I started off the sentence “Well my agent recommended this to me…” before trailing off and realising how terribly affected that sounded. Surely starting off a sentence proclaiming that you have an agent is similar just the precursor to speaking about yourself in the third person for example “Lorraine is hungry now. Please bring Lorraine something to eat chop chop!”

But in this case it’s true (the agent recommendation, not the affectedness). You know I’m lucky enough to have people around me and readers that recommend places to me and it is true that my literary agent who lives in Mosman sent me an email one day recommending that I visit Hawthorn in no uncertain terms.

In the olden days, in a past career, I managed a designer shoe store in Mosman just up the road from Hawthorn. We put all of the nicest, most expensive shoes in the window and none of them sold. The thing about Mosman is that it is very family focused and many people there have a mortgage and expensive cars that need paying off so once we figured this out, we put in the sale shoes in the window and they sold much better.

So what’s my point? Well whilst the prices at Hawthorn seem very reasonable for an area such as Mosman, it also probably helps ensure its success. When we walk in towards the end of the lunch at 1:35pm the place is full with only two tables free. Only four weeks old it is full of ladies that lunch. Opened by the former general manager from Jonah’s in Whale Beach along with many of their staff (including George Francisco who is the consulting chef here) according to my agent (there I go again, sorry!) it has been busy every day for breakfast that she was walked past.

It’s set in a building and as a former Mosman resident I am having some trouble remembering what was there. Built in 1901 it became a dental surgery in 1950 (and apparently causes some residents some distress when they visit the tiled bar-no doubt bad memories!) the owners seeing how the street was being developed intentionally had the building heritage listed to avoid the same happening to their building. The interior now is designed by owner Sean’s brother who owns Coco Republic so that it looks like a home-well perhaps not my home but the home of someone that has very good taste.

Oysters with fire ice $4 each

We’re trying a few different things so they put together a share platter for us. The fire ice oysters are Sydney rock oysters with a granita of chilli on top. The granita melts quickly as it’s just a little dab so move fast if you want to experience the fire ice sensation, as it was the photo taking meant that it had melted by the time I got to them. The chilli was a sweet and spicy lift to the fresh Sydney rock oysters.

Salad of sautéed prawns, green papaya, purple basil, Vietnamese mint with nahm jin and Tempura ricotta filled zucchini flowers with a basil pesto platter $30

My favourite item from this plate were the zucchini flowers, which are admittedly omnipresent across many menus but these ones are plump and stuffed with a cheesy slightly sweet filling punctuated with the light crunch of pine nuts and sweetness of currants with an earth shattering batter outside. The prawns with nam jinh are fresh and well cooked and served alongside a green papaya salad with plenty of Thai basil leaves.

Halloumi, Semolina flash fried Hawkesbury River Calamari with Cajun remoulade and chorizo platter $30

We’re all halloumi freaks here and so a couple of halloumi dishes were ordered. The first one was the second platter where the halloumi was salty but quite thin and uneven in thickness. I like the halloumi pieces to be fatter to get that lovely squeak so I wasn’t as taken with the halloumi on this dish. The chorizo, always a crowd pleaser was generously portioned and garlicky but my favourite was the semolina crusted squid which had a gorgeous crunch and tenderness to it and was paired with a thick creamy spicy cajun mayonnaise. I’m sorry Marie Claire and Emma if I ate more than my share of this-truly!  ;)

Fish of the Day, sautéed zucchini flowers, baby capers, wilted spinach, blood orange sauce $26

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“It’s like a Southern baptism!” The Second Wife exclaims when the bottles of Coke come accidentally crashing onto the table. Pointing out that perhaps in the South they don’t do things by halves and Coca Cola could quite likely be the choice tipple over plain old water. Our waitress is apologetic and soon afterwards we are good as new with the tables and booths mopped up. It’s that kind of day.

Mr NQN, The Second Wife, Gravy Beard and are sitting in a retro style booth at Jazz City Diner on the northern end of Crown Street. Jazz music is playing in the background and the item that we thought was merely a prop springs to life and a black and white video of a jazz band appears. On either side of this screen are brass plaques with names on them. We enquire as to who these people are – we have heard of people buying a seat at restaurants and figured that this had happened. However here, they’re the name plaques of regular diners that frequent the place seemingly every night or every second night and send their friends and family along. Two waitresses pass by in traditional red and white diner waitress outfits straight out a movie.

