On our way to meet Queen Viv at Piccolo Bar in Kings Cross (said to be the oldest cafe in Kings Cross), Queen Viv calls my mobile to tell me to switch Radio FBI on. For who else is being interview but Vittorio, the face of Piccolo Bar, the tiny, cozy little cafe which has taken up residence in Kings Cross since 1950. Unfortunately just as the interview is starting we go through the tunnel and miss most of it. Ah well, it only makes us more interested in meeting up there. It’s been about 15 years since my last visit.
We walk past the tables and Vittorio is outside giving me a good look up and down as if I’ve fallen from a spaceship. I learn that this is how he looks at all new customers and that he is certainly a character. There’s a $3 minimum (how these things charm me) and when my husband comes in, he does the same looking at him closely from the side, head cocked horizontally. It’s a tiny space, much like the name suggests and in its heydey they crammed 25 people into the inner cafe, which if you’ve visited, you’ll see that it’s quite a feat.
Vittorio’s eccentric charm isn’t lost on us and he floats about collecting plates and taking orders. He playfully and dramatically scolds a young girl on a mobile phone telling her to get off the “devil’s tool” and proudly says that he doesn’t own one. I ask him about the numerous Cate Blanchett pictures dotting the landscape and he clasps his hands together and assumes a dreamy countenance “Oh I Looooove her! I adore her, she’s like an angel” he trills. And no she hasn’t visited 
Books offered to us by Vittorio
We make our order and the chef cooks everything one at a time. Regulars file in and get a familiar greeting. A Matthew McConaughey lookalike says that he feels like soup so the chef gives him some soup to taste. Vittoria stops by our table and in an avuncular gesture, plonks down some second hand books for us and asks us if we’d like to take some books home with us. His charm offensive is taking effect.
Queen Viv orders a toasted turkish bread with artichokes,avocado, mushroom and cheese.
Omelette with up to 3 filling $8.50
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April 16, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
“It’s vegetarian food where you don’t miss the meat” says Mr Gatsby telling me about his latest find, Yulli’s in Surry Hills. He is also impressed that as a Surry Hills local, whenever he walks into Yulli’s, there’s a Skinny Blonde waiting for him at the the bar. The beer that is, not a person. Opposite the Clock hotel, Yulli’s is a new Melbourne-style bar and eatery serving up what is reportedly some very good vegetarian fare. And of course I feel obliged to try it out with Queen Viv and Miss America-Miss America is a former vegetarian so I am interested in his feedback.
It’s Saturday night and we’re sitting in the main area rather than the outdoor area as Queen Viv is recovering from a cold. Everything is warmly lit with red tones and looks very welcoming indeed. The menu is on the chalkboard behind the bar and you can either order there or, if you have a good memory, order at the table. Service is very friendly and easy going.
Cinnamon Girl beer $5.80
Wicked Elf Pilsner $8.60
The tables resemble wine crates with thick perspex tops and there are a combination of stools, chairs and lounges. A retro record collection lines one wall, another has empty beer bottles. Did I mention that the beer list is something special for beer drinkers? From fabulously named “Wicked Elf” to “Cinnamon girl” it appears that there is a beer to suit any whim or taste. Miss America and Queen Viv try both of those beers and are particularly partial to the Wicked Elf.
Eggplant Involtini filled with buffalo mozarella & spinach topped with lemongrass tomato sauce,fresh basil and parmesan served on a roti $17.50
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April 2, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
This is our second “documented” visit to Green Gourmet made in an effort to convert my sister, a dyed in the wool carnivore into something close to a vegetarian, if only for a few hours. But they are dinner hours so these are crucial. Surprisingly she actually suggests it, I think she is almost daring the tofu and gluten to be tasty.
Its quiet as we’re early on a Saturday night, frightfully early really as the staff are eating their dinners. But with my parents there is no such thing as eating too early. My dad eats his lunch at 11am and his dinner at 5pm. So for him we’re right on time and what on earth are you rolling your eyes for?
Eggplant parcel 3 pcs $4.20
We choose a range of dishes, some that we’ve tried before and some that sound intriguing such as the ” Golden slices in plum sauce Tofu pillow stuffed with taro mash deep fried served with pinenuts, bamboo and plum sauce $15.80″ and we leave room for dessert, the Crispy lotus seed crepe with ice cream and the vegan deep fried ice cream, too alluring to pass up this time.
