbug!)

Santa WILL be coming to:

Marque IV - For maintaining high standards in the kitchen (if not the bedroom) all year
Chris Jackman - For every fab minute of Choux Shop
Three Windows in Oatlands - For making THE best coffee on the Midlands

Hot Gossip

2006-12-07T18:18:00.000+11:00

Now that we've all finished fantasising about lapdancers (see previous comments), I thought I'd share a tantalising piece of gossip that recently filtered through the mire.

Ms Read (of Mercury fame) plus Ben (of fab coffee at Marque IV fame) are reported to be an item. We probably don't care. We probably don't care that Ms Read wrote a fabulous bit about Marque IV in the Merc on 18 Nov. We probably don't care that she quoted chef Paul Foreman waxing lyrical about the delish coffees produced by said Ben. We probably also don't care that apparently Ben is a part-owner of Marque IV.

Not that you care, cos none of us listen to gossip anyway.

GW ;-)

p.s. Got goss you want to share without getting busted? Email me.

Tinkering for Tinkering's Sake

2006-11-19T18:04:00.000+11:00

Breakfast at Timeless Way ...

Cafe Latte:

Hot milk in glass Irish Coffee mug, dash of cinnamon on top
Coffee served in a separate steel jug

Pour coffee into your mug of milk - lose crema along the way

Poached eggs on toast:

Two eggs poached in egg rings served on a large white plate
Two slices of toast in a basket wrapped in a napkin

Place toast on plate, then carefully lift egg onto toast. This is only achievable if your eggs are poached to almost 'hard boiled' standard (which, of course, they were)

Need I say more?

GW.

The Ugly Fish Unmasked

2006-10-31T09:21:00.000+11:00

To all you Ay-mairy-cens, Happy Halloween. To myself I say, Happy Belated 2nd Birthday, HRB. It was a bit of an anti-climax.

It started with a hangover.

How unusual, you might say.

It is truly a sad statement of fact. Sen's was closed so I had no alternative. Sunday lunch at Fish 349. Why have I been so reluctant to try this place? Is it the polished concrete floors? Is it the colouring-in pencils? Is it the 'we cater to all tastes' menu? Or could it be the proclamation that "Take Out" is available?

So. Sen's was closed. No duck rolls for me. No wonton soup. Just a hangover and a second choice for lunch. We huffed in through the sliding glass doors and sat ourselves down. Thankfully there were no children screaming about the place. I was in the mood to stab someone with a fork.

My spirits lifted when I spied yummy-sounding stuff on the specials menu. Coconut prawns sounded good. But tempura oysters? Why, why, why? We ordered some oysters, au naturel of course. We had some garlic prawns on skewers and (to be perverse) some "tempura" scallops.

This is becoming a bit of a catch-cry of mine, but the tempura was "not a tempura's arse hole". The oysters were much less than fresh (trust me, I've been hoovering oysters into my face all month). The grilled prawns had that whiteness to them that whispers "I've been frozen for months", and they tasted a bit like garlic infused old bus tickets.

Having a hangover, one tends to scoff what is placed before one. With or without grace. So we scoffed and grumbled through full mouths. I muttered something about "see I told you so" and "could have had duck rolls" and "how dare Sen's be closed". We sat for a while, nattering. The plates sat and listened. They sat and listened so long that I detected a waft of foul prawn guts coming from the leftover tails. The Fish wasn't full; there weren't many people about at all. But still the plates sat.

Fish 349 is the kind of place where you stand at the counter to order and pay on the spot. As classless as I find this practice, at least it meant we could walk out without delay when the smell became overpowering.

Phew. What a stench. But you know what they say … ‘never eat an ugly fish’*.

GW the HRB
;-)

* Ellis RM, Jelinek GA. Never eat an ugly fish: three cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning from Western Australia. Emerg Med 1997; 9: 136-142

Spice Up My Life

2006-10-10T09:33:00.000+11:00

Sigiri used to do an authentic curry. A chicken curry consisted of a bowl of curry with a chicken drumstick sticking out. Similarly, a crab curry was a bowl of curry with a crab sticking out. I’m not kidding. Indie’s mother was in the kitchen doing all the cooking; Indie did front of house. The plastic table cloths mattered not a jot because the meals were cheap ($6 for a main) and damn good.

Sadly Sigiri went the way of all good things and invested in a bain marie. Standards dropped and Melbourne is now the worse for it.

So, when I read (admittedly a while ago) GP’s review of The Spice in Sandy Bay my curiosity was somewhat aroused. Allegedly, The Spice would prepare an Indian feast akin to what one might find in an Indian kitchen back home. All one had to do was ask.

Sadly, this wasn’t what we found. My sisters invited me out to The Spice recently in search of a Sigiri-style inspiration. We were very politely informed that the kitchen would prepare our dishes – from the menu – a bit hotter if we liked. That was it. Because, of course, all the dishes on the menu are ‘authentic’.

Well, bugger me.

The service at The Spice was very friendly and welcoming. We were quite happy with the dishes we ate (although they weren’t hot enough after all, but that’s just us being bogans). The ambience was a bit too bright though, dampening the mood.

GP’s review was stuck to the wall inside the front door. Mocking me.

Taking It Sloe

2006-09-24T21:33:00.000+10:00

Accidental discovery.

Leaning against the bar at T42 last night waiting for a friend, watching the night unfold. I spied a table of revellers. They all seemed to be drinking the same thing. It looked like Ribina on ice. Surely that can't be right.

I waited.

Sure enough one of the party approached the bar. A long explanation to the bartender followed her request for "More Icelandic vodka please."

Que?

Turns out this Icelandic vodka is called Ursus Roter. It is red. That's right, red vodka. From Iceland. Not only is it red vodka from Iceland, it's infused with sloe berries. Yes, the berries that aren't fast. And are famous for being a part of the Sloe Gin phenomenon.

Being the adventurous type I said to the barkeep "Barkeep ... I'll have what she's having."

Two shots of Ursus Roter, juice of half a lime and quarter of a lemon, over ice. No soda.

Ohmygodeffie, that's amazing!

The first sip bites your tongue, but from then on it's smooth sailing. It's tart, yet sweet, without being girlie (there were definitely blokes at the revelry table drinking it). The bottle has cavorting pandas on the label. After a couple of these babies I was ready to cavort with a panda or two myself.

My friend duly arrived. Noting my bright cheeks she asked if I'd just jogged to Teef in my stilettos. Nah, much better. I introduced her to the Icelandic bears. We were very happy.

GW.

Stuff and Nonsense

2006-09-14T14:41:00.000+10:00

Holy dooley, a month has flown by and where have I been? Nowhere good it might seem, but not exactly true!

Attended the Stephen Snow (Fins in Byron Bay) degustation at Barilla Bay. Food was awesome, but nothing less than would be expected of Mr Snow. Stand out dish (surprise, surprise) featured Barilla Bay oysters touched with a light puff of wasabi foam (tasting for all the world like sea water - beautiful). Seems that this is likely to be a semi-regular event so watch out for future offerings at Barilla Bay who, by the way, are now open for Friday night drinkies. Cool if you live out that way, expensive if you're relying on taxis to avoid the booze bus.

Following recent chatter about Choux Shop in Victoria Street I wandered by to see for myself. The menu on the wall did indeed declare that Choux was on a winter break until some date long past. Indeed, they would reopen under the name "Ruby Chard". I am led to believe (from a very unreliable source) that a personal tragedy is behind the closure [** this rumour since reported to be false**]. We all wish Chris and the staff well, and hope to see them in their new guise soon.

Marque IV's star chef is leaving the apple isle to work in the big apple with the loud-mouthed pommie bloke. To celebrate/commiserate his departure there is to be a $200 per head degustation at M-IV at the end of the month. Blast and damnation, I will be away that weekend! Will be very interested to note their progress following his departure, but I'm sure a strategy has been nutted out (fingers firmly crossed).

GW

I've Got the Googles

2006-08-15T14:10:00.000+10:00

Following a tip from Binjeing Ninja, I googled myself and found that Elizabeth Meryment, aka the Food Detective from the Weekend Australian (clearly lacking in the "detective" department), had quoted liberally from this blog in a discussion about Choux, but somehow managed to get the name of the site wrong. Hark, we have been rechristened the Hobart Dining Bitch.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20009601-32683,00.html

And here I was, thinking journalists always checked their facts. Silly me! But c'est la vie, nice to be noticed on the big island (even if only because she was trying to track down Choux).

But never fear, Ms Meryment (surely that's not your real name), according to word on the street, Choux is closed for renovations. Shame about the answering machine, I agree. This issue of unanswered phones does seem to be a recurrent problem at Choux. I wonder if they've thought of call diversion?

On the topic of googling oneself (admit it, we all do it), I also found Restaurant 373 had cut and pasted my review onto their website for promotional purposes. An unexpected outcome, but I can't grumble. I like to give praise where it's due. And then I like to rip out the eyes of unsuspecting waiters and eat their children.

Oh, whoops, maybe that's the Hobart Dining Bitch?

Dinner with The Don

2006-08-09T16:57:00.000+10:00

No, not THAT Don!

Recently talk of Italian got me hungry for pasta. Off we trotted to Don Camillo in Sandy Bay. I always liked their "Streets of San Francisco" styled decor. It's gone. Well, some of it's gone. They still have the red and white check table cloths, and the very chic retro 70s table lamps. But the room is a bit too white, and the black venetian blinds don't grab me. But the menu hasn't changed a jot.

Forgiving my Italian, the Scallopini al Funghi (veal with creamy mushies) was devine. Tender (mooooo) and juicy. The Fettucine Puttanesca (anchovies, olives and spicy tomato - scrum!) was great too. Oysters were ocean-salty and fresh. The slow-roasted goat was succulent, but a bit fatty.

Great gelato, but fabulous affogato. Mmm, coffee, frangelico, and home made vanilla ice cream! And might I add, the coffee was one of the best darn espressos I'd had in a while.

Good one. Shame the new decor feels a bit cold, but the food made up for it on the night.

Breakfast at Sweetheart's

2006-07-14T11:31:00.000+10:00

... the coffee's hot, and the toast is brow-ow-own

I'm not going to talk about breakfast, but thinking about coffee got me humming some tasty Chisel. Pardon my inner shazza rising forth.

My day typically starts with a large plunger of strong black coffee. I tend to guzzle the lot and am surprised when visitors to my office look thirstily at said plunger expecting me to share. Later in the day I might have a latte followed by another plunger if I'm struggling to maintain consciousness. Well all right, that's an exaggeration. But I have become rather partial to my plunger, long and black.

Having given the supermarket brands the heave-ho I've fallen in lust with the java from Tas Coffee Roasters in Sandy Bay. The raven haired girl behind the coffee counter told me she mixes a bit of this and a bit of that to create her own personal blend. Perhaps it's time I started a bit of alchemy myself. Ah, the next step in my coffee edumacation.

Looking back over very early entries to this site sees me enjoying a Hudson's latte. My how a girl can change. I can't drink their coffee now. Maybe I've grown up. Regular readers will know my fave haunt recently has been Lansdowne Cafe (they use robusta beans, not arabica, much bettera). Took a luscious latte away from Criterion St the other day, but can't say much for Dukkah or Delicious in Elizabeth St. Of course I still heart T42.

But all you uni students ... how do you survive on that coffee from Lazenbys? It is atrocious.

A Guts on the Loose in Melbourne

2006-06-27T17:50:00.000+10:00

Aaah Melbourne. Don't you just love it?

We lunched at Verge (http://www.vergerestaurant.com.au/) on the corner of Flinders Lane and Spring St. Just a hop-skip-jump across the road to Treasury Gardens. From the outside Verge looks little more than a bar-slash-cafe, but inside the warehouse-style environs is an airy loft-like upstairs dining room. The food is modern-European with a distinct Japanese influence. Stand-out dishes were the Zensai Moriawase (Japanese horses' doovers) and the Scallop Gyoza. Stylish, gorgeous. Just adored the wee baby-baby broad beans and the teensiest baby shitakes I've ever seen. Staff were excellent, although shaved eyebrows aren't the prettiest, boys.

Bellies full, we staggered around the city killing time. Aaah, Melbourne.

Dinner? What dinner? We hit the bars at 4:00pm and didn't look back. Starting at Syracuse ("Please", I said, "do you really want that Gunns-owned Tamar Ridge on your wine list? And how about some Jansz please??" - Ooops, is that the lawyer at the door again!). A bit stuffy (am I surprised after that outburst!), so we moved on to something a little more my style: The Love Lounge at Tony Starr's Kitten Club (http://www.kittenclub.com.au/splash.php) in Little Collins St. The Kitten Club, up a steep staircase, is famed for slinky martinis and if you find a nook in the Love Lounge (all pink velvet and dim lighting) you could wind up with pash rash before the night's out. Naturally I was very well behaved.

Next stop: Double Happiness in Liverpool St, Chinatown. This is the home of espresso martinis, Maoist propaganda posters, and little padlocked cubby holes for you to store your very own bottle of whiskey for next time. I don't have a bottle of whiskey but mmmm ... Espresso martiniiiiiiiiiis.

Next day we started all over again at Bokchoy Tang in Federation Square (http://www.bokchoytang.com.au/). The decor here is stunning. Cuisine is Northern Chinese with a modern edge. Being mere mortals (read: lazy/guts), we ordered the Banquet Menu II. Soon I was so stuffed I almost couldn't finish my share of the lobster. If I hadn't been gas-bagging when I should have been studying the sincerely comprehensive menu, in hindsight I would have ordered individual dishes - the dim sum or one of the prawn dishes. Needless to say, we came, we saw, we disgraced ourselves.
A tip for newcomers: Although you might think the toilets here are broken, the flush button is a mysterious dot on the chrome panel behind you. Very modern, very tricky.

We waddled back to our digs in St Kilda for a Nanna-nap. Stuffed and chockers are two words coming to mind. Star Wars are two more. We were slated for dinner at a fancy-schmancy restaurant, but couldn't face it. Stayed in with delish Thai take away and a DVD. I'm not match-fit, it's true.

Next day we did St Kilda, starting with a lazy breakfast and newspapers at Mash in Fitzroy St(http://www.mashrestaurant.com.au/). Great Eggs Benedict and damn good coffee. Lunch was at Purple Sands, a little yum cha joint in Acland St. Cheap and tasty. For dinner we trotted round the corner for tapas at Pelican in Fitzroy St. This place is fairly casual, but a bit of a 'scene', if that makes sense. The food is good and it's a favourite with the locals, I'm told.

