Tonight we Tanqueray and tonic

For me, gin and tonic was the white-spirit bar drink graduation from vodka, lime and soda. Sophisticated, classic and tasting a million times better, it was an easy step up to G&Ts.

Tanqueray gin at a media event, Zeta Bar, Hilton Sydney, George Street

Tanqueray London Dry Gin recently launched a rather sexy global campaign, 'Tonight We Tanqueray', expounding the virtues of starting a night out right - with a Tanqueray and tonic, or T&T more conveniently.

Keep an eye out for the classy billboards and taxi adverts, or indeed, throughout November in Sydney, the Tanqueray Fleet of London black cabs that you may well be able to hail to start the night out.

Tanqueray and tonic

Also launched this month, select bars across Sydney will be serving T&Ts in huge bespoke green stemmed glasses that could almost double as a bowl.

The glassware apparently brings out the botanical flavours of the gin, and keeps the drink cooler for longer with the addition of lots of ice.

Tanqueray brand ambassador Barry Chalmers

Tanqueray's Australian brand ambassador is Barry Chalmers (of The Roosevelt and previously Eau de Vie) who detailed the history of gin and Tanqueray one fine Friday afternoon for a group at Zeta Bar.

Tanqueray gin kit

Created in 1810 by Londoner Charles Tanqueray, I've always known gin to have fantastical botanical characteristics. In Tanqueray they are specifically: juniper berries, coriander seed, angelica root and liquorice.

Garnishes

Given the historical belief in the medicinal properties of juniper berries (prescribed for tapeworm by the Egyptians) and that also of quinine-based tonic water (historically used as malaria treatment), I've deduced that gin and tonics must be good for me too, especially when garnished with a wealth of fresh fruits and herbs.

A classic T&T ('recipe' at the bottom of this post) will have Tanqueray gin, of course, ice, tonic water and a lime wedge squeezed and for garnish. Bartenders are now riffing on the classic with their own tonics and ideas on garnishes for T&Ts with a twist.

Hand-chipped ice

One nifty trick to a mixed drink like gin and tonic is ice. Lots of ice in a drink is not a bad thing at all. Plenty of ice means the temperature of a drink is lower overall and less likely to melt ice, as opposed to less ice in a drink which warms faster and hence melts ice faster too.

Huge blocks of hand-chipped ice are all the rage with bartenders nowadays, and is rather gorgeous in a rocks glass and a nip of your poison of choice.

Soda bottles

Barry's Bespoke Tonic

The next ingredient is tonic of which there are now artisanal options available in addition to your classic supermarket brands.

Taking it a step further, Chalmers has concocted his own Barry's Bespoke Tonic especially for the Tanqueray event, using quinine, grapefruit and lime zest, lemongrass stalks, rose water, orange blossom water, sugar and citric acid.

Lime wedges and other garnishes

Mint leaves and other garnishes

Lastly, a garnish. While lime is still a standard requirement, there are a myriad of additional fruit and herb options that complement the aromatics of Tanqueray gin.

On offer for our session was lemon and lime, an assortment of berries, ruby grapefruit, cucumber, mint and coriander.

My bespoke Tanqueray and tonic

My DIY T&T comprised Barry's Bespoke Tonic on a huge lump of ice, lime, strawberries, blueberries and coriander. It ended up being a pretty mix that exuded exotic summers.

I'm not sure that the whole blueberries added much to taste, but Barry's Bespoke Tonic was a real flavour sensation. Who would have thought that a T&T I made myself would be the best one I've sipped to date (thanks Barry!).

Throughout the T&T session we were responsibly served canapes from Zeta Bar, including a deliciously stunning, tongue-numbing gin and tonic sorbet.

White anchovy on crispy bread, onion puree

Duck rillettes en croute, cornichons and caper mayonnaise

Tartlet of spanner crab with pickled mango

Compressed rockmelon, asparagus & tomato relish

Prawn tempura, preserved lemon mayonnaise

Goat's cheese tartlet with pickled vegetables

Mushroom arancini with garlic sauce

Sesame crusted tuna with babaganoush crispy crostini

Tanqueray and tonic sorbet

Custom Tanqueray and tonic glasses

The Classic Tanqueray & Tonic - recipe (1 standard drink):

30ml measure of Tanqueray London Dry Gin
Premium quality tonic water
Fresh lime wedge and a lime wheel

Fill the glass two-thirds with ice. Place a lime wheel on top and pour 30ml of Tanqueray through the lime. Follow it through with tonic, then take the lime wedge, rim the glass, squeeze the drink.

