Archive for INNER CITY

ally | 28/10/2009
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Area profile: South Bank

All the Colours of the Food Rainbow

South Bank used to have a beverage that my friends and I thought was the ultimate in culinary delights: the Rainbow Smash. I can hear you all sneer, “Oh, it’s just a frozen coke.” It is not just a frozen coke. It is a Rainbow SMASH, people. It’s all in the title. The range of flavours in the Rainbow Smash are not to be reckoned with. As I’ve grown older, my tastes have matured (somewhat), and so have South Bank’s. Here’s a brief run down on some of the dozens of restaurants, bars, and cafes that are scattered around this relaxed riverside community.

Breakfast
Poppy’s Basket earned rave reviews from Nick recently for their accommodating service and fresh eggs. Era do an all day breakfast on the weekend, and are more higher-end.

Lunch & Dinner
There is such a huge number of food places in and around South Bank that I’m going to just list them under the one heading-I am fairly sure that all of them are open for both lunch and dinner. I’m also going to list them by cuisine, as the beauty of South Bank is the plethora of different foods.

Pub-style
The Fox is on the outskirts of South Bank, and is a busy bar by night and a relaxing spot for a pub lunch by day.
The Plough Inn and The Shipp Inn have this same relaxed open-air feel and upscale pub grub.
Beastie Burgers are the perfect spot for a working lunch; they’re outdoors in the sunshine, they’re licensed (gets you through that arvo meeting), and they have awesome burgers.

Italian:
Dell ‘Ugo are an upscale restaurant with traditional Italian food, available on both a set menu and a regular menu.
La Via Pizzeria is ideal if you want to seduce someone (sexy low lighting and waiters that don’t hover), plus enjoy some pizza and Italian fare while you’re at it.
Amici’s do some impressive sounding banquets, or just some singular Italian dishes for all you weaklings out there.

French:
Piaf do possibly the most well-priced French food in Brisbane (think under $20).

Asian:
Satay Hut have low prices, a casual and modern setting, and mainly Thai and Malay food.
Viet De Lites: I am dying to try some food off this fresh, healthy-sounding Vietnamese menu.
Ginga Japanese are a sushi train (yay!), as well as a more up-scale Japanese restaurant.
Gandhi Curry House is another very reasonably priced, clean and chic restaurant, this time offering South Indian and Sri Lankan food.

Other
Mado do delicious Turkish food and are ideal for large groups.
Chez Laila have some of the best river and city views, and offer Lebanese dishes.

Modern:
Toscani’s have a huge, varied menu, including pasta, seafood, steak, and sandwhiches.
Sardine Tin was recently opened by Piaf’s owner Simon Livingstone, and is a small, open-air space serving mainly tapas.
5th Element is possibly the best-looking lady on the strip, with low lighting, open flame features, and a waterfall behind the bar. The menu is a bit more up-scale, and the service is fantastic.
Stone are located within the Saville Apartments, and are being very mysterious and saying that they have a new concept coming soon.

Drink
Era Bistro has a restaurant menu as well as a varied tapas menu, and are well-stocked with a variety of wines. Aside from The Fox, The Plough Inn, and The Shipp Inn, there aren’t many large bars or pubs around South Bank. You can take a short walk down the road to West End, or simply enjoy drinks at a South Bank restaurant’s bars (like 5th Element, who have a well-stocked wine bar, or Sardine Tin).

Sweet
Speaking of 5th Element, I am still yapping to people about my recent, unique dessert experience there. There’s also cute cupcakes at My Sweetopia, which is open until late on the weekends and also serves coffee. For something more casual, Movenpick ice cream serves up Swiss ice cream scoops that are all-natural. And, well, I have to say it: Cold Rock is right nearby. It’s no Rainbow Smash, but the ice cream flavours and mix-ins are equally as enticing.

Category: BAR, CAFE, DESSERT, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, RESTAURANT, SPOTLIGHT, TAKE-AWAY |
ally | 15/10/2009
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5th Element Review

Unique Treat

Lately, desserts have been making me sad. Caramel slice. Baked cheesecake. Even the humble chocolate mud has been getting me down. Don’t get me wrong, classics like these will always have a special place in my heart, along with things like Degrassi Junior High and Brad Pitt. It is hard to perfect some of these desserts, but they are boring. They have been done. They need to step up their game.

They need bacon.

5th Element at South Bank has restored my faith in Brisbane’s dessert scene. We wandered past there the other night and spotted the following dish on the menu: Banana mousse, [banana] bread, condensed milk ice cream, macadamia nuts, and bacon ($14).

