Friday, December 31, 2010
This is what 15,000 pounds of fireworks look like
I was in a bit of kid heaven last night. Four barges of fireworks and the bridge fireworks and one barge directly behind us shooting some over our heads. Plus random fireworks shot off the top of buildings downtown.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tasmania: Where country club means casino
I'm standing by my restaurant choice. I made reservations in Tasmania for my last night at the Terrace Restaurant at the Country Club. I assumed that meant golf course, but it really meant casino. I didn't see a golf course anywhere, but I also didn't look very far after seeing the black jack table. But back to the meal.
I went with the chef's choice which started with oysters with a splash of local truffle oil and lightly cook asparagus spears. I didn't get a picture of this but had a pictures of the oysters from lunch the previous day. These oysters were a lot different than east coast US oysters. They were extremely creamy and didn't have the salty brine flavor I prefer.
Next course was a bit of pheasant wrapped in nori paper cooked tempura style. There as a smear of spinach purée and nori salt. This was a little bland but the nori salt helped.
The next course was my favorite and unfortunately the picture didn't come out. It was a risotto with local blue cheese and rare venison. The venison was very well cooked but in hind sight was a little strange after seeing a deer locked up in the pen at the zoo. I mean it's a deer.
I knew I was going to like the next course when they brought out this silverware.
That's right, it was a cheese plate. There were three local cheeses, one hard cows milk, a double creme brie and one goat. They also had the typical quince paste but also had some dried moscato grapes and dried figs with chocolate powder. The figs were sweet enough but the white chocolate powder did add an interesting depth that wasn't just another layer of sweet.
I finished the meal off with that brownie sundae I've been searching endlessly for. It was a chocolate brownie with brown butter ice cream and chocolate sauce. There was also some honey coated popcorn, granola, pepitas and pickled rhubarb.
They also threw in a few petit fours for good measure.
To wrap up the trip, I went with a little Tasmanian Rock Lobster for lunch the next day. I had to stick to half because it was crazy expensive. I could have bought 3 chix lobsters in Boston for the price of half a Tasmanian lobster (also known as crayfish). I wasn't sure what I ordered at first.
All in all it was a good trip. What makes it last a little longer is the case ad a half of local wines that will be delivered later this week.
Life is good
I went with the chef's choice which started with oysters with a splash of local truffle oil and lightly cook asparagus spears. I didn't get a picture of this but had a pictures of the oysters from lunch the previous day. These oysters were a lot different than east coast US oysters. They were extremely creamy and didn't have the salty brine flavor I prefer.
Next course was a bit of pheasant wrapped in nori paper cooked tempura style. There as a smear of spinach purée and nori salt. This was a little bland but the nori salt helped.
The next course was my favorite and unfortunately the picture didn't come out. It was a risotto with local blue cheese and rare venison. The venison was very well cooked but in hind sight was a little strange after seeing a deer locked up in the pen at the zoo. I mean it's a deer.
I knew I was going to like the next course when they brought out this silverware.
That's right, it was a cheese plate. There were three local cheeses, one hard cows milk, a double creme brie and one goat. They also had the typical quince paste but also had some dried moscato grapes and dried figs with chocolate powder. The figs were sweet enough but the white chocolate powder did add an interesting depth that wasn't just another layer of sweet.
I finished the meal off with that brownie sundae I've been searching endlessly for. It was a chocolate brownie with brown butter ice cream and chocolate sauce. There was also some honey coated popcorn, granola, pepitas and pickled rhubarb.
They also threw in a few petit fours for good measure.
To wrap up the trip, I went with a little Tasmanian Rock Lobster for lunch the next day. I had to stick to half because it was crazy expensive. I could have bought 3 chix lobsters in Boston for the price of half a Tasmanian lobster (also known as crayfish). I wasn't sure what I ordered at first.
All in all it was a good trip. What makes it last a little longer is the case ad a half of local wines that will be delivered later this week.
Life is good
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Not a bad view
I had quite the full day. Spent the morning zip lining between trees in hollybank. The longest was 400 meters with 34 meters of elevation change. It was directly into a cold rain which made it hard to appreciate the view. But was a pretty cool experience regardless.
