by John Newton Backwards & forwards:
In this, the first SE newsletter column for 2007 (welcome back, Sydney Eaters), we’ll kick off by looking back at the things we won’t miss from 06 — and forward to what we want to see more of in 07. First, the worst of last year… Grain fed beef:
Please, leave this flabby fatty meat from distressed cattle locked in tiny pens (one animal per 14 square metres) and fed an unnatural — for cows — diet of grain off your menus. Biology lesson: cows eat grass. It’s environmentally disastrous — around 6kg of grain to produce 1kg of meat and it doesn’t even taste good.
Truffle oil:
Oil it might be, but truffle it ain’t. What you’re getting with your truffled mash or truffled pasta is a synthetic chemical, variously called 2,4-Dithiapenthane or bis-(Methylthio) methane or bis (methyl sulfide). Mmm, tastes divine, darling! Don’t buy it. Don’t use it. It’s crapola. Pork belly:
We love this fatty little morsel as much as the next pig fancier (as long as it’s handled properly) but, guys — how much more belly can we stomach? A tip for the smart chef. Go for the neck, the next pig thing: pork scotch fillets, rounds of neck. It braises, it grills, it fries. Belly out, neck in.
Now what we hope we see more of… Organic:
You can argue all you like about flavour and cost, but consider this. According to the (American) Rodale Institute, if just 10,000 medium-sized farms in the US converted to organic production, they would store so much carbon in the soil it would be equivalent to taking 1,174,400 cars off the road. The 23-year side-by-side comparison study also showed that organic systems used just 63 per cent of the energy required by conventional farming systems. Eat organic — help the environment. Your environment.
Fresh, seasonal and local:
We detected the beginnings of a move towards chefs using local foods in season, especially pioneers like Jared Ingersoll (Danks Street Depot) and Sean Moran (Sean’s Panaroma). It’s up to us eaters to encourage more of the same. Local produce tastes better, doesn’t travel so far (less greenhouse gases) and gets to you quicker. Rosé:
After years of being sniggered at for drinking pink, we’ve been seeing it on more and more tables. It’s the perfect drop for a Sydney summer. Try Charles Melton Rose of Virginia, Pizzini Rosetta or the Spanish Gran Feudo Rosado for pinks with a firm backbone — beware the flabby lolly water pinks. Offal:
Did we detect a move back to organ meats last year? The best seared calf’s liver dish I’ve had for years (since the old Atlantic in Crown Street) was at the Kirketon last year. We’re seeing tripe, sweetbreads — even kidneys. To be encouraged: eat the whole beast! Jamón jamón:
The best thing that happened in 06 was the end of the ban on importing jamón. Sadly, it can only come in boneless, which means you must eat it immediately it lands (the bone preserves the meat). No hardship. You should know that jamón Iberico comes from the native Iberian (Spanish) pig known as a pata negra (black foot) and the very best of the Ibericos come from pigs whose diet consists mainly of acorns (jamón Iberico bellota). The lower grade is jamón serrano, mountain ham, from any old pig. It’s not bad, but not worth the landed price, in my opinion. Even better, buy the jamón cured by Oscar Hiejo at his shop in Warrawong. Call him on 4274 3080. Seafood School’s in:
Keen Sydney Seafood Schoolies will have already caught up on classes by Blue Eye Dragon’s Muriel and Jade Chen and Bird Cow Fish’s Alex Herbert — both went swimmingly. Next up, on April 2 is Max Mullins from Oceanic Thai. Get the whole picture from Page 7 of Sydney Eats 2008 or go to the Sydney Seafood School website. If you haven’t done a class yet, do — they’re a hoot and you’ll learn something every time. And you get to eat what you cook. They’re held 6.30-8.30pm and cost $75 a head including parking. To book ring 9004 1111 or online at www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au The new Bondi?:Well, that’s what the press release tells us about Maroubra, where the Pavilion Beachfront has just opened. And when they say beachfront, they mean it. The chef, Will Kwuye, trained in Miami and the menu looks pretty darn appetising — we’ll be dropping in after deadline for this newsletter, so we’ll let you know what Will’s coconut king prawns and — eek — crispy pork belly are like. I might even be bold enough to try a Cheeky Brazilian cocktail. Open breakfast, lunch and dinner Friday to Sunday. Cnr Marine Parade & Fitzgerald Avenue (the big blue building on the water) Ph 8347 0055.
Serious coffee:Hands up all you people who’ve gone out to buy a dinky little espresso machine only to find it had all the guts of a Goggomobile climbing Spit Hill in top. Help is on its way. Jerry Mitzinis, who bought the venerable Darlinghurst Bar Coluzzi some years ago, is opening Espresso Urself in Mosman (3a Spit Road) around the beginning of March (he already has Tre Sopranos pizza and pasta up the road). It’s about “coffee and everything to do with coffee”, Jerry told us, and that includes selling high-end Italian commercial machines to people who want to get serious and make la vera caffè — real coffee Italian style — at home or in the office. But because the machine’s only as good as its operator, Espresso Urself will also be running barista lessons every Monday. And once a month, anyone with a barista certificate — from EU or elsewhere — can come in and make the coffee.
