Bar Hopping, Restaurant Review, Uncategorized, Wine and other Drinks

Short Order – September in Brisbane

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I took most of this weekend off and here’s where we ate and drank.

On our circuit of the city and Southbank we checked out progress at the River Bend development. It’s tucked up at the Goodwill Bridge end of Southbank and a tranquil curve has been carved out in the riverbank for 6 – 7 new restaurants and bars. The landscaped amphitheater that’s been created down by the river was a nice spot to catch some sun on a very windy morning. The design by local firm Arkefield makes the most of the riverside location and I’m keen to see what Stokehouse, The Jetty, Cove and others do with the space. Fitouts seem to be in full swing with only the interior of Stokehouse visible from up on Goodwill Bridge.

We decided to try Jeremy’s (Albert Street, City) on our way home. We’ve previously been put off by the rather odd breakfast menu that is divided into two – with one half stating that there may be a wait of up to 20 – 30 minutes for dishes to be served. Anyhow, it’s a lovely room and at least the slightly over earnest menu writing signals that there is effort being made. The coffee was excellent and our choices of turkish style scrambled eggs and savory mince on toast with a poached egg were both delicious and elegantly presented. The coffee is up there with the top 3 I’ve had in the CBD and the bacon is AMAZING. Its thick cut and delicious. The dining room is super stylish and over flowing with lots of interesting bottles. Top that off with very polished service – even at breakfast – and I reckon I’ll be checking out Jeremy’s again soon.

I’d been seeing a bit of a buzz on Twitter about Bitter Suite, a new craft been place in the New Farm. In a somewhat cursed spot in Welsby Street, we dropped in around 4pm but didn’t stay. The staff member who approached us was pretty unwelcoming and seemed in hurry to tell us there was no food available. Bitter Suite seems like a good concept but the space has all the atmosphere of a school cafeteria and is a little hard to navigate. Maybe there are a few teething issues since it is brand spanking new. Since we were after drinks and a snack we wandered up to Teneriffe towards Beccofino.

This place just works. The décor is minimalist, the menu is brief and the service is perfectly tuned to a lazy couple of hours of food and wine. Everything tastes delicious, from the charry thin pizzas with simple flavour combinations and quality ingredients to the specials, on this occasion an generous veal cotoletto and garlicy, briney scampi pasta. There’s plenty of interest on the brief wine list, Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir and prosecco by the glass, some decent Italian reds by the bottle all at democratic prices. The no bookings policy can be a pain, but the kitchen stays open throughout the afternoon which is perfect for the next meal after Sunday brunch.

On Sunday I made the trek out to SuperButcher to stock up for a couple of weeks. I’m not convinced its really as cheap as people would like to believe, but the range is good and if you want to but whole rib fillets, rumps, sides of lamb etc then its definitely the place to go. There’s enough interesting cuts and products to make it worth a trip every now and then. But rug up if you go since the large store is one big cool room. Beef cheeks and the made to order sausages (lamb, fetta, pumpkin; beef, cheese and vegemite; venison) are worth checking out too.

After a few productive hours at the office, we ambled down to the river to check out the $7 Sunday deal we’d seen advertised at Boardwalk Bar & Bistro. It seems as though the management here has changed or at least there’s been a few fresh ideas. This is a huge venue on the river below Kingsleys and out the front of Riparian Plaza. I’ve not been the hugest fan in the past and sometimes queuing up, paying with your order, collecting your drinks from the bar and eating at a communal table or on a stool is not what I’m after, but I’ll punt anything for $7. What does that get you? After 5pm on a Sunday it buys you a pizza about the size of a dinner plate and a schooner of domestic mainstream beer. The pizza is very serviceable and the beer is cold and there’s much worse places to be on a Sunday evening than overlooking the river and Story Bridge. Our total bill came to $33 for a thin, crispy peperoni pizza, good chips, schooner of beer and a further jug of beer. The view on a perfect September night in Brisbane was, as they say, priceless.

Wine and other Drinks

Love food, curious about wine?

