Jazz City Diner, Darlinghurst -- or -- Happiness = philosophy + time

Found a review for a great-sounding raw vegan cafe in King's Cross. Made plans for dinner. Told friends about it.

"Vegan places disappear almost as quickly as lesbian clubs," one commented.

The latter is out of my jurisdiction. I can confirm, however, that the vegan place in question was no longer there when we arrived the next day.

When you can't make lemonade you gotta make other plans.

Young Henry's at Blancmange -- or -- Inner West beer degustation dinner (a food cycle)

I am not an expert on beer. I have spent time 'tasting' and 'appreciating' other things like wine and chocolate and food in general. But I'm really only a beginner at beer. Truth be told, I only developed a taste for the stuff a few years ago in preparation for a trip to Europe and UK. 

I am, however, a stout local. And we now have our own brewery, Young Henrys. I saw a chance to drink their beer and eat fine food in my own jurisdiction. I took it.

This is that story.

Context: There is a musical called "The Last Five Years", which charts the course of a relationship. But, while we see his story from beginning to end, her side of the story is told from the end to the beginning.

Higashi Japanese Restaurant, Leichhardt -- or -- The Glitch

I found a restaurant that almost doesn't exist on the internet. No website. No facebook. Urbanspoon has a few reviews (and 100% approval rating), but no menu, and fake contact details.

How weird is that?

Three Blue Ducks, Bronte -- or -- Dining, religiously

It's not often I can walk into a restaurant, look at the menu, and say "One of everything." And a bottle of wine. But, except for one entree (oysters), that's what I got to do at Three Blue Ducks.

Hartsyard, Newtown -- or -- Noisy neighbours

Hartsyard. There was a buzz about it even before it opened. Perhaps in part because of their own blog on the development phase? Whatever it was, bloggers and print media alike flocked.

Orange, NSW -- or -- Wines and Truffles and Nuns (oh my!)

Around this time last year, cheese blogger Claire at You're So Blue Vein came back from Orange with a tale of truffles and wine and food. Jealousy reigned. This year? This year it was my turn.

Disclaimer: Detective Chow paid for everything out of his own pocket. But, gosh, he'd be pleased to be invited somewhere on a press junket. So if you own a country town, regional centre, capital city, tropical island etc he's just an email away...

Goblin Cafe, Summer Hill -- or -- Day Watch

Well. It's not often I go out for brunch. It's something easily made at home. Usually paid-for brunch is reserved for times of travel. So, something of a treat to eat brunch in my own neighbourhood.

Momofuku Seiōbo -- or -- The toughest meal in town

I had never heard of Momofuku before they opened a restaurant in my town. But it seemed they came with their own reputation. And a lot of hype. Thought I'd try to get my hat on their stand and see what all the fuss was about. That's what I thought. Turns out that was one hard nut to crack.

Restaurant Atelier, Glebe -- or -- How to get the best restaurant experiences in 4, or 6? no wait, 12 easy(ish) steps

Been wanting for ages to write a "10 things" type of report. (List-style, that is, not the movie with Julia Stiles.) Finally found an opportunity. When someone comes after me for defamation, this is the post I'll point to as an example of differentiation between 'fact', 'honest opinion', and downright silly fiction. Can you tell the difference?*

* Here's a hint: They're generally in different fonts.

Disclaimer: although we all paid for our meals, Atelier knew we were bloggers and went all out to impress. They waived BYO charges on a Friday night and I think we scored an absolute, never-to-be-repeated bargain on the fixed menu price.

Sardine Room, Potts Point -- or -- If you're good to Mama

Lots of restaurants closing. Lots opening up. So much pressure to go to the new ones. Be on trend. But... nah. Here's an oldie but a goodie.

 

Becasse, Westfield Sydney -- or -- Leaf and Stone

The setup
My birthday. A special occasion in anyone's books. But especially mine. A short list of special occasion restaurants narrowed down to one. A reservation was secured. It was going to be expensive but, according to the reviews and reputation, worth it.

