20190301 The Exeter and Brunelli

The Elephant was packed so we sat outside in the 40 degree heat. Stephen had arrived at 4.30pm and was already sipping down the jugs. Con joined him at 5pm and I left work and was there by 5.15. Chad joined us around 6pm. Richard was at a show, The Magic Flute.

It was Chad's turn to choose where to eat and for a while he was mentioning Betty's Burgers. Con and I tried to discourage him as I didn't feel like standing in a queue. He eventually decided to keep it simple and eat at The Exeter. It's a grungy place at the best of times and this time it lived up to its Bohemian style by having beer spilled on the floor in the dining room. It was packed outside with the extra tables and chairs spilling onto the closed road, but inside, it was quiet and we found a table easily enough. The art on the walls reflected the Fringe feel with covers of the artwork and abstract stuff to look at.

 Chad has another beer which was served in the plastic cups - a dead giveaway that its Fringe time.

It was pretty much bog standard pub food tonight. Chad and Stephen had the Chicken Curry, Con had the beef burger and I had the Tofu Burger with Mushroom Sauce and chips. Chad, as usual, was reasonably happy with his meal, giving his a 7 out of 10. He likes the curries at The Exeter. He's organising a Curry night there on 24 April. I must admit the last time I had a curry at the Exeter I was suitably happy with the experience.

Stephen was a little more critical of his food. He had to put salt on the curry twice because, even though it was hot, it didn't have the depth of back flavour to hit the palate.

Con said, 'mmm... it wasn't great but it was alright...' - high praise from the meister. I thought my burger had all the flavours there. I love the mushroom sauce. However, the chips were re-fried and crumbling with all the potato inside fried up. They weren't nice at all.

Chad is also organising a Sunday afternoon at the Wheatsheaf to taste the beers there. I already got in early to nominate Stephen to drive that day :-) I think that was for the 28 April.

Stephen decided to make another paper folded cube and this time was the winner for the creative endeavour (sadly it got crushed by my hand accidentally stomping on it later).

We went to Brunelli for a coffee. Stephen and I also shared a Chocolate Eclair which I wasn't too impressed with. I ended up giving my half back to Stephen. We sat in the inside/outside area that was boiling hot. Stephen had to wipe his forehead to get the sweat out of his eyes. I ordered the coffees and we were surprised when the cups came out. The cups were so hot I couldn't even pick it up. I had to tear off a part of a napkin to hold the handle.

We were given a treat to a chorus of singers as they walked past the cafe, all were wearing headphones and signing (out of tune!) to their music. It's great that people are getting into the festival spirit!

Con forgot his glasses and left them on the table. Luckily, I noticed them as I was the last to leave and handed them to him before he left for his bus.

20190222 The Elephant and Bun Cha Restaurant

It was a quiet Friday night for the group. Chad was at Amalfis with a group and going to see a concert later and Richard was seeing Rufus Wainwright at the Festival Theate at 7.30pm. Stephen and I were also going to see Rufus (free tickets courtesy of Richard), but met at the Elephant to have some food before the show. We met Con who was looking smart in his short-sleeved shirt with denim frills.

Stephen had the chicken schnitzel with pepper sauce and I had the grilled fish and chips with mushroom sauce. They forgot the sauce for me but it didn't take long for them to bring it out once I mentioned it.

The food at the Elephant is much better than what it used to be with the previous chef. The food is standard pub fare and you don't feel bloated afterwards.

Con decided not to eat with us at the Elephant but to go to his favourite Vietnamese place across from the Elephant. We will wait to see what he ate next week and get his feedback on the quality on the food. He always seems to like it.

No photos this week - my bad, as I forgot in the rush to see the concert.

20190215 Taj Tandoor and Brunelli

And so the show begins! It's Fringe Festival time. It's the opening night of the fringe and the streets have been cordoned off and the people have taken over. The Elephant was relatively quiet compared to the buzz outside. Richard's friend, Jeremy, met up to collect the $140 for the Tim Minchin Concert ticket I bought. I was the first to arrive at the Elephant because I finish work at 5 and walk across the road. My new job is very central to Rundle Street being on Grenfell Street. I forget to order a jug and end up paying $12 for a pint of lager.

It's my turn to choose tonight. I've already been proactive and booked the Indian restaurant the day before. We haven't been there since Chad's birthday about 4 years ago. We weren't too impressed with the food then, and we thought it was too pricey, but who knows, they may have a new chef.

They appear to have a special menu for the Fringe event, a smaller menu that usual, but it has all the favourites. Stephen and I went overboard and ordered entree, main and sides. Too much! A painful stomach afterwards confirmed this. Stephen ordered a glass of red wine and wasn't impressed with the quantity in the glass. It did look like a small serving. It wasn't cheap either at $8.50 a glass.

Stephen and Richard had a paper-fight. Who can make the best object with a square piece of paper? It was close with Stephen constructing a paper box (meant to be filled with water and thrown at people you dislike). But I think the winner by a whisker was Richard with his crane bird.

What do you order when you go to an Indian restaurant? Hint... too much food!

I had Vegetable Pakora and Malai Kotfa with rice and Garlic Naan to share with Stephen. Stephen had the Samosa and Chicken Madras with rice which went down nicely with the red wine. He was very complimentary about the food. 'Can't fault it' was his comment. High praise indeed from the fellow who has delicate taste buds. Chad had the fish curry and naan, Con had samosa and daal (with no rice but had naan) and Richard had beef malabar, rice and garlic naan.

