Going gourmet

Indecision plagues me at the best of times. When I and a few others are dinner-less and faced with an extensive menu of gourmet pizzas, I'm seriously lost. It's almost a little like picking out a horse for the Melbourne Cup, once a year punter-style and all.

Do you go for the name: exotic, safe, different, intriguing? Do you go for the categories: gourmet meat, gourmet chicken, gourmet vegetarian, gourmet seafood, or tradtional? Or do you go for the entertainment value: the 'Manhattan' pizza topped with cos lettuce, the 'Jakarta' pizza with a honey teriyaki sauce, or the 'Baghdad' - enough said?

Probably a combination of all of the above, plus the all-important synergy of toppings. Which is sometimes my problem with 'gourmet' pizzas. Yes, it's unique and inventive but do I really want tiger prawns, curry coconut sauce and mango chutney on my pizza?

Thanks to Gourmet Pizza Kitchen, I have that option with their prawn, spinach, potato, capsicum, curry, chutney and coriander 'Madras' pizza. Somehow I manage to whittle down my choices to two gourmet pizzas and excitedly await and pick them up from the local restaurant, which happens to be busier with eat-in diners than takeaways orders.

Morrocco pizza from Gourmet Pizza Kitchen, Anzac Parade, Kingsford

The 'Morrocco' pizza won its place due to its name, conjuring up thoughts of spicy bazaars and folk music a world away. The pizza itself was a world away from many takeaway options, on first sight and taste. The uneven spread of toppings has us clamouring for slices not inundated with cubes of fetta cheese. The tub of herbed yoghurt, much like Indian raita, was distributed over all the slices as was the juice of the lemon wedge.

And the taste test? A little overwhelming and clashing, like what I imagine one's first step into Morrocco might be. The 'Morroccan-spiced' beef fillet slices are wonderfully soft and tender, the fetta cheese upping the dairy and salt content. Both the semi-dried tomatoes and char-grilled eggplant seemed to have minds and flavours of their own, so along with the herbed yoghurt, parsley and lemon, it was a massive, if not sometimes confused, flavour hit.

New Orleans pizza

The second choice was a gourmet chicken pizza claiming influence from 'New Orleans'. This comes with a tub of sour cream and a tub of sweet chilli sauce and immediately looks tamer than its Morroccan partner. Slices of chicken breast fillet are generously spread over the not-so-round pizza base, supposedly marinated in hot Cajun spices. There are also cubes of roasted potato, unhappy clumps of spinach and button mushrooms making for a relatively bland pizza, hence the tubs I suppose.

Both the bases are of mid-thickness holding their toppings strong with a crunchy outer crust. The end overall result? Teamed with a simple home made salad, GPK's gourmet offerings make for a takeaway meal with a difference, proudly a little healthier than others or so it feels, but no comparison to a thin Italian classic pizza, preferably served with rocket and buffalo mozzarella!

B'bye to summer

Digging out cardis from the wardrobe and considering boots so my toes don't get wet are pretty sure signs that summer is well and truly over. Sudden, it seems. And sad. It will be a sad wave goodbye to summer afternoon drinks and impromptu outdoor events, although a sunny winter's day is quite the blissful time to be in Sydney. And there's nothing wrong with afternoon drinks in a cosy pub on a chilly day.

The revamped Beresford Hotel certainly fits the bill: there's a lot to like about the huge variety of beers on tap, lounge-enticing seating and a very stylish restaurant tucked away in the back. Packed and absolutely buzzing on a mid-week night, the restaurant seems a little disjointed with the pub/bar section but is clearly the star of the show.

Menu at The Beresford Hotel, Bourke Street, Darlinghurst

The menu arrives with bread, butter and olive oil in an arty dish that I want to take home. I love the look and feel of the menu although the abundance of sections can be a little confusing. A raft of tempting Italian fare politely screams for my attention and it's a few visits from the waiter before I can choose from the appetisers, entrees, 'classics', pastas, fish, meat, oven-cooked meat and vegie sides.

Seared scallops, fennel puree, capers, pancetta & lemon

The stunning scallop entree looked almost too pretty to eat. The chunky scallop pieces were cooked through and easily devoured with the crunchy fried pancetta and creamy puree.

Roast lamb rump, celeriac puree, parsnips & pine mushrooms

Almost a welcoming party for winter, the hearty lamb main was served rare with stewed parsnip pieces and mushrooms. Tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth - all you want from a lamb dish. And on the darker side of the table...

Lasagne, Jerusalem artichoke, porcini mushrooms, hazelnuts & pecorino

A modern-looking vegetarian lasagne consisting of loads of porcinis piled up with soft, silky smooth squares of pasta, unmemorable Jerusalem artichoke, pecorino shavings and roasted whole hazelnuts. Its richness was unexpected but very much enjoyed.

Insalata verde

A side of mixed greenery was doused in a heavily salted dressing - a trend or perhaps just my delicate tastes when it comes to salad greens.

Vanilla panna cotta with figs, cherries/plums (?), almond granita

And the pretty presentation just keeps coming. Dessert wine is one of those things that just make me smile but a beautiful dessert usually deserves a grin. The panna cotta is refreshingly light, its sweet creaminess highlighted by the diced fig and what we deduced were cherries. The granita was a nice textural contrast but I wasn't enthralled with the flavouring - like almond essence or feijioa, just a personal dislike.