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Do you love food but get a little nervous when confronted with a weighty wine list? Do you find yourself gravitating towards the same two or three ‘safe bet’ wines when you visit the bottle-o? Do imported wines excite but utterly confuse you all at the same time? If so, then Swirl Sniff Spit is for you.

Held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the Era in South Brisbane Swirl Sniff Spit is a free tasting that aims educate wine lovers at all levels trough a guided tasting of 10 – 12 wines, generally organised around a theme. Led by Bree Boskov, a certified sommelier and on premise manager for De Bortoli Wines, it’s a fun and informal way to broaden your wine horizons and discover varietals and wine making styles whilst meeting other wine and food appreciators.

This months tasting features a line up of fine Grenache from Australia and overseas.

McLaren Vale Cadenzias
d’Arenberg 2009 The Cadenzia GSM @darenberg
Dogridge Cadenzia Grenache 2007 @dogridge
Maximus Cadenzia GSM 2009 @maximuswines
Oliver’s Taranga Cadenzia Grenache 2009 @OliversTaranga
Samuel’s Gorge Cadenzia 2009 Grenache @SamuelsGorge
Yangarra Cadenzia 2006 @Yangarra

Barossa, Northern Spain and Southern Rhone
Vieux Telegraphe Le Pigeolet des Brunier Vin de Pays 2008

Sons of Eden Kennedy vintage tbc @SonsOfEden
Clovely Left Field GSM 10 @ClovelyWine
Cirillo The Vincent 2009
MDV Eden Valley 2009 @MDVwines
Turkey Flat 2009 @TurkeyFlat
Palacios Remondo ‘La Vendimia’ 2010
Vina Ginesa Rojo 2009

To find out more visit the Swirl Sniff Spit website and to secure your place at the next tasting follow @swirlnsniffspit on Twitter.

Restaurant Review

Review: Oshin Japanese Restaurant, Brisbane CBD

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As we’ve discussed before here at The Supertaster, Brisbane has some kind of crazy fascination for sushi and Japanese foods in general. But mostly sushi.

Before Japanese food was cool, Brisbane’s business types did deals over the pine tables at Oshin, upstairs on the corner of Adelaide and Creek Streets. We used to direct people there by saying ‘there’s a koala statue on the awning’ but now we say ‘it’s next door to the Apple store’. Landmarks and the common consciousness may change, but everything inside Oshin has stayed the same. Laminated wine lists with prices relabelled and well worn menus and a decor not lead by design might make you think Oshin has been left behind by newcomers like Sono, Hanaichi, Nagomi and the like. Truth is, Oshin is a modest place with a winning formula and is content to serve good things to repeat customers and those lucky enough to venture in. There’s nothing tricked up or ‘fusion’ here.

The menu covers most of the fare you’d expect – sushi, sashimi, katsu, yakiniku, tempura, teriyaki, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, etc. It’s not been assembled to suprise and delight; it serves a more basic function- doing those Japanese staples we love, really well. Glistening platters of sashmi show Oshin know how to source great seafood. Service is friendly and staff will happily serve you in western style entree, main, dessert style. There’s also half a dozen stools at the sashimi bar. It’s a shame they’ve recently replaced their hot towels with plastic packaged disposable versions.

At Oshin, my ‘usual’ comfort foods include the agedashi dofu, tempura udon, deluxe sushichirashi and sometimes scallops skewers and prawn handrolls. The rice is always perfect too. All of these things go well with a Yebisu.

Oshin is a great place to retreat from the bustle of the city and enjoy the comfort of simple and reliably good Japanese staples.

Oshin Japanese Restaurant

1st Floor Koala House

256 Adelaide Street, Brisbane

07 3229 0410

Adventures

Adventures: New American Cuisine in Los Angeles

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Flying to Los Angeles seems so easy after lots of east coast US travel over the last few years.  The luxury of a single flight. 

