Sydney Food Diary

Good Food Month A GoGo

As the calendar flips over to October this weekend, so begins Sydney Good Food Month 2006. In it's ninth year this year, Good Food Month is chock a block with tasty events to keep the pallates of Sydney occupied. This years outdoor and indoor action includes the always entertaining hat's off dinners and the spring picnic.

Somewhat sadly, the night noodle markets are again located in Hyde Park rather than in the former location in the botanical gardens. Let's hope they are less disappointing than last year.

Nest for dinner

It was such a short while ago that we were telling you how much we liked to fly on into Nest in Potts Point for brunch but we are happy now to report back that they are doing a swell dinner now as well.

They've kept the food simple and homey with great flavours across a short but globetrotting menu which is complimented by daily specials.

They are only open for dinner Thursday, Friday, Saturday at the moment but we think it'll be one of the sleeper spots for summer al fresco noshing.

You could choose mouth-watering asparagus in brown butter with goats cheese, hazelnuts and currants

Or the deliciously anchovie-rich pisaladiere

We had a special of braised lamb in tagine spices with dates and toasted almonds

And the fish of the day which was barramundi

And we saved a bit of room for milk chocolate and orange mousse

Cafe Nest is at 145 Victoria St Potts Point, Phone (02) 8356 9505

Balmain A La Carte

There is an interesting article in the new Arthur Frommers about Balmain from a foodie and travel focus by our NY-er friend Michael.

You should already know about most of what he talks up but it's a worthwhile read all the same.

Benzin

We also had a good meal recently at Benzin (Thai for gasoline) which is the spawn of Sailor's Thai in the former Fuel Bistro spot on Crown St, Surry Hills.

Benzin's a great spot to pull up a window seat and watch Crown Street go by while enjoying affordable Thai that is a cut above most of what is available in Sydney. We also have to admit that though it isn't entirely new, we still enjoy the novelty of eating in the middle of a functional auto showroom.

(as much as we still love Spice I Am, this was a decent, similarly-priced alternative where you can sit a little longer over your meal)

Grilled squid salad a refreshing start

Caramelized pork hock with a vinegar dipping sauce, our favorite of the three

Jungle curry of barramundi was excellent

Benzin is at 480 Crown Street, Surry Hills Phone 9360 5546

Sideways Cafe

We had a great little spot of brunch (ok, more like a hulking heap of brunch) at family friendly Sideways Cafe in Dulwich Hill.

And we loved how it's converted store front opens itself up to the bright light of sunny spring days. It's a great place to grab a cushioned window seat (if you can) and ease yourself into the day. If only the coffee was as good as everything else.

Pounds of Ricotta Pancake

A profusion of corn fritter

Sideways Deli Cafe - 372 Constitution Rd , Dulwich Hill, ph:02 95601425

A'Mews

The pun-y name is a little hard to swallow but we were stoked to find a restaurant that is doing food of this calibre on Glebe Point Road amongst the mediocre Indian and anonymous cafes.

The food is the sort that is most often described as "gastopub" but is decidely French in technique and with a keen emphasis on quality ingredient.

We really liked almost all of what we ate (the venison just didn't work for us) and the warm, friendly and knowledgable service proved a potent combination. The little touches (onion and madeira consomme and pre-dessert sorbet) were welcome surprises.

They've also got a short and sharp winelist that is packed with value (and they even brought us proper stems).

A'Mews is at 99 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe Phone (02) 9660 4999

Momofuku

Another of our favorite meals in NYC that we now find ourselves hankering for more of back on the Sydney side was at David Chang's Momofuku. (thanks to Michael and Nina's tip)

Momofuku has turned casual dining into high-art in the East Village in sliver of a space.

There's the famous and incredibly rich and delicious ramen made with specially sourced Berkshire pork, baskets of sweetbreads served up McNugget-esque with dipping sauce on the side, tasty pork buns and unbelievably addictive smoked chicken wings. It's not really for vegetarians, as Chang proudly warns "There's pork fat in just about everything at Momofuku" - that includes the veggie dishes.

But the real reason for this post isn't to tell you about a restaurant that you can't go to, it's to share a recipe that Debbie sent us for a dish that we sampled and loved. So with more that a little fanfare here is sugar snap peas with grated fresh horseradish, click through for the recipe. (thanks to Debbie)

Bodega

We love tapas as a format - it's the hott (with two t's) thing in New York at the moment and it's bound to take off here as well. (actually judging by the number of people that bundled in to this space on a Wednesday, it already has) And it's hard to hear the name "bodega" and not think of NY and it's ubiquitous corner shops.

But that aside and try as we might (even despite this deliciousness), we just didn't love Surry Hills' new Bodega.

Oh how we wanted to fall in love. What a cute little space. And what enthusiastic service beyond the call of duty. Some of what we sampled was ok but most of the food just fell short of the mark for different reasons in different dishes.

We'd like to think that maybe we ordered poorly but we sampled so much that it's hard to chalk it up to that. The only other excuse we can hope for is that since it's a fairly new kitchen, maybe things will settle in - let's hope this is the case.

Best of the night was the morcilla with apple and radish salad pictured in the first image below.

Bodega is at Shop 1 216 Commonwealth St Surry Hills 2010 NSW Ph: (02) 9212 7766

Brunch spotting

As we rocked up for Sunday brunch at Danks Street Depot (which only recently started opening on Sundays*) we saw the recognizable faces of Franz Scheurer from Australian Gourmet Pages and former Good Food King Matthew Evans.

Not that our brunch companions weren't lovely company but somehow we wished that these interesting food pros were joining we humble food amateurs for brunch rather than turning us over the table.

* a good thing, or so you'd think, unless of course you'd driven into the heart of the Hillsong Sunday parking maelstrom as we had. What a nightmare.

Assiette

In the tradition of the amazing Sunday degustations at Balzac that we are always on about, we've just discovered that chef Warren Turnbull of Assiette is also putting on special degustation dinners on the first Sunday of every month (just a few more Sunday's to fill in :P)

We went just the day before it's hat was doled out and not only was it our first degustation here but it was also our first visit to this location since the Becasse name came off the door.

We'd heard really good things about the food here, most notably from Keith at Fuel Bakery who kept asking us if we'd been yet, but even with the hype, it blew our expectations away.

The wine pairings too were excellent and the team here always had the time to give us a little bit extra information and opinion.

All in all, this meal ranks easily with the best meals we've had all year.

Here is how the order ran:

Oyster beignet with horseradish sauce and watercress veloute

Goat's cheese cromeski with beetroot and pinenut salad

Seared and tartar of tuna with cucumber spaghetti and ginger sorbet

Baked potato of salmon

Duck martini with beetroot olive

Pork and foie gras terrine with Pedro Ximinez jelly and crackling

Crispy chicken wing with seared scallop, mushroom duxelle and cepe cream

Crispy raviolo of prawn with saffron aioli, chorizo and green olive salsa

Squid ink risotto with sauteed squid and a herb vinagrette

Foie gras stuffed quail with garlic bread and butter pudding and lentil cappucino

Breast and cutlet of lamb with caponata and basil hollandaise

Bleu de Basque with waldorf salad

(I missed a photo here as I was too busy enjoying my wine....it was Buttermilk pannacotta with chamomile tea jelly and carrot granita)

Lemon and honey pudding with a citrus salad and orange ripple ice cream

Chicory creme brulee with coffee ice cream

Assiette is at 48 Albion Street Surry Hills Ph (02) 9212-7979