From well thought out one-page menus to imaginative sommeliers, there's lots to love, but there are a few things that annoy us as well.
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KIRSTEN LAWSON
What I love Sake on wine lists. Wine made with so little input that it tastes like the farmyard. Yes, purists, roll your eyes and how easily taken in we have been by the natural obsession, but it's a story that makes wine drinking exciting again. The little places. Bacaro, the laneway wine and pizza bar that has such excellent pizza, cool Italian wine, and great service. Best in Canberra. The Italian Place, the new place in Mort Street where Tony Lo Terzo is looking to replicate the ubiquitous and homely Italian cafes with everything made from scratch, loads of care and some chaos (declaration, I have come to know the guys here). Bar Rochford where everything is so cool you will need to be that version of yourself, but if you are accidentally wearing flipflops at least it's dark enough that you can hide in one of the corners upstairs here at the Melbourne Building.
What I loathe The hotelisation of food which makes every menu the same and none with that homespun feel that the chef is delivering the chef's food. By hotelisation I mean the chains that are starting to dominate dining out in the same way they took over retail. Yes, consistency is a plus. Safety standards are good. Everything is in order. But the passion is missing which means the thrill is dulled. Bring back the chef owner! Also, flat bubbly. Wines not poured at the table. Wine lists that can't look past those clean and well-trodden grapes. Restaurants not telling you whether sparkling water is free or $10 a bottle. Pubs that charge restaurant prices with none of the restaurant overheads and none of the restaurant quality.
What I am looking forward to Retracing my steps to a Roman cafe, not a fancy one, just a little, basic local, where they turned a short black into something mesmeric. They did it by whipping a coffee shot with some not-small amount of sugar until it expands to fill an entire jug, creamy, sweet and underpinned by the coffee. Then you use a couple of spoons of this in your short black and you've got a kind of piccolo, only creamy, thick and sweet and no milk! This I discovered 14 years ago. I intend to find that cafe again in the northern spring.
NATASHA SHAN
What I love I love a well-thought out one-page menu. It's good for the diner, good for the restaurant and usually a sign that a restaurant isn't trying to do too much. Whether it's a casual or fine dining, some of the best meals I've had in the past year have been at restaurants that can list all their food on a single page.
What I loathe Restaurants that say "our menu is designed to be shared" when all they've done is used it as an excuse to charge more for less. Let's be clear - I love the concept of communal eating; shared dishes were the norm in my Asian family, I just don't buy it when there's only enough on the plate for a bite each. Plus, I get real grumpy if I leave still hungry and have to do a fast food run on the way home.
What I am looking forward to I could really go a great ramen joint to get me through the Canberra winter. And while I'm dreaming, can we also get some Sydney-level Middle Eastern food down here please?
KAREN HARDY
What I love There's so much great produce coming out of the Canberra region. Head to the Farmers' Markets and you'll find all sorts of people doing amazing things, from vegetables, to cheeses, meats and honey, there's a meal just waiting to be had. We know our local wines, and spirits, are world class, so set yourself the challenge of reducing your own food miles and make meals that are close to home. And sing the region's praises far and wide.
What I loathe The amount of food I throw away. Another avocado straight in the bin. Planning to find a solution to that. Eating out I loathe poor service but talking to restaurateurs has made me realise how hard it is to get good staff. I feel sorry for the chefs when the effort put into the plate is diminished by poor service.
What I'm looking forward to Now the days and nights are getting chillier it's much easier to stay in and cook yourself up a feast for a fraction of the cost. The slow cooker is out, so too the cast iron casserole dishes, one-pot recipes you can bung in the oven and then head off to the rugby for the afternoon.
ROSLYN GRUNDY
What I love Sommeliers who embrace flexibility and imagination in their drinks lists and their service. So instead of rigidly following the one-wine-per-course formula, smart operators at places such as Navi in Melbourne and Igni in Geelong are suggesting half pours, pouring every second wine, or tucking in the occasional glass of kombucha, sake or beer where it makes sense. Less lovable: sommeliers who expect you to share a single glass when you split a wine match with a friend.
What I loathe Look, I get that some thoughtless restaurant customers have given us all a bad name by making bookings all over town for the same timeslot, then not cancelling unwanted tables. And I get that people who reserve a table for 10 then show up as a four-top can wipe out a night's profits. But I'm not loving online booking systems that harvest all your details, an upfront deposit and the promise of your first-born before you even raise a fork to your lips. Add in a bunch of rules about forfeiting the deposit if you cancel less than 48 hours ahead and I start thinking almost fondly about no-bookings restaurants
What I am looking forward to The launch of the third national Good Food Guide in October. It's 40 years since The Age published its first dining guide, with The Sydney Morning Herald following in 1984. It's always a great opportunity to reflect on how far the Australian food scene has come and where it's heading next.
ARDYN BERNOTH
What I love That dining and drinking in regional Australia is on an upwards trajectory that has no seeming end. That you can go to a wee town in northern NSW, Brunswick Heads, and find the duo behind two-hatted Fleet has opened La Casita, a Mexican joint with a courtyard designed for smashing pork and pineapple tacos. Then there's Pipit in nearby Pottsville, where Ben Devlin (ex Paper Daisy at Halcyon House) has launched his ode to all things local. Even the most far-flung destinations in Australia are in on this country party: Flinders Island Wharf has just launched with a cafe, restaurant, distillery and built-in bee hive.