I love Melbourne (does it show). Not so sure my arteries would agree. But as if to say "don't even think about it", the view from the aircraft as we flew over Tassie was crystal clear and stunning. A long trailing plume of bushfire smoke. Polished-glass lake-tops. Sun sinking behind Mt Wellington as we came in to land.

Aaah, Hobart. Such simple pleasures.

Have We All Finished Yet?

2006-06-21T18:14:00.000+10:00

Right. That was fun. I've finished sitting in the corner with my arms crossed, holding my breath till I went blue. Thanks for all the great and most entertaining comments. Welcome Hobart Restaurant Veteran and Garrulous Gourmet, thank you Stephen, Zelda, and Christina, and Lord love all you anonymice!

Recent experiments with a low-carb high protein diet have left me vicious. Suddenly I want to take up smoking again and drink smooth neat whiskies. I've been gorging mega rib-eye steaks from the Hill St Butcher ... mmmm mouth is watering as we speak. But damn that protein's a killer. So today I let slithery oily salmon and prawn linguine slide down my throat at the Cornelian Bay Boathouse. Tasty, but way too oily. Coffee was average. Service was bloody excellent.

Speaking of coffee, what has happened to Dukkah? With the move to new premises we seem to have succumbed to the cafe-as-franchise model. I don't know what a "Red Star Concept" is, but they are now fully emblazoned with it. Coffee was good, but not as good as I remember.

On a musical note: Beertallica at The Trout on Saturday night was hilarious. My bladder barely withstood the mirth of be-locked boys thrashing their hair to and fro, arms around one another in a medieval embrace. Bless.

Sad news: One of the chefs at Lebrina is giving up on the chefing world. Recently overheard to say something along the lines of: Chefing in Hobart, what's the point?

Another one bites the dust, and my heart breaks.

GW the HRB (and lovin' it)
;-)

Bad Hair Day

2006-05-17T13:51:00.000+10:00

We're all human, we have bad hair days, bad moods, lazy can't-be-bothered days. But when a much-loved restaurant has a bad night, it can be truly miserable. Such was my experience at the Choux Shop recently.

Usually Choux is a shining example of how everything can go right in restaurant-land.

Sadly on this occasion the usual gold-star service let them down. It began with a phone that wasn't answered and was followed by terribly slow drinks orders, a gin and tonic served with mostly melted ice, and waitresses who had lost their normal sparkling manner.

I love Choux, but the staff were clearly having a bad night. Perhaps something had gone wrong, as sometimes happens. Perhaps someone hadn't shown up for their shift. Perhaps someone was ill. Perhaps there'd been a blazing row in the kitchen. Or perhaps something terribly tragic that is none of our business had affected everyone's mood. Most likely we'll never know.

Choux. A great restaurant - but human after all.

GW.

Happy Mothers Day

2006-05-14T13:45:00.000+10:00

Happy Mothers Day to those that have 'em.

GW xx

Restaurant 373 - North Hobart

2006-05-10T16:18:00.000+10:00

Not to be confused with Fish xyz ... Restaurant 373 is a newbie in North Hobart in the old Lickerish spot next to the State Cinema.

That's right. Black Pepper has gone.

Restaurant 373 opened last week and we managed to stumble in spontaneously (see, this is how being a last-minute-larry can work in your favour). Menu was enticing and not too pricey (pork bellies, scallop risotto, kangaroo, and so on). Mains were under $30. Wine list was well put together and reasonably priced. Decor: Dark and moody with splashes of deep red. Service was personal and attentive, if a little too on the "everything ok?" side of things - but they've just opened and are naturally keen to see that all is as it should be.

Best of all ... we were surprised by their very generous take on the 'amuse-bouche' so popular in New York (yeah, as if I'd know). We sat, we drank, we ordered entree and mains. Out came a little plate with skinny bread sticks and olives. How pleasant. We drank some more. Then came some little bread rolls with some white bean dip. Nice. Then came an outstanding consomme of roast tomato with a disc of minted jelly (best stirred through we were advised). THEN came our entree and then our main (nicely timed, good portions). We drank some more and contemplated dessert (I really do promise it's unusual for me to have dessert!). Anyway, to my surprise, out came a little shot glass of a delicious little white frangelico thingy that wasn't a pannacotta and wasn't a mousse, but somewhere in between. THEN came our desserts.

Oh my lord, when they say soft-centred chocolate pudding, they really mean SOFT-CENTRED DEATH BY CHOCOLATE!

Anyway, putting my tongue back in my head for a minute, Restaurant 373 is very keen to provide a wonderful dining experience in the North Hobart strip. Picking up where Lickerish left off, they are having a damn good stab at it. It's early days, but all indicators are that they are on the right track.

Hurrah!

Astor La Vista, Baby

2006-04-19T09:02:00.000+10:00

Oh Dear.

I like to think we're spontaneous. What we are is a couple of last-minute larries. None of our favourites had a table free. So through a process of elimination, we ended up at The Astor.

We arrived five minutes early. The table wasn't ready, so we were asked to wait in the (cold) corridor. We waited for 15 minutes. If I'm asking a business client to wait, I'll at least offer them a tea or coffee to while away the time. Were we offered a drink? Another couple, who arrived after us, also waited. The "maitre d' "(she says through gritted teeth) invited the other couple to come to their table (hang on, we were first). Then he looked at us:

"You might as well come in too, your table's ready."

Right. Off to a flying start.

The Astor has such a lovely ambience, especially in the main dining room. There are two, but the main dining room has the bar and the flash and sizzle of the kitchen. Quite lovely. And embarrassingly let down by the menu. Uninspiring, dull, boring, see-Dick's-appetite-fly-out-the-window.

I had rather foolishly talked myself into being excited about an 80s style fug-fest, having fantasies about lobster thermidor and the like. No lobster on the menu. Never mind, what were the specials? No specials, except the fish of the day: Trevalla done two ways. Trevalla was already on the menu as a regular dish. Crikey. Desperation set in. For entree I ordered tempura prawns and bloke ordered salt and pepper squid. The 'battered' (not a tempura's arse-hole!) prawns were reminiscent of dagwood dogs. At least the squid was not overcooked (perfectly done, actually) ... but what the hell was that McCormick shake n bake bloody salt and pepper? To be frank, based on these two dishes, there was no evidence that this chef had ever set foot in an authentic Chinese or Japanese restaurant in his life.

Thank God we played it safe with the mains: Steak. Perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. Phew. And the panna cotta dessert was nice. But I can get a decent steak at the Cascade Hotel. And I don’t usually order dessert.

The Astor is a beautiful old restaurant crying out for someone to come and take the reins and return it to the quality of its glory days. The awards on the walls (circa 1986, 1988, etc) tell of a time when this was a grand dining establishment. Now it is just Hogsbreath Cafe in a fancy frock. Prices are low enough to attract the Hogsbreath crowd, who behaved throughout the night in a Hogsbreath manner: loud, mobiles going off, shouting by the end of the evening. Even the alleged maitre d' was dressed as if he was ready for a shift at the all-night Waratah Hotel bottle shop after the restaurant closed.

Apart from the décor, which on a cold wintery night always looks so warm and inviting, there is nothing to recommend The Astor in its current guise. I won’t be back.

Sad really.

Looking for Mr Goodbar/Restaurant

2006-04-05T21:18:00.000+10:00

Having often considered myself something of a Dianne Keaton post Annie Hall
but pre First Wives Club, I find myself strangely attracted to sitting alone at a bar waiting. Don't do it often. Did it on Friday night.

I'd been stood up, which is a rarity, let's face it. So I took myself out for a night on the town.

Not much happens in Hobart for a young woman out and about on her own at 2:00am, let me tell you. So I found myself at Syrup dancing to "Blame it on the Boogie" (complete with disco spins), having my hips, back, thighs vaguely touched by drunken men vaguely dancing. I was sober enough (honest I was, officer), so found the experience immensely entertaining. Eye opening. Eye polishing even.

Smiling, I asked one guy to not touch me so much. He got sheepish and said "sorry, I'm a bit pissed". Another bloke tried to impress with lambada moves which didn't. After a couple of hours the music got sad and the DJ got sour when I asked him to play something funky. So I went home.

Nearly a week has passed and now I find I need to drag myself out into the cold night air again for a special occasion. Ricky Mullet and I went through the phone book wondering where we'll go. The list:

Marque IV – will go back when the menu changes (know it by heart now)
Choux Shop – number of visits would be considered stalking by some
Sirens - yeah, but no, but yeah, but
T42 - prefer brunch
Henry Jones - Mmmm, nah
Prossers - Only if I'm stoned
Mures - Only if I'm paid
Revolving Restaurant - Now there's a cubist angle

Will let you know where we end up. Maybe I'll wind up back at Syrup with my own special lambada action.

Nighty night for now campers,
GW xx

Welcome to Spud Country

2006-03-21T18:30:00.000+11:00

How awesome is this autumn weather (Cyclone Larry not withstanding)? Just back from the North-West, where the weather is a frad warmer and ...

I sat on the deck of, where else The Deck in Devonport. What a funny little place (with a lovely big view). The Deck is trying very hard to be a fine dining establishment, and good on them. The menu is a bit confused, ranging from Slow Roasted Goat to Sushi. The wine list tries hard to impress with more wines in the three figures than is really necessary. But, the service is very friendly, and the food is pretty good. Oysters were fresh, and those served with Champagne Jelly were lovely.

On the topic of oysters ... can we please get over our insecurity and just let Oysters Kilpatrick go? Please.

In a fit of excitement (how often do I get offered goat?), I ordered the Slow Roasted billy-goat gruff. Flavours weren't bad, but possibly not roasted quite slowly enough. Goat can be utterly fab when it falls apart in the mouth. Sri Lankan and South Indian curry chefs do this best. This dish was passable, but a disappointment.

Overall, The Deck is good for the food fans of Devonport. But the table of Grannies nearby spent the entire evening looking perplexed. I think I can see why.

On my way home from the upper reaches of the state I was spoilt for time and like the three little pigs rolled into one I cried "wee wee wee" as I stopped at foodie attractions all the way home. Not in order of appearance ...

Anvers Chocolates impressed with their pralines (especially the white ones), but honestly, I can't stand their "truffles" - not a truffles arse really - and their "fudge" - tasted better plastic. Coffee was a real disappointment.

Ashgrove Farm Cheeses - what a gorgeous bloke the cheese maker is. Made me laugh, didn't make me feel like a little glutton (even though I am) when my taste buds stopped working cos I'd tried too many cheese varieties. Walked away with some cloth-matured cheddar (the prize-winner) and some cloth-matured rubicon red (I love the taste of soil in this cheese - trust me, it's delightful).

Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm represents my excellent powers of restraint. Did I buy ice cream? No. Raspberry Sauce? No. I bought two 500g punnets of raspberries ($8 each) - and saved them til I got all the back to Hobart. Good on me. They're all gone now of course.

And best of all? I stopped off at the Big Spud (it's not that big) in Sassafrass. Sassafrass is that spot on the North-West route where the soil is rich chocolate. The grass seems greener and the sky bluer. It was late in the day and the sun seemed to fall in a golden haze. Like Jake and Elwood Blues, I felt that I was on a mission from God to buy spuds. So I did. I bought fresh corn on the cob, two varieties of freshly dug spuds still dusted with that gorgeous Sassafrass soil (bismarks and dutch creams), and fresh marties.

What a road trip!
GW ;-)

Spring Vale Wines

2006-03-12T14:08:00.000+11:00

While meandering aimlessly through the countryside t’other day, I stumbled across the Spring Vale winery near Cranbrook. Imagine my delight. (Some of you may recall my excitement when I first met their desert wine at Taste.)

The cellar door at Spring Vale is a lovely rustic old stable with bits of rusty farm-type stuff and half-barrels and the like. According to their web site (http://www.springvalewines.com/), it was built by convict labour in 1842, but thankfully the folk at Spring Vale have resisted the urge to capitalise on this too much (cos that would be tacky).

At first I stood there alone wondering how to attract someone’s attention when out of nowhere a studdly and spunky bloke came riding out of the vines on the back of a noisy stead (a quad bike), glistening grapes in hand. I told him I was there for the desert wine, but asked for a taste of the pinot clean skin, which was a bargain at $10 a bottle on special. I chatted to the bloke for a while, flirting not too much, while munching undaintily on red and green grapes. I would have stayed longer and tasted more, but nature was calling and I didn’t want to disgrace myself.

I walked away with the intended desert wine, some of the clean skin shiraz (which has since been guzzled with much delight), and some of Spring Vale’s very delicious olive oil.

Spring Vale is a lovely little winery, just south of my beloved Craigie Knowe (which, sadly, was closed that particular day).

GW.

A Cascade of Steak

2006-03-09T15:21:00.000+11:00

Popped into the Cascade Hotel the other night for the first time ever. Ordered what I thought was the smaller of the steak options. Bloody enormous, tender and juicy, and only slightly overdone for a medium rare (which isn’t bad for a pub). The poker-faced lady behind the bar (who I actually suspect is a warm and jolly delight away from the hordes of uni student punters ordering dinner) patiently walked me through the ordering process. This involves going behind the bar into the bottle shop to select a bottle of wine to enjoy with your dinner.

Anyway, it’s been ages since I’ve had a decent pub steak, and this was definitely a decent pub steak. I think I’ll keep all those shopper dockets from now on after all.

GW xx

Choux Shopping

2006-02-08T18:17:00.000+11:00

I'm trying really hard to think of something I don't like about the Choux Shop.

Ummm ...

Still thinking ...

Nuh, it's gone.

Dipped my toe in gently, initially, and went for lunch. Grilled sardines on toast never tasted so good! Well they were the proper sort of sardine, grilled flat. And they sat proudly on crostini ... not toast at all, silly me ... with a splodge of pesto and a splash of salad. Yum. And perfectly portioned for lunch. Coffee was tops.