Open for four months since the beginning of December, I’ve seen reviews come and go about Jazz City Diner. Some have mentioned the milkshakes and cans of A&W root beer which at $10 and $8 respectively are on the expensive side but the food itself seems quite reasonably priced (and in an American touch, there is a glass on milk on the menu should you want some to have your meal or pie with). Most mention the comfort cooking of the American cuisine-and you know me, I love American food. Oh and the restaurant is cozily small too so best book if you want a table. This is a small restaurant that agrees with the idea of allowing customers to book.

Chef Dan McGuirt

Chef Dan McGuirt comes out to bring plates to other tables and a menu enquiry leads us to learn that his initial ambition to serve fine dining American cuisine was altered to fit in with customer’s demands and tell us that one night there was a group of eight that all wanted chicken and waffles. Dan emigrated from America to Australia in 1993 as an I.T. worker for the I.T. boom and ended up staying and pursuing his real love of food.

The Ultimate Texas Chilli Cheeseburger $20

We’re starting off big. Just because we think that’s how they would do things in Texas. The ultimate Texas chilli cheeseburger is enormous and comes with a large Texas style spicy chilli beef square patty, guacamole, jalapeno chillies and cumin sour cream. It’s tastes like Tex Mex Mexican food meets soft burger bun and is fabulously soft and comforting. This is the only burger not to come with a choice of sweet potato fries or onion rings, this comes instead with some spiced tortilla chips which are served as crunchy long threads with a spicy seasoning.

Backyard BBQ Beef Burger $16

I try some of Gravy Beard’s Backyard Beef burger which is topped with a smokey beef burger bun, bacon, homemade BBQ sauce, bacon and coleslaw. This too is lusciously soft-I do love how American burgers have the super soft bun (crunchy or hard buns just aren’t the same) and the coleslaw, always  for me a very welcome addition on burgers and hot dogs, adds a creaminess to the smokey burger patty. The onion rings are fabulously crunchy.

Southern Fried Chicken Burger $15

Out of the three, the Southern Fried Chicken burger was perhaps the least wowing. It wasn’t bad but I was hoping for a earth shatteringly crunchy deep fried southern fried fillet. This patty is minced, seasoned chicken with a very thin coating of batter and didn’t quite fill up the bun. A big plus was the Tabasco mayonnaise and fresh, juicy corn kernels in the burger which I’ve never really seen in a burger and the very fresh and crunchy shredded lettuce. The sweet potato fries are crunchy and have a lovely saltiness and sweetness contrast to them.

Chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo $18

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I find that through fate or folly that I am often the person that people ask where to eat. It’s either readers who are looking for a place to eat in Sydney or interstate or friends or family. I don’t mind of course, it is of course yet another chance to talk about food. But when my sister Blythe visisted Sydney from London she and my family asked me to find somewhere. The brief was simple enough yet it was complicated.

It had to have a gorgeous Sydney view to reorient my sister who was used to London views

It had to be impressive enough for my mother

It had to have reasonably priced meals to make Mr NQN happy

It had to have a shop attached to it as I needed to do some gift shopping

It had to have something to amuse my impossible to please father. Hmm ok that’s a hard one. Let’s just cut our losses and go with the first four points.

Burnt Orange is housed in a Federation style mansion, formerly the Mosman golf club in the 1930s. It is a cafe with a lovely view slash boutique slash gallery. We park at the carpark next door ($3-4 an hour!) and take the short walk down the path to the large timber and stone house. There is a wrap around verandah for diners and inside is the retail store. The Burnt Orange concept was from an Irish company called Avoca (they serve Avoca bread).

Jug of homemade lemonade $8

While we’re browsing the menu we order a large jug of still homemade lemonade which comes out in a pitcher with a wooden spoon, cut strawberries and mint leaves. It’s slightly bitter as of course it is lemonade, too lemony for my mother and Blythe who are not really into home made lemonades but I find it quite pleasant.

Elderflower pressé $6

The Elderflower presse is gorgeously refreshing and floral with the aroma of Elderflower from the first sip and delicate bubbles.

Australian Antipasti platter: Princi prosciutto, Affineur truffle salami and bresaola with mixed olives, dips and house chutney $26

Service is sweet and friendly and from reading reviews it has improved vastly. A very generous serve which could feed at least three for an entree, the antipasti platters comes out with some heavenly bresaola (smoked beef), prosciutto and Affineur truffle salami which is heady in fennel seed. It also comes with the Avoca walnut bread and a sourdough rye both thinly sliced, the Avoca walnut bread the clear favourite with it’s rich nuttiness and almost cake-like texture. There were also two dips in a shared container: hommous and baba gannoush as well as a tomato relish and a pear chutney which were all made on the premises. To finish it off are black and green olives and cornichons.

