To dine for

Inspired by this article, I was wondering how many people out there have tried ‘weird’ food? And I don’t mean sushi or rabbit, I mean things like deep-fried haggis (tried it - Scotland) or chili flavoured ice cream (tried it - Scotland). Below is a list of some of the other unusual things I’ve had and where I tasted them:

· Deep fried Mars bars – Scotland
· Horse meat – France & Italy
· Pigeon – Egypt
· Giraffe – Namibia
· Blesbok - Namibia
· Crocodile – Australia
· Kangaroo – Australia
· Emu – Australia
· Sheep (various bits incl brains, eyes, heart, liver) – South Africa
· Oxtail and bull’s balls – South Africa
· Karoo Oysters (grilled sheep’s liver wrapped in kidney fat) – South Africa
· Black pudding (pig’s blood) – UK

Have you tried anything weird? Leave a note in the comments section.

Chat soon,
DelBoy

Melbourne lunch

Today I went for lunch with Col and Dazzler at a small Italian place on Little Collins Street called Benito’s. I thought I’d write about it ‘cos the food was amazing!

Firstly, we had to sit at the counter ‘cos we hadn’t booked a table and the place was full – at 12.30pm! We didn’t have time for starters, so went straight onto our mains. The guys had lasagna, which was huge! I ordered the pappardelle with chicken livers and red onion. It was delicious! The pasta was cooked to perfection - al dente!

The service was a little slow, but considering how busy it was and how good the company was, it didn’t matter.

I was looking forward to an espresso (apparently Benito’s make the perfect coffee too) but we ran out of time and I had to rush back to the office.

Chat soon,
DelBoy

Beer goggles

I’ve just been reading an article in an Aussie food magazine about this ‘new’ idea of linking good/boutique beers with certain foods like you would drink certain wines with certain dishes.

HELLO!! They’ve been doing that in the UK for a couple of years now!

On the forefront of this breakthrough idea is a restaurant in Sydney called Balzac that is, funnily enough, owned by an Englishman and his wife.

The Aussies drink an average of 95 litres of beer per capita in a year and only 27 litres of wine in the same time. No wonder restaurants are trying to push their beer sales. My question to you is “have any of you tried to experiment different beers with different foods?”

Through my experiences as a pub manager, I doubt it. Most people use beer to quench their thirst or fill their right hand while watching the big game on a Saturday afternoon!

But do yourself a favour and try it. It basically works the same as wine. Try a lighter beer with white meat and fish and a darker ale with red meats. You can even have beer with your dessert instead of a sweet dessert wine. Go on, try it. Below are some of my recommendations:

Seafood - IPA (Indian Pale Ale)
Oxtail - Amber Ale
Seafood pasta - Pilsner (Peroni)
Spicey Oriental food - Tiger, Kirin
Bread & Butter pudding - Hoegaarden Grand Cru
Chocolate desserts - Westmalle Dubbel

Chat soon,
DelBoy