What I loathe Cafes, restaurants and retailers who have not got or are ignoring the waste-minimisation memo. I love a Vietnamese place near our office for its heady pho, I hate the takeaway version which features two huge cups with lids, two condiment containers, sauce containers, wrapped chopsticks and a carry pouch. Just for soup. Cut it out.
What I am looking forward to The opening of Andrew McConnell's latest offering at the altar of culinary excellence. This will take the form of a fine-ish diner in a lovely old dame of a building at 33 Russell Street in Melbourne's CBD (due in November). Also, spring, because I can't wait to get zucchini seeds in the ground. I love all the heirloom varieties from diggers.com.au that I grate, mandolin and julienne into every dish possible all through summer.
ANNABEL SMITH
What I love The chocolate-licorice comeback. Darrell Lea's new chocolate block littered with licorice bullets and shrapnel (aka aniseed-flavoured crisps) was a hit with the Good Food NRA (National Reviewing Association). Elsewhere, Jill Dupleix is still thinking about Ester's nostalgically licorice-y flan with bittersweet cocoa sauce, and Captain Moonlite (Vic) and Fleet (NSW) are scooping licorice ice-creams. Katrina Meynink's dark chocolate, licorice and caramel loaf cake is locked and loaded on my baking list (find the recipe at goodfood.com.au).
What I loathe Bubble tea packaging makes my blood boil. The plastic cups and thick straws are bad enough, but to then place said cup in a plastic bag really is the final straw. Major chains should stock branded reusable cups and offer an incentive for refills. If BYO drinking vessel discounts can encourage us to kick our collective takeaway coffee cup habit, let's build it up, bubble cup.
What I am looking forward to Macadamia puree becoming the next bit-on-the-side. It's nutty, creamy and could be the new tahini. As seen with grilled broccolini at Melbourne's Park Street Pasta, paired with shiitake oil alongside fermented potato flatbread at Lesa, or for dipping squiggly mushroom skewers in at Sydney's plant-based Paperbark Kitchen.
JILL DUPLEIX
What I love Instagram. Not for all the show-offy stuff, but for the sheer visual beauty of the dishes that appear on the "feed". Go past the hype and the humble-brags, and there is real information to be had - chefs and restaurateurs now use Insta to tell us they're opening or closing, to showcase producers and to reveal new dishes; and travelling foodies give us plenty for the bucket list. I also use it as a record of memorable meals and magic moments, especially on hols when I have more time to post (always staying within my self-imposed 15 minutes a day. One does have a life, you know).
What I loathe Those 60-degree soft eggs that chefs love (because they can control the temperature and timing, and do so many of them at a time). We should rise up as one and reject them outright, calling instead for the more personalised care and effort that goes into making the perfect fried, poached and scrambled egg to order.
What I am looking forward to More crazy, quirky, passion-driven cafes, bars and restaurants that choose to do one thing well; whether it's ramen, fried chicken, falafel, jaffles, Macau's baked rice, negronis, or lobster rolls. We have so much diversity in our dining scene, that when someone drills down to focus on one thing - vegan gnocchi at Peppes Bondi, for instance, or grilled cheese toasties at Maker & Monger's new Chariot of Cheese at Prahran Market - it's a relief to stop making decisions and just dive in. Now if someone could open a restaurant that did only roast chicken.
CALLAN BOYS
What I love That fish and chip shop-style potato scallops/cakes are the new blini. Dan Hunter serves golden-fried dutch cream cakes with delicate pearls of brook trout roe and cultured cream at Brae, while James Viles rocks a version at the Biota bar in Bowral. Swiping spud scallops through taramasalata topped with salmon caviar is the most fun you can have in the Southern Highlands with a local riesling in your hand. South of Bass Strait, potato cakes fried in a batter made with Rodney Dunn's sourdough starter keep Agrarian Kitchen guests warm on the coldest Derwent days. The ultimate in high-low deliciousness.
What I loathe Sommeliers who reckon it's A-OK to serve a $40 glass without telling you the price. BC (that is, "Before Coravin", the needle-through-cork gadget that allows wine to be poured in small amounts while the rest of the bottle stays in decent nick), most wines by the glass were reasonably priced. Now somms can shift their big hitters hitherto gathering dust, we're experiencing more bill shock than usual when dropping the ol' "whatever you have by the glass to suit this chicken/lamb/magpie goose liver". A great sommelier should be able to pull the cork of a Puligny-Montrachet, say, and be excited about (and know enough about) that wine to move it over 24 hours. Being open about price is vital to that process.
What I'm looking forward to More feral animals on plates. Eat the Problem by American artist Kirsha Kaechele, featuring contributions from chefs David Moyle and Heston Blumenthal, created greater public awareness of how invasive species can be turned into exquisite dishes when it was published in March. Here's hoping chefs, environmentalists, scientists and forward-thinking politicians can capitalise on that buzz to see feral animal meat ethically available in restaurants.
- with SMH/The Age