So, food blogging while abroad… It’s interesting to see which websites have a presence in which countries. Zomato, my preferred restaurant review site, doesn’t cover Argentina, so I’ve posted a few reviews up on Yelp. Yelp doesn’t cover Uruguay, so I posted a little restaurant review for Charco Restaurant in Colonia on TripAdvisor (which I used to use, before Yelp and Zomato came along).
Then: which reviews make it into blogs. Not all of them. Regular meals, if I have the time, I’ll just do a quick note on one website (Zomato/Yelp/Tripadvisor). But if the restaurant is particularly interesting, like El Preferido de Palermo, well, they deserve a blog…
I stumbled on this restaurant doing some research on what was close to our AirBNB. A storied history. I think the grocery store has been there since 1885 (or at least the building has), and then these cute calendars inside the grocery store told us that the restaurant has been around since the 50s, I believe.
There are two parts to the restaurant… and the more casual part was open at 8pm. Apparently, the menus are different. No matter. I LOVED the decor, tall tables set up amidst all the grocery items, and, I assume, Jamon Serrano, hanging from the wall. Also, big jars of olives arranged perfectly so each half was facing out…
The theme is home-style cooking here, and there really was too much choice. We wanted to try the polenta with bolognaise but it wasn’t available that night. I’d read on a food blog that the squid was good, so we ended up ordering three dishes, probably a bit too much, but we managed.
We started with a sherry, a Jerez (I’m not sure if it was local or not) with some tasty olives and cheese…
The squid rings were absolutely perfectly done. Light, crisp and tasty, with homemade potato chips. A squeeze of lemon and these were heaven.
The crumbed veal cutlets were thin and tasty, much like you’d expect. Not the standout but good enough.
The melted provolone cheese that we have discovered in Buenos Aires is ridiculously delicious. Mysteriously on the menu under veal, I managed to clarify that it was not, in fact, provolone with veal. Yum.
We topped this off with a bottle of wine, one of the cheaper ones on the menu, for only 140 pesos (I think I should have paid more and got a better one but it was fine enough).
Then we got two Frigor ice creams to go (I love Frigor chocolate, but couldn’t tell if it made the ice cream that much better, as it was slightly melted by the time we got home).
Our AirBNB host spotted us in the restaurant as he walked by (recognising me from my profile photo!) and stopped in for a hello. He said he thought it was mostly a tourist restaurant, but we thought it was mostly Latinos around us. In any case, all up 690 pesos, about $60 Australian (620 if we’d paid in cash), and this was such a fun, local meal. A little heavy, mind you, but a great experience.
My assumption is that ‘chain’ meant that this is a chain of snackeries from somewhere in the world. I asked the guy behind the counter where the chain was from, and he said ‘China’. But since I can’t find anything on Google, except that the restaurant used to be called ‘
I just wanted a snack. There were two kinds of pies you could get, something smaller for $2.50 and a larger one for $5. I opted for a big cumin lamb pie (also a flavour that would definitely come from Northern Chinese food rather than the south). It tasted a bit like a Baked Bun (as opposed to a Steamed Bun) that I’m used to having filled with BBQ Pork, and not so delicate, no sweet glaze on top, and a bit of body to the bread part.
I thought it was OK. Not worth chasing down another time, and I thought $5 was a little bit steep for it. But by all means, if you’re on the stretch of Broadway perhaps heading up to Glebe, or heading down from Glebe to Central Park, why not try something and report back?
The idea of a cool fusion Thai cafe in the middle of an excellent Thai grocery store is pretty appealing; when the folks bringing it to you are Chat Thai, that’s even better.
As a food reviewer, unless the food or service is really heinous, I think we should try to allow a bit for human failings, and hope that it’s an anomaly rather than the norm.
I thought the Boat Fried Rice would come with ingredients all fried together rather than presented individually, more like an Indonesian Nasi Lemak. It was tasty, and each individual side here had loads of flavour (photo at the top of the post!)
I think the flavours really sing here at the Boon Cafe. It seems like the service during my first visit was an aberration. All is forgiven!