After obsessing all week about the dishes I didn't order at lunch, splashed out and went back for dinner. Sadly, the restaurant was quiet ... a little too quiet. But not the ambience. The place felt warm and intimate. And the food? Rich, dark pigeon livers. Thinly sliced grilled duck breast and sweet duck leg wantons. Oyster terrine - challenging to look at, but sparkling to the tongue. The wine list was very entertaining, we chose a French Bordeaux (around $66), which was delightful. The cheese plate was perfect. And it all came in at around $200 (on par with Marque IV).

And who can argue with a restaurant respectful enough of its diners to provide individual hand towels in the bathroom?

Big fat French Provincial thumbs up from me. I anticipate I'll be stalking the place from now on.
GW.

p.s. Jack, ceci est votre magasin, n'est-ce pas ?

Bait. White. Bait.

2006-01-30T21:21:00.000+11:00

Pure dumb luck.

I love tiny weeny fish being plucked from the ocean, choked in flour, and then fried to excruciating death in a vat of hot oil. Who would have thought I'd have the opportunity to experience this delicacy twice in one week.

Pure luck.

'Devilled' whitebait is what they call it at the Beach House Cafe in Lower Sandy Bay. I remember that much. Unfortunately I was too pissed to now recall how they labelled the dish (other than just 'whitebait') at Mezethes in Salamanca Quarry. Needless to say, both dishes entailed a roughly similar preparation to the torture outlined above. Both were around the $12 mark.

I love whitebait. To do this at home (without contravening the Geneva Convention) take some whitebait (teeny weeny white fish, about as long as my little finger and just as thin); flounce the fish about in a bowl of flour (usually seasoned with salt and pepper, and whatever else you'd like); fry in very hot oil. Serve with a squeeze of lemon. Munch and moan to your heart's content.

I first discovered this dish when I was an underage drunk at a Greek take away in Lonsdale St, Melbourne. My friend Corrina and I thought we were ordering hot chips from the bain-marie. Boy, did we get a surprise. I spent the next six months trying to find the exact same Greek take away on Lonsdale St (the phrase 'needle in a haystack' comes to mind), pathetically asking all: Do you sell those fish-chip-things?

So, I love whitebait. Clearly. And when it comes down to a two-up contest between Mezethes (Greek) and Beach House Cafe ("new Australian"), I'm surprised to say that Beach House Cafe won hands down! Not soggy, not oily, just gorgeous.

Tamar River Odyssey

2006-01-19T22:20:00.000+11:00

In the wake of America's recent Martin Luther King holiday, I'd just like to say (forgive me Dr King) "I have a dream". My dream isn't as auspicious or as philanthropic as Dr King's dream (not that I don't share that dream too) ... my dream is one of a Tamar Valley odyssey.

In the humblest of ways, I discovered the Rosevears district the other day. Took a long drive and ended up in Launceston visiting my Gran. Gran's a top chick, and she suggested a "picnic by the river". So we packed cheese, crackers, pate, grapes, and hand-picked peas-in-the-pod from her garden. We drove along the west Tamar for 20-odd clicks out of Launceston. The time passed very quickly (we tend to natter, my Gran and I). Taking the turn off the highway at the Rosevears sign, just as the Tamar re-emerges into view, I found myself in a lolly shop for grown ups. On the right, magical unending river views with the rolling hills of the east Tamar beyond. On my left ... oooh, on my left was heaven.

Strathlynn, St Matthius, Rosevears, Ninth Island. The vineyards snuggle against the side of the road, and the road hugs the river. It's beautiful!

But Gran's not silly, there was no vineyard-hopping for me that day. We settled at a solitary picnic table under a lonely Norfolk Pine on the edge of a bend in the river. Gran said that years ago vandals had stripped the tree of all its branches, leaving just a sad old trunk. The branches were slowing returning, and they were glorious.

We had only a couple of hours to enjoy the sun and the blue sky and each others company (and of course, the picnic). Road signs sat insolently behind my back, whispering "Geoooorrrgieeeeeee ... come driiiiiiiiiiiink with uuuuuuuuusssss".

But I didn't.

I was so excited, and so astounded that I'd never been there before. Now I can't wait to go back. But I'll do it properly. None of this spur of the moment stuff. I'll book a cottage so I can stagger from cellar door to cellar door to bed.

Some call the Tamar Valley the "Valley of the Senses". I prefer to think of it as the "Valley of the Sensualists". One could end up on an express train to hell, or a slow boat to heaven (I'll leave that up to you to figure out).

But who'd have thought heaven could be so close by?

Yours with bated breath,
GW ;-)

p.s. Yes I know there is a boat called the Tamar Odyssey.

Farewell Meyjitte

2006-01-15T23:29:00.000+11:00

Zelda was right.

According to Graham Phillips in today's Sunday Tas, Meyjitte Boughenout has left our shores for the Gold Coast. For good, it seems.

If I was to live only one more day, my last meal on earth would be that prepared by Meyjitte last year at Franklin Manor in Strahan (see review May 2005). But Franklin Manor has been sold and Q1 has opened its flagship restaurant, Absynthe, with Monsieur Boughenout at the helm.

More than a chef, in my mind Meyjitte had become something akin to a super-human god. I clung to the promise that he could run Absynthe in Surfers Paradise's sky-high heaven, while simultaneously running a magical restaurant in Hobart. A restaurant that would command waiting lists several months long.

But alas, as many have suspected, I am deluded.

Sigh. Heart is breaking. A great loss.

Farewell Meyjitte, and thank you,
Georgie. xx

Marque IV Revisited

2006-01-10T09:31:00.000+11:00

Marque IV for my birthday dinner was such a treat. We'd tried to go back several times since my last visit (see July 2005 review), but each time they were fully booked. We went the whole hog - appetiser, entree, main (the stomach didn't quite stretch to dessert though, I'm afraid).

It was a lovely night, and our waiter was attentive and helpful. He recommended the Domaine Laroche chardonnay ($40) to accompany our meal. I'm not a real fan of chardonnay, but having decided to place my trust in his recommendation was pleasantly surprised. The French chardonnay was not as dry and dusty as an Aussie chard. It was very pleasant indeed, and a great match to our dishes.

As appetisers we'd ordered the Bothwell Goats Cheese and Lime Raviolo (big fat pillow stuffed with goats cheese, with a lovely beetroot marmalade on the side) and the Seared Spring Bay Abalone (divine). Our entrees were the Seared Spring Bay Scallops with smoked salmon and a delicious beurre blanc and the West Coast Crayfish Panna Cotta. Both were fabulous, the scallops were little clouds of moan-worthy heaven, while the crayfish was as delicate as a panna cotta should be, with a smooth ocean flavour.

In short - appetisers and entree were exquisite.

Mains were a bit heavy-handed for a balmy summer's evening. I'd had the Three Degrees of Macquarie Harbour Ocean Trout on my last visit. Not wanting to order the same dish again, I realised how winter-oriented the rest of the mains menu is. In the end we settled on Pork Saltimbocca (nice, but a bit of a confused dish) and the Spatchcock Poached in a Chinese Master Stock. The latter was difficult to eat: Spatchcock and noodles floating in a soy-heavy broth. Trying to eat this with a knife and fork was clumsy, and dangerous given my lovely white cocktail dress was making its debut.

I'd love to see a summer mains menu from Marque IV, or at least a specials menu (if there is one in existence, we weren't offered it on the night). Monsieur Foreman's handling of his appetisers and entrees is divine, but the mains left me slightly disappointed. A refreshed mains menu with more of a seafood focus, akin to the appetisers/entrees, would be a sight to behold.

I know the restaurant is young and the work involved in designing a seasonal menu of the complexity of Marque IV's style is a mammoth task. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Four kisses,
GW.

Hip Hip Hooray!

2006-01-06T13:20:00.000+11:00

Now that we've all vented about Taste, it's time to move on.

I would like to say a great big fat well done to my picks of the wine guzzling season. Firstly, as mentioned before, Lalla Gully is the business. Congratulations on their successful first outing at Taste (in cahoots with stable mates Clover Hill). I have raved about the Lalla Gully sauvignon blanc before (see Saltwater River Cafe review), but this year it is their pinot gris that has got me all a-flutter. Love it, love you, love your style. Secondly, I would also like to thank Spring Vale for dazzling me with their utterly delicious desert wine. I am besotted (or is that besozzled?). Can't mention wine without saying how much I (still) adore the Craigie Knowe cabernet sauvignon. In my humble opinion the only "heavier style" Tasmanian red worth bothering with.

Aside from that ... It's my birthday! I'm feeling like a princess, it's a beautiful day, and I'm being whisked off to a surprise venue for dinner tonight. Ah the joys of advancing years.

NYE 05/06 - Saddest Forty Bucks Ever Spent

2006-01-01T02:08:00.000+11:00

I am sad, sad I am.

I have never spent New Years at the waterfront before; have never spent New Years at Taste before.

And you know I love Taste.

Last year I grizzled about New Year’s at Prosser’s. This year we paid our forty bucks per person for our table at Taste, hoping for something special. In the daytime, to me, Taste is a little slice of heaven. You take yourself down, you find a seat or two, you hunt for food and wine, and you while the hours away.

It was raining, but we were in the right spirit. We arrived at Taste in a party mood. Until we found our $40-ish seats. We had booked outdoor seats. Foolishly we assumed the organisers had followed the same weather reports that I had been reading all week. Sun umbrellas covered tables along the waterfront side of the outdoor “apron”. Nothing protected tables along the wall-side. Guess where our table was.

Empty wet tables and chairs outside, ridiculous over-crowding inside. This was my only bad Taste experience ever, and along with many others I’d paid an entry fee for the privilege. How hard is it to hang up a few Bunnings shade cloths to protect local, interstate, and foreign visitors to Tasmania’s pride of the season? Inside we huddled like frightened little sheep inside that vast great shed, smelling like wet blankets.

Thanks Hobart Summer Festival organisers. Our guests were left bemused about where they hell they’d ended up on New Year’s Eve. I was left fuming at having been let down and embarrassed.

Class act. Good on ya. Learnt my lesson, won’t bother with Taste on New Year’s ever again.

GW

A Yucky Taste

2005-12-31T17:34:00.000+11:00

Bloody hell. All I wanted was tempura mushrooms, not mushrooms with the shit battered out of them. Once upon a time, wee little Georgie Weston could stand at the Huon Valley Tempura Mushroom stall at Taste and wait in line while fresh little mushrooms were turned out for hungry little diners like me. They were so popular that sometimes I had to wait to have my mushrooms made fresh on the spot. They were sweet, juicy, and scrummo! So last night, on a nostalgic whim, I returned to dig into some tempura mushrooms.

These were not tempura mushrooms. These were battered mushrooms. They were hideous.

Thank god I had the Lalla Gully (pinot grigio this time) to save the day.

GW

p.s. Have a great New Years Eve tonight … might see you at the Taste for a glass of bubbles.

A Wee Taste

2005-12-29T19:08:00.000+11:00

Stopped by for a rapid fire lunch at Taste. Arrived at 1:30 and within 10 minutes flat had queued for and bought glass tasting glasses (so much nicer than the plastic ones) and had found a table. We plonked ourselves down and took turns hunting. A bottle of Lalla Gully sauvignon blanc (around $20) was a magic companion to our scores from Waji’s stall - A bowl of chilli mussels for $6 and a dozen oysters ($12). The oysters were so fresh I could still taste sea water on them. Magnificent. Can’t wait to go back for a good hard bash at it tomorrow.

GW
(With thanks to www.hobartsummerfestival.com.au, from whom I stole the photo)

Merry Christmas

2005-12-23T22:34:00.000+11:00

"He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT."

Merry Christmas to all,
Georgie xxx

T42

2005-12-18T12:32:00.000+11:00

Had dinner at T42 last night. It had been so long, and it was such a gorgeous rain-stormy night. Couldn't resist the opportunity to sit by the waterside and dine big time. We ate late. The place was pumping with large tables of Christmas-party diners, so we plonked ourselves outside to enjoy the night air.

Kicked off with a dozen natural oysters - plump and sea-water fresh - while hoeing into a great bottle of D'Arenberg cabernet. Followed this up with prawn and pumpkin risotto and kangaroo. The roo was tender and juicy and the risotto was great. My tip: unless suffering severe malnutrition, order entree sizes for both courses. Serving sizes are very generous here.

In a nutshell, Teef is a pretty great venue all round. It can get noisy inside on weekends in summer, which makes outdoor dining a must unless you like that kind of noisy ambience. The menu is usually peppered with tempting options and the food doesn't disappoint (well, has never disappointed me anyway). Love the staff, love the winelist, even love their coffee!

GW

Ok you lot!

2005-12-16T00:49:00.000+11:00

Can I just say, if you can't bitch about your family at Christmas time, when can you???

Anyway, since even my closest friends confused the pink background (and then green, if you missed it) for a whole new website (keep with the program people!), I have decided to return to the classic black. Maybe the whole thing was just my reaction to the lack of Christmas spirit in Hobart this year.

Last year I recall complaining about the over-abundance of Christmas demands. This year, one week from Christmas, I'm finding myself asking one simple question (to the strains of a very bad 80s song):

... do they know it's Christmas time at all? ...

Anyway, the tree is up, the pavolva recipe (mine NEVER fails!) is at the ready, and the cat is completely distressed. All systems are go.

I'll be back before Christmas, but in case you're not ... Have a great festive season, drink too much, eat too much, and strain many muscles laughing!

GW xxxxxx

Dinner in a Jar

2005-12-13T17:13:00.000+11:00

Went to dinner at the home of my nemesis, cousin Sonya last night. Sonya was always a shit, but now I've realised some people really have no clue where food comes from!

To start things off I was offered a vodka lime & soda. Nice one! Except, the "lime" was that pretend lime juice out a green plastic bottle. Ok Georgie, I said to meself, stop being fussy. Smile and drink the bloody drink.

I drank the drink (cue cat's-arse facial expression).

Next on the menu was dip and crackers. The crackers were corn chips - Mexican flavour (blechh!) and the dip was Coles brand avocado. I am yet to come across a major label dip that doesn't taste like pencil shavings, seriously.

Deep breath, Georgie, she's promised a bbq, how bad can that be?

Well. Out came the frozen burgers. Microwaved before going on the hotplate, of course. The salad came out of a bag, the dressing came out of a bottle, the potato salad came out of a Coles deli tub. Not a single item in the meal was made with fresh ingredients (unless you count vodka!).

I despair.

