Me & Mrs Jones

I haven’t been to Me & Mrs Jones in years, and I have very fond memories of their shantung lamb burger from way back when. With that memory in mind, I picked from the sandwiches part of the menu on this weekday visit with a group of friends. I was actually running late for lunch, and when I arrived the waitress took my order of the ‘Finger Lickin’ Chicken’. Amazingly, my meal came out with everyone else’s (hats off to the kitchen staff!) and it looked fabulous. Of course, it tasted fabulous too. The chips were lovely and soft inside and I’m a sucker for a good aioli – this one didn’t let me down. I ended up cutting the burger in half to eat, and whilst it was a bit messy, I devoured every mouthful! The chicken was really plump and tender, but the real magic came from whatever honey sauce had been drizzled on top. Hello deliciousness! The coleslaw added a nice bit of fresh crunch, and I’m a fan of traditional soft burger buns used here. Friends had the beef burger and I don’t think it’ll be too long until I come back to try that. Fabulous food and impressive service.

Me & Mrs Jones, 26 Giles Street, Kingston ACT, http://www.mmjones.com.au/

Africola

Part one is here. Finally the main game – the peri peri 1/2 chicken. Oh my. Next time I’d skip the entree and just have this baby. Hello spice, hello flavour! The chicken was perfectly cooked and the (boom) chakalaka spicy leaves on top were so tasty. I loved the little pickled root vegetables and the crunch from the toasted pepitas. The chicken livers and hearts were deliciously rich and there was a fabulously spicy sauce coating the whole lot. A pot of polenta-like something came out with a lovely tomato sauce through it, which meant there was no way we were leaving hungry. We’d also ordered a plate of the yoghurt-baked carrots (also served with goat’s curd) and these were to die for. They were perfectly roasted and the flavours were so well-balanced! They also helped to cool down the spice from the chicken. Whilst the entrees felt ‘chefy’, the main was exactly what you would imagine South African food to be – hearty, jam-packed full of flavour and perfect for sharing. The wait staff were amazing, getting us fed in the one hour we had and regularly checking on the gas heaters and refilling our water. I’ll book for inside next time, because the vibe was amazing, but I’m glad I got to experience that chicken. I will be back for sure.

Africola, 4 East Terrace, Adelaide, SA                                     http://africola.com.au/

Elk and Pea

Elk and Pea isn’t the first place I would think of for dinner, but when a friend wanted to try somewhere different to eat, off we went. We got a table without a booking easily on a weeknight and ordered a plate of wedges and the jerk chicken to share. This turned out a) to be an excellent decision and b) to be a heck of a lot of food. The wedges were beautifully presented, covered in corriander, tomato, cabbage, radish and sour cream (hello!), and drizzled with lime, they were scrumptiously soft and we couldn’t help but graze on them all night. We were warned that the chicken could be a 45min wait, but it came out in about 20mins and was visually very impressive. The chicken was hidden under a mountain of fresh salad, with cucumber, radish, carrot and cabbage, which was so light and contrasted the rich jerk chicken perfectly. The chicken itself was melt-in-your-mouth tender and is by far the best chicken dish I’ve eaten at a restaurant anywhere. Even better, underneath was the most delicious almond puree – denser than mash but very tasty. There was a fight over who got what for leftovers. I will be back!

Elk and Pea, 21 Lonsdale St, Braddon ACT                http://www.elkandpea.com.au/

The Potting Shed

I promised part two, here it is! Before the delicious pistachio cake, Dad and I had lunch at The Potting Shed – part of The Grounds of Alexandria.  The greenery here is spectacular, and there were delightful decor elements everywhere – little ceramic gumboots on the counter, trowels attached to the menu, beautiful glazed plates and even a live macaw! On to the food. We ordered the buttermilk popcorn chicken, pork belly sliders and pork & fennel mini hot dogs. And that was the order we ranked them in, from best to last. The chicken was without a doubt the most delicious deep-fried thing I’ve ever eaten, tasty mouthfuls dunked in mustard-spiked mayonnaise = bliss. I would have devoured this three times over if I could have! Next were the sliders, which came out in black buns (squid ink?) – the pork belly was tasty and the coleslaw worked well, but they were very small. Finally the hot dogs, which sadly had far too much bread relative to filling so were a bit disappointing. We were lucky to be here on a weekday to get a table – go and eat some chicken for me if you can!

The Potting Shed, 4143 Bourke Road, Alexandria       http://groundsroasters.com/