20190809 Schnithouse and Steven ter Horst

It's in the depths of winter and we are truly rugged up against the bitter winds and rain. The last few days it has poured down. Definitely needed our umbrellas.

I was the first in the pub as usual - the pre-booked booth works well. Stephen wasn't far behind and in came Con and Chad around the same time. Richard was a little later. Because he is usually the last to come, he has to get a chair and sit on the end of the booth.

The pub was packed tonight. I had one drink and then went onto the orange juice and water. Richard was also drinking water. It was also lovely to see Jen. She made a surprise visit. It's always lovely to see her.

Chad brought 2 books for Stephen - it's funny how things come around. A couple of years ago, we had a Christmas in July and I bought all the crowd a small something from the second-hand bookshop. Well, that same book turned up. Chad had read it and was ready to pass it on.

Richard was asked if he was a VIP member when he bought his drink. He replied no, but was told that if he had been a member he would have saved a couple of bucks on his drink. The next day, I emailed the Elephant and let them know that I've been coming every Friday for the past 7 years. They offered me VIP membership! Great stuff. I will go into the pub during the week to pick up my prized key-ring.

When we were coming out of the Elephant and making our way to Schnithouse (Stephen's choice) we passed a busker next to a log fire in the alleyway. It was a lovely setting despite the cold.


We all shuffled into Shithouse (as we like to call it) and we were escorted to a table at the back corner. Perfect - away from the cold of the door. We all had to go up and order which is great when you're in a group - no need to worry about splitting the bill later.

It was typical pub type food and we didn't disappoint in the ordering of the fare.

Richard had the Roger Federer - a chicken schnitzel with avocado and Swiss cheese. He complained that it was a bit tough and gave a 7.5 out of 10 to reflect this.

Jen has the Schnitt hot pork. She admitted that she is hard to impress and ended up after the meal with a score of 7.5.

Another 7.5 was given by both Stephen and myself. Stephen had the Lazy Schnitzel with pepper sauce - nothing can really go wrong with a basic like that.... and I had the Fish O'Fillet - Barramundi burger and chips. It was deep fat fried and crumbed. It was lovely and crispy but a bit too heavy on my stomach.

 Chad had the highest score of the evening. He had the same as Jen (except chicken) and gave his meal an 8. He liked the hot chilli sauce and smothered his schnitzel with it, whereas Jen was dipping her meat into the sauce, pacing herself.

That only leaves Con. What to say about Con's meal? He had the Schnitt House special pizza. It looked lovely. Nice thick crust and lots of toppings. However, Con wasn't impressed with it at all and could only give it a 5 out of 10. His comment was 'it's nothing special, a bit thick and stodgy'.

We all went to Steven ter Horst for a hot chocolate, but Richard only had 10 minutes so ordered his Mocha straight away. We were all sitting in the cafe with our beanies on - sitting right by the door so every time someone came in, a blast hit us. Never mind, the hot chocolate made up for it. Jen had another single chocolate with her meal. That was it. No-one else had desserts.

I was telling Con about how much I like listening to Willie Nelsen and we had a rendition from Stephen on what country music really sounds like... boom, boom, da, da.. yeeee-haaaa. His impression was nothing like Willie Nelsen but I can't convince him to listen to my style of music. Sigh.

Stephen and I will be in Sydney next week - visiting his father. I think Chad said he won't be there either. And Richard is doing something else. It may be a quiet one then. Con will have to let us know what happens....

Until next time... safe travels and keep warm...

20190802 Bakery on O'Connell

 Friday night rolls around again! It's the middle of winter and the rain was splattering as I made my way to the Elephant to my pre-booked booth at 5pm. I was a little late today because I was gas-bagging with my work colleagues.

Stephen said that he was come later because the car had a flat battery. He called the RAA out and he decided that the battery was too expensive so didn't get it replaced. However, it did start again with a little assistance and he was walking into the Elephant by 5.30pm.

It was Chad's turn to choose tonight. He tried to organise all of us to meet in North Adelaide but it didn't quite end up like that - we all congregated to the Elephant. We did our round of jugs and texted Richard to say we'd meet him at the Bakery on O'Connell at 7.30.

We crossed our fingers to see if the car would start again, and thankfully it did. We gave Chad and Con a lift to North Adelaide. We had trouble finding a park and ended up parking about half way up the side street.

One of the things I love about the Bakery in North Adelaide is that there is NO TABLE-FLIPPING that happens. Stephen is appeased and is always happy with his pie floater. Whew!! Finally, a night of no drama! Besides Stephen was driving and that meant no drinking. There's definitely a correlation between the drinking and the table-flipping.

Anyway... what did we all have?? There's plenty to choose from... pies, pasties, soup, floaters....

Let's start with Chad. He had the pie of the moment (beef mince, chilli and cheese) in a pie floater. Plenty of tomato sauce on top. He gave his meal an 8 out of 10.

Next was Con. He also choose the pie of the moment. However, he didn't think too highly of it and gave it a 5. He also had minestrone soup.

Stephen had another pie floater with pepper steak. He also gave his meal an 8 out of 10. However, he still felt hungry and had an extra quiche.

Richard also had soup - pumpkin - with potato and beef pie which could have been hotter. He gave his meal a 7.5 out of 10. He also had a cannelloni style dessert.