An oink oink here:Speaking of pork belly, neck and jamón, it’s the year of the pig in the Chinese calendar, which beats the hell out of eating dog (last year) or rat (next year) The pig is associated with virility and fertility and it’s a good year to have babies — so get to it. Eating pork, that is. | | Boycott/girlcott St Val:
Sorry, no list of places to go for St Valentine’s Day. I was discussing this the other day with friend and ex-restaurateur, Steve Manfredi. We both agreed — me from the punter point of view and he from the professional — that it’s probably the worst night of the year to eat out. So if you want to declare your love, two tips. Go the night before or the night after and avoid the droopy free roses and grumpy waiters (restaurants on the night are packed with twosomes, mostly inexperienced eaters-out), or stay at home and cook a special meal for your loved one. If you read Steve’s column in The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday February 10, you’ll get a foolproof meal to cook with (almost) guaranteed success. Have the ring handy. Sip the winners:
It’s a world first: the Sydney Royal Wine Show is offering us the chance to taste the winners of their gold, silver and bronze medal winners. The Sydney Royal Wine Show Cellar Tastings will be held on Saturday February 17 between 11am and 4pm at the Southee complex in the Sydney Showground at Olympic Park. Tickets are $40 each, which includes not just the winning wines but also prize-winning cheeses from the Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Show. And for an extra $25, you can attend a judge’s tutorial to better understand how the winners were chosen. For tickets ring Rebecca Gilham on 9704 1112 or go to www.sydneyroyalshows.com.au. I suggest a little speed — could be a sellout. Selamat Jalan Penny:
I think that’s the way you say bon voyage in Indonesian, because that’s where Danks Street Depot sous chef Penny Williams is headed after four years working with chef/owner Jared Ingersoll. She’ll be executive chef at the Alila Manggis Bali on the east coast at Manggis Beach. Sounds special. There’s a 60-seater restaurant and they have their own organic garden. It’ll be better with Penny on board. This is her first big solo gig and we wish her well. Drop in if you’re in the neighbourhood. Take a look at www.alilahotels.com/manggis And gidday Teresa:
Teresa Gibson (Cicada in London, Longrain in Sydney) has just moved into the kitchen at Kings Cross newie Favela, the second Cross eatery for Raymond Ang and his team (the other being Zushi). Teresa will be rustling up some of her favourite pan-Asian yum cha dishes such as scallop siu mai, chicken and coriander dumplings and pork gyozai. 1 Kellett Way Kings Cross Ph 9380 7950 Speaking of women chefs:
The NSW government has just announced a mentoring program called Tasting Success to get more women into professional kitchens. Splendid idea — we need more Pennys and Teresas and Chris Manfields and Karen Martinis and Alex Herberts and … .where do I stop? If you’re learning cooking and would like to be mentored by chefs the calibre of Tetsuya Wakuda (Tetsuya’s), Giovanna Topi (Machiavelli), Neil Perry (Rockpool), email debbie.gunn@tafensw.edu.au Happy 10th:
One of Sydney’s best loved restaurants clocked up 10 years in January — The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay. In typical generous style, the owners — foremost among them Tony Papas — celebrated with a slap-up party for friends and suppliers. The evening was MCed by the new slimline Mikey Robbins who told us he’d lost “a Minogue” — that’s around 60kg — and confessed he’d proposed to Mrs Mikey (Laura) on the premises, just like a few other couples at the party. He also called it the oyster capital of Australia — which, of course, it is — and they were sliding down gullets on the night like there was no February. Steve Felleti’s Clair de Lunes from around Bateman’s Bay and the Pacifics from Pipeclay Lagoon being the pick of the night. We’ll be back for the 20th. End of Ferry road Glebe Ph 9518 9011
Chef changes:
Chatswood hot spot Rocket kicks off the year with a new chef, Wayne Rowe, who previously rode the stoves at CBD and Bambini Trust in Sydney with a spell at The Savoy in London. Unit 1/5 Railway Street Ph 9411 8233. Italian-born Alessandro Pavoni has just moved into the top job in the kitchen at harbourkitchen&bar (yep, the bold type kitchen is part of the logo) at the Park Hyatt, a place that has had its ups and downs. Let’s hope Pavoni (Luna Blu in Leichhardt, Beachhouse at Whale Beach), who won the National Risotto Competition in Italy in 1996, can send it soaring again. 7 Hickson Road The Rocks Ph 9256 1660 PR Watch:
What some PR people do to the English language should be a criminal offence. You might remember in the December column last year I noted a tautological “modern and ambient atmosphere”. January 07 wasn’t even over when I was told that a new pizza joint had “ambient seating”. Please. Then came a place described as “most unique”. Memo to PR gushers: if anything is unique — and that’s debatable — it means there is only one. So we can’t have most unique, almost unique or even quite unique. Maybe a literate press release could be unique? Nah, had a few of those … not many, a few. The Whisky Bible:
A wife who cares more for my wellbeing than my liver (good on her) gave me a bottle of Ardbeg 10 Years Old Single Malt Whisky for Christmas and attached to it was Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006, a truly astonishing compendium of “3400 whiskies tasted evaluated and rated” — by one man! And I worry about my liver. The best thing about the book is the writing. A sample: “I have been flung back into the Warehouse by the lapping shores and I have my nose stuck in a butt.” Yes, Jim, as long as it’s not mine. Another: “Strewth! I mean, what can you say? Perhaps the first whisky containing single malt offering virtually no malt at all….” A seriously good book for anyone fascinated by the flavours of whisky and/or whiskey, bourbon, rye. $36.95 at Ultimo Cellars 99 Jones Street Ultimo or order online at http://www.whiskybible.com/ |
