Miss Peaches

Miss Peaches promises soul food, and that’s what we went seeking on a chilly Wednesday night. Bringing Southern American to Newtown, Miss Peaches takes up the space formerly occupied by the Marly Bar. We arrived as they opened, and snagged a table overlooking the street, after admiring the art in the hallway. Their cocktail list sounds fantastic (will have to go back for that), but we got right into the food. I ordered the smoked brisket po’boy, which comes with onions, pickles, mustard and gravy, as well as a serve of fries. The po’boy itself was a good size, and was packed with thickly-shredded brisket doused in gravy. Mmm. I am a huge fan of pickles and there was a very generous amount in the roll, which was light and just the right thickness. It’s not an elegant meal to eat, but dipping the fries into the gravy was particularly satisfying and delicious. Dad tried the gumbo – it was very spicy, but had a great complex flavour that I would probably have enjoyed more with a touch less spice. We were there very early, but I can imagine a really great atmosphere with some live music on a weekend. Soul food? Fo’ sho’.

Miss Peaches, 201 Missenden Road, Newtown, Sydney    http://www.misspeaches.com.au/

Gelato Messina

A perfect spring day really does call for icecream, so we stopped in at Gelato Messina in Surry Hills. I love the vibrant colours and huge spheres of icecream in the display cabinet at Messina stores, and this one was no exception. The sorbets at the entrance caught my eye and I ordered a cup of the raspberry and mandarin sorbets ($6.80 for two scoops). The bottom scoop of mandarin was a bit bigger than the top scoop of raspberry, but the whole serving together was massive and I took my time enjoying it at the park across the road. I won’t talk too much about texture, because by the time I crossed the road the sun had started melting the edges and it went downhill from there (as to be expected), but the flavours were fantastic. The raspberry had a particularly intense flavour that is probably the most concentrated pure raspberry flavoured sorbet I’ve tried. The balance betwen tartness and sweetness was just right. The mandarin flavour was equally lovely – it was really juicy and whilst not as intense, it was beautifully refreshing and had real clarity of flavour. Ah Messina, you never fail to impress.

Gelato Messina, 389 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

N2 Extreme Gelato

I’m generally not someone who leads others astray… unless it comes to food. On the way back to my aunt’s house, I convinced all my cousins to stop in at N2 in Chinatown (not that it took much persuasion, you guys are awesome). There were heaps of flavours to choose from – having tried the Brokeback Moment earlier this year, I went for the dark chocolate and raspberry sorbet. The servings here are great value – $7 for a giant tub! They joke on the menu that it’s $7 for one scoop and the price for 2 scoops is “you don’t need it”. They’re right. We watched as the staff in lab coats created our icecreams and swapped tastes. The dark chocolate and raspberry was really luscious and definitely something I would order again. There was just enough tartness from the raspberry and plenty of not-too-bitter dark chocolate luxury to almost make me doubt the lack of dairy (it tasted so creamy!). One of my cousins got the Ribena and Longan sorbet, which was a vibrant purple colour and very refreshing – definitely a winning combination. Smiles all around, even (or perhaps especially?) from the youngest who managed to get it all over his clothes – definitely a sign of appreciation.

N2 Extreme Gelato, 43/1 Dixon Street, Sydney NSW http://n2extremegelato.com.au

The Grounds of Alexandria

My last visit to the Grounds was about a year ago, so we booked in for a Friday lunch at the Cafe (having tried The Potting Shed last time). We were seated on the porch outside, where we could soak up the sun and watch the world go by. I started out with a berry smoothie (dairy-free), with berries, coconut flesh and coconut water. I found all that coconut a little overpowering for a smoothie called ‘berry’, but it had a good texture and was a reasonable size. For lunch, I fulfilled my usual stereotype  – my collegue always teases me for ordering the burger but I just couldn’t go past it! The ‘Ground’ Burger has a beef brisket patty, cheese, lettuce, pickles and mayo and came with a serve of chips. Oh man, those chips. They were perfect – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and served with an amazing aioli. The burger itself was everything a good burger should be – it reminded me a bit of my beloved royale with cheese at Lonsdale Street Eatery – and had plenty of pickles. The beef was very high quality and the cheese and mayo were lovely and oozy. Let’s do that again sometime soon.

The Grounds of Alexandria, Shop 7A, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria, NSW    http://groundsroasters.com/

Bourke Street Bakery

After eating lunch at Bourke Street Bakery, we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of takeaway sweets and some bread. I picked the fresh-baked seeded sourdough loaf and two tarts – a classic lemon and the more exotic ginger creme brulee. Both tarts had a lovely pastry shell, which wasn’t too crumbly but had just the right amount of crisp. The lemon tart was utterly luxurious – I’ve never had one with such a creamy, lush-textured filling. The lemon flavour was nice and strong, but not too sharp as the creamy filling’s richness softened it out. Be warned, it’s a messy one to eat – the filling oozed everywhere! The ginger creme brulee tart was my favourite though. I loved the caramelised, almost burnt flavour of the top-layer, and there was an added bit of crunch and salt from the pistachios crumbled on top. The filling had a bit of body to it and the ginger flavour was well-balanced with the overall sweetness of the tart. Oh, and the seeded sourdough was delicious! There’s nothing like fresh bread on the day it’s baked! Yum, yum, yum.

Bourke Street Bakery: Shop 7/19-25 Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay, NSW http://bourkestreetbakery.com.au/project/neutral-bay/

Bourke Street Bakery

Ah Bourke Street Bakery, it has been some time! On my last visit I couldn’t go past the soup of the day, and being another wintery day, I just stuck with what I knew (although I had some order envy about Dad’s reuben sandwich, which looked fantastic!). The cauliflour soup came out in a large bowl with a garnish of parsley, chives and pepper, all of which complemented the soup perfectly. Cauliflour soup is something that everyone should try at least once – there’s a lovely creaminess and heartiness that comes from its unique texture, and Bourke Street Bakery knows how to put that flavour on show. It’s also not a perfectly pureed soup, so there’s still some texture in there, and with such a generous portion size, you won’t leave hungry. The soup was served with a wedge of sourdough bread and a little tray of butter (such a luxury!) – it was perfect both by itself and dunked into the soup. I picked the homemade lemonade to have with my soup and it was really refreshing and not sickly sweet. Perfect for a chilly winter’s day.

Bourke St Bakery, Shop 7/19-25 Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay, NSW http://bourkestreetbakery.com.au/

Chat Thai

I met a couple of friends in Sydney for dinner and asked them to decide where to eat. I was super excited when they took me to Chat Thai, somewhere I hadn’t tried in the Pitt St Westfield. Chat Thai’s menu is well-designed with modern graphics and plenty of choices, and the interior of the restaurant is dimly lit with several large, share tables running down the middle. We sat at the end of one, and spent quite some time studying the menu. In the end I decided against the noodle soups, spicy salads and the curries, and went for the crab omelette on the specials menu. The omelette was massive when it came out and in the end I couldn’t finish the whole thing. It appeared to have been deep fried on the outside, leaving a golden, slightly crispy outer with a fluffy, creamy inner that had fabulous textural contrast. The fresh corriander really brought the whole thing to life, and I would have loved more of the spicy dipping sauce to go with it. By the end I did feel like it was a bit rich and oily, but the crabmeat was tender and tasty. I will be back!

Chat Thai, Westfield Sydney, Level 6, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW           http://www.chatthai.com.au/