Let’s take a little step back to May to report on an interesting ‘neo-bistro’ in the 11th, right around the corner from the last AirBNB we stayed in Paris near Bastille.
From the outside, Le Servan looks quite humble.
But there is something airy and graceful about it once you get inside.
I guess, to my surprise, I found the food a little too challenging. I’d ordered whelks and my better half said, ‘Aren’t they kind of like slugs or snails?’. ‘No…’ I said. ‘They’re delicate sea creatures. I don’t think they’re the same’. But really, they tasted like slugs or snails from the sea, very good slugs or snails, I’m sure, but I found them a little too… um…. visceral.
Similarly, the appetizer with raw oysters and green papaya was a bit slimy.
The meat courses were more to our liking. The lacquered quail (pictured at the top of the post), pork belly, duck. What’s not to like about this?
In all, it was tasty and interesting, but I think I’d set my expectations too high with all those reviews. Better to have arrived without foreknowledge and been surprised!
I pretend to know something about coffee, but it’s basically a visceral experience for me. Most coffee in Sydney is delicious. Occasionally, something about the flavour or temperature will make me think, ‘This is a really good coffee’. Sometimes, there’s a bad or mediocre one.
I think the theme and design is a hoot. Check out 
They used to sell cinnamon scrolls from the best bakery in Sydney, Oregano, but they weren’t on sale this morning. My latte was delicious, as I’d expected. Also, it’s a pretty great matching of location with theme. This part of Foveaux Street is a bit unlovely, so creating a grungy industrial chic setting is just right.
Basic, tasty Indian food.
There are quite a few restaurants on that strip of Military Road, so we weren’t sure where to go, but my handy Entertainment Guide app said it would give us a 25% deal if we went here.
It’s a basic, friendly place, BYO (and we brought a nice pinot grigio). The specialty of the 
house is the dosa, the fantastic thin crisp pancakes rolled and filled with something else… that’s why the restaurant is said to specialise in South Indian cuisine, but instead, we just ordered some regular North Indian dishes.
My friends thought this place was really, really good. I liked it too. The friendly owner (or manager) checked on us during the meal to make sure everything was OK.
My stars! Up and down.
Good thing we were entertained because the food took a very long time to come. And it seemed that the friendly and charming waiters were completely overworked. The restaurant was packed and there were only two of them.
And by then, the sun had moved, the restaurant was quieter and it was much more pleasant. Another plus.
We were definitely sold on this hot, new restaurant.
LH opted for the John Dory, with eggplant, burnt carrot, olives and herb. Lovely plates, beautiful plated. 
Reopening in the courtyard: fiesta!
I remember when Guzman y Gomez opened in Newtown. It was always a great concept: bringing high-quality, authentic Mexican fast food to Australia. As a North American, I was used to cheap Mexican food at chains, but missed having it when I arrived in Sydney.
I’ve always found them dependable and tasty. The burritos are kind of way too massive for me and stuffed with rice, but then the last time I was in New York City, that’s the way they were serving up burritos from the many El Salvadorean, Mexican and other Central American casual eateries around town. But that’s an aside.
G y G are now an empire with around 20 locations in Sydney. This branch is now serving margaritas, not the frozen kind, but very tasty, on ice, with Herradura tequila (wow, amazing they’re using an expensive tequila; the cheapest tequilas can really be nasty).
Aside from the afore-mentioned tasty Margarita, I caught some fries (crisp, tasty) and some nachos, and finished off with two quesadillas, one with barramundi and the other with chicken. G y G have gone completely free-range, and all power to them. I think it’s a great ethical and marketing decision. And really, this food is all of what Guzman y Gomez are about: fresh, tasty, high-quality ingredients served up perfect and piping hot with authentic flavours. It’s Mexican street food that happens to be fast, but not the fake Mexican fast food of old (well, of ye olde days in North America, did they ever have fake Mexican fast food in Australia?)
In any case, one of the founders gave a touching speech, everyone was in a jolly mood, I got to hang out with amazing blogger Lisa from Weekend Food Escapes, and saw Simon and some other foodie-types. And then I had to cut out early (which was probably a good idea considering how I am around free alcohol).