It's not that I'm a real food snob, and we all know I'm as much a lazy cow as the next bovine wench, but I just can't understand how some people have no perception of the taste of food. It's not cheaper to buy frozen burgers, they taste like cardboard, and they are full of all sorts of shit. And if you're too lazy to make your own burgers Sonya, what's wrong with a bloody lamb chop or a freaking sausage?

The worst thing about my cousin Sonya is that she thinks she's a great hostess (bless her). The best thing about being Sonya’s cousin is I can dob to Gran, who will tell Auntie Flo, who tell kick Sonya's sorry arse!

Aaah, family. Don't you just love Christmas time?

GW the HRB
;-)

p.s. Clearly not over the shocking pink yet. Loved your reaction, Stephen. Don't worry, it won't last much longer. You know how novelties are.

Surprise!

2005-12-12T22:06:00.000+11:00

Tee hee, I've been playing with my settings. Don't worry, I'll get over the geek-tweeking soon and go back to my old sombre self. In the meantime, I've been doing some lateral thinking about Jack's shop ... think I've got it sussed.

Look out Jack, I'm comin'.
GW ;-)

Check These Out

2005-12-09T16:10:00.000+11:00

Having too much time on my hands lately I've discovered a couple sites that you might like.

Chez Pim
I'm a big fan of Pim ... she's a chick with my kind of lifestyle (I wonder if she's real???). Lots of jet-setting to sample all kinds of food in all kinds of places, friends all over the world, a seemingly endless dinner party! And a never-ending funding source by the look of it too! http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/

Accidental Hedonist
This is a semi-formal site with a bit of marketing, a bit of reviewing, a bit of consumer education. A bit sensible for me, but you might like it. http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/

The Stained Apron
Gotta love this site, it's the food industry's turn to do what we do ... have a good bitch ... except of course, they're bitching about us! Mostly waiters, but every now and then the odd chef gets to have a rave too. Love it. http://www.stainedapron.com/

Gone but not forgotten ...
I really love these sites, but sadly they are closed for business. Trawl through the archives, they're great for a chuckle.

Thoughts from my Anus
Gotta just love this site for its name. Better yet, it's a total piss-take on a Melbourne-based conservative who has a column in one of the papers over there. It's a cheeky tongue-in-cheek cack, just a shame it's time out there was cut so short. http://thoughtsfrommyanus.blogspot.com/

Things I Hate About My Flatmate
I discovered this site about two weeks before it shut down, but now to my surprise there is some action again. Hurrah! The current entry about a B&B is rather chuckle worthy, but check out the archive to read up on this dudes experiences with his flatmate. Funny, with cool images. http://ihatemyflatmate.blogspot.com/2005/12/some-replies.html#comments

Sadly, not many Australian sites to report (naturally, the only Australian site has the word "anus" in the title!). But I'm sure you'll all send me some suggested Aussie sites to waste pressures hours on.

Cheers for now,
GW.

Don't Let the Clouds Fool You

2005-12-05T09:44:00.000+11:00

Summer is definitely here, and Friday was a totally indulgent summer's day ... I even took a sickie!

Had lunch with the girls at Irish Murphy's. Not my choice. They do a $10 lunch special which includes a meal such as fish and chips or a chicken wrap and a free soft drink or coffee (woo hoo). The fish and chips were rather too oily, and I spent the next hour or two wishing I'd abstained. The soft drink was fizzy though (again, woo hoo).

Apparently the birthday girl hangs out at Irish all the time, hence her choice of birthday lunch location. I really must vet my friends a bit better.

The sad thing about taking a sickie when nobody else has, is you risk being the only booze hag at the table. Oh, the inner conflict!

Once I ditched my rather too sober friends I headed to Lansdowne Cafe in West Hobart for a catch up with Gran (I'm such a softie). I love Gran and I love Lansdowne Cafe. In fact, I love Lansdowne Cafe so much I think I'll move in. Yummy muffins, sexy lookin' menu, yummy coffee, very friendly service and groovy environs. Hurrah for the new wave of venues away from the cbd.

Next port of call was to meet up with my not-so-secret admirer at T42. We sipped a delicious cabernet (sorry, he paid, I've no idea what it was) while being entertained by a flock of Leavers in their formal attire and orthodontics. Gorgeous to a one. Particularly loved the girls who rocked up in the fire engine with sirens blaring. (And bah humbug to the shazza behind me who barked "My taxes are paying for that!" ... what an idiot).

Rounded the evening off with dinner at Sens (Peking Duck rolls, prawn dumplings, tofu rolls, vegetable dumplings). YUM. And what a reasonably priced wine list! We paid $15.50 for a bottle of D'Arenberg Stump Jump. Cool.

A balmy evening was finished off at home with more wine, some great King Island cheddar, and much smooching.

I love summer!
GW

Georgie Goes Abroad - #1. Airplane Food

2005-11-27T19:16:00.000+11:00

A quick trip to New Zealand for a wedding. Only my second time o/s and my first time alone. Cool. I've researched my destination so well I've got a mental map of Wellington that is sharp and clear.

I wonder how long it will take me to get lost.

Neil Perry designs the Qantas inflight menus for Business and First Class. I don't know if Neil also designs the cattle class menu, but by mere association he should hang his head in shame. I know there isn't a sweaty, cranky Neil Perry beavering away at the rear of my aircraft hand-crafting my lunch. Nor is he sweating his crack off in the Qantas kitchen gulag. But poor ol' Neil probably bashes his head daily against the bathroom mirror in fear of his name being linked to the mess just served up to me under the pseudonym "Honey Coriander Chicken".

Don't worry Neil, if I wake at 3am with stomach cramps and a serious dose of the shits, I'll be sure to call Qantas, not you.

To distract myself from the queasy feeling of the horrid chicken trying to find a home in my guts, I engage in entertaining thoughts about mid-air security. In my right hand, a plastic knife. Sensible. In my left hand, a steel fork. In front of me, a glass bowl.

Never thought I'd say it, but Amanda Vanstone and I seem to have something in common. We've seen through the "apparition of security" provided by plastic knives. Just as well I'm not prone to violence or mid-air hijackery. Wouldn't want to get any ideas about putting someone's eye out with that fork or smashing that glass bowl and doing a mischief with some broken glass.

But at least I won't be stabbing anyone with my plastic knife. Unless I discover who cooked that bloody chicken!

GW the HRB
;-)

Grape

2005-11-27T18:40:00.000+11:00

Not everyone obsessively studies the employment section of the newspaper each week. For those who don't, I found an interesting listing on Saturday.

The recruitment ad said Grape will be a wine bar and specialist bottle shop. It looks like Grape will step into the old Zum site (I'm guessing from the address listed on the ad, but correct me if I'm wrong).

A dedicated wine bar and bottle shop for Salamanca? About bloody time!

So all you shit-hot wine hounds out there. Get you arse down to Grape and grab those jobs by the horns (you have to turn up at Grape at 5-ish on Monday night).

And hurry up about it, I'm thirsty.

GW

Lansdowne Cafe

2005-11-24T18:31:00.000+11:00

I wasn't speeding (I promise), but as I sky-rocketed around Lansdowne Crescent this afternoon I spied a new sign. Finally the little old hair salon that has been teasing for what seems like years, is coming through with the goods. The front door was open, I saw chromey stuff and chocolatey coloured stuff, and someone's bum. It had clothes on, don't get too excited. Not open yet, but there was a definite "opening-soon" look about the place.

Last year I went into conniptions at the opening of Jean Jacques on Goulburn St (near corner of Molle St). And I sing to the hills every time I have any of their delectable little tarts or their scrumptious breads (have been known to scoff a whole loaf in a day, but don't tell anyone!). But alas their coffee is sad. Latest little tattle tale told of being served a "short black" that was actually a long black in a small cup. Gasp!

But, Jean Jacques promises to be a patisserie, not a cafe.

So, Lansdowne Cafe, as you are not promising to be a patisserie, a boulangerie, a bum-crackery, or a knackery, but indeed a CAFE, I'm afraid I'm getting my hopes up.

I'm waiting with bated breath!
GW ;-)

Velure

2005-11-18T23:51:00.000+11:00

Where the hell do I get off reviewing music?

Just got back from the Velure gig at Trout. Meagre crowd, but they got into it. And well they should. As I mentioned the other day, Velure are a tasty mix of Massive Attack and George, with a nice touch of Portishead thrown in for good measure.

Oh, and Mercury-music-reviewer-whose-name-I've-so-easily-forgotten ... Velure are indeed a live band. Having heard the CD first (and yes, I've heard them live before), there live sound is as fresh and hypnotic as the CD is intoxicating.

Think you've missed out? Saturday 5-7pm at Syrup and Sunday arvo at the Lewisham. Get there. I don't care if you have to sell your grandmother's soul to the devil. Just do it.

Failing that, their CD "Care for Fading Embers" is available from Tracks Music in Murray St or Aroma in Elizabeth St. If they don't have it in stock (clearly they could have sold out), get them to order it in from Shock Records. Then slap them for not having more in stock!

And for their next tour, lets get the bloody Uni Bar and the Republic on side!

GW (music review impostor extraordinaire!)

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens ...

2005-11-17T19:14:00.000+11:00

Summer’s coming (can you feel it?), and I’d like to reflect on a few of my favourite things:

Sitting in the sun sipping champagne or coffee
* T42 (wins hands down) – Elizabeth Pier
* Blue Skies (gasp) – Murray St waterfront
Making a pig of myself in a fancy frock with nice shoes
* Marque IV – Elizabeth Wharf
* Stillwater River Café - Launceston
Making a pig of myself in jeans and a t-shirt
* Mai Ake – Elizabeth St, Nth Hobart
* Mmmm, struggling, ummm, my house?
Making a pig of myself on holidays
* Franklin Manor - Strahan
* Supper Inn – Celestial Lane, Melbourne
* Dish – Cnr Johnson and something Sts, Byron Bay
* Matterhorn – Cuba St, Wellington (more on that later!)
Lunching lazily on a Sunday with a hangover
* Yum Cha at Sens – Elizabeth St, North Hobart
* Fish and Chips from Mykonos (with Nan's home-made tomato sauce) on the floor at home
Having a “meeting” (aka Liquid Lunch)
* T42
* Blue Skies (for location)
* Henry Jones Atrium (if it’s raining) – Hunter St
Having an orgasm
* No details necessary – just seeing if you’re paying attention
Having a blood red steak
* Hill St Butcher and then cooked at home
Friday night DVD and take away
* Butter Chicken from Little India and something stupid like “Dude where’s my car”
* Sushi platter from Orizuru and something sci-fi like “Minority Report”
* Chilli Prawn Fettucine from Paesano (and don’t “pae-lease” me again, it’s still good!) and something cool like “The Incredibles”
Mad nights with friends
* Group booking Yum Cha and karaoke (oh the shame) at The Loft / Aromas of Asia – Galleria Arcade, Salamanca ... followed by dancing like Kath Day-Knight at Syrup
* Dinner parties at my place (tomorrow night, beef rib roast, bottles of Craigie Knowe Cab Sav … you’re all invited!)

Feel free to add your faves.

By the way ... Haul your arse to Trout in North Hobart tomorrow (Friday) night, Syrup on Saturday arvo, or Lewisham Tavern on Sunday to check out Velure. Saw them live in Melbourne, way cool, my fave of the mo' (cross between George and Massive Attack). Wish they were playing somewhere I could engage in a gorgeous cocktail to suit the Velure mood.

Workplace Reform

2005-11-15T18:43:00.000+11:00

John Hart, CEO of Restaurant & Catering Australia, reckons the restaurant industry won't last 10 more years if John Howard's workplace reform agenda isn't brought into being.

Well. Bugger me. I thought it was good food and great service that predicted the viability of restaurants, either individually or as an industry.

I know it's tough out there in restaurant land, and the GST hasn't helped. But I would have thought that those restaurants who run a tight ship, hire good staff, and use the best of produce (and yes, charge us appropriately .... note the use of the word 'appropriately' here) should have nothing to fear from the dining public. If you're good, we'll come. And then we'll come again. The ability to fire at will and push one-sided workplace agreements should not come into the equation.

But what do I know?

On the Nose

2005-11-11T15:53:00.000+11:00

Hey! Nose Bag guy! What is your problem? Twice I’ve seen you rip shreds off some poor wee lass in public.

On the first occasion I almost choked on my coffee while you yelled at one of your waitresses in front of a full house at the Nose Bag. You might think your punters consider this acceptable behaviour, but I certainly haven’t been back as a direct result (although your coffee wasn’t that great either).

The second time was the other week at T42. There you sat, arm draped over the back of your chair like Christopher Walken in a really bad movie, coolly tearing a pale and helpless-looking girl to pieces. She looked totally crumpled and completely defeated. Other T42-ers nearby looked decidedly uncomfortable with your very public display. My most recent meandering past the Nose Bag saw you and the crumpled girl behind the counter. Do you treat all your staff like this?

In case you’re wondering, Nose Bag Dude, you are recognisable. Oh, and you are a classic example of a narcissistic middle aged man lording it over vulnerable young women who for whatever reason can’t fight back.

I hope it makes you feel good about yourself, tough guy.

Georgie Weston

p.s. If you find yourself in Lower Sandy Bay (Nutgrove/Long Beach) and feeling peckish, visit the Beach House Bar & Café under the Beach House apartments. Great spot to sit in the sun and plot the liberation of the Nose Bag girls.

I Love Youse All!

2005-11-11T15:35:00.000+11:00

Well thanks for all the fab comments re the anniversary ... what a nice treat to come home too. Yep I've been jetsetting again, and when I've got my thoughts in order I'll fill you in on some of my adventures.

In the meantime ... happy dining!
GW

Happy Anniversary Baby … Got You On My Mi-Hind!

2005-10-31T19:34:00.000+11:00

One year ago today I started writing a few wee thoughts based on countless conversations with friends. We would sit and slurp our wine and grumble over the sad state of affairs in Hobart. Divine dining, we grizzled, what a joke. And it has become a joke of sorts. We are still charged Sydney prices for food that barely makes the grade, on the whole. To rub salt into the wound, Launceston shits on us, still.

This site started as a pissed experiment, mere musings that I thought would never see the light of day. Boy was I wrong. I think being chastised by Daniel Leesong from Tourism Tas was one highlight. Being courted by Tim Cox of ABC Radio was another. What a year it’s been!

