emilio’s pizza pasta

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Emilio Pizza Pasta
58 Mitchell Street, Darwin
www.pizzapasta.com.au
 

Takeaway pizza in Darwin: a five-minute survey of colleagues pointed me to Emilio’s, opposite Shennanigan’s pub on the main drag. I was tired and just wanted simple takeaway pizza to eat curled up on my hotel bed, watching Big Bang Theory re-runs.

Emilio’s is just five minutes away so I ordered on the phone. “What size are your pizzas? What size is medium?” A laugh. “Well, it’s hard to describe really. A medium would easily be enough for two people.” OK. I ordered a medium Mexican and wandered down in fifteen minutes.

$21 for a medium pizza is steep, and this didn’t feel like a generous helping as I walked back to my hotel. In the lift I came across a Dad with his young daughter with what looked like the extra-large option. “Seems like we had the same idea”, I remarked. “Hope it’s worth it”, the Dad said. “Thirty bucks is an awful lot for a pizza.”

So: how was it? I asked for well-cooked and I’m not sure I got that. The pepperoni was sparse, the vegetables plentiful and the centre of the pizza limp. Even though I had turned up a little early for my pizza it was already cooling down when I picked it up, so the last slice was pretty cold. It was tasty enough I suppose, but value for money at $21? I think not.

Maybe it would be better eating in, but I would not be sure. I could not give anything more than mediocre for this place.

casa naranjo

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Casa Naranjo
Barracks Passage, Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1XA
01743 588 165
www.casanaranjo.co.uk
A fleeting visit to Shrewsbury in very late November saw Katharine and I wandering down the medieval cobblestoned lanes of Shrewsbury towards this new little tapas bar for a reunion lunch. As we reached the door leading to the upstairs restaurant, we spied a band having a photo shoot a little further up the lane. They stood one behind the other, some wielding instruments (if you can wield a double bass) and others striking a pose. A photographer directed their actions from slightly higher ground. By their stance they looked a bit weary, as if they had been at this for some time and the novelty had worn off. Wonder who they were?

On a Wednesday winter’s afternoon Casa Naranjo was not busy, but the staff were welcoming. Two men, clearly related in some way to the business, ate and talked at a larger table at the back of the restaurant, whilst a lone lady lunched alone with a book nearby. We settled in, ordered two Spanish reds by the glass and starting examining the menu.

Weekday lunchtimes and Monday evenings offer a two-page listing of two tapas for £5, and we didn’t need to go beyond the choices there although the a la carte selection also looked tempting. Katharine  is a vegetarian so our choices reflected that for the most part.

Patatas mixtas (alright, we ordered two of these over the afternoon…) were perfectly cooked however the spicy sauce was a little too full of capsicum for me. Garbanzos (chickpeas) cooked with spinach, Seville-style were just divine. The spicy lentils with vegetables were also a favourite. The dressed Zamorano cheese was just lovely but I think a little too much, especially given that we used the generous basket of fresh bread to help us eat it. It was our gluttony, rather than the cheese, that was at fault. I threw in a tapa of butterbeans with chorizo and onion as token meat-eater, and Katharine ordered the croquettes of the week: cheesy garlicky mouthfuls of heaven.

The bill was just £31 for two, including three glasses of wine which amounted to just under £10. We were stuffed for the afternoon, and in fact I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. The food was great, and the service was lovely, very friendly but on a couple of occasions a little vague: given how quiet the restaurant was, we assumed we had the new guy who was just finding his feet. Indeed, it turned out he had just moved over from near Barcelona to work there.

Definitely a place to return to, especially on a Monday night for a cheap and enjoyable dinner.

easy basic gluten free white bread

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Another one of Vicki’s wonderful gluten-free creations.

