Robyn Rowe Chocolates

As part of the Weekend Bliss package for the Summerside Festival, we had lunch at Four Winds Vineyard before heading on to Robyn Rowe chocolates for dessert. The $36 package included a hot chocolate (your choice between milk or dark) and one of six desserts, all with a chocolate theme. I picked the ‘chocolate cup’, with a chocolate cup filled with chocolate and vanilla icecream, plus a chocolate spoon and a choice of any two truffles. I was delighted by the chocolate butterfly perched on top of the icecream; both icecream flavours were luscious and creamy and perfect for a hot day. I particularly enjoyed the chocolate flavour, which had great depth and was very moreish. I chose the milk hot chocolate and dissolved my chocolate spoon inside – mmm, so much chocolately goodness! The truffles were a real highlight – I picked the Clonakilla muscat and the orange cream truffles. Both were beautifully tasty, the muscat sweet and rich, the orange light and fluffy. Although I still had order envy over the cassata my friend chose (next time). Robyn was very welcoming, talking us through everything and explaining that the store hosts local art exhibitions (how lovely!) – we left in happy food comas all.

Robyn Rowe Chocolates, 1153 Nanima Road, Murrumbateman NSW, http://www.robynrowechocolates.com.au/

Butterbing

I love Canberra’s food community – we’re a friendly bunch, and no more so than when queuing for exciting delicious things. Butterbing, the purveyor of fine cookie sandwiches stuffed full of buttercream, stopped by with a one-day-only pop up stall in front of Barrio yesterday, and while in the line I had a lovely chat to another food afficionado who had been working out to earn her cookie sandwiches. I had no such excuse, but proceeded to order 4 flavours – almond crunch, orange, peanut butter and the flavour developed especially for Canberra, golden gaytime. I then invited my best friend over for a tasting. First thing to note – the cookies themselves are like eating the best brownie you’ve ever had, slightly crispy on top and soft and rich within. I started with the almond crunch – the buttercream had a lovely salty kick to counteract the sweetness and there were plenty of almonds within – this was my friend’s favourite. Next up was the orange, with a true citrus flavour – sweet, but not sickly sweet. The peanut butter was delightful – chocolate and salty peanut butter belong together, especially when they are both of this quality. Finally the golden gaytime, which had to be my favourite, tasted exactly like the icecream, just without the biscuit crunch. Heaven. Butterbing, please #cometocanberra to stay!

Butterbing, sadly not yet stocked in Canberra, https://www.butterbing.com.au

Four Winds

Canberrans, clear your weekends! My friends and I took advantage of the Weekend Bliss package as part of the Summerside Festival. For $36, you receive a glass of wine and a woodfired pizza from Four Winds Vineyard, and a hot chocolate and dessert plate from Robyn Rowe Chocolates – what more could you want? Four Winds has a lovely restaurant space; spilling out onto the lawns in front of the vines are tables on the porch and more tables covered by shadecloth. I chose the 2015 Riesling, which was a great match for the pizza – light, not overly acidic and fresh, it was perfect for a warm summer’s day. There were four pizza choices, but I couldn’t go past the February special of fresh tomato with fennel and garlic sugo, topped with slices of mozzarella (usually $15). The wood oven sits outside so you can watch your lunch cook – our food took a little while to arrive, but was fresh out of the oven when it did. The pizza I loved the charred effect and the fresh burst of flavour from the tomatoes. I would have liked a touch more salt, and the base wasn’t crispy the whole way through, but the subtle fennel and garlic sugo was divine and the mozzarella was a great cheese match for the flavours. A nice part one to our bliss package! Part two to follow on Monday.