Initially there were shouts of wonder from those amazed that someone else was speaking their thoughts aloud. Every now and then some tanties have been thrown (and you know I don’t respond to tanties). More recently some delicious banter has sprung up between regular visitors (nay, contributors) to the site.

But after 12 months we’ve seen few changes. Mostly the same restaurants with the same variations on a theme (the theme is “Windmills of my Mind”, I’m sure). Between us we’ve grumbled and moaned, to no avail. All we manage to stir up is the occasional snipey comments from a few kitchen hands furiously proud of their establishments. Well good on you.

We still bang on, punters united far and wide. We have hungry mouths and sad lonely wallets. But tourist dollars still hold the power. Lucky for those who love a crumbed scallop.

I won’t kid you, I’ve considered shutting down the site many times. And one day I will. But one year is only one baby step. I wonder what the “terrible twos” will be like!

Happy dining, and long live freedom of speech!
GW … with all my love
xx

Not so Grand

2005-10-25T18:28:00.000+11:00

Had a meal at The Cove in the Grand Chancellor recently. Oysters were fresh. Pumpkin ravioli was passable. The place was near enough to empty, but the service was amateurish (being generous, I'm hoping it was work experience night).

When I was a wee slip of a bitch, I had my only experience waiting tables in a taco joint. In this humble establishment I was taught to wait until the customer had finished their entree before advising the kitchen it was ok to commence preparing the main.

I was not taught (even in a taco joint) to ask the customer:
"Have you finished your oysters yet?"
(I hadn't.)
"Because your next course is ready."

Dear me.

The Other Foot

2005-10-20T12:37:00.000+11:00

It's kinda nice for me to pick up all your comments and try out your suggestions. Having the shoe on the other foot, so to speak. Following the lovely banter that accompanied the bit on NH coffee I decided to try two things:
Coffee at Amulet
Food at Raincheck

Call me perverse.

Coffee at Amulet was very good. Excellent in fact. I took advantage of the late afternoon sun and the fags in my handbag to sip al fresco. Tres nice. Do I think it tops Aroma? Mmmm, no but only because I really like the whole Aroma concept, and that plus good coffee is a good package.

Now. Raincheck.

My meal was absolutely atrocious. And I am really sorry to say that, because I think they are trying hard. Pink Ling should be thick and sweet, not thin and bitter. The night I was there I heard someone at another table complain about the fish, so it's not just me and my unqualified taste buds. And I'm never impressed by fries that look like McCain Crinkle Cut Home Fries. It's a subtle thing, but it speaks volumes.

But, and this is a good but (nothing like a good but), the cocktails at Raincheck are excellent. Try their English Country Garden on a balmy evening. Fucking awesome. Maybe Raincheck should morph into a cocktail bar with a good light meal/snack menu. This would be something they could manage very well. As it stands now, I will certainly go back to Raincheck time and again for the cocktails. As for the food and the coffee ... prove me wrong Raincheck, I'd like to see you succeed.

GW

Coffee in 'The Strip'

2005-10-10T19:45:00.000+11:00

I hate the reference to Elizabeth St North Hobart as "Little Lygon St". Having eaten much gelati in Lygon St in my youth, I know it is a very stupid and pointless comparison.

Anyway (big sigh) ...

I've been on a mission to try some coffee on 'the strip' and here's what I've discovered:

Zum - better than the original. A very small enclave for coffee lovers and sweet tooths alike. My tip would be to grab a street-side seat when the sun is shining (late afternoon?). Speaking of Zum, rumours have it that (a) the old site is to be taken over by a restaurant/club (cool concept), and (b) Zum Salamanca will resurface next door in the old photolab space.

Aroma - is it a record shop, is it a cafe? I love it here, and having just discovered the rear courtyard (which catches lovely morning sun), I have redoubled my efforts to visit Aroma. They do great coffee and the food is rather delish too (my favourite is the avocado on toast - so simple, so yum). The real challenge is to escape Aroma without giving in to the temptation to buy some funky CD (so far I'm not winning).

Raincheck Lounge - Heard good stuff about food and coffee when these guys first opened. Coffee is inconsistent (very bitter today). Last time I was there I sat outside with a menu in my hand, eventually realising the staff had forgotten me. The temptation to partake in a cocktail left and so did I.

Would have contemplated giving Amulet a run for their over-confident coffee-making money today, but they were closed (obviously there is a God!).

GW ;-)

Good Morning Eric

2005-09-28T09:19:00.000+10:00

Rumour has it you've been to The Spice in Sandy Bay. Care to report?
Have a gorgeous fun-filled day, Eric.
GW ;-)

Maldini

2005-09-26T18:55:00.000+10:00

A rare Sunday night out. Went to Maldini cos Marque IV wasn't open.

The thing about Maldini is that at first glance it is a classy old building with funky big colours on the wall. The second thing about Maldini is that it doesn't pay to look too closely. An overdose of men's bodies with red shirts flapping from their heads adorned the walls, along with a very ugly Venetian festival image and an even uglier red Venetian mask. Sometimes I think plain sandstone has a lot going for it.

The menu was fairly standard, although a couple of interesting options stood out. Couldn't resist the chargrilled sardines on a caremelised onion tart. Really tasty. Actually, really big flavours. It was classed as an entree (although you can order it as a main size). I can't imagine that anyone could face a second course after the robustness of this dish. I liked it, but glad I wasn't staring down the barrel of pork chops or an eye fillet to follow.

I knew I was ordering a tastebud-busting dish, so ordered a garden salad to break it up a bit. Unfortunately, the salad seemed to be last night's antipasto left-overs tossed through some salad mix. It was tart and sweet and completely wrong. As there was no alternative to provide a bit of flavour freshness, this was flavour over-kill and very disappointing.

On a positive note, my eyes greedily followed plates of seafood pasta around the room all night. I spied big mussels, clams, prawns, and so on jutting perkily from bowls of herb-tossed pasta. Defintely worth going back to try these dishes on for size.

Verdict: Maldini passes muster foodwise (except for that stupid salad), but food service was very slow (the very professional and friendly waitstaff looked as frustrated as I was), and interior decor could do with an overhaul. Coffee was better than I remember. I'll go back to try the seafood pasta.

GW.

Kawasemi Moonah

2005-09-22T19:41:00.000+10:00

Realising I would starve if I waited for you guys to give me the low down on the new Japanese tea house in Moonah (yes, Zelda, I know you tried to find it), thought I’d drop in today to suss it out. Fearing the worst I was excited to find not a single pre-prepared sushi pack.

The décor is tastefully Japanese, as is the sushi chef! He handed me a menu and I found a range of sushi was available. I ordered the mixed maki (nori rolls). It was made fresh while I waited. Mr Kawasemi (not his real name, I’m sure) handed me my 14 pieces and asked for $10 in return. Fair exchange I thought. And being a Japanese Tea House, sushi is not the sole focus at Kawasemi. There are Japanese curries and all sorts of stuff. And let’s face it, any Japanese menu that has a whole page devoted to Japanese desserts has to be interesting (coffee jelly for example!).

Now, here are my instructions:

Go to Kawasemi immediately. Have a look at the menu, order something that takes your fancy. Then book your staff Christmas function, your bah mitzvah, or your wake. Tell your friends, tell your enemies. I think it’s awesome that something as authentic as this is available in Moonah.

Well done Kawasemi-san!

(Actually Kawasemi is Japanese for Kingfisher)

Kawasemi Japanese Tea House
Dickenson’s Arcade
109 Main Rd Moonah
6278 1322

Rumours

2005-09-21T09:53:00.000+10:00

1. Dukkah is moving (actually not a rumour; fact)

2. Atrium behind Rockerfeller's to become Bar & Cafe (hmmm, this too is fact)

3. Rockerfeller's new management giving serious consideration to a wine bar in the Rocker's cellar (please, oh please, oh please)

4. Japanese tea house coming to Elizabeth St city (anyone tried the one in Moonah yet, you're all very slow!)

5. Hill St Grocer mob have purchased the Dodges Ferry grocer

6. Georgie Weston is a big fat blabbermouth (definitely fact)

An Honest Critique

2005-09-15T11:36:00.000+10:00

I was chatting with a world-weary busker in town yesterday. He told me it was his birthday. He said he was looking forward to a special seafood meal. He didn't have much money, but fancied a bit of a nosh-up. I asked him where he might go and he said he thought he'd go to the Globe Hotel.

"Do they do good seafood there?" I asked, never having had the pleasure.
"Oh yeah, it's alright," he said.

He then went on to talk about "that place down by the water, what's it called, you know the one ..."
"Mure's?" I ventured.
"Yeah, that one." He said he took a lady there some time ago for a treat.
"That's pretty special," I said, "what did you think?"
"I reckon it's not all it's cracked up to be."

Couldn't help but laugh. Happy birthday mate.

Retrofadism

2005-09-11T18:20:00.000+10:00

Vegies bought, the persistent rain prompted a coffee craving. Trudged off to Retro cos it was close and it was open. Hennaed heads, blunt fringes, and the miserable looks on staff faces sent me back to St Kilda in the early 90s and The Galleon cafe.

Coffee duly arrived and I sipped away. It was inoffensive and warm. Not very hot, not very great. But I smiled as I sipped, recalling the recent accusation of my 'McDonald's taste in coffee'.

Today's coffee at Retro: Better than McDonald's, but barely indistinguishable from Hudson's. Oh alright, that's harsh. The milk wasn't frothed to within an inch of its life.

GW ;-)

p.s. I think my taste may have matured a wee frad ... I no longer heart Hudson's, although I remain a coffee guts ... in case you were wondering.

Red Back

2005-09-10T17:58:00.000+10:00

I’m a bit of a sook when it comes to driving long distances. I need to stop at least once between Hobart and Launceston. Historically the only reasonable coffee to be found on the midlands was at Zep’s in Campbelltown; a little too close to Launceston to be much use one way or t’other.

Notnymore!

Across the road from the cop shop in Oatlands is the Redback Gallery and Espresso. Noice knitted scarves, interesting glassware, a bit of jewellery, etc, etc. The chick behind the counter is very friendly (and a bit of a radio personality on Midlands FM I hear). She makes good coffee and serves it with little yummies (most recently amaretto macaroons). As a bonus, local characters lounge about the place making for entertaining eaves-dropping.

All in all, well worth the stop.

North Hobart

2005-09-01T17:19:00.000+10:00

Thanks to Zelda for dishing the dirt on Sunday night take away in North Hobart (a sad affair it seems) and for letting me know that Conchettas is to become "Taj Palace" or somesuch. Brave choice of locale, given proximity to Annapurna and Taste of Asia. We'll see how that pans out.

And I spy with my little eye a sushi bar about to open next to the BP. Hurrah!

Happy first of spring, as the weather improves so does my appetite. And you know what that means!

Bloody oath!

2005-08-30T22:40:00.000+10:00

Turn my back for five minutes and everything goes bye-byes. It seems that Mitsuno is closing down. Apparently I've missed the last ever Sunday buffet (shit) and will not be likely to get a table before they close. I was told they were pretty authentic, but did I listen? No.

Bloody oath. Obviously I'm the tortoise, not the hare in the culinary race in ol' Hobart town.

However, there is a silver (chrome?) lining. I've seen the ads for the little "Japanese tea house" in Moonah. And I reckon we should all check it out.

I'll race ya!

GW the HRB

She's Ba-ack

2005-08-26T18:12:00.000+10:00

I've just finished traipsing up the length of the eastern seaboard and have a few snippets for you.

Gold Coast
Too early for the famed Meyjitte Boughenout effort at Q1 (yet-to-be-completed tallest residential building in the galaxy). But, a fairly decent yum cha (by GC standards) can be had at Mandarin Court in Mermaid Beach. I heard a rumour that there is a very groovy cafe in an old 50s beachhouse (apparently there are 50s costumes for diners to dress up in if desired), but alas I couldn't find it before I left. Next time.

Degustation challenge - Byron Bay
Thought I'd challenge Byron's best to see if they could make my guts explode. Came close!
1. If you believe the awards in the window, Fins on the waterfront at the Beach Hotel (co-owned by Strop and Delvene Delaney I'm unreliably informed) would be the front-runner. I've been to Fins a number of times, but usually only for post-cheap meal dessert or wine and cheese. Service on this occasion was sadly not up to usual standards. Dishes were plonked down politely in front of us, but with no explanation as to what it was we were eating. Given that I'd made my mind up to be utterly 'degusting' before I arrived, I hadn't memorised the menu. It was a bit like eating blind. Food was good, but the experience was overall a bit of a let down.
2. Take two was at Dish. Ah Dish. I love Dish. I think I could live at Dish. They have the BEST cocktails - try an affotini (espresso martini) or the martini with apple liqueur and cardamom-infused vodka. Yes please! And while you're in the mood to be a boozy lounge lizard, Dish has lovely raised cushioned platforms for you to loll about on. Magic. Anyway - the degustation: This was where I came closest to a Mr Creosote moment. Just a wafer-thin waffle and I would have been guts galore! Food was ace, service was brilliant, my only complaint would be that there was perhaps too much food (fish dishes were spectacular, duck was divine, and the lamb shoulder was wonderful, so I'm not sure which dish I'd scrap - bugger it, have 'em all!).
3. While in Byron we also ate at Olivo. I loved it, but the bloke thought it was a bit of a yawn. Check it out for yourself. Highlight ... as an appetiser, oven-warmed olives were served with our pre-dinner drinks. Very classy.

Next stop - Sydney
All I can say about Sydney is: I love Macleay St Bistro. And if that waiter smiled at me like that one more time I just might have disgraced myself.

Canberra
I have fond memories of Canberra. This trip soon took care of that. Ate at some groovy-looking place in a groovy-looking laneway (Cafe Essen? Something like that). The food looked good (pasta with roast vegetables), but was overly oily and the pasta was stuck together. Couldn't find a decent bar to save myself. Spent three days in our nation's capital feeling completely shitty! The bloody Lakeside Hotel did nothing to improve my mood.