Service throughout the night was well-paced and extremely efficient - I don't think there was a moment where my wine or water neared empty. It was also endearing to see the jovial chefs hard at work at the pass. Getting nudged out of the restaurant and then the pub as it closed, I think that The Beresford will be on the list of things to cheer me up when the weather cools.

The other side of the Glass

A change of perspective - the concept is easier said than done. And definitely easier as a temporary, seven-second experience than longer term applications. But it's such a powerful yet simple notion that it shocks me that people, myself included, don't use it more often.

When I do think about it, personally, a few major events have evolved from simply looking at a situation in a different way. I guess it's the taking away of any past experiences, pre-conceived notions, judgement, expectations, 'sunk costs' and any other million possible things that frame a perspective.

The lure of the Hilton and Luke Mangan brought us to a special Time Out magazine event at Glass Brasserie. My initial perspectives of Glass being rather snooty and inaccessible were broken, smashed and generally turned around.

Apologies first up for the criminally poor photos - high ceilings and ambient lighting, and then a predominantly business/high-end tourist crowd that probably wouldn't appreciate bright flashes every course.

The deal was two courses plus wine and other goodies from Time Out and Zeta bar. Unlike the Merivale-fest, a menu with three choices per entree, main and dessert was presented. Despite the shortened menu there were still moments of indecision with the waiter needing to return a few times. Pity this attentive service didn't continue the entire night.

Selection of bread and extra virgin olive oil
from Glass Brasserie at the Hilton, Sydney

We started with bread that wasn't complimentary but definitely worth the few dollars. There was a chewy sort of sultana bread that seemed more breakfast than dinner and the most perfect white bread I think I've ever tasted. Perfect crunch on the outer, heavenly soft and fluffy on the inner, and oh-so-good with Mangan's extra virgin olive oil. I don't even really care that I'm filling up on bread before the meal - it's that good.

Fig tart, red onion jam, blue cheese, truffled verjuice dressing

The fig tart entree carried a strong resemblence to a dessert dish and the taste wasn't all that far off to be honest. Sweet and ripe figs hid a generous filling of a sharp and heady soft blue cheese on top of a red onion jam - the cheese doing its very best to cut through all the sweetness. The minature leaves of basil also helped subdue the sugar hit a little. The tart pastry was admirably thin, playing a supporting role to its filling and nothing more.

Spencer Gulf salt and pepper prawns, baby corn and chorizo

My entree was a trio of huge prawns served in a heavily seasoned light crumb bursting with flavour. The prawns were well cooked through, crisp and packing an almost-meaty punch. The natural flavours of baby corn and capsicum match well, as does the range of textures. I wasn't sure of the origins of the yellow puree, which was lightly creamy, and the chorizo failed even a blip on the memory scale. However the dish as a whole was divine and definitely the winner of the two entrees.

Drama was visible from the open kitchen, to which we were seated next to, and although everything on the plates was top notch, the long wait for mains indicates some degree of stress and heat in the kitchen.

Chef's fish of the day: Barramundi with fennel, asparagus, herbs

Chef's fish of the day was some white fish called trumpeter, according to the waiter, but on arrival to the table was pronounced as barramundi. Nevertheless I was glad to have the relatively light main as servings were definitely larger than expected - perhaps the 'Brasserie' part of the restaurant name kicking in. More mystery yellow puree added some bright colour to the dish featuring a golden-skinned fillet of barra. On top was a thin shaving of fennel, asparagus spear and pile of fried dill, coriander and flat leaf parsley.

It was all crackle when the knife first hit the skin's surface - the texture impossibly crunchy and even moreish but mostly surprising for a non-lover of fish skin. The thick white flesh was satisfying and almost played a backdrop for the range of herbaceous flavours. I'm admittedly not the hugest fan of fish mains but here I was very happy and impressed.

Confit Lilydale free-range chicken thigh and leg,
lentils, almond puree, baby leeks

On the other side was a more substantial looking main of confit chicken in golden crumb glory. One small taste revealed its high flavour voltage, a bit of a shock compared to the mild-mannered barramundi dish. The lentils were flavoured with anise giving the whole dish (with the crisp skinned chicken) a slight Asian feel from my point of view.

Rocket, pear, blue cheese, walnuts

Put together a blue cheese enthusiast and a rocket fanatic and what have you got? Two people in raptures over the side of rocket, pear, blue cheese and walnuts. Dressed in a divine, if not slightly salty, vinaigrette, this side was a worthy distraction from the mains.

Stuffed to the gills and downing a glass or two of Luke Magan's sauvignon blanc (drier and without that overpowering fruit aroma of the Kiwi sauv blancs), Glass had the perfect atmosphere to linger a while chatting. The restaurant within the hotel meant there were quite a few single diners, which is a bit rare at other establishments, and of course, quite a few business types.

The Time Out deal also entitled us to a cocktail and beers upstairs at Zeta Bar, which was surprisingly busy for an early weekday night. Perched on bar stools and sipping on raspberry and lemongrass cocktails gave us the opportunity to further discuss life from a very content perspective.