Hitting the high notes

There's an understanding of the trade-off that must happen with dining factors: food quality, price, views. As much as we want to, we can't seem to have our cakes and eat them too. Shame really - seems like a waste of cake.

Super hot days and dining out are never the most enjoyable of exercises, so I always make sure there's liquid refreshments nearby. They're a little pricey at Opera Bar, but there's live jazz on a Sunday afternoon and a view of some sort. Plus, you'll never know what kind of crowd there'll be: tourists, post-show, bridal parties - the possibilities are endless. Not quite the food menu, though. Choice is a little constrained and the prices are higher than I remembered. Nonetheless, one shouldn't drink on an empty stomach.

Chargrilled sirlon with cafe de Paris butter, gratin potatoes and broccoli from Opera Bar

The sirloin actually looks pretty good although this supercedes the actual eating of it. The steak is a bit on the thin side, a touch gristley and generally lacking beefiness. While the jus is nice and the butter flavoursome, the sides are a little sleepy and unexciting. Perhaps gazing at the passing ferries could add some liveliness to it.

Beer battered flathead fillets with chips and tartare sauce

The fish and chips are done quite well - the former better than the slightly overcooked latter though. The beer batter was crisp and kept the flathead fillets moist within. The cheesecloth-wrapped lemon half was an unexpected but appreciated touch, while one dish of tartare sauce for all those chips just isn't enough. Perhaps I'm just unusual in liking tartare on my chips - I'd even prefer it over aioli.

Rocket and parmesan salad with aged balsamic

Not sure my rocket obsession will ever go away, but I can justify it well by calling it part of the necessary vegetable quota - which it is. It's hard to go wrong with parmesan cheese shavings and balsamic vinegar.

Having eaten, the drinks keep coming for a while, making the most of the warm, rain-free afternoon. I'm not sure if the experience was diminished by the sweltering hot day or if I've just grown out of Opera Bar, but it just wasn't hitting the right notes on this visit. Perhaps a retuning is in order.

Homecoming

Nothing says home like a stint at Opera Bar - which is where we headed for a post-Hawaii catch-up. There's nothing like that beautiful backdrop while we're exchanging stories about events and people during the time away, handing out sympathy and souvenirs, and generally being the fun, food and drink loving friends we are.

Despite the cloudy weather, it's a warm day out and following my trip of (over)eating in Hawaii, I'm keen to go easy on the food and beverages these days. They say there's fewer carbs in Pure Blonde! Food wise I go for a salad, which turns out delighfully and perfectly scrumptious.

Fig, pecorino, rocket and asparagus salad

I hate a salad that's stingy on an item. If you say there's going to be asparagus in it, please make sure there is more than two spear heads in the salad. Here, everything is plentiful and very pleasing to the eye too. A huge pile of my favourite rocket leaves, a bounty of asparagus spears, loads of ripe and super-sweet figs, pecorino shavings and a few thin slices of crisp bread. The dressing is sweet - perhaps a smidgen too sweet given the ripe sweetness of the figs - lightly touched with balsamic and oil. The pecorino is perfect with the soft, juicy figs and the greens play sound supporting roles. This salad is heavenly and I could easily eat this for the rest of my days.

A companion is in a more carnivorous mood and makes me look like a bit of a lightweight with my salad and low carb beer. I manage to steal a few bites of the steak anyway.

Chargrilled sirloin with spinach and mushrooms in a red
wine sauce ( with potato hash browns on the side)

Cooked to a juicy medium rare, the sirloin is an impressive dish. Loads of button and field mushrooms plopped on top of the steak which sits on a pile of spinach. The potato hash browns provide the carbohydrates and help mop up the juices. They're a refreshing change from the pedestrian mashed potato served with steak dishes. The sauce is well seasoned and none too heavy, and the little grilled onions provide a surprising burst of natural sweetness. The carnivore looks calm and sated long after the meat has disappeared.

The sun has well and truly gone into hiding and the afternoon wind has picked up, but I guess that's the norm now here in Sydney. It's nice to be home.

Weekend content

I think I just had a weekend with all the components ever needed for a weekend: sleep (and plenty of it), shopping, visiting friends, dinner with family, drinks at a hideaway bar, art gallery, drinks by the harbour in the sunshine, dinner with friends. And throw in a few holiday plans. Yeah, life is alright.

It feels like Christmas is on its way, judging by the amount of people shopping this weekend - not quite the hustle and bustle of previous years but hectic enough anyway. And I'm having enormous trouble buying gifts this year. And I'm still not feeling very Christmas-sy.

Anyway, the sunny weekend beckoned and I certainly had my fair share of SPF30 protected sunshine the last couple of days. Some indoor activity was had, such as the New Acquisitions 2008 exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art down at Circular Quay. Admittedly, contemporary art often perplexes me but I relish the opportunity to interpret on my own and then sometimes share that interpretation with a fellow attendee I've dragged along, curatorial or artist notes, or simply the reaction of other museum-goers. It really is a fun couple of hours to me, and though this visit was slightly rushed I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition.

Out into the sunshine of a Sunday afternoon at this end of town and there really is just one place to go: Opera Bar. It's becoming a bit of a Sunday ritual but such a lovely time that I don't mind it as part of a weekly routine. On any remotely nice day out, Opera Bar tends to be packed and especially so today with a couple of private functions.

I've always found the menu at Opera Bar very reasonable considering the location, and while the food isn't mind blowing, it will certainly do. Atmosphere makes up for a lot. We just manage to nab a seat on the extreme outer, I'd almost call it balcony-like area, right near the water with a couple of beers, an order of wedges and unsurpassed views. I blame the warming sunshine, live jazz, cold beer, conversation and abundance of beautiful people and things for my forgetting a picture beforehand, but then again it was only wedges.

Half eaten serve of baked potato wedges with

sour cream and sweet chilli sauce

But then again, they were the best wedges I've had in quite some time. I love potato wedges with the skin on, as that seems to add another dimension of texture in addition to the crunchy outer and fluffy inner. These ones were in a jumble of sizes - some like a quartered potato and others more resembling chips. They've definitely got crunch but were not at all greasy or oily. The other point of difference to your standard frozen packet wedges was the sprinkled coating of a red spice mix - presumably containing some paprika, enticing the licking of fingers but not too much of a spice kick.

A perfect accompaniment to a beer or four, we wiled away a pleasant afternoon in the company of live music and happy tourists and locals alike against a backdrop of to-ing and fro-ing ferries, bridge climbers in the distance and an overwhleming sense of contentment.