FINALLY someone is doing something unusual, different, noice in Brisbane. Thank God. We returned to 5th Element after a dinner at Beastie Burgers (more on that to come later), and ordered the banana dish along with some coffees. 5th Element is a very cool bar and restaurant, and is ideal in that it can be visited for dinner, a drink, or dessert. It’s all dim lighting, waterfalls behind the bar, and open flames (leave the polyester shirt at home), with cushy couches and high stools. It’s a beautiful space, and service was consistently professional and friendly during our whole visit. Plus they spell their name like the band 5ive.

The dessert menu is small, but has other interesting items like the Warm Chocolate Tart with Cumquat Compote. Coffees arrived promptly, but were a bit hit and miss. My mocha was very good, and struck the perfect balance between chocolate and coffee, but D’s flat white was a little on the bitter side.

No matter-dessert soon arrived to sweeten our mouths. I have to apologise, because this photo is crap, and it doesn’t do the dessert justice. The presentation was lovely, I promise. It was also a decent size; good for sharing, but also good if you wanted to have it all yourself and not feel too sick afterwards.

Now, anyone with half a brain knows that banana and bacon are perfect together. Yes, I know the Canadian Breakfast thing has been happening for a while, but 5th Element’s dish just took it to a whole new level. A thick slice of fresh banana bread and fresh banana slices were the foundation for scoops of condensed milk ice cream and fluffy banana mousse. Two crispy strips of dried banana lay on top of this little mountain, and bacon bits, macadamias, and a light banana syrup covered everything else.

I am very fond of condensed milk. When that can is open during a baking session, my finger is into that bad boy like it’s nobody’s business. This condensed milk ice cream was truly amazing; thick and creamy, it had a flavour that was between vanilla and condensed milk. Every now and then you’d get an actual chunk of pure condensed milk. It was spiritual.

The banana bread was moist and dense, and was just savoury enough to balance out the sweet on top. The mousse was tasty, but we agreed perhaps it could have been left out-it risked overpowering the dish with too much banana.

What amazed me was that the bacon was literally just bacon, albeit very small and crispy pieces. It wasn’t glazed, it wasn’t sugared, it was just bacon, and it worked. A forkful of banana bread, banana, the ice cream, a touch of mousse, and the bacon=the perfect bite. Sweet and salty are a partnership that will last the distance.

Our only other criticism? Not enough macadamia nuts. These guys were delicious, and roasted in a sweet, crispy shell. Unfortunately there were only about five of them on the plate. D’s other suggestion: “Instead of the banana on top, it should be whole strips of bacon!” His tastes aren’t a very good indicator, though; this is the man whose facebook status the other day was, “D wonders what bacon flavoured ice cream would taste like.” I rest my case.

Never mind the fact that places like North America have been doing unusual dishes like this for years. The point is, 5th Element is raising the bar for unique desserts in this town, and I thank them.

5th Element
Resturant and Bar

Corner of Tribune & Little Stanley St
South Bank

(07) 3846 5584

http://www.5thelement.com.au/

5th Element on Urbanspoon

Category: BAR, DESSERT, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, RESTAURANT |
ally | 07/09/2009
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Onyx Review

Ridiculously Good Looking
I like to think I live on the edge. When rain is forecast, I go out without an umbrella. I eat things that are a bit past the use by date. I ‘forget’ to ask them to omit the cream in an iced chocolate, then feign surprise when it arrives piled high with the stuff. So, yeah, I mix things up a bit.

The same could not be said about my breakfast. The last time D and I went out for brekkie, we ordered muesli and eggs benefict. This time, we ordered muesli and eggs benedict. Excitement fail. Could this mean our relationship was going stale too? Nah, we conceded. We were awesome.

We were also at Onyx, a very cool bar/restaurant on the popular restaurant strip of Park Road. Onyx is usually known for their dinner and cocktails, and have only recently started doing breakfast. It’s probably the nicest digs on Park Road-the seating area looks down on the street below, there’s comfy couches, a gorgeous onyx bar (geddit?), and at night dim and sexy lighting. There’s not a lot of seating though, so beware if you’re there when it’s a full house-it can get a bit squishy.

We started with coffees ($3.50), which were delayed a little bit but the waitress was so professional and apologetic that we didn’t mind. It also helped that the coffees were excellent; my skim cap was just perfect. Oddly enough D’s latte was a little more bitter, but it was still good. They also came with a buttery piece of shortbread on the side. We were naughty and had cookies before breakfast. Don’t tell mum.

