“Run, run, get into the car before they attack us!” we yell at each other. We’re running away fron two very angry guests at Ripples, Chowder Bay and we’ve unwittingly just taken their taxi and they don’t look happy. Just minutes before they were swearing and creating a scene at Ripples and demanding that their food be comped so we are eager to avoid being caught in their ire. Allow me to rewind a few hours.
I was asked by Tourism Australia to dine with Valeria Di Napoli, an Italian screenwriter, book author, journalist and blogger who was visiting Sydney. They had suggested Ripples at Milsons Point but as I’d already blogged it, I suggested the Ripples in Chowder Bay which is another scenic location which also showed off the harbour.
Warm sun dried olives, chilli, orange and basil $7.50
Click here to read the full story
|
March 19, 2010
by Not Quite Nigella
Over the past few years my friends have been sprouting up little’uns faster than I can count. And as a consequence of this, I’m asked if I can recommend any places that are kid friendly but also adult friendly. Many places are of course mutually exclusive. the fancier it looks, the less welcoming they are to enfants and normally stylish mums can find themselves sacrificing good cuisine and avoiding scowls from fellow diners and waiters. There was one place that was said to be kid friendly yet with good food too: Giovanni Pilu’s new restaurant in Terrey Hills called Cavallino. And Liss from Frills in the Hills was just the gal to go there with along with her three little girls, Eloise (7), and 5 year old twins Laura and Olivia. They would be the test of kid friendly chic.
On the former site of Il Piemonte, it’s all very swish outside, with stone work and wooden detailing and a horse emblem of course as Cavallino means Little Horse (a synergy with owner Pilu’s own Ferrari perhaps?). The greeting is very friendly and to the left there is the bar and lounge with more horse themed decorations.
Cheese fridge
To the right is the large 180 seater dining room which sits in front of the large pizza oven where four pizza makers are constantly throwing dough, sprinkling toppings and placing pizzas inside and taking them out of the large oven. There is a pizza with French fries on it but we think better of it and order more “regular” fare. There’s an all Italian wine list and whilst there are mains which include meat, the big menu is the pizza menu with seventeen varieties of pizza.
The Produce Trolley
Click here to read the full story
|
March 15, 2010
by Not Quite Nigella
If anyone were in any doubt, here in Australia it’s definitely ice cream weather. A couple of 40c plus days resoundingly puts us in ice cream weather and when we’re invited to a Northside BBQ one hot Summer’s Day we feel it our duty to stop by the newly minted Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream shop in Manly on the way home. Open with a soft launch for a few weeks already, this Saturday the 28th of November is the big launch where people can meet Ben & Jerry in person and enjoy some free ice cream (and keep reading for my interview with Ben and Jerry!).
Click here to read the full story
|
November 26, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
My friend Teena has been telling me about Ganache many times over. You see she is a friend of the owner’s wife and as a croissant fan or fiend, she adores the croissants here. So after a lunch together one day we make our way over to Ganache in Castlecrag. Having undergone a recent renovation earlier this year it looks oh so French in an understated way.
Click here to read the full story
|
November 8, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
I have wonderful readers – they’re like me and get excited over new food discoveries and want to share them with others and my inbox is full of fantastic reader recommendations, many of which I follow up and/or intend to follow up. Cottage Point Inn was one of those places that reader Wayfarer emailed me about. I saw that it was a gorgeous, secluded spot in Cottage Point, accessible only by car, boat or seaplane it was that remote. I also saw the prices for dinner and accomodation and promptly filed that away for a special occasion.
Fast forward almost 1.5 years later and I’m glad to see that it’s included in the SIFF Let’s do Lunch prgrame which means for $35 we can enjoy a main there, a glass of wine and a coffee! There was a false start, one booking had to be postponed because of apartment renovations so I find myself with my friend MamaMia driving up towards Cottage Point,about 45 minutes drive from the North of the city. We go through the Kuringai Chase National Park and follow the signs towards Cottage Point. Much of the scenery obscured by a screen of trees but the anticipation whets our appetites further. “There are a lot of proposals here” MamaMia tells me and I can imagine the secludedness and the accomodation lends itself to wedding proposals.
We pull up and she looks down at my feet. “Good no heels, you can’t walk down there in heels as it’s quite steep” she says. Indeed there is a woman that removes her stilettoes before going down the sraitrs. There’s a wharf to the right and a sign saying “Only restaurant visitors past this point” and we head towards the restaurant. A woman walks towards us with a clipboard and greets us warmly and we take a seat. As it’s slightly breezy, the plastic has been erected and blankets are on the backs of chairs.
I’m one for entrees, I always seem to prefer them to mains and the king prawn dish with champagne cream, butter brioche and avruga black herring roe is just screaming my name so I opt out of the Let’s do Lunch option and go for this entree instead. MamaMia goes for the Let’s do Lunch which is fantastic value as mains range from $39.50-$46. The local tap water isn’t drinkable so mineral water needs to be ordered (there is an option with the Let’s do Lunch to have a 500ml bottle of San Pellegrino with your meal instead of wine).
Kookaburra pose 1: profile shot
Click here to read the full story
|
October 28, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
