An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a professionally designed webpage banner for a dinner at Omerta. This is the story of how our website logo came to be.

Ellie, our gorgeous and talented friend, offered to give our website a nip tuck job – turning our feeble attempts of graphic design into something worthy of welcoming readers to our site. In return we treated Ellie out to a dinner at Omerta (thanks to @Carmr, @Reemski & @felixexplody for the recommendation)

Something  about Ellie

Who is Eliana Mendes?

E lli e is fun, dramatic, passionate and extreme – all at the same time. Her favourite number … you can probably guess. She is best described as a buzzing ball of creative energy or She-Ra leading the Great R ebellion against Hor dak…I’m not sure which one does her more justice.

Professionally, she has been in the design industry for over 8 years. With an impressive portfolio of print and web design under her belt, she specializes in typography and visual communication. Her extensive client list includes 42 Below Vodka, Coca Cola. L’Oreal, RSPCA (and the list goes on). For more about Ellie… check out her website for a full range of her portfolio.

Something about Omerta

What better restaurant to return the favor than Omerta – its’ literal meaning a code of honor amongst the Italian Mafia.

Omerta, located in Darlinghurst, has life bursting out of its front doors - literally. We had a sampling of 8 tapas dishes which included Salt Cod Fritters, 24 month aged Prosciutto, Swordfish with capsicum salsa, Grilled eggplant, buttered Mushroom and lamb cutlets with pesto dressing.

Highlights for the night included the lamb cutlets (the meat was tender and the pesto topping was refreshing) and the mushrooms (delightful buttery little mushrooms, crunchy at the bite but soft and juicy in the inside).

Overall, this was a satisfying night out and always great fun to catch up with old friends. The food was authentic, the variety on the menu vast and the service was friendly (if you can get hold of a waiter).

Where: Omerta
Location:  235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney 2010
Opened: Mon-Fri 6-11pm, Sat-Sun 5-10pm
Dress: Casual
Price: $12-$22 per dish (recommend min 2 dish per person)

Rediscovering Danks St Depot

Before the festivals, the fresh markets and antique hubs, there was an unknown cafe called Danks St Depot that opened up in the middle of a suburb best known for its warehouses and factories.

I went here years ago back when I was a uni student undertaking a temp assignment, not long after the train station was built. In search for food, I stumbled across a cafe which I would have missed if not for the awakening smell of fresh coffee and sizzling butter. The café was (at the time) very new – the ambience was fresh and vibrant. The décor strangely resembled a storehouse.

My first taste of the menu was the organic chicken sandwich. I remember feeling like Alice discovering the rabbit hole: Bursting with curiosity as I took my first bite. Staring at the “Eat Me” words labelled across my lunch. Not sure what to expect but full of anticipation.

My experience – the freshly baked artisan bread was met with a delightful combination of organic chicken, whole egg creamy mayonaise, sweet tender corn kernals and the fresh crisp bite of rocket. The flavours dance on my taste buds in faultless unity – all the ingredients a compliment to each other.

For years afterwards the thought of that chicken sandwich made my mouth water but I couldn’t remember the café name or address. When I eventually found it again it had become a celebrated restaurant accompanied with a cookbook and a reputable chef. I was thrilled to see the chicken sandwich was still on the menu.

Having returned several times now, I have added a few other favourites to the list including the awesome garlic bread (and yes! I’ve tried replicating it using Brasserie Bread but it is just not the same). The prices are quite reasonable and service is always friendly. The chicken sandwich, by the way, is still as great as I remembered.

When was the last time you discovered ‘Wonderland’?

Where: Danks St Depot
Location:  1/2 Danks Street (Cnr Young St), Waterloo, NSW 2017
Opened: Mon-Wed 7am-4pm, Thurs-Sat 7am-10pm, Sun 9am-3pm
Dress: Casual
Price: Breakfast/lunch $6-20, Dinner $45 (3 Courses)

Written by Thi

Tasked with the near impossible – lunch for 12 people, at the Rocks and reasonably priced – I set myself to work ie. Googling madly. Fortunately it was SIFF month so I was able to get my hands on the Crave Vouchers for Pony Lounge and Dining.

This rustic restaurant located on the cobbled pavement of Kendall Lane is appropriately decorated with timber flooring, cow hide covered kitchen bench, and (what I think looks like) 3 haystack & rope art feature. The outside verandah was closed off – disappointing given the teasing blue skies outside.

The Express Lunch menu was a choice of 4 dishes:

Chermoula roasted kingfish, warm kipfler potato and herb salad – The Kingfish, well marinated with a creamy dressing.

Eggplant baked with ricotta and wood fire grilled vegetable, salsa verde – excellent vegetarian choice and rich in flavour however the dish came out lukewarm

Thai beef and vermicelli noodle salad, peanuts, chilli coconut dressing – unfortunately no one at our table ordered this dish

Of the dessert menu, the macadamia tart received an all round thumbs up. The vanilla, prune and muscat brulee was smooth and velvety. The banana and lime cheesecake was well presented but very rich (somewhat overpowering).

Despite my minor complaints I was overall pleased with the experience.  The service was refined & forgiving (despite our late arrival). The ambiance stylish & intimate. The food was affordable and beautifully presented looking like little artworks of culinary delights.

Where: Pony Lounge
Location:  Cnr Kendall andArgyle St, The Rocks, Sydney
Opened: 7 days a week. Lunch12-3. Dinner 6pm until late.
Dress: Smart Casual
Price: Crave Lunch Special $25-30.