Tanqueray ice display

See more photos from the event on my Facebook page and one of the very awesome 'Tonight We Tanqueray' advertising campaigns below.

Food, booze and shoes attended the Tanqueray event as a guest, with thanks to One Green Bean.

By the beach: North Bondi Italian Food

Outdoors and indoors, it's not a bad view at North Bondi Italian Food - the casual and now estranged sister restaurant of Icebergs at the other end of Australia's most famous beach.

Following a sunny and windy day out at this year's Sculpture by the Sea (see my photos here - I go from Tamarama to Bondi), nothing sounded better than a drink and a casual Italian menu aside sparkling Bondi Beach.

The view from North Bondi Italian Food, Ramsgate Avenue, North Bondi Beach

Robert Marchetti's North Bondi Italian Food (or NBIF) fills the ground floor beneath the North Bondi RSL Club, with well-heeled, -dressed and -tanned bodies filling the bar and restaurant on the early Sunday evening.

The vibe is decidedly casual but stylish with denim-shorted staff, sunnies abound, cutlery at the table, menus doubling as placemats, and good Italian sensibilities to the cocktail, beer and wines list.

The bar at NBIF

At one end of the spectrum, I've walked in with sandy thongs - sitting between tourists and families - looking out to the other end of the spectrum: a balcony of stiletto-ed clotheshorses who I'm pretty sure haven't touched the sandy beach.

Patruni e Sutta beer

The beer list featured a number of Italian imports - and the ones I hadn't seen before obviously had to be tried. The Patruna e Sutta from Sicily was a little bitter for my palate but easy-drinking nonetheless.

Menebrea Beer

The Menebrea beer from Biella in northern Piedmont was a little heavier with lovely nutty tones and is definitely my pick of the two I sampled.

Complimentary bread and olive oil

The basket of two white breads is served with NBIF's own, irresistible, fruity olive oil which sits with the cutlery set into a table cavity at every table.

Robert Marchetti's culatello

The menu listing of Robert Marchetti's salumi speaks my language. Made exclusively using black Berkshire pigs, the salami and other cured meats are equally tantalising.

We ended up choosing the culatello - cured pork like prosciutto (from the leg) but rather coming from the pig's rump.

Served tissue paper-thin, the culatello is more divine than any prosciutto I've had. Rich with a collar of fat as well as marbling, the spiced edge added pops of flavour to the gorgeously salty cured pork.

Spaghetti vongole

To mains, there is so much to choose from that I struggled somewhat and retreated to the safety of pasta. However, it appears I made the mistake of trying to go healthy, with the cheese, cream and ragu free option of spaghetti vongole.

Arriving to the table with a glass bowl over the top for the clam shells, the spaghetti was cooked simply and traditionally with white wine, garlic, parsley and olive oil, and needed a little seasoning which was available at the table.

Mouthfuls of the pasta with the small clams were fresh and so appropriate for the beach setting while the clam-less bites were a little uninspired.

Fusili carbonara

There were high expectations for the carbonara, which used long spiral fusili pasta. The first bite of pasta was a bit short of al dente while most of it was fine in the very cheesey sauce.

I imagine that it was large cubes of guanciale cured pork jowl scattered throughout but I'm not certain as my past experiences of guanciale have been more tender and deliciously fatty.

Rocket and fennel salald

Having stupidly forgone the eggplant parmigiana side, the flat rocket with fennel side dish was a must-have with the pasta mains, and seemed to have every leaf dressed liberally with oil and vinegar.

Inside NBIF

Having yet to learn to go easy on the bread in the beginning of a meal, especially when there's pasta involved later, dessert wasn't going to happen.

But just sitting, watching the Bondi world go by was sweet enough. With Sculptures ticked off for the year and a full tummy, it was the perfect prelude to summer by the beach.

The inaugural Green Square Gourmet Food Festival and Long Dinner

Crave Sydney International Food Festival signalled the beginning of festival season in Sydney although its end signals a perhaps scary start to the year-end festive season.

A month back now, the sprinkling rain and cold deterred few from the inaugural Green Square Gourmet Food Festival as a part of Crave, so congratulations go to the organisers for a job very well done.

Pony rides as part of the Green Square Gourmet Food Festival, Joynton Park,
Victoria Park, Green Square

Dreamt up and put together by Martin, the outdoor festival in Joynton Park within the Victoria Park complex had both kids and food lovers covered.

There were pony rides, a petting farm, restaurant and produce stalls, a bar and, luckily given the weather, a big marquee with plenty of seating.