We were initially only given 2 servings of rice in a rather decorative copper pot, but it was no trouble at all for the waitress to bring out an extra serving. All the curries tasted like they had fresh spices and the naan and rice were cooked to perfection. Con gave his overall rating a 6 whilst Stephen and I gave a 7 1/2 and Chad won with 9 out of 10. Richard, by this time, had already left to go a concert.

The atmosphere was most pleasant. The windows of the restaurant were open and we heard the buzz of people outside. We had a busker sitting right outside the restaurant and we could pick out Cat Stephens, Metallica and other favorites...

We went for coffee at Brunelli thinking that it would be quieter at that end of the street. We managed to get a table ok, but it took a while for the coffees to be made and I had to wait at the counter and serve ourselves. The waiters looked harassed poor things. Talking of harassment, we gave Stephen a beating about the De-veining Prawns incident at District 4 last year. Chad always pretends to get angry and try to flip the table as an example of how Stephen reacted (which isn't true :-) ). Stephen is used to our ribbing about the incident and shrugged it off. He was more interested in talking about American power voltages and the statistics of people who get injured by sticking their fingers into power sockets. Makes sense.

We have a busy weekend coming up with Toastmasters on Saturday and Sunday and Judith Lucy on Saturday night and the free theatre tickets on Sunday from Richard.

20190208 Grill'd and Brunelli

We started off at the Elephant sitting at the back of the pub. The prices have been hiked up again so it makes it all the more worthwhile to have the cheap $11 jugs that are on offer. The Tradies were out for the night, sitting outside and downing the jugs like there was no tomorrow. My mum from Wales called which was a really pleasant surprise.

Chad was on fire with his dead fish black and white shirt. Richard was missing in action tonight after booking the Laneways Festival.

It was Stephen's turn to choose tonight and there were no surprises that he choose his favourite supplemental meal - the BURGER! We were going to see if Betty's Burgers were full, if they were we would head down to Grill'd. Needless to say, we ended up in Grill'd.

So... burger it is. Chad had the Bonfire BBQ, Con had the Mighty-Crow Eater, Stephen had the Simon Says - his new chicken diet, and I had the Garden Goodness. Stephen and Con gave the burger a... mmmm.... it was ok rating. Chad was a bit more complimentary in giving it a B. I gave it a B too, not so much for the burger but because the chips and dip in sauce were amazing. To contrast this, some of the sweet potato chips were raw. Having a burger is like having a pizza. It's reliable in that it fills you up but it is totally forgettable a couple of hours after eating.

A couple of interesting points about Grill'd. It has a stick painted white at one end on the table and you are supposed to turn the stick upside down in the jar if you are satisfied with your meal, otherwise, the waitress comes over and asks if everything is ok. A thoughtful touch.

Secondly, we were given a bottle cap with every meal ordered and asked to put it in the donation jars. At least there is an effort to demonstrate community awareness and support which is nice.

We went to Brunelli's for the obligatory coffee which Con ordered for us. Chad noticed that the televisions all had their power rating stickers still on the screen and as usual a couple of the t.v.s weren't working. We spent a good 15 minutes talking about the value of lending friends money at a reduced interest rate of 15%. The 'friend' shall remain nameless.

We knew it was time to leave when Stephen started hiccuping... is it time to (hiccup) go now? Yes, Stephen, it's time to go :-)

20190201 Mekong and San Churro

We are getting used to having the jugs of beer at the Elephant. They go down a treat. It was Con's turn to decide where to eat and as usual he choose Asian.

We went to the Mekong for the $14.50 meals. I had green seafood curry and Con had the red beef curry. We both forgot to order rice, but it was no trouble for them to bring it out when we asked for it.

Chad had the mango with chicken. Richard had a flat noodle style dish.

I would give my dish a 9 out of 10 for flavour. It was delicious and it is novel the way it is served in that folded paper over a live flame.

Stephen was being adventurous and didn't order his Singapore noodles. Instead he went for another noodle/salad style dish which he thought was a bit bland.

We decided to stroll up to the street corner to San Churro for hot chocolate/coffee. We sat outside - again - another beautiful evening. Con was the only person to have a small wrapped chocolate with his coffee, so Chad (after seeing my disappointment) got us all one. The hot chocolate was delicious. A rich, smooth chocolate flavour that hit the spot. Chad's chocolate was a winner with hot thick dark chocolate and ice cream. A bit pricey though at $6.50 a pop.

We talked about music, as the Triple J hottest 100 was broadcast on the previous weekend.

20190125 East Bar Grill Pizzeria and Brunelli

Richard's turn to choose where to eat - no surprises he choose Italian.

We sat outside in the warm evening next to a full table of Italian young men - so packed that we were asked to move our table over a bit to accommodate them - no problems. It was nice to see people out and enjoying themselves.

I had the Rigatoni Vegetable. The pasta was undercooked and there wasn't much sauce - rather bland. Stephen had the double burger which he complained was too much. Unusual for him because he usually complains the burgers aren't big enough. Chad had pizza which looked sumptuous (but later he said it was average to taste) and Richard had salad.

The surprise came with Con's dish - a yirros style dish come complete in a rather large bowl-like deep fried nacho. It looked great but Con said that it was average in taste.

We went to Brunelli's for coffee afterwards and sat inside to escape the heat. Hooray for air conditioning!