Melbourne
Had the yummiest prawn and lobster ravioli at the Terminus Hotel in Richmond. It was a surprise to me too! My buddy had lamb shanks that easily rivalled those available at Teef (sorry Jim). When in Melbourne I like to dine in shabby style at Supper Inn, preferably at around 1:00am. Kitchen usually closes around 2:30 in the morning, by which time the place is bursting with staff from other Chinese restaurants around Little Bourke St. Gotta be good with clientele like that. I recommend the live pipis and the pigeon (served with the head on). Then, if you're in the mood for a bit of a boogie, check out Transport. It's a three-story venue across the road from Flinders St Station (part of the Fed Square complex). Outrageously tacky 80s disco on the ground floor had me drunkenly serenading the security staff (while somehow avoiding being thrown out). On the top floor is a gorgeous (and incongruous) jazz lounge. Loved it. Another excellent post-Supper Inn bevvie can be found at the Supper Club near Treasury. You'll need someone in the know to take you there (the entry is marked only by a plain wooden door, no sign). And for memories of affotinis, Double Happiness serves a delightful Espresso Martini. Had a lovely lunch at The Deanery, and will eagerly head back there for dinner next time I'm in town.

Back to the apple isle and spent a couple of nights at Hatherley House in Launceston. I only have two words to describe the gorgeousness of Hatherley House .... honour bar!

Thanks for your patience while I was away. And thanks to Ninje for sticking up for my appalling taste and utter lack of credentials. Silly me, I thought having tastebuds was credential enough.

Nighty-night,
GW ;-)

p.s. Due to recent spamming to the HRB comments section, there is now an extra step in adding comments to this site. You're clever bunnies, you'll figure it out.

Marque IV - Hallowed be thy name

2005-07-09T14:50:00.000+10:00

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! I’ve got a new toy. Finally, a new restaurant to play with, one that is pretty and shiny and dazzling.

Last night was opening night at Marque IV on Elizabeth St Pier, next to T42. It has taken over the site of what was the abysmal Athena’s. Not sure I love the name, but ‘Marque’ is French for produce I was told, and the IV is in reference to being the fourth restaurant to occupy the site. Clever.

Food
The menu is an exercise in torment. True to their name, it is produce driven, and local, local, local: Marrawah beef, Dootown venison, Spring Bay scallops, Macquarie Harbour ocean trout. There is squid ink risotto with baby abalone, duck, oysters, the list goes on. Choosing is almost impossible, and there are four courses to choose from: appetizers, entrées, mains, and dessert (entrées were around $16, mains were around $30). The better news is that not only is the menu enticing, these buggers can cook! The wine list is good and not over-priced.

Service
Waiters were friendly, professional, and efficient, and knew their menu inside and out. Recommendations were spot on. I saw Jim from T42 buzzing about like a busy bee, and the spunky blonde guy from Teef (and from Brew as I’ve said previously) was also on hand. Do the Teef crew have their fingers in this little pie too?

Ambience
The décor is rich and lush and warm. Burgundy, bronze, gold, with gorgeous and quirky details (such as a 50s conch shell lamp that I’m sure I saw the other week in a second hand shop). The feel is warm luxury. There is even moisturiser in the ladies loo.

All bets are off, I am no longer maintaining my neo-virginal status in anticipation of Meyjitte’s Hobart restaurant. Marque IV is my new love.

A truly divine dining experience, with the holy trinity of food, service, and ambience well and truly covered.

Well done, you rock!
GW

Lunch at Teef

2005-07-07T19:04:00.000+10:00

Had lunch at T42 today ... it's been far too long. Afraid I chickened out and sat inside; just a bit too nipply for me to sit outdoors in the sunshine today.

I had a rather interesting red (just the one glass, it was a 'business ladies lunch' after all) - it was Portuguese. Haven't had Portuguese wine before. Rather liked it. It smelt a bit like nail polish, but it was good in the mouth (ah, like so many things). Nice cherry 'finish', as they say. Added a lovely rosy glow to my cheeks.

The biggest problem I have with the menu at T42 is knowing what to order. I'm always stuck between two or three equally interesting choices. Was tossing up between ratatouille risotto and goats cheese and hazelnut ravioli. In the end I ordered the ravioli, because it was served with a sticky shiraz glaze (hmmmm, red wine on winter days and I'm anyone's). The entree size was plenty for me. It was tasty, and allowed the subtle flavours of the hazelnuts, the goats cheese, and the fresh pasta to come through the wine glaze. Yummo.

If only I could have spent the afternoon drinking, eating, talking. (Really, I'm beginning to think I have an oral fixation!)

Cheers,
GW ;-)

Satis - My Heart Aches for Brenna

2005-07-02T21:53:00.000+10:00

We gathered newspapers and headed to Satis on Sandy Bay Road for a Saturday morning cuppa. We knew the cafe in the old ramshackle house-and-garden setting next to the Metz was for sale, but had put it out of our minds. It had been on the market a while. Whenever we dropped in we'd ask Brenna if there was any progress on the sale, and "Nah, not yet" was always the answer. But today we were met with new faces and signs reading: "Juice Bar" and "Under New Management". The garden furniture was gone, the sparkling fish pond drained.

Boo hoo, where's Brenna gone?

We settled down on the verandah for coffees and muffins. The wicker chairs were still there, with their plump cushions. But inside the display of gorgeous teapots and pretty dishes and cups and saucers was greatly diminished. A sign said 50% off (better be quick). No more teapots. They will be replaced by "Tasmanian Craft" we were told. Oh.

There were some books on the counter (something about breaking bad food habits - whatever they might be), and a rather large Ganesh-style elephant with a great gob of resin for a teardrop from it's eye. It all smacked of something far too serious.

The good news is that there are little dainties to nibble on from Jean Pasqual. Bad news is the coffee seemed a little watery. But maybe this is just a teething problem. The service is warm and friendly, and the location is great (got to sit on the verandah, no matter what the weather). The sad shame is I only corrected someone the other day who accused me of having another favourite cafe with the reply "No, Satis is my favourite". Well, maybe it was Brenna who was my favourite.

Satis is still there, still pretty, still serving Chai Lattes. But it's just not the same. However I wish Satis the best of luck in its new guise. And I'm sure I'll get over my broken heart for the lovely Brenna. Eventually.

Sigh.

GW the HRB.

Gotta Love Those Guerrilla Reviews

2005-06-27T15:04:00.000+10:00

Hilarious! I nearly pissed my pants.

I was slumming on the couch at the lovely art deco Lido Apartments in Launceston. After far too many attacks on the mini bar, I was flicking lazily through the in-house directory. At the back I found some photocopied Launcestonian menus. I thumbed my way through the menus for Me Wah (must get back there to try their Peking Duck, looks good), the Prickly Cactus (must not get back there, ever), the something-or-other Brasserie (I will endeavour to remember their name and go there, the menu looked good), the Jailhouse Grill (where you can have your potatoes baked or as fries ... but fries cost extra), and The Metz.

And lo and behold, there was a little sign of gastronomic sabotage! On the first page of The Metz's menu was stuck a little note that read: Save yourself ... Avoid

ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The author had gone on to leave a little note on each page of The Metz's menu commenting harshly on their service, their pizzas, even their Tabasco sauce!

ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

But it didn't end there. Under the first note was another, in a different hand, dated 25 May 2005. This one read: Maybe just 1 last chance before you write them off completely, I hear they've changed hands recently

I couldn't bring myself to remove the little missives. Maybe if I stay at the Lido again I'll find more. Maybe hotel directories world-wide will become little repositories for guests' thoughts on the establishments promoted therein. Ahhhhh, what a lovely world it would be.

I toddled off to dream gin-soaked dreams, chuckling all the way.

GW ;-)

p.s. I thought the brasserie with the interesting sounding menu was called something like the Lawrence St Brasserie ... but can't find it listed.

Dukkah

2005-06-15T21:56:00.000+10:00

Dukkah is a relatively new little coffee shop in Elizabeth St in town (near the cnr of Melville St, opposite Tradewear).

The coffee's good, and comes with a complementary mini-muffin. I didn't stay for lunch but the menu looks impressive and their display case contains all sorts of yummies: giant “Nanna” meatballs; filo bits; goats cheese stuff; muffins. And yes, they have chocolate brownies that look like they fell straight from heaven. Oh, AND the biggest bikkies I have ever seen (too big to fit in the bikkie barrel I was told!).

Dukkah is warm and groovy-lookin', with good music and a relaxed vibe. Nice friendly staff who deserve a bloody good go from the likes of us. I reckon Dukkah could be next on my list for "business ladies' lunches".

GW

The “Ugly Fish” Has Landed

2005-06-13T21:09:00.000+10:00

Fish
Elizabeth St, North Hobart

Fish and bloody chips. Trumped up bloody school cafeteria. Loud, clattering, find your own seat, order and pay at the counter. Oh, they also offer “take out”. (Maybe if you can’t afford your meal you could put it on “lay away” too.) I actually do not care how good or otherwise their fish and chips might be. I’m pissed off. North Hobart has lost one decent restaurant in Lickerish and what used to be a decent deli in the 7 Day Super Store, and what do we have in their place? Pizza and fish and chips. How bloody imaginative. Well done.

The tourists might like it, but as promised on 25 April, I am spewing!

GW

"Business Woman's Special"

2005-06-07T10:43:00.000+10:00

Have you seen “Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion”? At their 10-year school reunion the two stars (Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow) pretend to be high-flying execs in order to impress their schoolyard nemeses. Like me, Romy and Michelle suffered high school in the 80s. Also like me, Romy and Michelle had to put up with the popular girls ... in my case, girls I wanted to push into the beaker cabinet in the science room, girls who referred to themselves as "The A Crowd" (wankers).

Anyway, on a road trip to the reunion, Romy and Michelle walk into a diner in their smart suits and ask the waitress if they have a "Business Woman's Special ... because we're business women". (They claim to have invented Post-It Notes, but that’s a whole 'nother pack of giggles).

So, when my girlie friends and I hop out for a rapid-fire one-hour lunch mid-week, I often find myself giggling, tempted to ask for the "Business Woman's Special". But being so restrained (and classy) I don't. But here are my recent efforts at Business Ladies' Lunches:

Knopwoods - food's been back on at Knoppy's for a while now (hurrah). The menu has recently changed and gone are the chilli mussels (boo hoo) to be replaced with nachos, chicken laksa, and a monster beef burger. I had the laksa the other day (very cheap, something like $7 or $9 - excuse my memory). It was presented in a small noodle bowl with a large layer of garnishes on top (bean spouts, fried onion, chopped egg, coriander, etc). The problem was that I found myself having to eat a layer of mulch before I could get to the laksa. This resulted in the laksa tasting bland cos all the yummy garnishes were gone. The laksa needs to be in a bigger bowl (not a bigger serve by any means, great value for the price) so that I can at least get my spoon into it and appreciate all the flavours as they were intended.

Blue Skies - Bet you never thought you'd see the day, but I had lunch at Blue Skies. And liked it, what's more. First day of winter, and I sat in the warm sunshine blissing out. Off came my coat, then my scarf. It was warm. First day of winter my arse! Lunch was pretty good. I'm not convinced that blue cheese and sugar snap peas are an ideal taste combination, and I'm not sure that it's kind to overwhelm succulent and sweet chunks of lobster with blue cheese sauce either. But you know what? It kinda worked. Maybe it was the sunshine, maybe it was just so ace to sit looking out over the water, sun streaming down on my cheeks. The dish was an entrée (around $17 – it was lobster after all) and very filling. But I tell you what; the two behutches who plonked themselves at the next table and complained about how hot it was sure shattered my spell. Whinge, whinge, bloody whinge!

Telegraph Hotel - The old Brooke St Bar goes by the more sophisticated moniker of The Telegraph Hotel these days. They've put some comfy couches into the dining section. I've eaten here three times. About six months or so ago I had a calamari salad that was abysmal (sorry, but the calamari was like rubber bands). A couple of weeks ago our table was served a cold lasagne and a cold soup (which were promptly nuked in the microwave when pointed out, but by then the mystique was gone), and then the other day I shared nachos that left me feeling the other side of well. The Tele is great for a Friday night bevvie (if you can wade past the hordes of lawyers and Hydro employees), but until proved otherwise, this is off my Business Ladies Lunch list.

Fish Frenzy - Have eaten here thrice. Twice having the smoked salmon salad (delicious) and once having the "seafood" chowder (if they'd called it fish soup with carrot and celery they would have been more on the money). Fish Frenzy's salads are definitely a goer. I'm not a huge fan of deep fried stuff, but their chips are great. Prices aren't bad and a good wine list.

Verdict: I would say that Knoppy's is the best value (and what a good venue for a winter lunch in front of that fantastic fire). But please, bring back the mussels; I'm having withdrawal symptoms!

GW

Take-Away & Slippers

2005-06-06T12:53:00.000+10:00

I am becoming more bear-like as the weather chills. Not poohing in the woods, just hibernating. Take-away three nights in a row is a definite record for me, and something my innards are not keen for me to repeat. However, it was yum and I was warm (slippers are so cool).

Friday night it was butter chicken from Little India (cnr Harrington & Collins). I put butter chicken in the same category as chai lattes ... sweet and yummy, not real food at all. Cheap ($11 for a large without rice - prefer to cook my own) and such good comfort food on a cold and blustery Friday night.

Saturday was slightly more impressive. A sushi and sashimi platter (in fact "party plate #2") from Sakura in Sandy Bay. Since this place changed hands a while ago, the standard of sushi has gone up a few notches. It's no Orizuru, but it's not trying to be. Compared with some of Sakura's other platters, the #2 has more sashimi and nigiri and less "filler" California rolls. The more raw fish the better, I say. And good value ($38 and we were both stuffed). Washed it all down with a bottle of Wave Crest Riesling while watching "Lost in Translation" (the coincidence only striking me now).

Last night we tried Khaow Thai on Harrington Street. We had a coconut seafood soup and a green seafood curry. Excellent value at a total cost of $19 (including steamed rice), and enough to satisfy two little gluttons like us.

Speaking of gluttony, I know I said I was going to be good until Meyjitte gets to Hobart, but it was cold and I'm lazy. Three nights of take-away in front of the tellie (two sins at once - and who says I don't have a life!) Oh well. Tonight I think steamed vegies and brown rice are in order. Followed by various forms of self-flagellation (anyone got a birch switch I can borrow?).