Our primary purpose for visiting was a conference, where processed chicken meat and lettuce sandwiches were the lunch offered for all four days to the 15,000 delegates in attendance. As I’m fairly seasoned at the pitfalls of eating at large conferences I opted for the Indian Vegetarian dietary option which is a pleasant way to eat.  Also there were bananas!  I was excited enough to take a photo.  A very clever group marketing their product to conference delegates organised for a Kogi Taco Truck to attend one lunch time – I’d got wind of this in advance and managed to get in line 19th from the front of the queue.  Despite the heat, the tacos were worth it.  Fresh, vibrant flavours, smoky succulent meat, a twist of lime and a hit of sriracha – it’s a good thing there was a limit on tacos (they were free) or I may have been rolling under the table like a turtle afterwards.  I think any food safety officers who feel food trucks can’t work here in Brisbane need to see what a slick operation Kogi is.

Before we got neck deep in conferencing, we escaped from our hotel for a decent dinner.  Steak was our quarry, but I wanted to find somewhere with a bit more interest than the Morton’s restaurant across the road from our hotel and next to the ubiquitous Starbucks.  After labouring over Urbanspoon with a bad a case of decision making disorder, I settled on LA Prime, on the top floor of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, a few blocks away.  A hotel restaurant yes, but it turned out to be a great choice.  After navigating our way through what we later discovered was a Scientology Convention on the foyer level, we caught the glass enclosed lift to the top floor.  Linen dressed tables, polished silverware and glassware sparkled as the sun set over the 360 degree views of LA.  Sometimes, even at the pointy end of US dining, the food can seem brutal and overdone.  Not so here.  Entrees were light and inventive, featuring quality produce served simply, with pretty and modern presentation in a New American style. I chose the organic red and golden beets, humboldt fog goat cheese with grapefruit and sherry emulsion, which only just pipped the very adventurous sounding halibut cheek in live sea urchin broth  ‘in shell presentation’.    I think of New American as the US equivalent of our ‘Modern Australian’ – it draws on a variety of culinary and cultural influences and focuses on highlighting excellent local produce. 
As you might expect there’s some pretty serious steaks on offer at LA Prime and the staff are happy to talk you through the options – dry aged, wet aged, different finishing, aging and cuts.  We chose a bone-in delmonico ribeye dry aged which was accompanied by an excellent sauce bordelaise.  Our other main was also faultless – seared mano de leon jumbo scallops, smoked pork belly, english peas, potato emulsion, micro asparagus.  It would be churlish to say this dish was a little rich since the combination of ingredients isn’t exactly hiding this potential.  Delicious sides of Vermont white cheddar mac and cheese and local honey glazed petite heirloom carrots rounded out a fantastic meal.  Our server Lois was an absolute pro, a career waiter who knew about the food, the impressive wine list, the view and much more.  The perfect person to work in a place like LA Prime.

The following night, we were hosted by our lovely friends Ange and Steph and their company for a group dinner at the Standard Hotel in Downtown LA.  Part of the portfolio of André Balazs’ hip hotels, we dined in courtyard restaurant, part of the hip yellow and chrome 24/7 dining room.  None of the typical hotel fare here either, with sustainable local produce featuring.  We ordered a bunch of starters and sides to share.  Highlights included Berkshire pork chop with a grilled whisked peach, violet honey mustard; Portobello mushroom fries with smoked paprika aioli; duck fat smashed potatoes; grilled california asparagus and an excellent tuna tartare with watercress and cucumber served with salty pita chips.  The wine list is short but cleverly composed.  So nice to find drinkable things on a US wine list. We chose the Domaines Schlumberger Riesling Grand Cru 2006 and Marc Bredif Chinon Bourgueil Touraine 2009.

It’s a treat to find such good eating in Los Angeles and our visit to Santa Monica Place for some last minute shopping before heading to the airport further confirmed this.  Our trip finished with perfect weather, delicious food, Italian wine and a lap around one of the best market style food halls I’ve seen in a retail centre. 

In N Out Burger will have to wait for our next trip.

Pork belly starter at LA Prime

Restaurant Review

Review: Pourboy Espresso, Brisbane CBD

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Given the dearth of weekend CBD breakfast spots, let alone ones worth eating at, I was pretty damn excited to hear that recently opened coffee hotspot, Pourboy Espresso, would be opening from 7am til 2pm every Saturday and Sunday.

