food geek

Restaurants, recipes, rants.

on-tray

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>A hand-written notice in the window of our local Indian restaurant (I won’t embarrass them by naming it) proudly advertised a new takeaway offer:

“BUY THREE MAINS, GET ON-TRAY FREE!”

I wasn’t sure if I was reading it incorrectly, in that they would come to your house and serve it to you on a tray, or whether they were in fact offering entrees free (which is what starters are called here).

I also surmised whether they were doing what my friend Denis in Goa did: when choosing a name for his new beach shack, he came up with Stringfellos, spelt incorrectly with no “w” at the end. His rationale was that arrogant British tourists would delight in coming up to him and pointing out his mistake, at which point he would thank them and invite them to sit down for a drink/lunch/whatever. His gift of the gab would take over at this point, and they would be persuaded to stay at his shack for the rest of their holiday and spend all their beach money there.

You would be amazed at the number of people this worked on…

Anyhoo, the day I stopped my car to take a photo of the aforementioned offending notice, they had discreetly changed the word to “entree”.

Now you will never believe me.

Cafe Barcelona

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>It was the St. Kilda Festival this weekend. We popped in to BarCelona on Fitzroy Street early on Sunday evening to excape the crowds, the heat and the hurricane-force wind that had caught us in a dried-grass-storm… and got ripped off.

We should have known when we asked for a jug of water as soon as we sat down, and were told we couldn’t have one. Large bottles of still or sparking water only today. We opted for the sangria, and were charged $28 compared to the standard menu price of $24.

Strangely, as soon as our two companions had ordered their food, the waitress disappeared so quickly that our calls for her to return went unnoticed. I wonder what she thought we two were going to eat?

Our companions ordered a platter of antipasto-type food for two at $20, and it was measly. The calamari, mussels, chicken wings, beef skewers and leak and parmesan croquetas were perfectly fine in fairness, but the food came out in dribs and drabs, and even our attempts to be given cutlery and napkins went unheard.

At $96 for four people, it was not value for money. And I’m sure it’s illegal to refuse to serve tap water, regardless of whether you charge for it or not?

I’ve eaten at BarCelona before, and enjoyed it, but I won’t be returning.

mairead’s vegetable curry

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>POINTS® Value: 2
Servings: 4

A tasty filling dinner – serve with boiled rice (rown is best).

Use whatever vegetables you like, but the chickpea/spinach combination is particularly good. The instant coffee is used to cancel out some of the sweetness of the vegetables, especially the tinned tomatoes. Add cooked potato and/or chicken if you wish, but don’t forget to count the extra points.

1 medium onion
400 g canned chickpeas
200 g mushroom
400 g canned tomatoes
1 medium carrot, chopped
1/2 medium head of cauliflower
3 cloves garlic
1 whole fresh red chilli
1 tsp chilli powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
150 g frozen spinach
2 tsp instant coffee

Instructions
Fry onion and garlic and chilli
Add rest of vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes
Add rest of ingredients
Simmer for an hour

(tastes better made the day before!)

gourmet city

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

We have a date tonight with Lee and her boyfriend. Easy – two serious food-lovers in a city full to bursting with amazing places to eat.

So why did it take us over two days to finalise the venue?

Melbourne is a foodies’ paradise. Both Lee and I started obsessively looking for places in the central business district we’d like to visit. We traded possible lists, avoiding seafood (they ate last night) or Italian (my WeightWatchers meeting is tomorrow). We couldn’t come to a landing.

After the first day, we both started making phone calls to get tables at some places we fancied. Lee called Melbourne Supper Club: full. Then she tried Movida: also full. What’s going on in Melbourne on a Tuesday evening?

By mid-afternoon today we were four hours from meeting up, and miles from agreeing where. We were browsing Miettas and the Age Epicure sites for inspiration. It was a bit like being brought to the best shoe shop in the world with no notice, and told to pick one pair of shoes: impossible without serious soul-searching.

In the end I called it. I booked a table for four at Arintji, Jacques Reymond’s place at Federation Square. Lee phoned expressing relief that somebody had decided on something.

Kid in a candy store…

Il Solito Posto

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>A pre-Christmas dinner with work friends took us to one my new favourite restaurants in Melbourne.
Il Solito Posto is tucked away in a basement down a side alley off the Paris end of Collins Street. It could have been a businessman’s realm but managed not to be. Small groups in suits sat eating in casual surroundings on the upper level, but the real treat was further down the stairs into the basement proper.
From our corner table we could see everything. One wall was lined with shelves full of wine. The clientele was a mix of after-work diners, couples and slightly noisier groups of friends.
Alan and Jeanette our waiters were the ultimate in Melbourne hospitality: unobtrusive, but friendly and professional, they guided us through the menu, wine list and specials as if we were regulars.
The menu was not too lengthy, with something for everybody. Classic antipasti, an excellent well-chosen list of pasta and risotto dishes, and main courses ranging from rib-eye steak to snapper.
I chose the sea urchin for a starter from the specials list. Two spiky specimens arrived, each sitting on a bed of salt, the meat sitting atop a scoop or two of chopped onion, chilli and ginger in a light vinaigrette dressing. It was ultra-fresh and tasted of the sea. Divine.
For the main course I chose the fillet steak, roasted medium-rare and served on a bed of mashed potato. Every mouthful was a treat; the steak was perfectly cooked.
The wine list was superb: dozens of wines grouped by grape, ranging from under $50 to almost four figures. We chose a Chianti Classico (when in Rome…) from the lower end of the price scale, which complemented our food perfectly.
I could not resist the dessert menu (unusual for me) and chose a tiramisu. The girls helped me out with their coffee spoons. Like a good Italian restaurant, they had it just right. Not too boozy, not too runny, not too big.
Il Solito Posto translates as “the usual place” and I can guarantee that this little place will become one of my regular haunts in the city. Whether for a quick after-work bite in the bar or a perfect Italian dinner downstairs, it won’t let you down.

christmas pudding ice cream

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>A colleague of mine at work gave me this recipe because he heard I was a foodie.

Ingredients

375g packet mixed fruit
¼ bottle brandy
2 oz dark chocolate
4 egg whites
150g icing sugar
600ml cream
1 level tbsp mixed spice
1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
1 level teaspoon nutmeg
2 oz slivered almonds, toasted

Soak the fruit overnight in the brandy. Next day beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually add sugar into the egg whites, slowly so the mixture holds its air.

Melt the chocolate and fold carefully into the egg white mixture.

Whip the cream until it holds its shape, adding the spices. Fold the egg white and dream and fruit together, adding the almonds at the end.

Freeze in a covered metal or plastic container for at least three hours before serving.

Keeps up to three months in the freezer.