I then spent the afternoon driving around the west Tamar Valley tasting wines. They are all cool climate wines which makes the perfect weather for Pinot Noirs. It wasn't a bad afternoon sipping wines and eating cheese with this view.
Wrapping up my last night with another nice meal with all local produce and local wines, of course.
I then spent the afternoon driving around the west Tamar Valley tasting wines. They are all cool climate wines which makes the perfect weather for Pinot Noirs. It wasn't a bad afternoon sipping wines and eating cheese with this view.
Wrapping up my last night with another nice meal with all local produce and local wines, of course.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Oprah was right
I was a little skeptical of
Oprah bringing 300 of her craziest fans to Australia because of the chaos that would ensue. While it did, what a great way to show the US what this country has to offer. After seeing first hand the Great Barrier Reef and having been in Tasmania for all of two hours now, the scenery is unbelievable.
Great view with a local wine and fresh local oysters.
The drive into Launceston was a pretty good first example of why the food here is supposed to be so good. Wide open pastures for the animals and good cold water for the seafood.
Oprah bringing 300 of her craziest fans to Australia because of the chaos that would ensue. While it did, what a great way to show the US what this country has to offer. After seeing first hand the Great Barrier Reef and having been in Tasmania for all of two hours now, the scenery is unbelievable.
Great view with a local wine and fresh local oysters.
The drive into Launceston was a pretty good first example of why the food here is supposed to be so good. Wide open pastures for the animals and good cold water for the seafood.
Random things in cabs
I get you could leave a phone or wallet in a cab as they slip out, but wouldn't you know if you didn't have shoes on when you got out?
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Marathon Dinner
Four hours and Forty minutes. That's how long dinner took for only 12 courses. It almost got to the point where I couldn't appreciate the food because it was taking so long. We had a 25 minute wait between the second and third courses. Those courses were oysters with a rice wine vinaigrette and kingfish hamachi. Nothing that had to be cooked, but still took 25 minutes. But I'm getting off course.
The restaurant, Tetsuya's, is probably Sydney's first fine dining restaurant. It's been open for quite some time and has had the title of Sydney's best restaurant (though it has slipped compared to newer restaurants that have opened). The menu was a set 10 course meal, but we opted to add on the pacific oyster course.
The meal started with a cucumber soup with sheep's milk ice cream. The cucumber soup was very good, but the ice cream was a bit too rich. There wasn't enough acid to help cut the fat. It was a good start.
We then moved to the pacific oysters with a rice wine vinaigrette. They were good plump oysters with a sweet flavour. The vinaigrette was a little overpowering for the oyster's flavor, but it worked. This was paired with a Japanese sake. I'm not a huge sake fan, but everyone else said it was good. The sake was also paired with the next course which was kingfish hamachi with black bean paste and orange zest. The black bean paste added a good warmth and depth to the raw kingfish.
We then moved on to a course that I don't fully remember. It had an avocado soup with two types of fish and osetra caviar. It was very good, but every time the waiter said the type of fish, I couldn't understand. This was paired with probably my favorite wine of the night which was a light Riesling. I couldn't get a list of the wines, but all but one were Australian.
Next we moved to the signature course. The confited Tasmanian ocean trout. This was good, but a very large portion. Too big for my liking. It was covered with a seasoned seaweed and sitting on a bed of green apple and celery. It also had a quenelle of ocean trout roe. They paired this course with an Aussie Gewurztraminer.
The next course was pretty ho hum. It was a white fish with raw bean sprouts and an emulsion of fish stock and olive oil (fancy mayo). This was the first course that really lacked any seasoning. It could have benefited from a pinch of salt. Don't remember what wine this course was paired with.
We then moved into the meat courses. The first was definitely my favorite. It was a crispy pigs tail wrapped in iberico ham with a bit of Tasmanian rock lobster. I'm a salt fiend and this one was spot on with the porky goodness of the pigs tail and the salted cured ham and the sweetness of the lobster. Perfect. They served this one with the only non Australian wine. It was a Spanish red that was similar to a Cabernet Franc, but not. That was the description we got. Very informative.