The breakfast menu offers a few standard favourites as well as some surprises. There’s Poached Haddock; Pork and Guiness Sausages with French toast; and Banana Bread with Rum and Raisin Mascarpone. Gym junkies and cyclists take note, too: there’s a healthy section, with things like protein pancakes and egg white omelettes. The drinks menu also covers smoothies and fresh juices and smoothies. I’ve had Onyx’s fantastic cocktails, so I bet the juice concotions would be just as delicious.

The meals arrived shortly despite a rapidly filling restaurant and a poor lone waitress. My Bircher Muesli was a generous portion ($9), and D’s Smoked Salmon Benedict was good value at $16. The salmon was of a very good quality, and sat underneath two perfectly poached eggs. You could not poach an egg any better. The little guys wobbled delicately, then threatened to spill over when you cut into them-but they didn’t. Cheeky. The toast was unfortunately a little too hard to cut; the dish would have been better with a soft sourdough on something similar. The hollandaise had that delicate lemon zing that comes with good h’daise, and was finger-in-the-plate licking good.

My muesli was tasty, but unfortunately it was missing…something. Nuts? More fruit? The garnish of the red wine poached pears on top was pretty, but didn’t do a lot for the taste. There’s a bit of a long-running debate over bircher muesli-in its strictest sense, it’s just like what Onyx serves. But come on, how about a little cheating?

The general ambience and surrounds of Onyx are really quite lovely. Service was also very admirable given there was only one waitress attending to a busy floor-despite the pressures, she remained friendly and calm. I shouldn’t complain about a classic recipe tasting a bit bland-but maybe if they can learn to mix things up a bit, I can too.

Onyx
Bar & Restaurant

1/12 Park Road
Milton

07 3367 0547

http://www.onyxbarandrestaurant.com.au/

Open seven days until late

Onyx on Urbanspoon

Category: BAR, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, RESTAURANT |
nick | 31/07/2009
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Watt Park Lounge at the Powerhouse Review

I freakin’ love the Powerhouse. There’s just something about the place that makes me feel at home. It’s great to chill on Sunday afternoons – you can sit, grab a beer, talk shit with your friends and when you’ve run out of stuff to talk about you can go and watch some comedy or live music for free. I can’t think of another venue in Brisbane where there is so much to do and so much variety.

The downstairs river walk area is constantly bustling with traffic as people ride bikes, walk dogs, run and it’s ideal for just sitting back with a coffee or a beer and people watching.

To keep you on premises when the hunger pains kick in, there’s also 3 different options for food; Bar Alto (upstairs) which features Italian fare, Watt Modern Dining (downstairs) which is a formal white table cloth kinda restaurant and Watt Park Lounge, a cut down café style menu and our choice for a recent late lunch.

Park Lounge is definitely the ‘entry level’ option at the Powerhouse as you order over the bar and the menu is compact and affordable – most options are around $12 – $16. But that’s not to say they haven’t made it interesting. I can’t recall the last time I saw a Croque Monsieur ($12) (fancy French ham & cheese sandwich) on the menu and Gravalax of Salmon with Dill and Mustard ($18) is not your standard café grub. After suitable deliberation over the first round of beers we settled on 2 of The Watt BLT ($12), a Salt and Pepper Squid ($16) and Roast Pumpkin Pide with Red Peppers, Goats Curd and Rocket ($15).

The crowd at the Powerhouse on a Sunday afternoon are a diverse mob. People seem of fit in no matter what they’re wearing and I dare say t-shirt, boardies and pluggers would effortlessly blend with those in a suit and tie. The young family with kids on scooters mingle with those that have dropped in for a coffee break on they’re Sunday afternoon cycle – in full bike kit.

But back to the point of this post… our food arrived in a timely manner and it’s clear that the kitchen goes to a little bit more trouble than many other places when it comes to presentation. The plates were sparkling and the food looked delicious. My Pumpkin Pide (pronounced pee-day as I was reminded when I went to order) sat in the middle of the plate, and the vivid colours of the capsicum, rocket and pumpkin just screamed take a picture.

I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by the portion size though. Both the pide and squid dishes didn’t look like they should of cost as much as they did, despite the artistic flair.

My pide was delicious – the creamy goats curd and pumpkin working especially well together and it took a conscious effort on my part to savour the flavours rather than wolfing it all down. The flat bread was crisp and the whole package was spot on – I just wish there was more of it.

Around the table there were nods and smiles as the BLTs and squid received equal praise. The squid was served with capsicum and a little onion as well as a dipping sauce, the flavour of which now escapes me – the whole lot was cooked well with the squid nice and tender.

