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.

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.

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.

 

Marque, Surry Hills -- or -- Hints

Prologue:

When you dine at Marque you are not given a menu (or order of service) at the start of the meal. They save the excitement, introducing each dish as they serve it. I wanted to preserve some of that in this review. The names of each dish -- if you want to spoil it or are not going to dine at Marque anytime soon -- are visible if you click the magnifying glass under each dish.  

Like this:

It worked!

***

And so the moment I was born for -- eating to save my life -- begins.