Our entrees arrive first, they’re familiar and well loved sights with the eggplant parcel 3 pcs $4.20 and chicken drumsticks 3 pcs $4.20. The eggplant parcels are crisply fresh and hot on the outside and soft and oozing but stil with a texture as only eggplant can have. We’ve ordered two serves for the five of us and each serve is 3 pcs and its a lucky person (me!) that gets the extra remaining parcel of soft gooeyness.
“Chicken” drumsticks 3 pcs $4.20
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February 22, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
Don’t you just hate it when you’ve been looking forward to a meal all day and counted down the hours and minutes until you leave only to find that when you get to the restaurant the lusted after meal is not offered? Needless to say that I do. My husband and I, although not really regulars at Corelli’s (we live a bit too far away) have visited many, many times. And every time I order the dinner special, for $16 or $16.90 you get the dish of the day (whatever they have is always good) and it always comes with dessert of your choice although its never a choice for me. I always order the crumble: my number 1 favourite crumble in the world with vanilla ice cream.
So when we arrive at 7.30pm one night I look to the blackboard eagerly to see what is on offer. I had psyched myself up to have anything, even pasta which I don’t usually eat. There’s nothing but a lunch special. Apparently there is no dinner special on tonight. I am crushed. I look at the well worn menu and choose my “backup” meal, the grilled barramundi (with lemon butter on the side), mash and steamed vegetables. I need not ask what my husband will have, he is fierrcely loyal to the tofu burger and nothing will stand between him and the burger.
Grabbing some magazines, we sit down in wait for our meals that never come out in a hurry, for you see they are prepared to order in a small kitchen with a multitude of different components and on huge plates. To kill time I perve on the homemade cakes in the display noting that there’s plenty of my favourite crumble left with lots of topping.
Grilled Barramundi with mash and steamed vegetables (lemon butter sauce on the side) $16.50
Its quiet tonight and so its not too long before our meals arrive. My barramundi is a large piece of grilled fish over a huge mound of mashed potato and steamed carrots, beans and broccoli. Sometimes they give you two pieces of fish and it covers practically the whole plate. As always its good, although as I am ambivalent about the lemon butter sauce (sometimes its too lemoney although tonight its very buttery), I ask for it to arrive in a small side dish. The mash is good, not particularly smooth but reassuringly full of real potato (I’d personally like to ban instant mashed potato) and the steamed vegetables perfectly cooked. Try as I might however, I cannot finish it.
Tofu burger with salad $9.50
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December 9, 2007
by Not Quite Nigella
For the staunch carnivore, the Green Gourmet must be a bit of a joke. A Chinese vegan place you say that doesn’t use garlic and onion and still claims to be tasty? Pfffft! Nonsense, I hear you say! But the proof, as they say, is in the tasting. Green Gourmet was opened by the former owner of Gourmet Inn when he became a vegetarian and uses mostly gluten products and tofu to replicate the meat texture and taste.
We arrive at Green Gourmet on a Wednesday evening at about 6.45pm. There are actually about 6-7 tables full already mid-meal and some waiting for people to arrive. We let them know that we have to leave in about 45 minutes for a movie and the waitress lets us know that it won’t be a problem. We decide to do our own vegan yum cha at night and choose a selection of their dumplings but as my husband, as always, is hungrier, he orders a noodle dish and as Tuulikki is getting over a cold so she orders soup along with her dumplings. The decor is full of bamboo coloured wood and green and there are healthy food charts on the wall and we feel like we’re almost back at school learning the food pyramid. Scarcely 5-10 minutes later our dishes arrive in quick succession, piping hot and fresh.
Satay soy skewers 4 for $5.60
First up is the Satay Soy skewers. In a eerily accurate imitation of satay chicken, they’re on needle thin skewers with a gorgeously rich and spicy satay sauce. A definitely contender for chicken I’d say. I want to order more.
Eggplant parcels 3 for $4.50 and Better than Oyster Fritters 4 for $5.20
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November 23, 2007
by Not Quite Nigella
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