48 Flavours

I recently spent a long weekend in Adelaide and was amazed to see how many new places have opened on Gouger Street since my last visit. 48 Flavours is one of those. The franchise has grown from Mildura and the Adelaide store is the second outlet. As the name explains, the store offers 48 flavours of icecream/sorbet, including fun flavours like blood orange, black sesame, and limoncello. Whilst not all of the sorbet flavours were on offer when I visited (I would have loved to try the pomegranate or peach flavour), they did have a good selection, including lychee, green apple, mango, lemon, Red Bull and pineapple. I ordered a double scoop in a cup ($5.50) with lychee and my staple favourite, raspberry. The serving size was very generous and there was an even amount of both flavours. The lychee was really refreshing and the more genuine of the two flavours – yes, it was sweet, but the flavour was somehow juicy like a lychee, which I enjoyed. The raspberry flavour was a bit more synthetic – it reminded me more of a Redskin lolly than of fresh raspberry – but was still lovely. Both sorbets had a grainy texture, but I’d go back to try more of their impressive flavour range.

48 Flavours, 78 Gouger Street, Adelaide SA                     http://www.48flavours.com.au/

Andersen’s Ice Cream

A friend recently reminded me of a great episode of the West Wing, where one of the characters explains how she likes to fight cold (weather) with more cold (icecream). That’s exactly what I decided to do when stopping in at Glenelg on my way to the airport. Having been to Royal Copenhagen most recently, I stopped in at their competitor across the street – Andersen’s. The Jetty Road icecream outlets are certainly quieter in winter, but the offerings remain excellent. I went straight to the sorbets, and was very excited to see that they offer blood orange. A regular cup was $5.50 and it took me quite a while to get through the portion. First up, the sorbet was a tad melty, which was surprising in winter, and which meant that I didn’t enjoy the texture as much. On the other hand, full marks for flavour – the blood orange was really intense, but balanced nicely by the natural sweetness of the sorbet. The flavour experience was very much like drinking a San Pellegrino blood orange sparkling drink (yum!). As with all good sorbets, the intensity of the flavour didn’t fade the more you ate, so I’d recommend stopping by and giving Andersen’s a try – definitely delicious for fighting cold with cold!

Andersen’s Ice Cream, 46 Jetty Road, Glenelg SA                           http://andersensicecream.com/Andersens_of_Denmark_Ice_Cream/Home.html

Zootz

The reviews for Zootz were mixed, so when we went for a celebratory dinner I was a bit worried about what might happen. Zootz has a fabulous location right near the jetty, and we were one of many groups seated outside. I’d heard it was a seafood place, but on arrival the menu didn’t actually have a lot of seafood options, and I couldn’t go past the call of a good steak. My friends ordered drinks and they took a while to come out – we had to ask after them twice before they arrived, which was a bit poor, even for a busy night. Our food arrived at the same time though, and I was amazed at the large cut on the plate. I’d ordered it medium-rare, which to me means pink in the middle, but sadly my steak was overdone. However, the flavours were incredible – the caramelised onion on top went nicely with the rich, smooth mashed potato and the sweet balsamic sauce drizzled on top. The steak itself was lovely and tender, although not melt-in-your-mouth, and both of us eating it agreed we would order it again. Don’t expect perfection, but Zootz offers a good value meal.

Zootz Kitchen Bar, 257 Seaview Road, Henley Beach SA                 http://zootzhenleybeach.wix.com/home

Steven Ter Horst

Adelaide has some fabulous independent chocolate stores, and Steven Ter Horst is one of the best. Craving something sweet after brunch, a friend and I dropped in to eye off the cakes on display. I was sorely tempted by the salted caramel tart, but seeing that they offered a ‘fruit de bois’ hot chocolate with strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, I was sold. They kindly made the mix dairy-free for me, using coconut milk and soy instead of milk. There was a short wait, but we sat comfortably at the large centre table, which was strewn with South Australian magazines. My mug came out and I was surprised at how thick the mix was – I adore true Italian hot chocolates and this was beautifully thick, apparently due to the berries. I ate it mostly with a spoon, to make sure I didn’t miss any. The dairy-free option in no way detracted from the flavour of the chocolate, which is an uncommon quality and reflects the care and talent that goes into their craft. The chocolate was rich, not sickly sweet, and given a delicate tartness from the berries. Well worth a visit.

Steven Ter Horst, 256 Rundle Street, Adelaide SA       http://www.steventerhorst.com.au/

Sean’s Kitchen

One thing Adelaide’s newest restaurants seem to be getting right is social media. When I asked Twitter where I should try in Adelaide, and Sean’s Kitchen was an option, the restaurant tweeted me back offering to make a reservation. How’s that for service? So I booked in for lunch, and arrived to find an impressive set up, with the restaurant’s space designed to mirror Adelaide railway station, which it is attached to. The staff were attentive without being intrusive, and my king crab legs came out after a short wait. There were two legs, split, on the plate with fresh lemon and warmed lemon butter, which was a decadent but perfect accompaniment to the tender crab meat. I enjoyed the challenge of scraping every last morsel from inside the shell. We also had a serve of asparagus and the duck fat chips, both of which were delicious and I would definitely recommend. The chips were perfectly seasoned and the potato had a fabulous flavour – no sauce needed. We were impressed by the range on the wine list too, and we’re already planning to come back for the pork hock. A table is just a tweet away!

Sean’s Kitchen, Station Road, Adelaide SA                      http://www.seanskitchen.com.au/

Royal Copenhagen

Hello #icecreamthurs! Glenelg has so many dessert options that it can be hard to choose – showing friends from Canberra around, they asked which of the icecream options was the best. I hadn’t had icecream down there for a while (usually opting for fondue), so picked Royal Copenhagen hoping that it would pass muster. Luckily, it did. I chose a single scoop of the Vanilla Meringue, Passionfruit and Raspberry icecream, having never come across this flavour before. It was a good choice – the icecream was beautifully creamy, the sweet vanilla meringue flavour was clear and well complemented by the tartness of both the raspberry and the passionfruit. My only criticism was that the meringue flavour seemed to fade the more you ate, but this is a fairly common issue with icecream. It didn’t hurt that they offer self-service toppings, including sprinkles and nuts – I added plenty of the latter to mine! We also had donuts to share, which came out piping hot and well dusted in cinnamon sugar. They were lovely and soft and I could have happily devoured several more. Royal Copenhagen didn’t disappoint!

Royal Copenhagen Icecreamery & Dessert Bar, 15 Jetty Road, Glenelg SA

Street ADL

Showing visitors from interstate around your hometown can be surprisingly stressful, especially when you want them to really appreciate how great the city is. Luckily, my friends were happy to try Street ADL on Rundle Street. This part of town is great for al fresco dining, and even though we could only find a seat inside, it was one facing out to the street so we could watch the world go by while listening to the live music. I started out with a glass of the full-bodied Halifax 2010 McLaren Vale Shriaz to match the dry-aged cheeseburger I’d ordered. I’d hoped for the kangaroo salami hot sandwich, but sadly they’d sold out, but really, the burger was so good I can’t actually complain! The patty was incredible – densely packed ground beef oozing with cheese and mayo – and with a generous amount of bacon slapped on, there was zero chance of leaving hungry. The onion was thoughtfully served on the side with the pickles, allowing both to be optional. The accompanying chips were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Really, both my friends and I were very impressed. Street ADL is doing Adelaide proud.

Street ADL, 285 Rundle Street, Adelaide SA                             http://streetadl.com/