The Dandenongs are always about 4 or 5 degrees colder than Melbourne, which means about 15 degrees colder than Brisbane over Easter. It was great. Scarves and boots worn with long neglected coats pulled out of the back of the wardrobe. My friends David and Janet have a couple of acres near the toy town […]
Recent Posts
What to eat?
Like many people, I don’t know what to eat anymore. Having decided to renovate my diet at the start of the new year, I now go around in circles before every meal. Do I eat too many carbs? Should I give up sugar? More protein? Less protein? Gluten Free? Are oats gluten? Is quinoa a […]
Hot Times at the Tinderbox
OK, I’ve been holding out. I was through the door at the Tinderbox pretty much when they opened in November last year and have been a regular ever since. Tinderbox is the noisy baby brother of PJ McMillan’s Harveys and sits just behind it off James Street. Tinderbox doesn’t take bookings, except for large groups, […]
Turkish Delight at Beachwood Cafe
Beachwood Cafe’s ten tables are scattered across the footpath just off the main street in Yamba, and could be called a hidden gem, except the cafe is well marked on the gourmet traveller’s map. Owner Sevtap Yuce worked for Bill Granger before opening her first Beachwood in Angourie in 1994. Now the author of two […]
What’s on at Wato’s?
Without local knowledge, you would probably head down to Wato’s Fish and Burger Bar in Yamba for fish and chips. But with local knowledge , between Tuesday and Saturday night, you can walk into Wato’s and say the magic words ‘the chef’s special, please’ and a whole different world opens up for you. Chef Tony […]
The Cheapskate Date goes to…..Swampdog Fish and Chips
The Cheapskate Date has many rules about Friday night dinner. It should be cheap, but value for money, and in the neighbourhood. I knew we were breaking at least one of these rules when we drove across the Story Bridge for dinner at Swampdog Fish and Chips in Vulture Street. The slightly cocked eyebrow said […]
The Cheapskate Date Goes To…Casa Italia
The Cheapskate Date was sceptical, and I was still traumatised from eating at the Spaghetti House, so we tentatively poked our heads around the door of the Casa Italia Community Centre. Italians, lots of them, eating and drinking and generally making merry on a Friday night. Fabulous. It has been a couple of months since […]
10 Food Questions – Jenny McCown
1. Food for you is what? Comfort 2. What was your favourite food/meal as a child? Pollo cooked for my birthday. A Persian chicken dish cooked with crunchy rice on the bottom. 3. What did you have for dinner last night? Beef ragu with maize tagliatelle with a mixed green leaf and fennel salad. 4. […]
Around the Corner at Sixes and Sevens
Once you get over the dissonance of an Americana bar situated within a Queenslander, it is easy to get comfortable at Sixes and Sevens, on the corner of James and Arthur Streets. A brother bar to the Cru Bar in James Street, Sixes and Sevens is so crowded on the weekend, with a lively and […]
The Spaghetti House
It was my brother’s birthday and he thought we should try the Spaghetti House in Boundary Street, West End. It opened earlier in the year and was always full, he said, and the place is so popular they recently expanded into a next door shop. Getting a booking is an energetic exercise. There is an […]