The next two meat courses could have benefited from salt. The first was a quail breast served with something I can't remember. They chose an Aussie Sangiovese for this one. The description again was "like a Chianti, but not." The last meat course was a slow braised Angus grass fed beef braised for 40 hours. A person without teeth could have eaten this with no problems, but again needed a bit of salt. They served this one with a Hunter Valley Shiraz that was rather blase.
By this time we were a good four hours in and sitting on chairs that look like you could buy them at Ikea. Needless to say, not something you want to sit in for four hours. The brought out the first dessert course which was a blood orange and black pepper sorbet and summer pudding. I was a big fan of the sorbet. The summer pudding tasted like a run of the mill strawberry shortcake. These courses were paired with dessert wines that I have a hard time mustering down. Well that and it was already quarter to midnight. It got to the point where I had to ask the waiter if they could fire the last two courses a little quicker or else we wouldn't be out before 1am. The second dessert course was a white pear granita with white pears and a bit of either amaretto ice cream or almond biscotti. Not sure which, but it was a nice light refreshing course.
I wasn't sure what was coming last, but I was wishing they ended with the granita. That was until they brought it out. It was an amazingly smooth textured carrot cake with a cream cheese ice cream and salted peanuts sitting on a dollop of caramel. I could have had two or three of those, easily.
Overall the food was good, with a few misses for me. But with 12 courses that's going to happen. The restaurant space itself was pretty blah. It felt like we were sitting in a large conference room with a few random sculptures around. The furnishings didn't come across like a fine dining restaurant. The tables felt like bar tables and the chairs were horrible. My back was getting pretty sore by the middle of the meal. The service itself left a little bit to be desired as well. They were pretty good with our table but I saw numerous times where they'd bring courses out to a table when a few people weren't at their seats. They wouldn't bring everyone's dish out at the same time. They'd bring it in waves. It just seemed pretty loose for a fine dining establishment. The wines on the whole were nothing special. They were good matches with the food, but didn't seem like anything you couldn't find at your local bottle shop.
It was a good experience and I'm glad I can check it off my list, but the price vs value just wasn't there. But I did learn a valuable lesson. Next time I book a reservation at a restaurant serving a 10 course tasting menu, I'm certainly going to ask that they have it completed in 2 hours max. My meal at Alinea was under 4 hours (though just barely) but that was for 24 courses. And I'm going to stop in to test the chairs before booking.
The restaurant, Tetsuya's, is probably Sydney's first fine dining restaurant. It's been open for quite some time and has had the title of Sydney's best restaurant (though it has slipped compared to newer restaurants that have opened). The menu was a set 10 course meal, but we opted to add on the pacific oyster course.
The meal started with a cucumber soup with sheep's milk ice cream. The cucumber soup was very good, but the ice cream was a bit too rich. There wasn't enough acid to help cut the fat. It was a good start.
We then moved to the pacific oysters with a rice wine vinaigrette. They were good plump oysters with a sweet flavour. The vinaigrette was a little overpowering for the oyster's flavor, but it worked. This was paired with a Japanese sake. I'm not a huge sake fan, but everyone else said it was good. The sake was also paired with the next course which was kingfish hamachi with black bean paste and orange zest. The black bean paste added a good warmth and depth to the raw kingfish.
We then moved on to a course that I don't fully remember. It had an avocado soup with two types of fish and osetra caviar. It was very good, but every time the waiter said the type of fish, I couldn't understand. This was paired with probably my favorite wine of the night which was a light Riesling. I couldn't get a list of the wines, but all but one were Australian.
Next we moved to the signature course. The confited Tasmanian ocean trout. This was good, but a very large portion. Too big for my liking. It was covered with a seasoned seaweed and sitting on a bed of green apple and celery. It also had a quenelle of ocean trout roe. They paired this course with an Aussie Gewurztraminer.
The next course was pretty ho hum. It was a white fish with raw bean sprouts and an emulsion of fish stock and olive oil (fancy mayo). This was the first course that really lacked any seasoning. It could have benefited from a pinch of salt. Don't remember what wine this course was paired with.