Tasmanian salmon cake served on a crisp salad of baby cress & granny smith apple with a lemon mayonnaise $21

The mains come out together and we start with the Tasmanian salmon cake which is a nice surprise. We had expected a fried cake (for my mother) but instead we get fresh, well cooked poached salmon, potato, herbs and baby capers with salad. The salmon is fresh and singing with dill and it’s a very generous sized portion and excellent value.

Burnt Orange fish pie with a selection of fresh fish fillets in a creamy leek & white wine sauce topped with fluffy potato mash and a side of green leaves $24

One of the most popular items on the menu is the fish pie which is filled with large, tender chunks of white fish and salmon (not at all watery as some fish pies can be) and a creamy sauce flavoured with fennel and celery which gives some mouthfuls an ever so slightly bitter taste to an otherwise creamy sauce. it’s topped with mashed potato and then baked until it has slightly crispy edges on top and is paired with a large green salad. I did like this dish although I did find some mouthfuls had that ever so slight bitterness to them.

Moroccan-spiced lamb with fig & almond cous cous $25

The moroccan spiced lamb is cooked until soft and falls apart. It was a hit with everyone, especially when we paired it with the tomato relish which we still had from the antipasti plate. The lamb was well flavoured and matched with a fruity sweet couscous which had Turksih apricots and currants in it.

Chicken pie with preserved lemon & rosemary, spring vegetables and flaky puff pastry $24

This one was quite a favourite with everyone-Mr NQN was appreciating the serving sizes here and even he couldn’t finish everything on the plates. The chicken pie is filled with a tomato based sauce, chicken thigh pieces, chickpeas, carrots, peas, preserved lemon and rosemary and topped with a layer of home made buttery puff pastry. The sauce was rich and given a lift from the preserved lemon and the buttery puff was good indeed.

Pumpkin, goat’s cheese & walnut tart with Melissa’s carrot jam and fresh herb greens $18

With the sizeable portions of the other dishes, the pumpkin, goat’s cheese and walnut tart was noticeably smaller by comparison. It was an interesting tart though with a crumbly base almost like a sweet tart base which my mother adored. It was filled with pumpkin and rich goat’s cheese and a spoonful of the carrot jam which was slightly sweet grated carrots and mustard seeds. The walnuts were hidden under the salad which we didn’t quite discover until the tart was finished and we wondered where the walnuts were and it might have been better to put the walnuts on the tart as they would have provided a nice, toasty crunch.

Bilpin apple crumble served with vanilla bean ice cream $10

We had saved room for dessert of course! Blythe has had her eye on the salty peanut slice and reasons that a slice is “like half a dessert so we could have two slices and that could count as one person’s dessert”! We start with the Bilpin apple crumble which is strong in clove rather than cinnamon and is served with little plums or dates and apple pieces and a butter crumble top.

Basil pannacotta with vanilla roasted peaches and almond crisp $12

Mr NQN and I first tried basil panna cotta a while back and I always liked the flavour of a creamy panna cotta with basil. This one has an appealing wobble and a true basil flavour to it. The vanilla roasted peach is an ideal sweetness and the almond biscotti is divine.

Salty Peanut Caramel Slice $4

The salty peanut caramel slice is just that. A thick, slightly chewy slice with roasted, caramelised peanuts with a light saltiness to it. I find myself wondering how to make this as I would like to reproduce it at home.

Mars Bar Slice $4

I’m less besotted by the Mars Bar slice which has a thick layer of super sweet milk chocolate on top and very uncrunchy almost soggy rice bubbles on the bottom. We enquire with the waiter if this is indeed how it should taste and he brings a fresh one from the fridge which is markedly better although not as nice as the salty peanut caramel slice.

Our two hours almost up with the parking Mr NQN and my father go off to take care of the car while I do a bit of shopping including some gorgeous vintage Christmas cards and some invitation sets.

Downstairs there is the newly minted kiosk which sells Muffins, toasites, Daylesford and Hepburn flavoured sparkling mineral waters and Serendipity ice creams as well as picnic fare such as sandwich or salad picnic boxes ($40 for 2) or platters for $20.

So tell me Dear Reader, are you often the ones that is asked to choose where to dine?

Burnt Orange

1108/1109 Middle Head Road, Mosman NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9969 1020
Burnt Orange at The Club House is located at the end of Middle Head Road opposite HMAS Penguin,
with a sign-posted car park before the building.