At the risk of telling you my exact age it has been decades since I was last checked in by a bouncer outside an establishment. Although I should add that I only went to establishments that had bouncers when I was a teenager and therefore it was more exciting to get in when you were let’s say technically under the age limit. Ahem… so where was I?

Oh yes in Double Bay,  a place otherwise known as Double Pay where the latest criminal installment involved the theft of expensive flowers from a restaurant by a Louis Vuitton bag carrying, BMW driving Darling Point resident. I was whispered the name “Mrs Sippy” by dining companion Beau mistaking it for a place called “Mississippi” which got me all excited because I thought that it served food from America’s south. Not so said Beau but it had good food nevertheless and was one of his favouritest, newest places. And a bouncer whom I had mistaken for another guest (albeit a burly one-I am so out of touch with the clubbing scene) has just lead us the few metres to the restaurant area where we are shown to a table. There are no bookings at Mrs Sippy but we figure eating early-ish helps in this regard. And from the crowd gathered around it’s already a local haunt for Eastern Suburbites.

The decor is exposed brickwork, vintage looking Chesterfield banquettes on one side and nothing else really to note in terms of decor apart from a curious ceiling made up of slender slats of wood with one end looking like it has been dipped in red paint -and ghoul that I am I think of dripping blood (although non ghoul Mr NQN does too).

Crispy skin pork belly, spiced apple, mustard fruits $18

The menu has smaller bites all around the $20 mark such as salads and sandwiches (the tuna nicoise apprently flies out the door during lunch) and the mains never hit over $29 which is refreshingly at odds with Double Bay’s other name of Double Pay. The crispy skin pork belly is perfectly cooked-the lid a satisfyingly crunchy shell atop a soft, melted gooey base. The spiced apple is a puree and the sweetened jam like mustard fruit the ideal accompaniments to the pork.

Assorted sashimi, seaweed salad $21

The sashimi comprises of four slices of salmon and four slices of kingfish. It comes with a fantastic finely diced ginger which gives it a lovely heat and warmth with a touch of cider vinegar. I actually prefer it to the pickled ginger that you get with sushi and sashimi as there is a real warmth to this. And Mr NQN also likes the wasabi given too.

Crumbed veal cutlet, Jerusalem artichoke and green beans $29

Click here to read the full story

Mr NQN has his sporty thing. Every weekend or so he has to run around and get it out of his system. I have a similar thing and that involves shopping. Even grocery shopping to me is fun. So when I got the chance to sneak in a little shopping amongst a lunch I get very excited. Armchair Collective is a shop slash cafe that sells…well armchairs as well as all sorts of beach side items, cushions, cups, bowls and fresh flowers.

There is sometimes an unease when you walk into a place that is full of locals. They clearly know the place well and you (or at least I) feel like an interloper. Especially when shared tables are involved and large sprawling families occupy them or girls in groups huddle for warmth or gossip. So when Mr NQN and I arrived at The Armchair Collective I felt a bit out of place looking for a table. Like we were the last two standing in a game of musical chairs as we see group after group take the remaining empty tables.

We end up perching on the end of one of the large table but then move swiftly when we see a table free up. This five month old cafe is frightfully busy but it is also quite large with lots of tables. The food comes out quickly and so turnover is fast and I don’t think you would end up waiting for more than 10 minutes for a table if that. Ordering is at the counter where you also get a copy of the menu.

Lunch is served from 12pm-3pm and there are the usual cafe staples: soups, burgers, sandwiches and salads. I’m a bit smitten with the idea of an olive oil panini and specifically their version of a BLT-the BRT with rocket replacing the lettuce. The prices range from excellent to prices that Mr NQN gristles at ($25 for fish and chips, “they’d want to be good” he says and is not persuaded by the fact that they are Whale Ale beer coated ). Things seems to be mostly around the $15 mark except for the aforementioned fish and chips and the more substantial sounding lamb and trout.

The guy behind the counter is very friendly and asks how your day is going (and actually waits and listens for the answer!) and when I ask him he says that taking photos inside is absolutely not a problem at all. I take my large wooden number to the table and then do a bit of a walk around of the store. There are loads of gifty types of presents, a lovely range of candles by ZenDiva, mint balls which are a definite curiosity, delicious looking Australian honeycomb and lovely tea sets and glasses. Still, perhaps I was having an off day but nothing made it’s way onto my credit card. Perhaps Mr NQN has been practicising magic!