We then moved into the meat courses. The first was definitely my favorite. It was a crispy pigs tail wrapped in iberico ham with a bit of Tasmanian rock lobster. I'm a salt fiend and this one was spot on with the porky goodness of the pigs tail and the salted cured ham and the sweetness of the lobster. Perfect. They served this one with the only non Australian wine. It was a Spanish red that was similar to a Cabernet Franc, but not. That was the description we got. Very informative.
The next two meat courses could have benefited from salt. The first was a quail breast served with something I can't remember. They chose an Aussie Sangiovese for this one. The description again was "like a Chianti, but not." The last meat course was a slow braised Angus grass fed beef braised for 40 hours. A person without teeth could have eaten this with no problems, but again needed a bit of salt. They served this one with a Hunter Valley Shiraz that was rather blase.
By this time we were a good four hours in and sitting on chairs that look like you could buy them at Ikea. Needless to say, not something you want to sit in for four hours. The brought out the first dessert course which was a blood orange and black pepper sorbet and summer pudding. I was a big fan of the sorbet. The summer pudding tasted like a run of the mill strawberry shortcake. These courses were paired with dessert wines that I have a hard time mustering down. Well that and it was already quarter to midnight. It got to the point where I had to ask the waiter if they could fire the last two courses a little quicker or else we wouldn't be out before 1am. The second dessert course was a white pear granita with white pears and a bit of either amaretto ice cream or almond biscotti. Not sure which, but it was a nice light refreshing course.
I wasn't sure what was coming last, but I was wishing they ended with the granita. That was until they brought it out. It was an amazingly smooth textured carrot cake with a cream cheese ice cream and salted peanuts sitting on a dollop of caramel. I could have had two or three of those, easily.
Overall the food was good, with a few misses for me. But with 12 courses that's going to happen. The restaurant space itself was pretty blah. It felt like we were sitting in a large conference room with a few random sculptures around. The furnishings didn't come across like a fine dining restaurant. The tables felt like bar tables and the chairs were horrible. My back was getting pretty sore by the middle of the meal. The service itself left a little bit to be desired as well. They were pretty good with our table but I saw numerous times where they'd bring courses out to a table when a few people weren't at their seats. They wouldn't bring everyone's dish out at the same time. They'd bring it in waves. It just seemed pretty loose for a fine dining establishment. The wines on the whole were nothing special. They were good matches with the food, but didn't seem like anything you couldn't find at your local bottle shop.
It was a good experience and I'm glad I can check it off my list, but the price vs value just wasn't there. But I did learn a valuable lesson. Next time I book a reservation at a restaurant serving a 10 course tasting menu, I'm certainly going to ask that they have it completed in 2 hours max. My meal at Alinea was under 4 hours (though just barely) but that was for 24 courses. And I'm going to stop in to test the chairs before booking.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
My Unending Quest for Comfort Food
Since I've gotten down here, I've been trying to find the foods from the states that label themselves as "American" food. I should wise up, but anytime there is a glimmer of hope. That balloon eventually gets popped.
You can probably see where this is going. I found a pizza place in my neighborhood that advertised a "Chicago Style Deep Dish." Not just that, but an italian sausage deep dish. I think my brain translated the description into the perfect Gino's East pizza. The pizza fully covered in a layer of sausage and slices of cheese topped by chunky tomato sauce. Well, that's not what was delivered. Sure it had a high crust, but the pizza toppings looked like a regular pizza. Imagine taking a regular pizza, not putting the toppings to the edge and just propping that extra crust up into a cup shape. Well, that's about what this looked like. Once I got past the appearance, I tried a slice. And boy was it waaayyyyyy off. The italian sausage was precooked links that were sliced. And there certainly was no fennel in the sausage. The cheese was grated and not nearly stringy enough and the sauce was basically chopped cherry tomatoes. I don't know who thinks that can pass for Chicago Style Deep Dish, but I'll certainly let everyone know if I find out.
I did have a hot dog at Harry's Cafe de Wheels last weekend. And it was as close to a hot dog as I've come, but it doesn't come close to a Ball Park or Herbrew National and certainly not a Vienna Beef. I would probably liken it to a good dirty water dog (at best).