If being able to sit back with a beer (these start from about $6) or a glass of wine ($9 – 14) and laze away a Sunday afternoon with some good food is your style then definitely get along to the powerhouse – it’s not perhaps the best value in Brisbane but it’s certainly got a lot going for it.

Watt Park Lounge

The Powerhouse
119 Lamington Street
New Farm map

07 3358 5464

Tuesday – Friday: 10.00 am – Late
Saturday – Sunday: 8.00 am – Late

www.watt.net.au

http://www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

Visited on Sunday 19 July 2009

Category: BAR, CAFE, INNER CITY, INNER CITY |
ally | 10/05/2009
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Blu Grotto Review

My mum is an awesome lady, but I admit that Mother’s Day holds a second agenda for me.

Breakfast.

“Dearest mother, why don’t we go out for breakfast next Sunday?” “You’re such a sweet daughter! Yes, let’s do that!” Excellent. Breakfast out for me is a rare occurrence, so this was exciting. Cue me spending the next day eagerly pouring over menus, trying to decide where to go.

Eventually I settled on Blu Grotto, a restaurant/bar in Rosalie that usually draws a lively crowd at night. I might be wrong, but I’m sure that their brekkie menu has changed recently-what I saw when wandering by a few weeks ago looked totally different (and actually a lot more exotic) to what it is now. Correct me if I’m wrong, anyone-I have been known to confuse restaurants and loved ones when food is on my mind.

We were in contact with three waiters and all of them were both welcoming and professional. We started off with cappuccinos ($3.70). The coffees arrived promptly and were excellent; I haven’t had that good a coffee in a very long time. Creamy froth, no bitterness, not watery but not too milky. Perfect!

After finishing the delicious drinks, we waited for our food. And waited. And waited… 40 minutes past the time we had first parked our bums, they finally came out. Usually this wouldn’t really bother me, but a long wait at breakfast can mean that the meal becomes lunch, or a weird hybrid in no man’s land.

We all went for egg dishes – I the Pesto Eggs ($14.50, right), Mumsy the Eggs Royale ($15.90, bottom left), and Bro got the Regular Bacon & Eggs ($11.50). Since the breakfast menu is pretty standard (museli, pancakes, bacon & eggs, etc.), I got the Pesto Eggs hoping for something different. Unfortunately I was let down. Two eggs, tomato, mushrooms, and rocket were piled high on a slice of sourdough toast. There was perhaps two teaspoons of pesto on the eggs, and a little dish holding a generous serving of chopped avocado. I wish it had been the reverse-the pesto was delicious and could have made an otherwise ordinary dish really pop. I’d also asked for soft poached eggs and they were definitely hard – that yolk wasn’t going anywhere. I sadly waved goodbye to my dreams of gooey yolk rivers being mopped up with my toast.

The Eggs Royale was an eggs benedict dish of sorts, with poached eggs, smoked salmon, spinach, and hollandaise sauce on a toasted English muffin. While the eggs were perfectly poached (I’m going to say it – they were eggsellent) the hollandaise sauce let the dish down. It had an overpowering lemon flavour, and was a bit too sweet for Mumsy’s liking.

Bro was happy with his scrambled eggs, tomato, and bacon on sourdough toast. The bacon was quite burnt around the edges, but the eggs looked fluffy and were piping hot.

I have always felt that restaurants have a hard time doing a really good breakfast – part of the problem is that diners are expecting too much. We don’t want to taste something that is like what we make at home – we want something different, sometimes even a bit decadent. I’m not opposed to regular meals like bacon and eggs, but they need to be done right - not burnt slightly, or poached for not long enough. Apart from a few minor hiccups, Blu Grotto does do a decent breakfast, but so do hundreds of other places in Brisbane – it’s time to see some more adventurous offerings.

Note added on 27/5/09: Dudes, I went here last night for dinner and it was delish. The dinner menu offers kinda fancy dishes at reasonable prices, as well as staples like pizza and steak. I had a pork tenderloin salad ($22) that was a decent-sized serve of juicy pork bundles, greens, beetroot, fetta, olives, and other delicious bits. And thankfully, we only waited a very reasonable 20 minutes. Yay! Game has officially been picked up. – Ally

Blu Grotto
Bistro and Bar

Shop 4/155 Baroona Road
Rosalie map

07 3876 4653

www.blugrotto.com.au

Open Mon & Tues 3pm to late
Wed-Fri 11am to late
Sat & Sun 8am to late

Breakfast served until on weekends until noon; limited breakfast menu served until 3pm.

Visited Sunday, 10 May 2009

Blu Grotto

Category: BAR, CAFE, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, INNER CITY, RESTAURANT |
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