I had the vegan Thai spicy roll pie floater. This is the first time I've had the floater - it was delicious! Loved it. I'd give my meal an 8 out of 10. Afterwards, Stephen and I shared a vanilla slice with a coffee.

We were joined at the restaurant by Alan and Tanya who are friends of Chad and Richard. They brought their own cups to save on plastic which is great to see.

Richard left to go and see Ben Salter - an Aussie singer-songwriter. Shortly afterwards Stephen and I gave Con and Chad a lift home.

A good choice by Chad tonight! Well done Chad for keeping the group happy... It's Stephen's turn to choose next week (9/8) and Richard's turn to choose on 16/8. This is when Stephen and I will be in Sydney so we encourage Richard to choose to go to District 4 on that Friday!

20190726 The Stag and San Churro

We started off at the usual spot - the back booth of the Elephant. We were wearing out winter woolies because it was so cold. I started to read my book but Stephen came in shortly afterwards so I put it back in my bag. Con was not long away and Chad came in around 6pm. Richard was in Melbourne for the week. I half expected Jen to come, but it just ended up it being the 4 of us.

The jugs of beers were going down a treat - Con, then Chad then Stephen. Con decided to buy one more jug for the road, even though Chad had had enough. That meant that Stephen by this stage had drunk over 4 pints. Trouble right there!

It was my turn to choose tonight so I take full responsibility. I had booked a table at the Stag Hotel restaurant (or so I had thought). When we got there it wasn't in the restaurant next to the Stag it was actually in the bar - the noisy area opposite the bar. We all complained about it being too noisy.


Stephen was on fire and decided to make a complaint to the management. He cornered one of the bar staff and gave her a piece of his mind. He's getting quite the reputation for complaining and I think the beers lubricated him.

The restaurant that is next to the Stag is called Yiasou George. I didn't know that it wasn't part of the Stag. Now I know...

So what did we eat in the Stag? Well I had crab linguine which was a 7 out of 10. It wasn't very hot. The flavours were there, but the usual complaint - not enough vegetables. Con had the fish and chips - another 7 out of 10. Chad and Stephen had the beef cheek pie with chips. The pie was in a serving dish so there was only pastry on top. And there were a few shoestring chips on the side - no salad or vegetables. Chad gave his meal a 4 out of 10. Stephen gave his meal a 3.

The manager of the pub came over and talked to Stephen about his complaint. He listened to Stephen for about 10 minutes then offered everyone a free beer. A free beer which Stephen turned down!!!!

 We all finished up our food and headed straight for the door. It was way too noisy to chat and it wasn't the most comfortable place to eat. Con fell off his chair reaching for a fallen napkin. I think the pub was glad to see us go.

We went to San Churro and Stephen created more kerfuffle by moving a table for 2 people next to another table. We were squeezed in between another couple. Chad bought us all a chocolate (he was kind enough to remember that I like the milk chocolate). He had the most enormous marshmallow in his hot chocolate - it looked great.

Chad also had a cheesecake which was enormous. He couldn't eat it all so Stephen had some of the left overs. Not a good night. I wasn't happy with Stephen but eventually I thawed.

20190719 The Austral and Steven ter Horst

We were at our usual spot in the Elephant and it was Stephen's turn to drive today - a rare event on a Friday night. We had been to Penfold's Magill Estate for a degustation with his brother and sister-in-law the night before.

Richard was missing in action - another concert. But we had a visitor join us - Ian was on his way to see the footy and came in for a Guinness. It was lovely to see him out. He has been keeping well. He showed us a photo of his new puppy - a beautiful little thing!

It was Con's turn to choose tonight and he decided on the Austral. An unusual choice for him but considering that we've been to all the Asian places it was next on our list. I rang and made a booking for 4 (Ian had to leave by 6.30).

In the Elephant, Chad's name is still up on the leaderboard for the Elly challenge. This time his name was the right way around!

We strolled over to the Austral. A cold winter night didn't stop people milling around Rundle Street.

The restaurant at the Austral was half empty - plenty of tables spare. The tables were covered with paper and the Austral stamp was on the right hand corner. A nice touch.

So who had what?? Con had the calamari and chips - looked lovely.

Chad had the burger and chips - again looked good.









I had the crumbed fish and chips with mushroom sauce - again it was nice enough.


Chad, Con and myself all gave our meals 7 out of 10. Good standard pub fare.



Now what about Stephen? Well, he ordered the Perri Perri Chicken and vegetables. He ate a little of his chicken and saw that the majority of the vegetables was eggplant. It didn't look appetizing at all.

He complained about his food and after the second complaint, the waitress gave him half his money back with a pale ale for me (as Stephen wasn't drinking). Drama! Stephen is getting quite the reputation for flipping tables at restaurants :-)

Con decided to go to Steven ter Horst so we strolled back up the road. There was plenty of space inside. Chad bought Stephen a chocolate cake for his birthday (belated birthday wishes) which he shared with me. Con had a massive cheesecake which he couldn't eat all of.

The hot chocolates, as usual, were lovely. We had lots of laughs tonight. Can't remember now what about, but it was a good night. Lots of merriment and fun. I was quite tipsy with my 4 or 5 beers that I had.

Stephen had spent the day with his brother and sister-in-law and had visited the Central Markets for breakfast. He had a cake in the car for me when I got in - left over from breakfast. A welcome nibble when I got home!