GW

I Heart Meyjitte

2005-05-22T14:30:00.000+10:00

Always the last on any bandwagon, I have finally hauled my arse to Franklin Manor to be seduced by the Anais Nin of gastronomy, Monsieur Meyjitte Boughenout, and his wife Debbie (eerily reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver). You may have noticed in Friday's real estate guide that FM is for sale (the leasehold will set you back around $600 big ones) ... but I already knew (don't you just love being a smart arse know-it-all?).

The food was, well, all I can say is ...

Oh my God, yes, yes, yes, YES!

And guess what, there will soon be multiple orgasms for all, cos the Boughenouts and their little ones are moving to Hobart. Hurrah! Get your credit card balances in order, keep you diary free, and get ready to add your name to what will no doubt be a lengthy waiting list. Rumour has it (in fact, it ain't rumour) that properties around Hobart have been eyed off (including the Elbow Room site). My heart is going pitty-pat as I write.

The sad news is that Strahan will lose its brightest star, which is a shame for such a stunning location. After Franklin Manor, Risby Cove is perhaps the next on Strahan's dining ladder. To compare these would be insufferably cruel. Risby Cove is not bad; the site is lovely and the staff are enthusiastic and friendly. Simplify the menu and you'll be apples.

But getting back to my culinary sex life: I'm going to try to be chaste and virtuous until Meyjitte opens his doors in Hobart, at which point I will attempt all seven deadly sins at one sitting. Woo hoo, can't wait!

GW

A Missive from the Ninja

2005-05-22T14:22:00.000+10:00

Faithful correspondent Bingeing Ninja wrote:

Not often am I the first with news but...
Sign went up today (Friday) over old Baker's Delight shopfront in North Hobart. Looks like Zum is about to open a satellite store. Further along Elizabeth Street the new fish restaurant is taking shape and the bar area has gone in – they must of spent a motza all up (and no TV network to help 'em either). Pity about the sign featuring the vaguely cubist fish with "coming soon" below. We've been reading it as "ugly fish coming soon" for the last month and still snicker when passing by (what do they say small things amuse?). And Black Pepper is now open. Yes, I know *another* pizza place but at least they're sticking to just pizza and really Hobart could do with a decent pizza restaurant…. just whacking "gourmet", "wood fire" or "Sandy Bay" in front of a sod ordinary pie doesn't cut it. We shall see. Which reminds me….. am I the only one who finds the McCains new frozen "wood fire" ridiculously funny? And is the Canadian owner of Amulet really going to Bruny Island?
Keep up the good work
bn
PS You might want to check out the boys over at Pinot Island:
<http://www.pinotisland.com/index.php?cat=1>

Thanks Ninje,
GW ;-)

Tuffin on the Loose!

2005-05-18T14:58:00.000+10:00

Marketplace - 8pm - Thursday May 19
Onetwelve
112 Liverpool St
Hobart

Tomorrow night the impish Lindsay Tuffin will speak on JOURNALISM & DEMOCRACY IN TASMANIA. A limited (and cheap) bar will be available for those who find listening thirsty work.

And have I got the best ever gossip? But you'll have to wait; one snippet at a time my hungry little poppets.

Media Ball 2005

2005-05-08T03:23:00.000+10:00

It’s 3am and I’m just home from the Media Ball. Don’t ask what I was doing there, long unintelligible story. Anyway there was Dancing Queen Peg Putt, ABC’s Peter Gee was going off, and there was the flotilla of Stepford Wives: self-possessed pretty little journalists flouncing about on the dance floor with seasoned old hacks old enough to know better. This was why I came, to watch these shenanigans unfold like gossip. And it was great.

However there is a “but”.

The ball was held at the Grand Chancellor. Hang your head in shame I say. My $85 got me a self-serve buffet: some fairly ok oysters, bland vegetables, dry pasta, and “5 star RSL carvery” lamb. The dessert buffet was fairly comprehensive, but kind of Fitzy’s City Caf. I sat there drinking the crap Stoney Ridge wine, eating my crap dinner, thinking about what I’d get for $85 a head at any number of my favourite restaurants.

Function coordinators need to understand that function food doesn’t have to be crap. It is lazy, unimaginative, cheap, and nasty. I could never recommend the Grand Chancellor’s food for functions. Sorry, it’s as simple as that.

And another thing!

2005-04-25T18:38:00.000+10:00

Just back from a hunting trip over the west coast. I wish someone had warned me that jodhpurs and tweed are not quite the go when on the lookout for a thylacine. So ripped off that we weren't on horseback. Those knee high boots just look bloody kinky without a horse in tow! Bloody hell! Anyway, the 1.25 mill is safe for now, but I've got a plan to smoke out the blerry thing - honey on a stick. Works when my dog won't come out from under the house, oughta do for a tiger I reckon. Can't believe no-one's thought of it before.

But back to the real world. Here's what I've found out since returning from yon hunt:

Stepping into the old 'green store' site in North Hobart (the Seven Day Super Store that became anything but super) is something with a fishy logo. Judging by their staff advertisement, they won't be selling waders. I swear, if it's fish and chips I'll spew

Brew now proudly displays two sizes for take away coffee - regular and large. Brillo! And what a bloody tasty large take away coffee I had. Ta boys.

Did I see Maeve O'Mara in the Choux Shop t'other day? Might have been the glare of lights, camera, action, but I'm sure it was. Remains to be seen if it was for that excellent SBS show Ms O'Mara co-hosts, or for the less glamorous Better Groans and Gardens.

Black Pepper Pizzeria is soon to replace Lickerish. Ace. Just what Hobart needs. Another pizzeria in Elizabeth St. My heart sinks.

By the way, I heard part of the Lickerish/State Cinema stoush was over the owner of the cinema (also owner of the restaurant site) wanting to put a walk-through from the cinema into the restaurant. Classy.

Oh, and apparently I got the whole Amulet story completely wrong (see that entry's comment). Silly me.

GW the HRB
;-)

Kissing Pedro at Peppermint Bay

2005-04-13T15:21:00.000+10:00

Am I lucky or what! Shouted to dinner at Peppermint Bay by saintly friends who are now guaranteed front row seats in heaven.

As you know, I love The Local at PB, it’s cosy and it’s good. In fact, I’m looking forward to winter so I can sit before their fire and make a pig of myself. The restaurant is something else altogether. It is a vast cavernous space, all polished concrete, high ceilings, quality tableware, and subtle lighting. From outside it looks like a great wave of glass and steel.

On the night of our visit, the restaurant was divided in two, with a wedding taking place on the other side of the divider. The sound-proofing in the restaurant was pretty good compared to the racket heard from the corridor to the loos, but I would recommend the staff avoid competing soundtracks in future. The restaurant’s subtle mood music was no match for the wedding singer’s rendition of Khe Sanh.

We had a really good meal accompanied by excellent wines. The wine list at PB is a marvel. And what’s more, the waiter assisting us knew far more about wine than is seemly for a man of his young years. But take advantage of his fabulous knowledge we did, much to our edumacation.

To round off our meal, on young wine-genius’ recommendation (double his salary immediately, Mr Currant!), we supped on a glass of heaven. It was black, it was heavy, it was sticky, it was Spanish, and it was fucking awesome! Pedro Ximenez by Cardenal Cisneros. Bound to be good with a name like that.

So apart from Khe Sanh (which made us laugh anyway), PB’s restaurant pulled the goods. I’ll be back, and I hope Pedro will still be there cos I’ve now got a serious crush!

John Wayne Instruction Manual @ 112

2005-04-04T17:08:00.000+10:00

Remember way way back when I asked to be kept abreast of upcoming events? Well here's one. It's not a foodie thingy, but there's a cheap bar and fucking awesome music on offer.

"John Wayne Instruction Manual"
incl. Alistair Dobson, Joe Pirere, Randall Muir, and Konrad Park
112 Liverpool St (used to be the old Whirling Rainbow Cafe, above Diamondworld)
Friday 8 April, 8:30 pm till late
Door charge: $4 students/$5 workers

Presented by the crew at 112, a community organisation. So go on, pull your finger out and go support them!

GW

Steam Packet (Take 2)

2005-04-02T16:27:00.000+10:00

On a whim we returned to the Steam Packet for another bite at the cherry. I was a bit disappointed to find the menu hadn't changed a jot since January, and absentmindedly ordered more or less the same meal as last time. Silly me.

The oysters were once again bloody stunning. Oysters should sparkle on the tongue, and these do, like little bursts of mermaid sherbet. The BBQ duck was also delicious. The steak was a bit overcooked. At pubs I order steak rare so it will be cooked the way I like it, medium rare. I hope I won't have to do this at Steam Packet as well! Surely just a blip. Unfortunately, the pink eyes with rosemary were a bit too reminiscent of “wedges”. Service, as always, was impeccable.

So, when can we expect to see a ‘seasonal’ menu change?

I still have a bit of an issue with the ambience of the Atrium, I have to say. The pelting water feature did wonders for my bladder, which is fine, but I think some music wouldn't go astray. The Atrium is a difficult space, but they'll get it right eventually. At least with the cooler weather the sails have gone.

Nothing the Steam Packet can do about unattractive couples snogging in the glass elevator though (classy).

Polk Salad Annie

2005-03-31T21:44:00.000+10:00

Had lunch at Fish Frenzy the other day, and bugger me if it wasn’t good! My friend had the spicy calamari salad and I had the smoked salmon salad (please, can’t we just nickname it the polk salad annie?).

The calamari was a bit oily, but not bad. Loved the smoked salmon though.

In general, for a “business ladies lunch” (admit it, you love Romy and Michelle too) it was fast, cheap, and scrummy.

Can’t comment on the crumbed, deep fried, adulterated seafood, but hey, I’m so cynical I wouldn’t order it anyway. But stuff it! There’s more to life than a fisherman’s basket.

Farewell Lickerish

2005-03-27T12:17:00.000+10:00

The plus-side of being locked in an industrial oven for three days is that you lose three kilos without the need for sit-ups, push-ups, or (God help us) lunges. The down-side is having to stand up a very hot date at Lickerish.

Hadn’t been to Lickerish for about a year. On that occasion we got frightfully hammered on Craigie cab sav (how disrespectful!) and ate who knows what. A travesty! Too pasted to recall the food. Mon dieu! Well, we had every intention of rectifying this shameful waste and had planned to go back last week. Then the drunken-hide-and-seek, locked-in-the-oven, cough-cough-cough scenario* stepped up to prevent our best laid plans.

No matter, thought I, another time perhaps.

Now bugger me but Graeme Phillips tells me in this morning’s Sunday Debacle that Lickerish have held their last supper. Rather fittingly on Maundy Thursday.

Maundy (or Holy) Thursday is the celebration of the Eucharist, the commemoration of the Last Supper. Being the day before Good Friday, in our house Maundy Thursday is referred to as Appalling Thursday. Only logical really, and besides, crap stuff seems to happen on Appalling Thursday (having to go to work being one example, the closure of restaurants another).

It is traditional on Maundy Thursday for the rich to distribute alms to and wash the feet of the poor. (No-one washed my feet, or gave me any bucks, so I’m assuming that means I’m not poor. Any of you guys get a cash windfall or a bit of a tootsy scrub? How was it?). Numerous Catholic rituals and celebrations occur on Maundy Thursday, including the reconciliation of penitents.

Which brings me back to Lickerish, cos I hope there is some bloody penitence going on today, because there sure as hell wasn’t any reconciliation. According to Mr Phillips, the story goes that a barney over the lease of the Lickerish site (and lets imagine a bitch-slap, cos it adds to the drama) resulted in the Lickerish girls flipping the bird and flapping off to greener pastures. Good for them.

I'll have to settle for last year's pathetic effort at sampling Lickerish’s grub (I’m sure it was delightful, and I do have a hazy recollection that the young waitress was a treat), but I’m hopeful that the gastro-adventurers will be back with something new to tempt our tastebuds soon, soon, soon.

Farewell Lickerish. I may not recall your fare, but I liked your curtains.

* Children, don’t try this at home.

Bitch's Brew

2005-03-20T17:50:00.000+11:00

As you know, I love caffeine en masse but understand that some cafés just don’t serve large coffees. C’est la vie. But recent experience necessitates an obviousism from the ol’ GW: Early on a weekday morning is no time to give me a lecture. Don’t be telling me you can do a large coffee “but it will taste like crap because you lose the crema”. I don’t care. If I cared about crema I’d order an espresso. If I want to pay for (in your opinion) a shit coffee to kickstart my brain, that’s my idiotic choice.

I wasn’t going to dob. But I had a dream the other night (from which I literally woke laughing) that convinced me I had to.

Brew in Sandy Bay. Looks good. Nice boys making nice coffee. All good. Except for those early morning lectures. Gently telling me off is one thing, but hearing you chastise other customers wanting a large coffee is a bit much. Good natured though it may be, it’s a bit rough on the early morning nerves. Give it a rest boys.

You might say: “Don’t like it, go elsewhere”. You might even say: “We don’t need customers who want the coffee equivalent of a bucket bong”. I would say: “Fine, but that’s a gutsy call in a small town”.

To be fair, I understand that you are coming from a good place. You aspire to coffee excellence and you want to teach us the difference between excellent coffee, good coffee, and shit coffee. I applaud that. However, sometimes a customer just wants what they want. Case in point: a country café on the big island lists on its coffee menu the “Why Bother?” – seemingly brewed by waving a coffee bean under the steam while frothing the milk. I agree - why bother? But that’s what some people want and I congratulate the café owner’s good business sense in providing same.

Coffee menus are great places for educating customers, lectures are not.

Reasons to go to Brew: The coffee’s good, not too expensive, and comes with a chocolate-coated coffee bean (dine-in), the coffee-meisters are very friendly (lecturing aside), and the spunky guy from T42 works there. It’s a nice café, personally I prefer Satis, but that’s just the E.M.Forster in me.

The dream I had the other night? I dreamt that I told the head Brew-boy that the décor reminded me of Hudson’s. Oops.

Where Oh Where Has She Been?

2005-03-20T16:27:00.000+11:00

There was a silly rumour running about town that I had fallen victim to foul play. Yes, dear friends, it was true. Fate led a dark alley, a drunken Georgie, and a menacing fellow to cross paths.

Not really, but it had the makings of a good fib.

So where have I been? I won’t bore you with sordid details, but let’s just say there is a good reason why children are discouraged from hiding in refrigerators. The adult-version should be this: Playing hide and seek while drunk is fun. Hiding in a recently cleaned industrial oven is stupid. Dangerous even.

