Food News

This Month's News

• Eat up
• What did you say?
• Zuzza at Disfida
• Meat market
• Barley high
• Sichuan invasion
• Manly new wave
• Sleep on it
• Food Palace
• Viva España
• First kill it
• All it’s quacked up to be
• Organic upwards

Eat up

We’re eating out fit to bust, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These figures were sent to me by Restaurant & Catering, the industry’s peak body: “Turnover for January, in restaurants, cafes and caterers, was $1,341.9 billion — a 3.6 per cent jump on last January. This is yet another increase on top of a 7.2 per cent overall increase in 2009 despite the so-called global financial crisis. New South Wales has been a star performer in the restaurant, café and catering sector for the past six months with record on record monthly results. While January was not another record, it was 16.9 per cent up on 2009 at $427.6 million.”
 
That’s a lot of pork belly. But there is some bad news. According to John Hart, CEO of the organisation, profitability is not increasing with revenue — and it’s still a battle finding good staff. On the other hand, that’s good news for good staff.
 

What did you say?

It was the mid 90s and the big noise in restaurant design was minimalism — a leading exponent for a time was the late great restaurant designer (among his many talents) Anders Ousback, working with architect Leigh Prentice. “Out with the sentimental clutter” was the cry as restaurant after restaurant was given the makeover — all paintings dragged off the walls, floor coverings ripped out. The look was cool, but the sound was unbearable. When these places were pumping you couldn’t hear a word.

Cut to 2010, The Flinders Inn (160 Flinders Street Paddington, Ph 9331 0208) where young Kiwi chef Morgan McGlone is showing off his real talent and craft with a menu of classics — rabbit and pork rillettes, brandade, duck confit — with tiny and welcome twists. The wine list yielded impressively (grab the 2009 Joseph Chromy Pinot Gris) and the service struck just the right balance of chumminess and distance. But the noise ... we went with friends from Adelaide (one a restaurateur), who rang the next day to ask if they could see us again because they hadn’t heard a word.

Obviously, the team is aware of the problem; there are baffles under the tables, but it just isn’t enough. I hate to say the dreaded word in cool company, but there’s only one remedy: carpet.

A postscript on the Anders story: later, I went with him to his re-design of the Clock Hotel in Crown Street. The walls were lined with French still-life paintings. What happened to sentimental clutter? I asked. “That was last month,” Anders said airily. It seems like it might be last month again.
 

Zuzza at Disfida

Keen Sydney restauranters (those who eat out habitually) will remember the Zuzza family — Guiseppe and Antonietta Zuzza opened The Mixing Pot in Glebe in 1980, handing over to their son Peter around the middle of the 90s. In 2005, Peter sold it to the staff and dropped out of the business until January, when we announced he’d bought La Disfida (109 Ramsay Street Haberfield, Ph 9798 8299).    

I finally got to try the Zuzza Disfida and, as I suspected, it’s terrific. As Peter told us in January, there’s been very little change to the look of the place and only small changes to the menu; the wine list has been beefed up considerably with Italians. And, as befits a casual pizzeria, he’s managed to find interesting examples at reasonable prices with a good smattering of wines by the glass — the 2008 Antonio Caggiano Fiagre made with the fiano grape was a good find and gorgeous with the octopus salad. Pizzas are thin and crisp of crust (if you like anchovies, ask for extra on the Napoli) and the antipasti are very good indeed. Zuzza does it again.

Meat market

Now to the meat of the matter. In late February, in an extraordinary move, the Cattle Council announced its support for the importation of beef from countries that have had problems with Mad Cow Disease (or to give it its correct name, BSE, bovine spongiform encephalopathy), a disease originally caused by feeding cattle — whose natural diet consists of grass — bits and pieces of sheep. Grossly stupid.

But my problem with importing beef from countries such as America, whose record in the safe processing of beef is not unblemished (read Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation for the full horror story), but why import beef at all? It makes no sense to bring beef into a country that produces some of the finest beef in the world — see last month’s column for the comment from Neil Perry that Cape Grim is the best beef in the world.

As you might imagine, this idea is not without its critics. What I fail to understand is why the Cattle Council, which claims to represent Australian beef farmers, would endorse such a stupid decision? It’s all to do with parity apparently — we export more than 60 per cent of our beef, so have to let a bit in.

What can you do? Demand Australian pasture-fed beef. Accept no dodgy substitutes.

Barley high

Just getting into sake? Sorry, sake is so five minutes ago. The hottest new drink from Japan is shochu, which is distilled from a mixture of things including barley, buckwheat, sweet potato and sugar. And it has a long and venerable history.

As far back as 1549, when the missionary Francis Xavier visited Kagoshima Prefecture, he noted it and wrote,
“I have not seen a single drunkard. That is because once inebriated they immediately lie down and go to sleep.”  
Good plan.

Which also points to its early history as the Japanese equivalent of cheap sweet sherry in a brown paper bag. Now, shochu is cool as. And you can find it, drink it and learn all about it at Tokonoma Shochu Bar & Lounge (490 Crown Street Surry Hills, Ph 9357 6100). There is a rumour going around that, although it weights in at 25% alcohol by volume, it doesn’t hit you as hard as beer or sake. Totally unsubstantiated, but only one way to find out. And if it’s not true, just lie down and go to sleep.