Having already sampled the fine Mecca Espresso coffee and an excellent croque monsieur, I’m pleased to the report that our breakfasts were of the same high standard. As it was in fact our second breakfast of the day and we were already sufficiently caffeinated, we started proceedings with a couple of Fever Tree ginger beers. These are punchy little numbers, cloudy and reminiscent of the brewed-in-the-bottle wonders your grandma/aunt/neighbour used to make.  After some serious indecision over the menu, I employed the ‘blindfold’  approach and made a random pick from the menu. As the waiter took our order, I changed my mind again, going with her suggestion. We ordered the American pancakes with strawberries and sorbet and the ricotta, mushroom duxelles and poached eggs on toast. Both were fantastic, although I can only trust the opinion of my dining companion who didn’t share his pancakes. 

It’s clear that Sebastian Butler-White and Mark Bell are a clever and experienced pair who have a clear vision of what they want to offer at Pourboy Espresso. You can tell by the way their staff are involved with delivering a great experience for each customer, be it for a takeaway coffee or a pondorous lunch or breakfast. The bread and pastries are exceptional and only the very best ingredients are used. There are absolutely no corners cut, yet the prices are fair and equitable. The coffee is undeniably excellent and whilst most of the weekday business clientele opt for an espresso, cold drip and pour over options are also available, giving you a few more ways to enjoy the excellent Mecca Espresso beans. Decor is comfortable and minimalist, fair enough too, as there’s enough interest and quality on the menu that any additional fripperies are unneeded. 

I’m lucky enough to live within downhill on the way home walking distance, but if you’re keen to try it for weekend breakfast, there’s plenty of on street parking available, and some parking undercover in the neighbouring shopping centre too. However you get there, Pourboy Espresso is quality all the way.

Pourboy Espresso

26 Wharf Street, Brisbane

07 3172 1141

www.pourboy.com.au

Twitter: @pourboyespresso

Monday – Friday 6am – 4pm

Saturday & Sunday 7am – 2pm

Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review: Pho Hoang Gia, Fortitude Valley

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I woke up in the wee small hours this morning, struggling to breath.  A case of strep throat was the cause.  So after several hot lemon drinks, some aspirin and lots of water I took myself down to the Valley for the modern Australian cold and flu cure – Phở. 

After consulting Twitter, it was decided that ‘the place next to Retravision’ would be our supplier.  Phở Hoang Gia is a cheery and sparklingly clean dining room, popular with Vietnamese families and your typically Valley mix of thirty somethings and intrepid tourists.  We arrived shortly before noon and a number of tables were turned over twice before we left.  It’s busy and bustling with Sponge Bob on the flat screen TV’s and family friendly service on the floor.  Some effort has gone into the decor with vaulted ceilings featuring metropolitan night time scenes.  As Asian restaurant fitouts go, its charmingly inoffensive.

We kept it basic and ordered two large bowls of Phở Tai.  Prices are very cheap here, $7 small, $8 medium and $9 large.  Large is the size of salad bowl, but its not a struggle to finish a bowl of the steaming fragrant phở.  It’s a little sweeter than some of the other phở places out at Inala and Darra, possibly the result of regional differences of their owners.  The thinly sliced rare beef was flavoursome and the Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime and bird’s eye chilli perfectly fresh.  Requests for extra herbs, beansprouts and for one diner, no rice noodles were accommodated without so much as a blink.  We also sampled the chilli garlic squid ($8), succulent and yielding inside, crunchy and crumbly on the outside and served with a tangy chilli garlic sauce and salad.  We also ordered a Vietnamese pork pankcake (banh xeo) which came with mountains of salad and herbs.  It was tasty and the lettuce, cucumber, carrot, vietnamese mint, basil and gai lan were again super fresh.   We couldn’t quite work out whether to put them in the pancake or eat them seperately – a reminder to find someone to give us a few more lessons on Vietnamese cuisine.

Each table bears a small tray of extra sauces and flavourings, chopsticks, cutlery and a box of tissues.  This might seem a little unusual but Phở reliably clears the sinuses, and even more so if you add all of the supplied bird’s eye chilli.  For my preferred sweet/sour/salty punch I added a good glug of fish sauce and a generous squeeze of lime. 