Ingredients

3 cups gluten free plain flour

1½ teaspoons salt

2 tsp white sugar

1 cup hot water

1½ cups milk

14g yeast (often 2 sachets dried yeast required)

Glaze – spray oil

Method

1. Heat oven to 180 celsius.

2. Grease a large loaf pan and line with baking paper (6cm deep, 13x23cm).

3. Sift flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and mix well together. Make a well in the centre.

4. Mix the hot water and milk together and test with a finger to ensure lukewarm. If not, set aside until lukewarm.

5. When lukewarm, sprinkle over the yeast and mix.

6. Pour into the well in the flour and mix well.

7. Spread the batter in the loaf pan and smooth the top.

8. Cover with a tea towel and sit somewhere warm to rise for 30 to 35 minutes.

9. Glaze and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

10. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cool on a rack.

 

Notes

  • This can also make bread rolls. Spread batter in a muffin tin or muffin patty cases, rise for 20 minutes and cook for about 20 minutes.
  • Can be flavoured – Cheese and Herb for example – ½ cup finely grated tasty cheese and 1 heaped tblsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and chives.
  • As it has no preservatives, the bread is best refrigerated or frozen. Recommend slicing first before freezing and warm by toasting or heating in the oven.

vicki’s olive and pecan loaf

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Vicki is a gluten-free baking guru, and this loaf tastes as good with or without wheat flour. Actually I might even say it’s better gluten-free!

Ingredients

325g (about 3 cups) plain flour

– to make gluten free, substitute gluten free flour (such as Orgran) and baking powder (such as Wards)

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp of mustard powder

Salt and pepper

70g freshly grated parmesan cheese

½ cup grated good quality tasty cheese

120g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

80g pitted black olives, slivered

2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus extra for topping

2 tbs good quality extra virgin olive oil

2 large eggs beaten

1¼ cups (310ml) buttermilk

Glaze – 1 egg beaten, egg yolk and a little water beaten, butter or normal milk

Sea salt

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180 celsius.

2. Grease a large loaf pan and line with baking paper (6cm deep, 13x23cm).

3. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, mustard and 1tsp each of salt and pepper in a large bowl.

4. Add cheeses, nuts, olives and rosemary and mix well with a wooden spoon.

5. In a separate bowl/jug, whisk together the oil, eggs and buttermilk.

6. Make a well in the flour mixture, add oil mixture and stir to form a thickish batter.

7. Scrape into the loaf pan and smooth the top.

8. Brush with glaze and scatter with rosemary and sea salt.

9. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. If the loaf is browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil, dull side up.

10. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cool on a rack. The loaf tastes better cooled rather than hot out of the oven.

Note:  As it has no preservatives, the bread is best refrigerated or frozen. Recommend slicing first before freezing and warm by toasting or heating in the oven.

Sweet Grass

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Sweet Grass Bonsai Nursery and Garden Cafe
357 Barkly Street, Footscray

Sweet Grass occupies a small patch of land that used to be an old-fashioned local garden centre. About a year ago, they sold up and slowly we saw something emerging from this unremarkable-looking site. A Japanese torii or gate; tall bamboo fencing; could that be Japanese panelling they were putting up around that sorry-looking verandah outside the office building?

So this week, a quiet stroll to this new little place five minutes from our house uncovered a beautiful, unusual little cafe. Predominantly a bonsai nursery and showcase for the young owner’s landscape gardening business, Sweet Grass is an oasis of peacefulness hidden from the busy road. We sat in the late morning sunshine on the verandah, surrounded by cane furniture, painted panels of Japanese women in kimono, and the most beautiful bonsai lining the path alongside us. No food here, just a page-long list of coffees and teas including three types of green tea, plus a good choice in alcohol-free cocktails.

We chose the Japanese green tea with roasted rice. Hau, the owner, served up a big pot with some chocolate snacks on the side to tempt us. We sat in the sunshine taking in our lovely surroundings and commenting on the workmanship of both the garden and the bonsai themselves.

 

Hau, himself from Vietnam, showed us some photos of the “start to finish” work that transformed the old garden centre. Most of the photos featured Hau himself in pride of place, working hard on the landscaping and the carpentry.

