Taste of Sydney 2012

While torrential rains of the past week caused dams to overflow and threatened to make this year’s Taste of Sydney into a Woodstock/Glastonbury, the sun has at least shown its face enough to sufficiently dry things up at Centennial Park to allow this market stall-style restaurant festival to proceed following the cancellation of the initial Thursday evening session.

Ormeggio: “Aperitivo Stuzzichini Sciatt” (8 Crowns)

Hurricane’s Darling Harbour, 24 Oct 2009

On a weekend where both Weirdo and Ms Sourdough were in Sydney, we made a visit to Weirdo’s newfound favourite haunt of Hurricane’s Grill, Darling Harbour. Partly because of his low carb diet at the time, he seemed to have been eating here on what seemed like a weekly basis. Hurricane’s baby back ribs at both Darling Harbour and Bondi are finger-lickin’-good, so Monsieur Poisson and I were more than happy to accept an invitation to dinner.

Although it’s only late October, it is still quite sunny when we walk in. We extend the mood of the slanted light rays and long shadows by ordering a jug of sangria to share. It’s a drink that just evokes lazy summer days but I do have one small problem with it – how do you get to the fruit bits without having to stick your fingers into the glass? Perhaps the bits aren’t meant to be eaten but I quite like the slightly tart crunch of the apple pieces against the sweet red wine.

We order a serve of garlic mushrooms to share and I love these here as they are pungently garlic-breath-inducing! As soon as the dish is placed on the table, that unmistakable odour of garlic wafts up to you and begs you to eat those small, bulbous capped button mushrooms. And then, there is absolutely no stopping! You know there’s not going to be any kissing at the end of this evening as we’ve also ordered onion rings to share. An enormous bowl arrives all battered and brown and reminds me of those we enjoyed at The Counter. We probably only manage to finish half of this massive bowl by the time we leave.

The complimentary bread here appears on the bill at the end of the meal under the description of ‘brown roll’. It is an awfully banal way to describe what is a soft and sweet oat-topped bun that is served with one of my favourite brands of butter – Lurpak, from Denmark.

Weirdo and Ms Sourdough order baby back ribs to share, whereas Monsieur Poisson and I go for the ‘Steak and Ribs Combo’. There is a token bowl of steamed vegetables for us all to balance out our meat consumption but none of us manage to finish the chips that accompany said meat. However, the steak is beautifully charred but cannot beat the sticky, saucy, tender tastiness that is the ribs.

I can’t remember about anyone else but I, for one, most definitely could be seen licking my fingers unashamedly in satisfaction. A sure sign of a good meal enjoyed.

Hurricane’s Grill, Darling Harbour

Shops 433-436, Level 2 of Harbourside Shopping Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9211 2210

Opening Hours:  7 days  12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                    dinner from 5:30pm

happy eating!

The Counter, 21 Aug 2009

Who doesn’t like a good burger? Whether it’s childhood memories of times spent in that infamous institution of the golden arches, a simple hamburger or a gourmet stack with the lot, burgers offer juicy, meaty comfort held within the confines of a burger bun. When Simon Thomsen discussed his love of burgers plenty of people offered their opinions on where to find their favourites. This provided much fodder for my ever-growing dining “hit list”, of which one of the suggestions was The Counter.

Located at Crows Nest, The Counter is the only Australian outlet of a quintessentially American burger chain that allows you to custom-build your burger from the options available. The place has a beachy diner interior, with some ‘outdoor’ seats shaded by awnings at the front. Each customer is given a clipboard with a form so they can mix and match the ingredients on offer, which results in many musings and much indecision from us at the table – choices, choices!

We start with ‘The Fifty-Fifty’ of fries and onion strings alongside barbecue sauce and tartare. Onion ‘strings’ is a most apt description as the onions are crisp, thinly battered slivers sharing a bowl with chicken-salt fries. Both fries and onion strings prove popular, especially when dipped in the tartare, and we finish more than half the bowl before our burgers arrive.

Mistress tries the ‘Burger of the Month’ which, at the time, is a Maryland-style lump crabcake burger. It has a crabcake topped with bacon-coleslaw on a hamburger bun with lemon-basil tartare. She feels that there are not enough discernable crab bits in the crabcake and I agree with her that the crabcake could be firmer. Despite its crumbliness, it does not have a fishy pong and is quite nice with the creamy bacon-coleslaw.

Monsieur Poisson and I have both taken the option to custom-build our burgers. He has a 150g beef patty topped with gruyère, tomato, lettuce blend and grilled onions on a wholemeal bun with horseradish cream. The patty is a little dry in the centre and the horseradish cream lacks more of a punch. However the onions are sweet and the bun is soft and great for dipping into our growing collection of sauces.