Get ready for some mixed up metaphors.

How it went down

Oscillate Wildly, Newtown -- or -- They grow up so fast

I first visited Oscillate Wildly about three years ago, shortly after Karl Firla took over the kitchen. It was mostly good, though a couple of dishes missed the mark for me. (Gnocchi with coffee grounds on top was a bit too weird at the time.)

I went back a year later to give it another chance. It was very good on the second visit. A little less experimental, or perhaps just having had the benefit of a year's experimentation to get things right.

After visiting Sixpenny in Stanmore a few months ago it was time to go back to Oscillate and see how they compared.

Newtown Burger Grudge Match: Dean's Diner, Newtown

Last month three Newtown Burger Joints -- some called them 'chains' or 'franchises' -- went bunno-a-bunno in a food fight to the death. "But wait," the crowd called. "You forgot someone. The little guy. The local favourite. The place with the arcade game tables and the funny burger names. Go on. Give Dean's a chance."

Detective Chow is listening.

Greek Special: Nostos, Leichhardt and Steki Taverna, Newtown

The Greek Financial situation means a lot of people there are doing it tough. In fact, a lot of countries' economies have been hit hard. Australians are comparatively doing well, but even here people are trying to cut back on spending. Like eating at restaurants.

Unfortunately rent is not getting any cheaper so a lot of restaurants are struggling. I think I should be supporting my favourite restaurants to make sure they stay afloat. Unfortunately I seem to be cursed, with a few places I really like closing (or selling) shortly after my reports were filed.

Still, there are bargains to be had if you want a cheap night out. Here are two:

Wine Library, Woollahra -- or -- Browsing in the Decadent section

This visit to the Wine Library was at the end of March, so you probably can't get the fig salad anymore, but the rest are very compatible with the colder weather coming up.

Newtown's Best Burger Joint -- Ultimate Biting Championship

or "The Running of the Bulls".

Bonus points if you get all the 'battle to the death' movie references, and bonus bonus points if you can tell me how to work Tron and Robot Jocks into the mix.

Disclaimer 1: More than any other F.S.I. episode, this one needs to be taken with a grain of salt. While I did use a measuring tape and electronic scales in the field investigation, my methods were far from scientific.

Disclaimer 2: I visited Moo Gourmet Burgers as part of the blogger #BurgerParty, and received freebies including a $10 voucher, champagne on arrival, name tag, and a couple of items of kitchenware.

Disclaimer 3: We don't have a defense of 'satire' for intellectual property infringement in Australia, but, UFC, if you mind my satirical use of your IP... I'll just change it to Ultimeat Biting Chompionship. And that string of puns will do more damage to your brand than any other infringement.

Smash Sausage Kitchen, Newtown -- or -- The Urban Mythographer

Meaning no disrespect to the team at Smash. I'm just not good enough a photographer to make a plate o' snags & mash look appealing. (And there's only so much a sprig of parsley can do.)

 

Almond Bar, Darlinghurst -- or -- I hope I'm not interrupting

Thanks for putting up with the April Fools' silliness. Back to investigating good food in the heart of Sydney.

 

Fish & Co, Annandale -- or -- I can't believe it's not fish puns

Sometimes a man has too much respect to resort to pun-making. It's not that I respect you, Molly, or even myself. Goodness no! But when you write about a sustainable seafood restaurant (which is, let's admit it, swimming against the tide fairly niche) it is very very difficult not to get taken in hook line and sinker completely. Oh well. There are plenty of fish in the sea other opportunities.

  

Sixpenny, Stanmore -- or -- The Meal from Old Regret

Never got the chance to try Oscillate Wildly with the original team. Before my time. So when I heard about Dan Puskas and James Parry starting a new venture I was excited. What's that tattoo people get? No regrets.

Sixpenny pays tribute to the Australian restaurants of old.
Thought I'd take a leaf out of the same book.