6 May 2010

DON'T DESSERT ME

What did I drink this with? Read about the world's prettiest dessert on my Wines To Drink page. (And can you see the Sydney Opera house through the glass?)

5 May 2010

WHERE TO EAT IN SYDNEY

Pictured is a fabulous organic chicken with heirloom carrots at La Scala on Jersey. For more on this and other places to eat go to the RESTAURANTS section of this website.

And if you in the mood for a cocktail two hot places to try:

• The new grand Rockpool in Hunter St has small intimate bar to the side and the most stunning chandelier constructed from hundreds of Riedel glasses.

• Eau de Vie in the back of the ground floor of The Kirketon in Darlinghurst is currently the newest, hottest cocktail bar in Sydney.

1 May 2010

NOT JUST ANY BUTCHER

There are cutting edge establishments alongside traditional temples of eating, and ideas that are innovative and so out there that you might well think you have arrived in the future. Sydney, a city with a population equal to the total of New Zealand affords enormous opportunity for anyone who is prepared to take a risk.

The image above is the bronze door handle of Victor Churchill, a butchery store at 132 Queen St, Woollahra. A string of sausages to grab as you enter the theatre -like creation of Victor Puharich who heads a $40 million meat empire. He sources premier beef, game, poultry and offal, supplying the very best Kurabota pork, Glenloth Free Range chicken, 300 day Black Angus beef, New Zealand venison and 15 cuts of Blackmore Full Blood Wagyu beef to almost 80% of the top rated restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.

The store, which opened about eight months ago, is dramatically designed to showcase the very best meat, poultry, charcuterie and patisserie. Sheer glass walls drop from the ceiling onto the stunning Calacatta marble stone floor, encasing butchers at work who may, in full view and spotlighted in true stage type lighting, be threading chicken skewers, tying rolls of stuffed veal or creating delicious sausages.

To the back there's a full kitchen where chefs create condiments, stocks, sauces, terrines, ready to eat dishes like braised beef cheeks, Coq au Vin and much more. And enticing aromas fill the store as dressed chickens and well- marinated meats cook on a state of the art French rotisserie.

If only I lived a little closer. This is meat heaven.

30 April 2010

PORTLAND FOOD SCENE

EATING IN PORTLAND

The restaurant scene in Portland is impressive. I can’t recall being in a city where seemingly all the chefs embrace local produce and where everyone seems to know each other and treat other people’s food with respect. Many years ago the food lovers and culinary professionals formed the Portland Culinary Alliance, and this has given the local industry a terrific base and great strength. Portland also sits in a state, Oregon where everything grows well and the emphasis on fresh produce, straight from the farm, is evident on every menu. There are stunning city farmer’s markets several times a week and on Saturdays the Portland State University campus buzzes with a market that covers several blocks. And the savvy local chefs (most of them) all shop at these markets.

I think it also helps that Portland sits among one of the best wine growing regions in the US. Sure there’s the glitz and glamour of Napa and Sonoma in California, but Oregonian wineries are quietly humble and go about their business of making stunning Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris wines that are the equal of any in the world. Where wine grows there’s always good food. And Portland also provides something else; food carts. Food carts where exciting ethnic food is freshly prepare every day all over the city. 400 of them! The Bosnian stuffed pitas from Ziba pictured above were to die for. Cheese, spinach or spicy meat, rolled and fried.

Look for a list of the best restaurants I visited in Portland in my Restaurant section of this website.

26 April 2010

CHECK THIS OUT

I met up with my good friend Ruth Reichl in Portland. We shared a wonderful dinner at Le Pigeon, perched at the bar, chatting away and sharing our food. Delicious frozen foie gras beignets were the highlight. And it seems that Ruth and I share the same view of the magazine world. The business model must change. Editorial focuses on the readers, while the business side only looks at figures. No wonder the circulation of most is in a decline.

And here's a link to a very interesting site where this photo of us together popped up. Check it out. http://pdx.eater.com/tags/lauraine-jacobs

22 April 2010

A CRAB FEAST

When you're away and travelling there's nothing like a home cooked feast. Last night my host Janie Hibler prepared an Oregon Dungeness crab dinner.

The Oregon Dungeness Crab is caught off the wild rocky coast on the North East Pacific Ocean (which they call the North West around these parts but that's because they are American- centric.) The crabs, pictured above, are juicy and sweet and there's plenty of meaty flesh in the body, the legs and the claws. So much meat that we only needed four cooked crabs for seven people. And I discovered that you are either an 'eater' or a 'piler' as eaters pick out the meat and stuff it in their mouths as fast as they can, while the pilers clean out the meat from the shell and place it in a pile to savour in all at once feast. I am a piler, and I also discovered that you must guard your pile with your life as the eaters try to steal from your pile. However you eat it this crab is delicious.

The crab was accompanied by a traditional potato salad; Janie's grandmother's recipe (which I will post on my recipe page), a salad of spring artichokes, an endive and raddichio leafy salad with a dressing of mayonnaise thinned with lime juice and tarragon and mint fresh from the garden.

And Gary Hibler was a champion as he cracked the crab claws for us and served a variety of Oregon chardonnays and a semillon/sauvignon blanc blend. It was all so good and I am now enjoying a little encore tasting as an appetiser before I go to dinner.

22 April 2010

AND WHAT'S THIS?

Last night we had an amazing feast of Oregon Dungeness Crab. This messy pile is the remains of my dinner. More about Oregon Dungeness crab and what to serve it with later today!

20 April 2010

WHAT'S THIS?

The zaniest wine bar I have seen in a while. Run by a young wine lover, HEART caters to a tendy young crowd that don't seen to mind perching on stools and sipping wine from Mason jars. About 60 wines are listed and we read about each on a luggage label attached to the neck of each bottle.

After reading the label on the Meritage pictured here, I had to have it. It was great. I'm a "mom".

HEART wine bar, 1270 Valencia (at 24th St) San Francisco ph 415 285 1200

20 April 2010

RESTAURANTS IN SAN FRANCISCO

If you only have two days in SF here are some real treats. Piemontese (Italian), Moroccan, Peruvian and fresh seasonal modern American cooking. Take your choice. Read about them in the RESTAURANT page of this website. (Pic above; causas at La Mar.)

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18 April 2010

IS SAN FRANCISCO THE TOP FOOD CITY?

I am in love with San Francisco.

Judith Tabron and I started out the day on KGO radio with host Gene Burns here in the city, while NZ wine producers showcased their wine. (See pic).

We went to the farmers market at the Ferry Plaza. We saw amazing produce.

We ate at La Mar. (Pier 1.5) Peruvian cuisine. Pisco sours, the ultimate cocktail, and a tasting menu of cebiche, causas, empanadas. Yum! And then more cocktails. An inspiring feast.

We had dinner at Flour + Water (Mission District). Terrific use of the seasonal produce that we'd admired at the farmers market. Especially the salads and the pasta. Not to even mention the pork with parsley root puree, fresh asparagus and baby carrots.

And then the bars: Heart - a new wine bar in the Mission district, Baretta for yet more amazing cocktails, and a nightcap at Bourbon and Branch. Their Sazerac was wonderful. Tomorrow I am off to Portland, Oregon.