Four Winds, 9 Pateman Lane, Murrumbateman NSW, http://fourwindsvineyard.com.au/

Weekend Bliss packages are available every weekend in February, available at the cellar door or online at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-weekend-bliss-package-tickets-21103984586

Il Portico

I always like visiting people’s favourite places – it usually means they’ve scoped out the menu, which is exactly what my friend had done at Il Portico. He recommended the Boscaolia pasta (available at lunch and dinner, $20), with porcini mushrooms, Italian bacon and a creamy truffle oil sauce. I picked the Proscuitto pizza ($21), with rocket, proscuitto, parmesan and olive oil. Always trust the local. Both dishes arrived together a short interval after we’d ordered. The pasta dish was utterly divine and definitely my favourite. Silky smooth pasta (although not house-made), utterly perfect, salty Italian bacon and seriously the creamiest, loveliest pasta sauce I’ve had in a long time. The truffle oil would have had something to do with that, but I also loved the way that the mushrooms were cooked without shrivelling up or drying out – yum. The pizza was delicious too, with plenty of paper-thin slices of proscuitto, generous amounts of rocket and parmesan, and a not-too-cheesy-or-tomatoey base. The base itself was fairly thin, and had a nice amount of crisp to it. The service was attentive and friendly – this is a lovely spot just back from the Foreshore for a quiet, quality meal.

Il Portico, 71 Giles Street, Kingston ACT,

Mint Rd

I’ve been meaning to visit Mint Rd at the Narrabundah shops for quite a long time, and finally took the opportunity one warm Saturday morning. This is clearly a place that has its regulars – staff were happily chatting away to customers on a first name-basis, and the small space has a welcoming, community feel. The breakfast menu is comfortingly simple – no chefy pretensions here, just straightforward, good food. I chose the bacon and egg roll ($6.50) and a Noah’s apple and peach juice ($4) – sadly no fresh juice option. My roll didn’t take long to come out, and I was impressed with the size. Served on a round Turkish bread roll cut in half, the fried egg was perched atop a good sized portion of bacon, with just the right amount of my choice of BBQ sauce slathered on the bread. On first bite, I was delighted to discover that pepper had been sprinkled on the cooked-through egg, elevating it from ‘good’ to ‘awesome’. This may not be the place for crispy bacon lovers, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this breakfast – I’ll be back to try the lunch menu soon.

Mint Rd, 59 Boolimba Crescent, Narrabundah ACT, http://www.mintrd.com.au/

Pho @ Dickson

My friend and I had a craving for pho, so on a Monday night after work we headed up to Dickson to indulge our craving. Pho @ Dickson is unassumingly located on Woolley Street – if I hadn’t know it was there, I might have missed it. The restaurant was quiet on a Monday night and we received excellent service. I ordered the ‘bells and all’ beef pho ($14.50), which included rare beef, beef balls, beef tripe and cooked beef brisket (so, basically, all the beef). The bowl was huge, and this was my first time trying beef tripe – I didn’t mind the flavour actually, although the rare beef is always my favourite part of eating pho. The broth was suitably beefy and I could tell that this wasn’t going to be a need-to-down-a-litre-of-water type pho – it wasn’t outrageously salty and that left plenty of space to appreciate the broth’s flavour. The noodles varied in width, leading me to suspect that they make their own, and all of the usual accompaniments are offered (bean sprouts, Thai basil and lemon wedges, plus the sauces). At the end of our meal a sliced orange was brought out as a palate cleanser. I was impressed, definitely worth a visit.

Pho @ Dickson, 14 Woolley Street, Dickson ACT, no website

Ona on the Lawns

So… I may or may not have ordered the burger. Again. To start, I ordered a green apple, pineapple, lime and mint juice ($7.50), which came out in a large glass – the pineapple wasn’t too sharp and the lime was just a light hint, although I couldn’t really taste the mint. I couldn’t go past the buttermilk chicken burger ($20), and I was wowed by the piled-high stack that came out with fries on a board. The fries were amazing, with some sort of magical seasoning (mmm) and a herbed aioli that was just perfect. I wasn’t sure how to eat the burger, so I ended up pulling it apart – there was a whole lot of cabbage ‘slaw packed into the bun, with a tonne of runaway peas sandwiched into the upper half of the bread. Given the board was so full, I found it quite hard to eat, but everything was super tasty – I loved the mayonnaise spiked with sprigs of dill, and the chicken was beautifully tender inside the crisp buttermilk shell. It was hard to get a sense of the flavours all together, but I did enjoy the more unusual ingredient mix, and would highly recommend the fries.

Ona on the Lawns, Shop 4, Palmerston Lane, Manuka ACT, onacoffee.com.au/