Kids' Audi driving track

A llama in the petting zoo

Fruit and vegetable carvings

Paella by Bocata

The festival provided an opportunity for Green Square to feature restaurants and providores from the area and neighbouring Surry Hills, Redfern, Alexandria and so forth - and what a gourmet bounty it was.

Yellow beef curry by Longrain

With Noodle Markets commitments as well, Longrain was in full festival swing in October. Their yellow beef curry was mildly spicy, while the soft beef pieces must have been cooked for hours and hours.

The curry's spicy sauce and fluffy white rice were only enhanced by the vegetable pickle on top.

Penne with beef ragu from Adamo's Pasta

Great value was had at the Adamo's Pasta stall with rich, filling bowls of beef ragu penne for only $5.

Not only was it value for money, it was darn well one of the best pastas I've had - certainly coming from a bain marie into a biodegradable bowl, and even comparing to some eateries - with the impressively al dente penne tubes holding up a very robust tomato and red wine ragu.

Fresh mozzarella being stretched at the Salt Meats Cheese stall

I was introduced to Salt Meats Cheese (which sits next to The Grounds of Alexandria) by Jeremy Martin of Martin, and was glad to be able to sample their goodies at the festival.

Mozzarella is one of my all-time favourite cheeses and having learnt to make it recently, I was only more appreciative watching the guy at the stall stretch the curds into beautiful balls of mozzarella.

Salt Meats Cheese are doing some pretty awesome things with their fresh cow's and buffalo milk mozzarella that take me back to my time spent in Italy - quite a feat for a locally-made cheese.

Cheese sampling at the Salt Meats Cheese stall

See more photos from the Green Square Gourmet Food Festival here on my Facebook page.

Pop-Up Long Dinner

Later in the evening, amid the grey skies and threatening winds, the festivities continued in Joynton Park with a pop-up Long Dinner hosted by Martin.

The chilly weather rather challenged the cocktail dress code - it would have been a stunning set-up were it a balmy spring night. Nonetheless, the themed marquee was a pretty sight in the middle of the park.

Marquee and crowd for Long Dinner as part of the
Green Square Gourmet Food Festival 

Surrounded by high rise apartment buildings, the marquee looked to be holding steady as about 200 people sipped wines by Swinging Bridge (apt, really, given the wind) and Pimms cocktails with natural oysters and peppery prawn crackers to start the night.

Tables set up for the Long Dinner

Three long tables were set up beneath the open-sided marquee while a live music act took the stage at the front. Professional waitstaff added a sense of refinement to the evening while the bottomless bottles of wine was reminiscent of a wedding.

Entrees being plated in the kitchen

I was allowed to sneak into the makeshift tent kitchen where the night's dinner was being prepared by Danks Street Depot, Longrain and The French House (also in Danks Street, Waterloo).

Martin Boetz of Longrain (left) and Jared Ingersoll of Danks Street Depot (right)

Food was in fact being prepared by the the men themselves: Jared Ingersoll of Danks Street Depot and Martin Boetz of Longrain, who also joined the long dinner when they could leave the kitchen.

Bread and butter

Salad of cauliflower, corn and cucumber

Beetroot and carrot salad

Sitting among new faces and couple of restaurateurs, dinner was a meal of shared courses, starting with bread and spring-appropriate salads of cauliflower and corn, and beetroot and carrot.

Charcuterie plate by Danks Street Depot

Next, Ingersoll's generous charcuterie platter of velvety duck liver pâté, orange-hued salmon rillettes and hunk of veal terrine could have been the meal itself, so rich and decadent it was.

I couldn't pick a favourite but the brandy-toned pâté was quite incredible.

Boetz tends to the yellow curry

Boetz headed back into the kitchen to plate and finish the main course: a yellow curry of duck, served with rice and cucumber chilli pickles.

Cucumber pickles

Yellow duck curry by Longrain

I loved that there was a bigger heat kick in the pickle than the mild yellow curry which dressed the impeccably tender and juicy duck legs and breasts.

There was plenty of duck to go around and it took a lot in me to not finish off the shared bowl of curry and rice, and call it a night. A lot.

Assorted mini tarts by The French House

And so there was room for dessert; a huge selection of tarts and small bits from The French House that ensured no one would be tasting them all. The chocolate tart was as good as it was cute, while the white chocolate covered profiterole was a custard-filled delight.

Rain and lightning timed itself well to celebrate the close of dinner and the day overall of the Green Square Gourmet Food Festival.

Many thanks go to Martin for the very well executed event - from music to decorations and of course, the food and booze, it was a long dinner to remember, and not for the free light show at the end either. See you next year!

Food, booze and shoes attended the Long Dinner as a guest of Martin.