Sichuan invasion

What’s with the sudden influx of Sichuan restaurants in Sydney. Walking up Goulburn Street a while ago, I noticed yet another one where there used to be a pinball parlour, Spicy Sichuan Restaurant (2 Cunningham Street, Ph 9211 4900), a big place over two storeys and a sister to the Glebe Spicy Sichuan (1–9 Glebe Point Road Ph 9660 8200), which shouldn’t be mistaken for the one just down the road, Red Chill Hotpot (15 Glebe Point Road, Ph 9518 5328), not long ago reviewed favourably by the big paper. There are five more in Chinatown proper (including Shancheng Hot Pot, which doesn’t call itself Sichuanese), another in Ashfield and the original Szechuan Garden (with the old spelling in St Leonards). This is beyond a trend — it’s  a movement, or an invasion even.

Wait for the next one: Dongbei or northeastern Chinese food — the New York Times lists five restaurants.

Manly new wave

It’s all happening in Manly. As already noted, the revamped vintage changing room, Manly Pavilion (West Esplanade cnr Commonwealth Parade Ph 9949 9011) swings open its doors to allow you to sample Jonathan Barthelmess’s take on southern Italian sometime in March (delays, delays). Manly Wine (8–13 South Steyne Ph 8966 9000) is packing them in at the old Will & Toby site. Then there’s the Belgrave Cartel (6 Belgrave Street Ph 0425 753 253) a coffee shop run by a couple of Italians  — Joe and Mick Bruzzese — who do a mean spaghetti jaffle. Does that count as fusion food? Mick reckons it’s a great hangover cure.

Sleep on it

How about Insomnia Kebabs, an all-night joint on George Street near Chinatown? Betcha they lay awake for nights thinking that one up. Reminds me of a friend who wants to start a business called Clever Names R Us.

Food Palace

Signorelli Gastronomia (48 Pirrama Road Darling Island Wharf Ph 8571 0616) opened late last month in Pyrmont and it sells — everything. The motto is: EAT.DRINK.SHOP.COOK. It’s a deli/butcher/cheese shop/wine cellar/café/pizzeria and it’s in the new Doltone House, a function centre owned by the Signorelli family which is, in itself, something of a landmark building, being Sydney’s first six-star (in environmental terms) building. But what about the food?

I had a couple of problems. First, the meat, all Cry-o-vacced, was not adequately labelled. No indication whether it was grain-fed, pasture-fed, aged for how long — they promised it’d be fixed. And the cheese room is small but well-stocked with good-looking (mainly Italian) cheeses; while cool enough, it felt a bit dry. Left too long like that, the cheeses crack and run downhill.

To be fair, it had only been open about three weeks when I visited. By now, they should have sorted it. If it gets up and running, it’ll be a terrific addition to the inner west.

Viva España

Then there’s El Mercado (72 Tennyson Road Breakfast Point Ph 8757 3700) which is whatever they call a Gastronomia in Spanish — actually I don’t think there is a word (help anyone?) — a sort of a warehouse garage stuffed to the gills with a selection of Spanish smallgoods, cheeses and grocery items where you can also sit and eat — but not drink (yet). Well worth a visit, as is the drive through the opulence of Breakfast Point, sort of like the Beverly Hills of the inner west.

First kill it

Deb Newell is a woman on a mission to remind us that before we ate grain (the enemy) we ate meat — and meat that we killed and dressed ourselves. So she gave birth to the Hunter Gatherer Dinner Club whose first big event happens on March 12 at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms near Bungendore. Dinner will be caught and cooked by chefs of the calibre (sorry) of Damien Pignolet, Raymond Kersh and Richard Purdue. There’ll be a panel discussion — Out with the Pyramid and back to the square meal — and good fun will be had by all. For more information, call Deb on 07 3846 6250 or 0439 756 776 or go to www.thehuntergathererdinnerclub.com.au. You’ll kill yourself if you miss it. 

All it’s quacked up to be

After Goosefest2010, it was the only way to go: Duckfest2010 will be held at MuMu Grill (70–76 Alexander Road Crows Nest Ph 9460 6877) on Wednesday, March 24. For an eight-course duck extravaganza — which includes the often talked-about rarely eaten turducken — at $59 a head or $95 a head, including matching wines. Why so reasonable? Because Urban Food Market is donating all the poultry. Book at the number above or go to www.mumugrill.com.au.

Organic upwards

The world is turning towards organic foods, according to a report from the United Nations Trade and Development Agency (UNCTAD). The report states: “Global demand for organic foods is expected to grow by 46% over the coming five years despite the world economic crisis.”

And even though there is still resistance to the higher cost,
Many consumers weigh the cost against the benefit and stick with organic. Sales of certified organic product around the world are tipped reach US$67 billion in 2012, up from US$46 billion in 2007.

Also, according to UNCTAD, organic produce is attracting a wider demographic — not just the wealthy middle classes, but an increasing number of consumers in developing countries. That’s good news for small-scale traditional farmers. And a good thing for the planet. Why?

According to figures from the Rodale Institute in America, if only 10,000 medium-sized farms converted to organic production, they would store so much carbon in the soil it would be equivalent to taking 1,174,000 cars off the road or reducing car miles driven by 14.62 million miles (23 million kilometres). Save the planet. One bite at a time.

Food News By: John Newton