And what worries me is that I've made it my mission to find something that closely resembles the US version of something. I have two items on my list to try. A pub across the street from me just opened up a restaurant. One of the items on the bar menu is chicken wings. Now they make no mention of buffalo wings, but (as usual) I've played it up in my mind as buffalo wings. Because who would really eat just chicken wings? There's also a restaurant opening a few blocks away called the Jazz City Diner. Normally, I probably wouldn't have even noticed (unless it starts getting good reviews), but it's billing itself as "New Orleans influenced modern American cuisine." Remember the restaurant name has Diner in it. This aught to be interesting. I haven't seen any sort of a menu, but I'm game to try it once (maybe twice), but if those two experiences are let downs, it's off. I'll just have to expand my search to the suburbs.
But there is an upside. I'm headed to Tetsuya's tonight which is probably the first fine dining restaurant in Sydney that put this city on the map. I have high hopes, I hope I'm not let down. Fingers crossed...
You can probably see where this is going. I found a pizza place in my neighborhood that advertised a "Chicago Style Deep Dish." Not just that, but an italian sausage deep dish. I think my brain translated the description into the perfect Gino's East pizza. The pizza fully covered in a layer of sausage and slices of cheese topped by chunky tomato sauce. Well, that's not what was delivered. Sure it had a high crust, but the pizza toppings looked like a regular pizza. Imagine taking a regular pizza, not putting the toppings to the edge and just propping that extra crust up into a cup shape. Well, that's about what this looked like. Once I got past the appearance, I tried a slice. And boy was it waaayyyyyy off. The italian sausage was precooked links that were sliced. And there certainly was no fennel in the sausage. The cheese was grated and not nearly stringy enough and the sauce was basically chopped cherry tomatoes. I don't know who thinks that can pass for Chicago Style Deep Dish, but I'll certainly let everyone know if I find out.
I did have a hot dog at Harry's Cafe de Wheels last weekend. And it was as close to a hot dog as I've come, but it doesn't come close to a Ball Park or Herbrew National and certainly not a Vienna Beef. I would probably liken it to a good dirty water dog (at best).
And what worries me is that I've made it my mission to find something that closely resembles the US version of something. I have two items on my list to try. A pub across the street from me just opened up a restaurant. One of the items on the bar menu is chicken wings. Now they make no mention of buffalo wings, but (as usual) I've played it up in my mind as buffalo wings. Because who would really eat just chicken wings? There's also a restaurant opening a few blocks away called the Jazz City Diner. Normally, I probably wouldn't have even noticed (unless it starts getting good reviews), but it's billing itself as "New Orleans influenced modern American cuisine." Remember the restaurant name has Diner in it. This aught to be interesting. I haven't seen any sort of a menu, but I'm game to try it once (maybe twice), but if those two experiences are let downs, it's off. I'll just have to expand my search to the suburbs.
But there is an upside. I'm headed to Tetsuya's tonight which is probably the first fine dining restaurant in Sydney that put this city on the map. I have high hopes, I hope I'm not let down. Fingers crossed...
Sunday, December 5, 2010
A Fortnight in Melbourne
Well, maybe not a fortnight but I did just book tickets for the quarterfinal matches of the Australian Open in Melbourne. I've never been to a professional tennis tournament before, but after seeing last years interviews with the fans on TV, I think the Aussie Open is a more of a party than anything else.
I had looked at tickets for the finals, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw the prices. I thought I was over sticker shock down here, but that one blew me away. Especially looking at going to the Men's and Women's finals. At least at the quarters, I'll get to see more players and matches at about 3/4 the cost. I just have to make sure to stock up on sun screen before heading down there.
I guess I'll have to start looking for an American flag to bring in case Andy Roddick makes it that far.
I had looked at tickets for the finals, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw the prices. I thought I was over sticker shock down here, but that one blew me away. Especially looking at going to the Men's and Women's finals. At least at the quarters, I'll get to see more players and matches at about 3/4 the cost. I just have to make sure to stock up on sun screen before heading down there.
I guess I'll have to start looking for an American flag to bring in case Andy Roddick makes it that far.
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