Smoked perfection lacking variety

You know you have found the right place when you are greeted by the unmistakable waft of smokey goodness as you walk through the door. Instantly our imagination (or was it hunger?) was filled with delightful meaty delicacies hanging in a traditional smokehouse shed. However, those expecting to find a variety of smoked meats, salamis and the like should look elsewhere. The Smokehouse team are masters at their craft and specialise in traditional, hot smoked seafood. May I add very, very good smoked seafood using only the finest local ingredients and aged South Coast hardwood.

The menu itself offered around 8 different entrees and about 8 different mains. We love a bit of variety, so for the entree we were pleased to find a “tasting plate for two” to share.

 

Starting top left and working our way clockwise around the plate. We start with the crumbed smoked cod fritters that were light and fluffy and just a hint of smoke and a chilli aioli. A word of warning though – these balls emitted a nasty rotten egg gas smell when we bit into them so either gobble quickly or take a deep breath and hang in tight!

Next were the sizeable, tender smoked salmon squares on a crispy rice cracker. We then move on to my favourite taster – the smoked eel on the lemon wedge. No, I didn’t eat the lemon however I thoroughly enjoyed the soft, warm almost jelly-like consistency of the eel! (Just give me 10 of the eel and I’d be extremely pleased).

This was followed by the smoked salmon and dill tarts and then the smoked garlic prawns wrapped in wonton skins and deep fried. The tarts tasted exactly as I had imagined and the prawns were worth a try yet reminded me of those deep fried dimsims you sometimes find at Chinese restaurants.

Lastly we had the smoked trout wrapped in crisp nori on a bed of sushi rice with toasted sesame seeds.  A nice take on sushi however the rice was undercooked and still crunchy. I’d suggest they should stick to what they do best that is, smoke stuff and leave making sushi rice to the Japanese!

Now onto the mains. I ordered the smoked salmon, cod and leek pie. Thi grabbed the smoked crisp skin NZ salmon belly and our friend tried the rainbow trout smoked with dill and warm vegie salad. Yes, by this stage we noticed that 80% of the menu was a variety (is that the right word?) of either salmon or trout – I would have liked to have seen some smoked oysters or haddock on the menu too! The mains took around 30-40mins to come out (and yes, they forgot my order) however they were worth the wait.

The pie was infused with just the right amount of smoked flavour, was creamy and had a delectably crisped puff pastry lid. The salmon belly was exceptional. The quality of the salmon used was excellent and was smoked to perfection. The portions still juicy and plump and showcased the exquisite “fattiness” of the belly.

My only real gripe about the evening was the slow service and not remembering my main meal. To the staff’s credit, they were very friendly, polite and apologetic. They even offered to waive the cost of my pie for forgetting to cook it! This is why I wouldn’t mind going back a second time. There are not that many places that offer traditional smoked foods and The Smokehouse is definitely worth a try (if you don’t mind trying multiple smoked variations of salmon and trout!)

Where: The Smokehouse is located at 204 Devonshire St, Surry Hills
When: Opened Tues – Sat for Dinner and Friday for Lunch.
Dress: Casual/Smart Casual
Price: Entrees ~$15 and mains are ~$24 each.

It all started with my girlfriend who overheard the complaint of one friend to another – A restaurant in Surry Hills, near impossible to get into. We were curious.
It is described as neighbourhood dining. A dinner shared amongst friends and strangers lucky enough to get a reservation (which is only available by SMS). The concept is unlike anything else we had encountered in Sydney and instantly conjured imagery of some kind of underground, urban “food club”.http://www.tablefor20.blogspot.com/. The blog reads: “So here’s the deal – We do a 3 course set menu every night, you can BYO or drink mine. The cost is $60 Wed, Thurs, Fri & Sat.”

You won’t find this restaurant in your Good Food Guide. In fact you will find very few references to it anywhere outside of its own blog

Our experience.

After months of trying, we were fortunate enough to be given the seats of a last minute cancellation on Friday night. We arrived at about 7pm to allow us some time to have a drink at their bar Sticky and to suss out the wine options. The low-key entrance was via a quiet back alley in Surry Hills – in what felt like the loading entrance to a cool room. A piece of paper was stuck on the door “SMS the following password and wait patiently for entry. Password = Turtle”….

After walking up 3 flights of stairs we were pleasantly surprised by the bar. It was fairly busy and filled with the typical Surry Hills crowd. The wine list was exceptional having been split into Good, Better, Best wines to make selection easier. The barmen were knowledgeable and allowed us to taste a variety of wines before making our selection.

At 8pm we were seated at one of the 2 long tables that sat around 20 people each. With the gentle push from the restaurant staff neighbouring parties introduced themselves to get the conversations flowing. An introduction was then made by the host of Table for 20 “I wouldn’t expect a menu if I came to your house for dinner, so you will find no menu at mine.”

First course was handmade pappardelle pasta with shaved truffle and truffle oil. The aroma of the truffle oil created desire amongst those seated. The flavour was simple yet delicate and the slightly chewy texture of the homemade pappardelle was exquisitely perfect.

The main course was veal backstrap served with baked parsnips and potatoes. This dish again was quite simple and was reminiscent of something my grandmother would make. My only complaint would be that the veal while still pink was overcooked and dry to the taste.

The dessert that came out was simply superb. Caramel and pine nut torte served with homemade honey ice cream. The torte was similar in flavour to a traditional pecan pie (although with pine nuts) and the ice cream brought the perfect balance to the sweetness of the caramel.

All-in-all we had a fun. The food was decent (and for $60 great value), the concept was extremely fresh and fun and the overall social experience is something that I’d recommend.