Chai with milk $4.50

I’ve had my happy lap around and I look up and see that our food and drinks are being delivered to the table.  My loose leaf chai is a generous serving in a teapot boiled with milk the way it should be with a side of honey and cinnamon. It’s excellent with a delicious array of spices and even a slight hot cinnamon tingle at the end. And there was enough in the teapot to make 5 cup’s worth (this is where Mr NQN’s mum Tuulikki would beam up at the sky and express joy-she loves those “bottomless” teapots). Mr NQN had a long black, which we had to chase but was brought to us quickly. All he had to say was “Yeah it was alright” which means I should just taste it for myself next time

BRT $12

Click here to read the full story

The menu reads: “hemingway’s manly is a small bar and casual dining spot with it’s tongue planted firmly in your cheek… He (chef Ben Pichon) wishes to acknowledge his influences: the colonel, mr. mcdonald, school canteens, ikea hot dogs & carnivals across the globe.”

If there’s one thing I appreciate in any human being it’s a sense of humour. I just cannot bond with you unless you have one. So when I read the above line about the chef’s influences at Hemingway’s in Manly I was tickled pink and had to laugh. It also made me settle right in.

It’s a menu housed in a book, a volume of “Collier’s Junior Classic: Harvest of Holidays” to be exact. The liquor and food are earmarked and the pages feature a neat selection of eight entrees, seven mains and three desserts. There are spins on childhood classics such as “chip degustation”, “2 minute noodles” and “pb &j”. Cocktails features Cottee’s lime cordial and aeroplane jelly and there are drinks from Passion Pop to “rap-video-level champagne” while bar snacks include chip buttys.

Open for eight weeks already Hemingway sits right on the beach facing the water so it’s at a scenic location. Downstairs is the bar which is already abuzz at 7pm on a Saturday night. Upstairs is the restaurant, still noisy, where Louise and Viggo are waiting for us. There’s a warm, homey and quirky atmosphere and black and white pictures of Ernest Hemingway line the walls including a picture of him and his cats. And why Hemingway’s? Did Ernest Hemingway have a bent towards Antipodean childhood food? No, it’s because the three owners admire Hemingway’s lifestyle-he drank, he loved women, he survived two plane crashes and he was a very masculine sort of guy.

‘c o r n ’ charred sweet corn cob, lime butter & manchego cheese $6

We enjoy dining out with Louise and Viggo because they are also of the same thinking-try as much as possible and share. So we go a little wild with the dishes which the waitress explains are meant to be playful and shared. The kitchen is very organised and all of our entrees come within a few minutes of each other. The corn comes as two corn cobettes blanketed with tangy, rich manchego cheese and rolled all over with a delectable lime butter. The corn has just the right amount of char and yet the kernels are still plump and soft and the manchego cheese and lime butter give it a tangyness to offset the sweetness of the corn. If you are a corn freak like I am, order one plate for yourself because it will hurt giving your other half the remainder.

‘c h i p s ’ daily chip degustation, matching sauces $12

How could anyone resist the chip degustation and from watching the other tables, it looks like this is a popular order. Here there are three types of chips (which can change daily) paired with three types of sauces. Today the chips are potato chips, sweet potato chips and onion rings and the three sauces are a tomato & date, home made ranch and a home made bbq sauce. The potato chips that come in a cup are home made and more of a softer wedge variety and aren’t super crisp although they aren’t bad, the sweet potato chips have some soft edges but the onion rings are juuust right. The three sauces are excellent and cover the spectrum of tastes and it’s hard to choose a favourite although the garlicky ranch dressing is a favourite as is the bbq. Louise and Viggo note that the sauces have improved from their first visit here when it first opened.

‘ s c h o o l’ crispy school prawns, green tea salt, citrus mayo $9

I make fast work of the school prawns which come well seasoned, fried and crispy. They’re moreish little buggers and I like the slightly different green tea salt and citrus mayonnaise on the side.

‘ t i n n e d f i s h ’ salmon ceviche, angostura bitters, avocado $12

Click here to read the full story