I have the 150g patty as well but with Colby cheese, tomato, beetroot and lettuce blend on a hamburger bun with roasted garlic aioli. My patty, although the same size as Monsieur Poisson’s, seems shorter and flatter. Somehow my patty is more moist in the centre, no doubt aided by the presence of beetroot. I love beetroot in general, but especially on burgers for its tart juices to help cut through any fat. The aioli doesn’t have enough of a garlic kick to it for my liking but it is very smooth and creamy.

After our burgers we fail to finish the last scraps of our onion strings and fries, and this was without attempting any of the interesting milkshake options! Will need to get back and give these a try… sometime.

The Counter

118 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest NSW

Tel: (02) 9436 2700

Opening Hours:  Mon  CLOSED

Tues & Wed  11:30am-9pm

Thurs & Fri 11:30am-10pm

Sat  12pm-10pm

Sun  12pm-9pm

*EDIT*: As of early 2011, The Counter has been closed for business.
 
happy eating!

Bite Me Burger Co., 13 March 2009

I was asked to choose a place for a quick Friday night dinner and had the following criteria to take into consideration:

• central location to multiple workplaces
• convenient parking
• quick food and service (a friend had to get to the airport afterwards)
• a place with food that all friends would eat

That last criterion is always a bit contentious as not everyone I know happens to be a foodie; some of them far from it actually. Monsieur Poisson suggests Bite Me Burger Co. at Star City Casino, having eaten there recently himself, and everyone eats burgers… right?

Monsieur Poisson tells me he particularly liked the bread at Bite Me Burger Co., as well as the fries that come in cute, miniature supermarket trolleys. I immediately consult their website which details their use of bread rolls from Sonoma Bakery and a variety of cheeses with some from King Island Dairy. Mmmm… cheese! The menu, with its quirky names and inclusion of a wagyu burger, is a big drawcard for me. What I didn’t know, is that this burger joint started off its life in Paddington and was involved in a bit of controversy. How exactly it ended up at Star City Casino, I really don’t know.

On the evening we end up with several ‘Oh My Dog!’ footlong hotdogs across the table, in their soft rolls with slightly chewy crusts (the type that doesn’t stick to the roof of your mouth) and squiggles of sauce.

These are soon followed by the arrival of a ‘Wagyu Me’ which a friend assures me is very juicy. I tuck into my trolley serve of onion rings, which are presented strangely without said trolley. Monsieur Poisson enquires on my behalf and we are informed there are no more trolleys available for the evening. Considering that we are only one of three tables at 6:30pm, I suspect the mini-trolleys are staging a revolt in the kitchen. To make matters more confusing, we spot several trolleys for sale near the cashier.

 

However, the onion rings themselves do not disappoint. Not oily in the least and, best of all, are actual rings of onion – not mashed onion that has been reshaped into rings, battered and fried. They’re accompanied by a thin, seeded honey mustard for dipping.

 

Monsieur Poisson and myself are excited when our order is placed in front of us: a serve of four ‘Mini Bites’. Mini anything always means a greater sample of tastes and textures. We’ve chosen a mini ‘Oh My Dog!’, mini ‘Jack Daniels’, mini ‘Lambtastic’ and a mini ‘Pluck Me’.

The ‘Jack Daniels’ is spicy and sweet with its Jack Daniels-spiked barbeque sauce and Monterey Jack cheese. The ‘Lambtastic’ tastes very Mediterranean with its mint, cucumber, haloumi and yoghurt (It’s also meant to come on a Turkish roll but doesn’t look any different to us). The ‘Pluck Me’ is quite tender and, of course, I am very taken by the melted brie on top!

A couple of us order dessert when we notice that they have ice-cream sandwiches! Partly for the nostalgic factor, as ice-cream sandwiches don’t seem to be as popular as years gone-by, and partly because they’re made by Pat and Stick’s. I first encountered these at the Paddington Markets, but they’re also available at several retail outlets. This is the double chocolate one I ordered, which came conveniently cut in half and saved me from having to do so, as I was sharing with a friend.

Nothing like chocolatey ice-creamness to end a meal!

Bite Me Burger Co.
Shop R4 Harbourwalk, Star City Casino, Pyrmont NSW

Tel: (02) 9518 6477

Opening Hours:  Tues-Fri  12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                      5pm-late (dinner)

                        Sat-Sun  12pm-late

*EDIT*: Bite Me Burger Co. is no longer located at Star City, following major rennovations and re-opening in September 2011.

happy eating!