Phở Hoang Gia is BYO and there’s three pages of Vietnamese speciality drinks including that drink of the moment – Bubble tea.  It’s great value, an easy walk from the CBD or Brunswick Street Station and one of the better run restaurants in the Valley.  Just the ticket next time you need some aPhomatherapy! (thanks to @treepiepurr for that one).

Phở Hoang Gia Vietnamese Restaurant

‘So Phở So Good’

146-148 Wickham Street
Fortitude Valley

Phone: 07 3252 8808

Open 7 days from 10am, until approx 9pm each night, except Tuesday (closes 3pm)

Bar Hopping, Uncommon Consumption, Where to Buy, Wine and other Drinks

Archive Beer Boutique Bistro, West End

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This is a very enjoyable venue to spend a few hour sampling some of the finest craft beers Australia has to offer.  A short walk or a bus ride from the CBD, Archive Beer Boutique Bistro has been operating for a year or two now and occupies the large ground floor space over the road from The Hi Fi (formerly The Pavillion) and below Uber in still-a-little-bit-bohemian West End.

I’ve heard people in Brisbane complain that there aren’t as many good wine bars as we ought to have for city of our size.  This makes it even more remarkable that a venue as large as Archive, a craft beer specialist bar, no less, has made it past its first birthday.  It occupies an expansive place, open kitchen facing the deck at the entry, large wrap around bar, seating at the bar, at high stools, on couches, pool tables, dart boards, more pool tables and another function area through the archway.

I don’t know anything about the ownership behind Archive, but given the fact their beer list is long and fiercely independant, you’d have to assume this place is not propped up by rebates and kickbacks from multinational brewers.  There are no soggy bar mats, no corporate sponsored beer posters and coasters and no Lion Nathan/CUB branded uniforms.    The distinct lack of ‘tat’ makes you feel like your having a beer at a really cool mates place, who just happens to have on hand a few pints of really great beer.  The fitout is pitched to match this vibe, and cleverly combines beer crates, retro preloved uphostered couches, newspaper plastered walls and a bar lined in book spines and light shades made of the yellowed book pages.  They bathe the room in a warm beer toned glow, much like the patrons as they contemplate their pale ales and stouts. It adds up to a very clever way to fitout such a large space and a credit to the clever persons who designed it.

The food is a notch or two above your standard pub fare, with some nice tasting plates, soft shell crab, good chips and decent steaks and burgers.  But really, you’re here for the beer and the food’s good enough to compliment it without stealing the show.

My picks on the day were Lord Nelson Three Sheets Natural Ale and Holgate ‘Mt Macedon’ Pale Ale.  The beers are well stored, served in matter befitted the care with which they were created and priced keenly to have you planning your next visit before you’ve finished your first beer.  The staff at Archive will give you as much or as little assistance with choosing a beer to suit your tastes as you need and know their product.  Really a must for a specialist venue like this. 

In light of the recent demise of Platform Bar, you further appreciate the commitment to independant brewers shown by Archive Beer Boutique Bistro.

As an added bonus, you’ll find Next Door Cellars out the back where you can take home some of the beers you’ve sampled, if you’re still in a state to carry them.

Archive Beer Boutique Bistro

100 Boundary Road

West End

Phone: 07 3844 3419

www.archivebeerboutique.com.au

Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review: Nagomi, Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane

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Nagomi is one of the new casual week day dining options at Eagle Street Pier, which regular viewers will recall has recently had a makeover. The offspring of Sono Restaurants, Nagomi is billed as fresh Japanese-on-the-go. This is hardly a unique idea, with a sushi place already on every block in the CBD. So what’s different about Nagomi?
First of all, the location offers views of the river and a certain cachet, being located in Brisbane’s premier dining precinct. Secondly, there’s an extensive seating area with communal tables under a shade sail. Thirdly, all food is presented in containers made of biodegradable recycled materials.

All this should add up to something pretty neat. But that’s the thing.  It doesn’t.