Without being asked, he topped our teapot up with fresh water as he described how important the bonsai are to him, pointing out one or two plain-looking branches planted in lacquered pots, and telling us how he would bring them to life over time.

Every bonsai in the garden has its own story, Hau said. He showed us one bonsai that has a forked trunk, one part dead, the other part still living and vibrant. He told us a local lady often borrows this bonsai to take to cancer patients in the hospital, to show them that like trees, humans are strong and resilient, and that we will survive even the cruellest injury.

Another bonsai, standing tall on its own podium, is called The Cascade. Bowing gracefully to the earth, the youngest part of the trunk then turns upwards, guided by the wire Hau had twisted around it to bend it to his will. This one, Hau explained, shows us all that even if a big downturn or disappointment happens to us, things will always get better in time.

Somebody had suggested to him that he write down the story of each bonsai so that people could read each one in turn, but Hau didn’t think much to that idea. I have to say I agree: no written words could instil the sense of story-telling and passion we got from hearing these stories from Hau himself.

We will have to go back many times, drink more tea and learn the stories of all the bonsai living down the street from us.

 

gusto @ barkly

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587 Barkly Street, West Footscray
(03) 9396 1755
www.gusto-barkly.com.au
Free wi-fi

A sunny spring Sunday morning and time to check out the (relatively) new West Footscray place called Gusto @ Barkly.

Orlando and I are stalwarts of Cafe le Chien in Seddon, more or less since we moved to Australia in 2005. Although we check out other weekend brunch place regularly, the relaxed atmosphere, familiar greeting as we arrive, perfect weekend music and legendary scrambled eggs keep bringing us back. So we knew Gusto would have a lot to measure up to.

Around eleven on a Sunday the place was about half full. We were seated and a drinks order taken quickly and pleasantly. The first impression was one of noise: the decor doesn’t absorb much of the ambient sounds and so we frequently had to lean over the table to hear each other talk. One toddler throwing a tantrum at the door and another who had never been taught about indoor voices didn’t help. There was music playing, I think, but there was no way we could discern the artist.

Nonetheless, we ordered our usual breakfasts: chilli scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and bacon for Orlando, poached eggs on toast with mushrooms and tomato for me. Although chilli eggs were not on the menu there was no problem ordering them. I liked that there was a choice of multigrain and sourdough breads (all the bread served is Zeally Bay – nice). A half-strength pot of English breakfast for me and a pot of green tea for Orlando, and we were good to go.

Orlando’s order came out a little twisted. His scrambled eggs did indeed have chillis in them (not a huge amount) but they had also cooked the smoked salmon in there too. Not his favourite way,  but not enough of a deal to complain. The bacon was served on my plate rather than his, so we just swapped it over. And, inexplicably, his scrambled eggs were not served on any toast. My poached eggs had come out on multigrain as I had asked: perhaps because Orlando had not specified which bread, they assumed he wanted neither. Again, as he is not a huge carb lover he didn’t bother mentioning it, but if it had been me I would have. The scrambled eggs he declared as tasty enough, but they looked a but milky around the edges to me.

On the other hand my breakfast was really good. The multigrain was so much better than the toasted sourdough served at so many breakfast places, which can be hell to slice with a normal knife. The poached eggs were perfect, and the huge half-tomatoes were slow-cooked just the way I like them. The mushrooms were nicely fried but not in much oil at all, again exactly to my taste.

All in all, not a bad breakfast experience, and although the ambient noise would stop this being a permanent weekend fixture, I can see us coming here occasionally for a change.  Free wi-fi is also a welcome offer – there’s not many places do this yet. The pizza menu looks good and the short but well-selected wine list looks very like the best of what I’ve been drinking in the past year – at least in the reds section.

I will definitely try this place again in the evening and see whether it can fill the gaping pizza-shaped hole in my life: I have to drive for quite a while to get decent pizza in the inner West and I will be quite excited if it is now available on my doorstep.

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