Buvette

After a fabulous savoury course, it was time for the sweets. We had tried to pace ourselves, but ended up only trying the least portable desserts, and getting the rest takeaway (thank you Buvette!). I started with the lemon meringue tart, as the lightest of all the flavours. The meringue was so glossy and soft, it just melted away into the sweet pastry and delicious lemon curd base. Yum. Next up was the profiterole – now usually I’m not a huge fan of these, as they can be bland compared to other sweets, but this one had such great quality chocolate and a caramel-flavoured filling, that it has change my mind about what a good profiterole can be. The tiramisu was a highlight, although by then I had reached dairy saturation, so only tried the coffee-and-liqueur-soaked cake – it was stronger on the coffee than the liqueur, which was probably good to counteract the sleepiness from so much eating. Of the sweets I took home, I particularly liked the strawberry friand – it had great flavour and actually smelt really great too – and the salted caramel square was also divine. Highly recommended for a special occasion, or just to celebrate the weekend!

Buvette, Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT, http://buvette.com.au/

Buvette

Buvette’s Petit Feast has become the hottest new thing for Canberra foodies to indulge in – and what a treat! My friend and I booked a few weeks in advance and were delighted by the whole experience ($65pp). I’ll post about the sweets separately, but on arrival you start with the savoury course, served with a glass of rose and a separate plate with your oyster. The oysters were huge, although they had probably the strongest oceanic flavour of any oyster I’ve ever had, so it might not be to everyone’s tastes. We started with the finger sandwiches – the top two were salmon, the bottom two tomato and cheese – which had been made fresh and were both light and tasty. Next up was the spinach and zucchini quiche, which had very short, sweet pastry and a luxurious, silky-smooth filling. Yum. The tiny beef pies were elegant and flavoursome, but I was particularly excited for the cold meats. The jamon definitely stole the show (my friend’s pick of the whole feast) and was closely followed by the guyere cheese, which was so tasty we kept our leftovers for the doggie bag. The manager came to check on each table (very classy) and told us it was imported from France. The olives were also a nice respite from the richer items. Stay tuned for the sweet course…

Buvette, Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT, http://buvette.com.au/

Beef & Barley

My last visit to Beef & Barley was just after they had opened, so when I popped by for a solo dinner, I was excited to see that the menu had evolved and grown. Unable to resist the lure of a beef burger with chorizo, I ordered the Atomic Boss ($18.50), with fried onion, smoked mozzarella, pickles, tomato relish, rocket and a choice of house BBQ or ‘fire’ sauce (I went for BBQ). All burgers come with a side of sweet coleslaw and beer-battered chips, and I was delighted to see that they’ve wound back the sugar on the chips, compared to my last visit. The slaw was crunchy and covered in a creamy (thousand island?) dressing, which helped cut through the richness of the burger. Whilst not the most glamorous thing to eat, the burger was utterly delicious – I LOVED the combination of a good quality, perfectly cooked patty, plus the really smoky, spicy hit of the chorizo. This wasn’t supermarket-grade chorizo, and its quality smokiness really worked well with the house BBQ sauce. I couldn’t finish all my chips, but they were crisp and tasty and, really, I enjoyed this meal. A lot.

Beef & Barley, Corner of Eyre Street and Kingston Waterfront, Kingston ACT, http://www.beefandbarley.com.au

 

RivaReno Gelato

RivaReno Gelato was recommended to me by a friend – they make their gelato fresh daily from scratch, and have a great range of flavours. I was very excited to see a sorbet section on the menu, which included two of my favourite flavours – raspberry and peach. I decided to go for the peach, as it’s the rarer flavour, and was surprised by the creamy texture of the sorbet. Definitely no icy nonsense here, this is the real deal. I was struck by how buttery the flavour tasted, with an almost nutty undertone, meaning that there was clearly no artifical peach flavouring going on. The flavour seemed to develop and become more peachy the more I ate, although it certainly wasn’t a particularly sweet sorbet. I really haven’t had any icecream/sorbet like this before – it was complex and authentic, with flecks of peach skin throughout. I also tasted my friend’s lemon sorbet, which got my saliva going – incredibly tart and acidic, it would be the perfect palate cleanser after a nice meal. The quality here is excellent and I would also be keen to try their chocolate-coated gelato on a stick, which looked amazing in the display cabinet.

RivaReno Gelato, 280 Crown Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, http://rivareno.com.au/

Hoi Polloi

I may have forgotten that stopping in at Hoi Polloi requires one to take a long lunch from work…oops. Anyway, my friend and I dined in one long weekday lunch, both keen to try something we hadn’t eaten before on the menu. I was sorely tempted by the burger (created by the awesome Bec), but instead I was drawn in by the sandwich option – essentially a reuben, with corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut. The sandwich came out and I realised what a task I had ahead of me. It was huge! Not only that, but it came with a large serve of chips, which I can’t resist. To be totally honest, I found the sandwich a bit disappointing. The beef was rather bland, leaving the cheese and the sauerkraut  to do all the heavy lifting on the flavour. I know that corned beef can be like this, but I found the blandness exacerbated by the weirdly homogenous, smooth texture of the meat – it was clearly broiled. I did appreciate the good quality bread, but I probably wouldnt order this again. The chips were really tasty though, and my friend enjoyed a noodle special with tuna; one for two on this visit.

Hoi Polloi, Old Parliament House, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, http://www.hoipolloioph.com/

Two-Bit Villains

Hey you guys, have you heard about Two-Bit Villains? I am probably a bit slow to catch on, but this soda bar & diner (est. in 2011) is secreted away in the upper balcony of the Adelaide Arcade – and it’s vegan! I was fascinated to try one of their ‘beef’ (soy) burgers and see how it measures up, so on the waitress’s recommendation I ordered the Baron, with the soy patty, lettuce, tomato, cheese and smokey BBQ sauce – plus I added pickles ($12, plus 50c for the pickles). The burger came with fries, and let me tell you, the herbed seasoning they use is actually amazing! When I asked what was in it, I was told it’s the chef’s special, so they’re not giving up any secrets! First bite of the burger is all about the BBQ sauce – yes, it is smokey and has that rich, savoury-sweet thing that a good BBQ sauce should have going on. Yum. The soy patty was delicious, and I’m not just saying that. I really enjoyed the lighter texture, which matched well with the fluffy bun. All the ingredients were fresh and the portion was perfect for lunch, not to mention the friendly service. A lovely experience all around.

Two-Bit Villains, Adelaide Arcade Balcony Level, Rundle Mall Adelaide SA, http://two-bitvillains.com/

7th and Bake

I’m not the most outgoing person, but I was really looking forward to meeting Bec from Inexplicable Wanderlust in person, after months of reading one another’s blogs. We had breakfast at 7th and Bake, which was drenched in autumn sunlight despite the chilly air. Perusing the menu, I landed on the Hot Smoked Salmon ($19.90), served with smashed avocado, a hash brown, poached eggs, watercress and a honey and lime dressing. The plate was beautifully presented, and we both spent a good few minutes photographing our food unashamedly, as only food bloggers can. The salmon was indeed hot, although the heat seemed to mask some of the smoked flavour. The meat was perfectly cooked, flaking into soft pieces, and the portion was quite large, making it great value for money. The eggs were poached perfectly, and ran nicely into the crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside hash brown, one of my favourite breakfast things. The avocado was the only disappointment, tasting more like a lemon-drenched avocado dip than fresh avocado, but otherwise I enjoyed every bite of this meal, not to mention the great conversation. Worth a visit – I hear their pastries are excellent too.

7th and Bake, 144/41 Eastlake Parade, Kingston ACT,