Cough cough.
GW ;-)

Surprise!

2005-03-07T22:31:00.000+11:00

Holy dooly, surprised twice in one week by two establishments I have less than loved in the past.

1. Rockerfellers sat me on my arse with a gorgeous possum stew. Yes, I did say possum. It was rich and tomatoey with a velvety mash (yeah, yeah, I know, but what’s a stew without spuds?), beans and native pepper berries (almost too dominant, but worked). And the possum? Tasted like chicken. Kidding! Rich and gamey, about half-way between roo and emu (but tastier than a regal shield). I am now inspired to appear on the New Inventors with my very own possum trap attached to mum’s old crockpot. Yum.

2. Meadowbank really blew me away with an outstanding whole smoked salmon. Oh yes, it was whole, it was gently smoked, and it was enormous. It sat pertly upright on its little stand and appeared to be riding a wild wave of mesclun. Eyes sparkling, teeth bared. It was a beauty! If not for the formality of the occasion I would have shoved the leftovers down my top a la Dan Ackroyd in Trading Places.

Hurrah! This is the type of innovation (the possum) and exciting, respectful treatment of grand produce (the salmon) that we’ve all been baying for.

The sad news?

The possum was a fleeting special on the Rockerfellers menu. As I paid my bill I overheard the waitress tell another patron there was no more. And the whole salmon at Meadowbank was not standard fare, but part of a function menu. Fingers crossed, a special request in advance might result in a surfing salmon for you too.

More please. I like surprises.

Goodbye Summer

2005-03-03T21:31:00.000+11:00

Summer is over.

There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s quite warm. But summer is over.

Even though summer has gone, this is my favourite time of year. Winter’s coming, but it’s not here yet. It’s like that last five minutes you steal in bed before you finally face reality and get up.

Soon it will be dark before we leave work of an evening. It will be cold. We’ll get the flu and spend a fortune at the chemist. We’ll yearn for next summer, wishing our lives away.

But not yet.

We greedily devour autumnal days because soon enough there’ll be no more BBQs. No more salads. No more sitting on the beach and eating sandy fish and chips. No more sunburnt noses. When winter comes, there’ll be no more sipping of champagne in the warm evening glow while the sun lazily sinks.

But winter’s not so bad. There’ll be roasts and soups, stews and breads, curries and casseroles. There’ll be snuggly Sunday sleep-ins, delaying placing that first foot on the cold cold floor. There’ll be open fires and snow on the mountain. And there’ll be the best excuse in the world for drinking red wine.

Bring it on I say!

By Request: The HRB’s Top 10 of the Moment (it may all change tomorrow)

2005-02-22T22:50:00.000+11:00

Feel free to piss and moan about this, because God knows by tomorrow I’ll have changed my mind completely. But, as the request has been made and I am titillated by the concept (and easily baited it would seem), here’s my current Top 10 (in no other order than that dictated by the random firing of synapses in what passes for my brain):

Paesano (Italian - West Hobart, 6234 2111). Good stuff: risotto, calzone, gourmet pizzas, cheap. Not so good stuff: size doesn’t make it an attractive dine-in option, but they do describe themselves as ‘specialising in take away’
Steam Packet (“Modern Australian” - Henry Jones Art Hotel, Hunter St, 6210 7700). Good stuff: the food, the service, the wine list. Not so good stuff: a couple of teething issues, but getting there on the whole.
Novaro’s (Italian – Launceston, 6334 5589). Good stuff: it’s all good baby. Not so good stuff: nah, still can’t think of anything
T42 (“Modern Australian” - Elizabeth St Pier, 6224 7742). Good stuff: view, staff, food, coffee, wine list. Not so good stuff: mostly just the evening bar clientele (T42 is a bit of a “scene”)
Sen’s (Asian/Yum Cha - North Hobart, 6236 9345). Good stuff: duck, wonton soup, yum cha, steamed bok choy, custard tarts, cheap. Not so good stuff: take away (unless ordered from the a la carte menu), wine list could be better.
Stillwater River Café (“Modern Australian” – Launceston, 6331 4153). Good stuff: don’t get me started, I’m dribbling already. Not so good stuff: Price, but it doesn’t have to be expensive (unless I’m there, then it’s Family Violence Act time for my wallet)
Siren’s (Vegetarian – Victoria St, Hobart, 6234 2634). Good stuff: vegetarian with imagination. Not so good stuff: Vegetarian Nazism (check the “rules” on the menu)
Satis (Bistro-style Café, not open for dinner – Sandy Bay Rd, Sandy Bay, 6224 0551). Good stuff: the tea, the coffee, the teapots, the cakes and bickies, the bruschetta. Not so good stuff: it’s for sale.
“The Local”, Peppermint Bay (“Modern Australian” – Peppermint Bay, Woodbridge, 6267 4088). Good stuff: great day trip destination, view, venue, food’s good and not expensive, excellent wine list. Not so good stuff: tourists with loud voices/mobiles. (I can’t comment on the main restaurant at PB.)
Mai Ake (Thai - North Hobart, 6231 5557). Good stuff: prawn cakes, bbq octopus, stuffed chicken wings, prawn choo chee, larp gai, basically cheap but good Thai. Not so good stuff: Has lost something since the move to bigger premises, but always a great meal.

If you’re on the list, don’t get cocky. By naming you guys up, you now risk being shot down in flames by a gaggle of people who think you suck. But I like you. Don’t stuff it up.

Asides:
Kafe Kara (Bistro/Café, Hobart). Now open for dinner Fridays. Has always been good for lunch
onetwelve (‘occasional venue’). Hobart’s legal answer to a speak-easy. Cheap drinks, good music, good community events. Watch out for gigs by The John Wayne Instruction Manual (classic funk) and the occasional jazz gig. But you need to be in the know. Go to http://www.onetwelve.blogspot.com/ to get yourself on the mailing list.
Bush Inn (Counter Meals, New Norfolk). Nice view, typical pub fare. Australia’s oldest or longest running or some other bloody “old” status pub. Nellie Melba stayed and performed there. I reckon it’s haunted.
Magic Curries (Indian, Battery Point). Good curries, bad name.

Missing in Action:
These are places that I don’t feel qualified to comment on (yet), despite excellent reputations, because I’ve never been or I haven’t been for ages or I was so incredibly pissed when I did go. But keep your eyes and ears (and taste buds) peeled: Lickerish (Modern Australian, North Hobart), Red Velvet Lounge (Café - Cygnet), Mitsuno (Japanese - Sandy Bay), Franklin Manor (“Modern Australian”? - Strahan), Calstock (French - Deloraine), Criterion Café (Criterion St, Hobart).

And that’s your blooming lot (now you know what happened to Peter Cundall after the fall).

Happy dining!
GW ;-)

What Happens When an Amulet Doesn’t Work?

2005-02-20T15:18:00.000+11:00

Once upon a time there was a lady who was having a baby. Her belly was big and round, tight as a drum. The baby was only weeks away. So her friends decided she needed a celebration with cake and cups of tea and presents. A baby shower, it’s called. They rang around until they found a place that promised to provide room for them to talk and laugh out loud, drink their cups of tea or glasses of champagne, oooh and aaaah over little baby presents, and munch on delicious cakes. The girls asked “Can we come at 3?”, the restaurant said “It would be better for us if you could come around midday, that way there will be lots of cakes for you to eat”.

How delightful. Written invitations were sent out to all the pregnant lady’s friends, who promptly replied. Such was their great excitement and joy.

But then a week before the celebration, or thereabouts, the restaurant called and cancelled the booking. They said “We have too many lunchtime bookings. Maybe you could come around 3?” The ladies frowned and scratched their heads in wonder. Too many lunchtime bookings? Weren’t they a booking too? Weren’t they promised room to talk and laugh out loud, room to drink cups of tea or glasses of champagne, room to oooh and aaaah over little baby presents and to munch on delicious cakes? And weren’t all those lovely cakes going to be more plentiful at midday rather than at 3?

The pregnant lady’s friends put their heads together and scowled a little. “We’ve already sent out the invitations, we’ve already got all the RSVPs. We’ll need to tell everyone of the changed booking time. This is a problem.” So the ladies sent out fresh invitations announcing a change of venue, not time. They weren’t happy with having their booking seen as less important than other bookings. “How rude”, thought they.

But one of the ladies decided to play detectives. She rang the restaurant and played confused. “I’m confused”, she said. “I thought we were coming to eat cake with you, but now I think we have to go elsewhere because you have too many other bookings. I’m so confused.” The man on the telephone was most helpful. He checked the bookings list and said “Yes, we have a cancelled group booking. There’s a squiggly line right through it. But it doesn’t say why the booking was cancelled. We don’t have any other bookings at that time”. The lady’s eyebrow arched high above her left eye. “Oh, really. That is so confusing”, she purred. “But thank you anyway, you’ve been most helpful.”

The ladies had their baby shower yesterday, at another venue of course. They had lots of room to talk and laugh out loud, and to sip their glasses of champagne. But they didn’t have any cake at all. Instead they had an enormous lunch. They munched on pizzas and chicken, on seafood and dips. They talked and laughed about the other silly restaurant, and how glad they were that they hadn’t gone there. There were lots of presents for the pregnant lady, whose belly moved up and down with each laugh as she tore off the wrappings to see the gifts inside. She was surrounded by loving friends who cared about her and her baby. She was wrapped in joy. A happy ending after all.

Imagine. Eighteen women charged with champagne and indignation, feeling defensive on behalf of their pregnant friend. Imagine the power of these women as they march about Hobart furiously declaring their anger at the shabby treatment of their friend with the tight round belly. Imagine how this story will grow along with the growing child, how the baby shower was less important than other bookings. Other bookings that didn’t exist at all. Thank you to one of those cranky indignant ladies who regaled me with this story in great and glorious detail last night over a debriefing champagne. "Class act", she seethed, "Dumping a pregnant lady’s booking in case more money could be made from walk-ins. What’s next, strangling small furry animals?"

Amulet n. Something worn on the body as a charm against evil (Collins Australian Pocket English Dictionary)

How ironic.

I’d Eat the Crutch Out of a Low-Flying Peking Duck

2005-02-16T21:02:00.000+11:00

In fact I did.

It was fresh from the duck-hangery and still warm when brought lovingly home to me. It was sweet, it was tender, and it was spicy in a star anisey kind of way.

In the past I’ve instructed you all to give the bain-marie at Sen’s a very wide berth. In fact, I would say that unless you’ve sat at a table at Sen’s and ordered from the menu (or the specials board) you deserve what you get and have no right to tell me that Sen’s sucks. I still stand by this mantra. And now my love of Sen’s simple and cheap food for the soul has been strengthened by their blessed duck. To know that this is my rescue from cheap Butter Chicken when I want a Friday night at home has made it all the more sweet. I’m craving more as we speak.

But this long weekend it didn’t stop at the duck (mercy me). On Sunday we had what some may call a “delicate condition” going on. I’d been carousing into the wee hours of the morning and was craving something far more than stroking my own forehead could provide. I needed soothing in a big way, and the only way to get that kind of soothing (from the inside out) is a big bowl of Sen’s wanton soup. Clear broth, bok choy, prawn and pork wantons floating like bloated goldfish. Heaven.

When I have to agonise over menus that make me freeze with petit mals of boredom, it’s so comforting to find that Sen’s (with a little touch of traditional Chinese music to welcome the Year of the Rooster) can still pull the goods.

See, sometimes it really is just the simplest things. And not a mash in sight!

Now Listen Here Young Lady!

2005-02-09T23:32:00.000+11:00

I’m in so much trouble.

She pointed her finger and waggled it at me ferociously “Who the hell do you think you are!” I frowned a sulky frown and pursed my lips and scuffed my feet on the floor beneath me. It was worse than the dressing down I got in Grade 10 Home Economics.

On that sordid occasion Mrs Fatso (really, that was her name!) had been standing behind me just as I felt the need to announce how much I hated her daggy menu for our school formal. “Fatso” I declared “wouldn’t know an exciting menu if it jumped out and bit her dimpled arse”. Oops. Mrs Fatso clipped my right ear (I should have sued) and sent me to the back of the room to read Margaret Fulton and write an essay on the gentle art of menu design. Bloody hell she was harsh!

Look, I’m the first to admit that I know jack shit about menu design (I’ve blanked out that essay’s content) or food science (I failed Home Ec). But I do know what does and doesn’t excite me, I do know what does and doesn’t taste good (to me!), and I’m not afraid to tell. But that doesn’t make me right (or wrong if you disagree with me). It’s just my opinion.

I have a mouth, and sometimes it runs away with me. Worse yet I can type as fast as I think (show off!), so I have a wee tendency to regret my actions from time to time. Should I shut down the HRB, banish myself to a dungeon and not come out until I have learnt to be a silent and penitent shadow of myself?

Nuh!

But, the idea of “Hobart Restaurant Bitch” is to have a bitch, not be a bitch. And I don’t want my big mouth to get in the way of a valid restaurant experience, therefore I do not accept freebies or invitations to ‘review’ (the “invitation” from Henry Jones wasn’t actually an invitation), I do not book tables under Georgie Weston or HRB, and I do not reveal that I’m a “reviewer” (mostly because I’m not a reviewer’s arsehole). See, I have ethics.

So there I was this morning getting a bloody good dressing down, having flashbacks by the boatload and feeling right sorry for myself. “Who the hell do you think you are,” she asked again, finger still waggling, “some bloody expert or something?” Hmmm, maybe she had a point. But like my rebellious teenage self, there I stood, sulky and shitty and wanting to fight back. “Expert? Hey, it’s just my OPINION!”. “Who are you talking to?” my husband asked, startling me so that I jumped and dropped my toothbrush on the floor. I looked back at the mirror, she was still there and now sprayed with toothpaste. Oops.

Call me crazy, but I suspect that, like me, you guys like to eat out occasionally, preferably without having your wallets ripped out through your botty holes or your taste buds bludgeoned to death with the boredom stick. I’m sorry if we don’t see eye-to-eye on all things. But I’m not sorry for expressing my opinion. As a consumer with a voice I can say what the hell I like. But via the HRB you get to say what the hell you like too. And that means all of us hungry little consumers can have a say.

And that’s the point Belvedere … as long as I can face that scary bitch in the mirror tomorrow morning.

GW ;-)