20210226 The Griffin's Head and The Golden Wattle TURN: Richard

Richard had wanted us to meet at the Griffin's Head for drinks before the meal which was booked for 7pm. Stephen hadn't read the message clearly enough and decided to go to the Elephant for his usual jugs of Young Henrys.

Being Fringe time, our usual parking spaces were taken, so we ended up on Angus Street, just off Frome. We walked to the Elephant and saw Con walking in the opposite directly at the Exeter. We flagged him down and went back to the Elephant. We easily scored a booth which was great. Richard came at about 6.40pm and had a mineral water whilst Stephen and Con finished off their beers. Richard had been to see a show beforehand. Chad was at a work function at Amalfis.

We walked to the Griffin's Head. We were given a flyer to see JOURNEY at the Tandyana Cultural Centre. Sounds interesting. We saw the Guru Music dancers out and about. Looks like a lot of fun but I wouldn't be doing it :-)

Inside the Griffin it was surprisingly quiet. There were only a couple of occupied tables in the dining room. What did we order?

• Richard - eye fillet which was medium but came out a little under done. Richard didn't mind that and thought it was perfect. The seasoning was superb! 8

• Con - Bangers and mash - 3 big fat sausages - 7

• 
  Stephen - a modified version of what was on the menu - schnitzel with mash and veg with pepper sauce. His comment afterwards was that the pepper sauce was ordinary and that it had red onion that was hardly cooked in with the veggies. - 6.5

• 
  Elizabeth - Nepalese curry, rice and poppadom. My criticism is that it had zucchini which wasn't stated on the menu. A bit of a sloppy affair but the flavours were there - 6

Richard made a comment that if you have to order a well done steak it's as if you haven't matured yet. The same as asking for sugar in your coffee. He was referring this comment to Stephen who didn't bite.

 We went to the Golden Wattle for a coffee after trying the Mantra (which was closed) and the outside seating at the Rhino (no coffees). The coffees at the Golden Wattle were surprisingly good. Richard left as soon as his coffee was drank to meet a friend at the Rhino room for a show.

We gave Con a lift to Norwood.

20210219 Midnight Spaghetti and Steven Ter Horst TURN: Stephen

Don't we just love the Fringe!!!! Yes, it's that time of the year again. A balmy evening perfect for the opening of the Fringe. Rundle Street was cordoned off and the tables and chairs were on the sidewalk. When we got there at about 5.30pm it was still relatively quiet.

The Exeter was heaving - full of people but when we arrived in the Elephant it was nearly empty. We scored a booth by the telephone box. Everyone turned up at our table for 6. Richard was off to see Katie Noonan but said he would be back for the meal at 8.15pm. When he came back he said the show was fantastic and incredible. 

Albert had hurt his ankle so that left 2 legs in pain so he had trouble walking - more so than usual. The Fringe activity didn't help.

We arrived at Midnight Spaghetti at around 8.15 (we didn't want to be late because in the past they call our telephone number and ask where the hell are we!).

I brought along a bag for Richard. A zucchini from my meditation friend's garden and the jar of sweet pickles that Stephen will never use.

The first thing I noticed about the restaurant is that the menu had changed. Instead of a large A3 menu it was now A5 size. The writing was so small I couldn't hardly read it. Stephen put on the torch on the phone for me. Still it is beyond me why people make the menu so small.

We sat at the table out on the verandah to the far left. It was a table for 12 and a couple were sitting at one end. We squeezed in at the other. The music was art nouveau with out there random noises and was a tad too loud to be comfortable.

So what did we have?

• Stephen - bolognaise (lamenting that the ragu was no longer on the menu) and shared truffle potatoes - 7
  
• Chad - bolognaise - not very warm - 7
• Elizabeth - midnight spaghetti - 9 - loved it!
• Con - midnight spaghetti - 6 - the usual comment - ah it was alright
• Richard - midnight spaghetti - 8 - would have it again
• Albert - gnocchi - 8 - tasted good

It was a bit disappointing that the bread didn't arrive until after we had all finished the meals. The upside is that they brought out a second bowl of bread at Albert's request. By this stage I am stuffed.

Richard had a call from his mother to say that there was a leaking tap at home. He decided to head home so he could help and organised to meet Albert at Gluttony.

We went to Steven Ter Horst. We squeezed on the end of the bench table and the guy brought us 2 more stools. Stephen and I had a hot chocolate and Con had a coffee. Chad and Albert didn't have anything.

We didn't stay long. By this stage I was a bit sleepy and wanted to head home. Albert was going to go with Richard to a concert but decided to go home because he couldn't walk far. We gave him a lift home after he walked to Grenfell St bus stop.

20210212 Taste of Nepal and Altavilla Irpina TURN: Elizabeth

 We started off at the Norwood Pub. Stephen and I got there just after 5pm. I asked for a table for 6 without being specific about whether we were going to eat or not. They gave us one of the booths in the pub itself which was perfect.

Albert gave Stephen a 'I survived COVID' coin which I still have in my bag. Chad brought a book for Con, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.

We had our jugs of Furphy which went down a treat. Con travelled with us in the car to the restaurant and Chad went with Richard and Albert.

We parked on the street just outside the restaurant. The place itself was nearly empty. I remember its quaint decor and the water that is served with a plant in it. The waiters are dressed up in traditional costume including hats.

The service was quick and it wasn't long before we had all ordered.

Stephen and I had an entree - Vegetarian delight - 4 small pieces of delicious fare - all tasty

I had the Barramundi curry and rice with garlic roti - I couldn't eat it all because I had filled up on the crisps earlier. - 8.5 the flavours were delicious.

Stephen - chicken curry special - very bland - 5.5 - he and Chad shared a bottle of red

Chad - buffalo curry and rice - 9

Albert - Nepalean chicken curry and rice - 8.5

Con - Lamb curry and daal (no rice) - 7.5 even though Con didn't order rice there was plenty left over for him to have some.

Richard - Butter chicken, yoghurt salad and rice - 9

There was plenty for everyone.

We walked across the road to the Italian place for a coffee. There was loud music (which sounded liked a jamming session) in the back room. It was buzzy enough. We all ordered coffee (Albert hot chocolate) but the coffee was woeful. We could hardly drink it it was that bad. The flat whites were served in glasses and Stephen and Richard had to be sugar in their cups to taste it otherwise they wouldn't have drunk it.

Overall all, another good evening.

We gave Con a lift back to Norwood.

The toilets in the Nepalese restaurant

As yes, the 2 desserts that Albert stuffed himself with ! :-)