I joined the queue, perusing the menu on the fly. There’s a choice of bento boxes, sushi and side dishes. I love a good Bento box, and remember the good old days where an enormous bento box lunch at Sono set you back $15. Back then, I ate one at least once a week and chewed the fat with others in my industry, who also had no defence for the lure of light as a feather tempura, tangy teriyaki beef, perfectly seasoned rice and anything else the chef deigned suitable for our bento boxes.

I got to the front of the queue to be told that I could only order sushi at that station, and that I needed to join the other queue. OK, sure. I joined the other, longer queue to be told by the manager that we could order bento boxes at the other queue. The manager then turned his back to us to engage in a long chat to a mate passing by. Not a stunning introduction to Nagomi. I settled on the Teriyaki Beef Patty bento box and went with the option to substitute the rice portion for sushi for an extra $2, fearful that if I wanted sushi, I’d be asked to join yet another queue. I was given a number and took a seat at the indoor bar area with other lone diners. My number was called not long after that and the bento box presented at the counter, the ‘box’ entirely comprised of moulded paper containers in a larger cardboard tray. The stool wasn’t matched to the height for the bar, which necessitated leaning forward to operate my chopsticks.  Not a major problem, more an oversight on the part of the fitout designer that made eating a little awkward.  Perhaps a clever trick to ensure tables are turned over quickly? 

The contents of the bento box were however a problem. Salad with mesclun, mandarin segments and a scoop of potato salad were fine. Gyoza, crocquettes and a few edamame beans were OK, but not amazing. I had trouble getting the sushi pieces out of the cardboard container, as the rice was overcooked and had become welded to the cardboard. The fillings of spicy tuna, pork and tempura prawn were decent, but not what I would have chosen (if you take the sushi option, you do not get to choose your sushi). The beef patty tasted reminiscent of my mother’s meatloaf with some green beans, zucchini, carrot and a pool of tasteless brown sauce. The beef was cheap and over minced, without any pleasurable flavour or texture. Perfectly blanched green beans were easily the highlight of the bento box.

Nagomi has been open for 4 – 6 weeks with an interruption in trade during the floods, which damaged the underground infrastructure and food storage areas at Eagle Street Pier.  The concept is good, the location is great and there is serious money and resources at the venues disposal with its backing from the established Sono group.  I hope they can refine their service and food offering to successfully differentiate themselves from the myriad other Japanese lunch options available in the CBD.

Teriyaki Beef Patty Bento Box @ Nagomi

A little birdy tells me a new interstate player is opening in the last remaining tenancy, known for its waterside location and ‘hot’ kitchen.  Any guesses?

Adventures, General, Uncommon Consumption

The Indirect Route to the Appreciation of Simple Things

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Like just about every other person in Western society, I entered the New Year with plans to become healthier, wealthier and wiser.  Oh and perhaps a tiny hangover too.

Those that know me will understand the various reasons why health was a key part of my plans for 2011.  I’m interested in the ideas and exploits of Tim Ferriss of Four Hour Workweek fame, and my Kindle buddy had his new tome ‘Four Hour Body’ downloaded faster than you could say “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”.

So, despite being an avowed foodist and advanced eater and drinker I have now been eating a restricted high protein, slow carb diet for almost a month.  Here’s a typical daily menu:

Breakfast Three scrambled eggs (no milk or cream), herbs, sea salt flakes, smoked salmon, black coffee.

Lunch Braised lentils with tomato, cumin and coriander, chilli con carne, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, fresh coriander, boiled egg.

Dinner Steak, cannellini beans, green vegetables. Glass of dry red wine.

This is far from my usual diet of flat whites, toast, pasta, rice, vegetables, minimal meat and maximal beer, wine and whisky.

Other tenets of the Four Hour Body are short, sharp bursts of exercise and a weekly day long binge.  I’ll let you read the book if you are interested in the philosophy behind this, however I’m happy to say we are on our way to achieving some of our health goals and as an unexpected bonus I am far more mentally alert and focussed than I have been in many years. 

Today being our Binge Day, I headed out to Brewbakers and Chocquette at the crack of dawn to acquire sourdough and pastries.  The Danishes from Chocquette were magnificent. Crispy edges, flaky layers of pastry and exquisite pear/custard and rhubarb/custard fillings with a thin layer of glaze.  The sourdough was just out of the ovens at Brewbakers, and owner and baker Richard Cotton selected one for me, along with some chocolate croissants. 

One interesting side effect for me has been a heightened appreciation of flavour and texture.  As I write this, I’m snacking on Richard’s sourdough, lightly toasted and smeared with French butter and some J. Friend & Co. White Clover Honey from Manuka, NZ.  Granted, I’ve assembled this snack from three very fine component ingredients, but it is just as enjoyable as the myriad fine dishes I’ve eaten in restaurants anywhere in the world.  The flat white I enjoyed at Chocquette this morning was nutty, creamy and delicious.  I savoured it.  Last Saturday I devoured the larger part of a wedge of Cabot clothbound Cheddar from Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont, via Black Pearl Epicure, crumbly, earthy and caramel with a just enough sharpness and a properly long finish.  The new-found laser mental focus and expecation means even simple foods are savoured.

Booty from Brewbakers & Chocquette
White Clover Honey on Brewbaker's French Sourdough
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

There’s really nothing ascetic about the Four Hour Body way of eating, because as much as you restrict your diet six days a week, the anticipation and heightening of senses delivered by your weekly free-eating day compensates ten-fold. Any cravings or desires during the week and be jotted down ready for organising into an agenda of indulgence for your binge day.  It’s a way of eating that supports extreme productivity, and for me this in turn supports higher order eating and drinking adventures.  A good result.

Bar Hopping

Burns Night Supper – BrisVegas Style

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Every year on the 25th of January Scots, descendants of Scots and those who like a dram join together to celebrate the poet Robert Burns.  Regarded as Scotland’s national poet, Burns drew on Scottish tradition and his broad knowledge of classical, biblical and English literature to produce a large body of well loved poems and lyrics on themes as diverse as Scottish culture and tradition, republicanism, gender and class inequalities, poverty, sexuality and of course, whisky.  Even if you care not for poetry or Scottish icons, you’ll no doubt be familiar with ‘Auld Lang Syne’, his best known lyrical work.  John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ borrows its title from Burns’ poem ‘To A Mouse’:

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”.

Burns Night Suppers are held all over the world, and take many forms.  Burns is also associated with Freemasonry and some Masonic temples hold very formal and unsuprisingly ritualised dinners to celebrate the Scottish Poet.  Our impromtu Burns’ Night celebration was a decidedly more free form affair.

Some of our older Whisky Society members gather each year at 5pm at the Burns Statue in Cathedral Place where the traditional Burns’ Day piece ‘Address To A Haggis’ is recited and various flasks and other receptacles of whisky are raised in a toast to Burns.  Local park dwellers join in and after 30 minutes or so the crowd disperses, each heading off in their own directions home.

Address To A Haggis

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the puddin’-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak yer place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my airm

or in the modern parlance:

Nice seeing your honest, chubby face,
Great chieftain of the sausage race!
Above them all you take your place,
Belly, tripe, or links:
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

We decided the Saturday before the Tuesday night to have our Burns Supper at The Euro.  Probably an odd choice on the face of it but their Laneway Bar has a great selection of pre-whisky beers, stunning whisky cocktails courtesy of talented bar manager Aiden and importantly a very fine selection of whiskies.  No, Kym Machin hasn’t extended his repetoire to Haggis, but hearty flavours of rabbit, aged eye fillet and pork belly were sufficient fuel for our celebrations.

Over dinner and after several glasses of wine at dinner the Saturday night before, I started practicing to recite ‘Address to a Haggis’.   (Apologies to Shawn Gomes and the Il Centro floor staff).  Come Burns Night, and after several beers and whisky cocktails our little democracy decided that we’d each recite a verse.  Hmmmm.  I’m not sure we really did Burns’ justice.

Perhaps next year we’ll find somewhere with kilts, haggis and someone more qualified to conduct the Burns’ Night formalities.

Winemaker and wine educator. Food writer in hiatus. Changemaker. Toast lover.