Sydney Cafe Vegetarian Delights

Lately, MBH and I have been checking out a few new cafes hoping to find a couple of cool new spots with good coffee and a decent range of vego options. What we already know is that Kelby's in Marrickville does a great poached eggs with dukkah, sweet potato and fetta, Sideways Cafe in Dulwich Hill does great corn fritters with baby spinach, haloumi and some kind of yummo relish plus the loveliest home made cakes ever, Big Brekky in Petersham does good coffee (but always slow to arrive) and scrambled eggs, Post Cafe in Marrickville offers a very good toasted turkish sandwich with goats cheese, thinly sliced roast pumpkin, baby spinach and sun dried tomato paste, Cinque in Newtown does good pea, mint and haloumi fritters and of course the incomparable italian hot chocolate, Sonoma in Glebe does fantastic coffee and mixed berry muffins, Campos in Newtown is just for a really bloody good coffee, le Petit Creme in Darlinghurst is good for crepe suzette and frites and Kazbah in Balmain is good for porridge with fruit compote, sweet couscous and vegie tagines.

All solid options, but I'm always looking for something new to add to my reportoire of vegetarian cafe goodness. Enter this recent Timeout article: 

http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/restaurants/sydneysbestfood/sydneys-top-breakfasts.aspx

I've already been to Kazbah, Marigold and Baffi & Mo and I don't plan to visit Bondi or Balmoral any time soon in my searching, so we decided to try Clipper Cafe in Glebe and Bang Bang in Surry Hills. We visited Clipper Cafe on a Saturday morning before popping into the Glebe Record Fair and the joint was jumping. We sat at the end of a long bench seat with the other patrons. The service was friendly and fast and the home made baked beans with poached eggs were tasty but far too salty for me. The decor was pleasant, with white walls, a long wooden bench along one side and stools and high tables on the other side. High up on the opposite wall from where we sat were two bicycles and some retro objays (including an Atomic coffee machine) on shelves. We will certainly return.

The following weekend we met a friend for brunch at BangBang in Surry Hills. There were middle aged hipsters reading the SMH and younger hipsters not reading the SMH and the same bench style seating as Clipper Cafe. We wedged ourselves in next to the older hipsters and ordered our coffees. I had primarily wanted to brunch at BangBang for the promise of Welsh rarebit, which I have nevered tried before. I was curious and ready to have my taste buds blown off. It was ok but not all that I expected. BangBang is kind of an upmarket greasy spoon and therefore is rather meaty. Don't know if we'll be back as I don't have much reason to be in Surry Hills on a weekend morning.

The Greatest Show on Earth (Episode 2)

Oh what a night for reality tv. I must divulge straight away that my favourite moment tonight was Kerryn exclaiming "I just jizzed in me pants" when the girls were told they had a chance to take part in a vintage car motor rally. For me, the expression discloses genuine enthusiasm. I'll have to find a way to use "I just jizzed in me pants" in general conversation like our Kerryn. Even though she hasn't captured much air time yet I feel her star is on the rise.

Other ALTL highlights included the nudist bogan Shari's massive turn around mid-episode. She went from marauding harridan to submissive suck-arse so fast it's almost enough to make her parents sit up and take notice. And who knew a real lady would never open her own car door? Goodness! I have been getting it wrong all these years and I'm sure MBH will be thrilled to know there is yet one more way he can cater to my femininity. So how does it work if I'm driving by myself? Should I park near a good supply of men in the hopes that one will release me from the car? And what do the rules say about climbing out the window? Gosh, ettiquette is a tricky business.

I thought the ladettes would wait till at least week 3 to fall in a tragic heap in Mrs Shrager's arms but tonight not one but two ladettes, Jessica and Kaila were drawn into the bosomosphere, blubbing in their dreadful flat accents about their sad past and hopes for a better future.

Poor Samantha got the flick tonight, and for what? For being a bit hopeless at shelling 4000 quail eggs in half an hour, so a bunch of chinless twats can have a post-rally picnic under ominous British storm clouds, that's what. They always get rid of the frumps early on. No doubt just another predictable tweaking of the reality tv world. But still. Based on lady-like-ish-ness (or the lack of) I reckon that sullen cow Donnelle should have copped it tonight for sure. Waddaya reckon readers? ... readers?

Au revoir Samantha!

Aussie Ladette to Lady is on at 9:30pm Tuesdays on Channel 9.

Thinking Outside the Bottle

I tried to reference The Australian article of the same name. Max Allen wrote it for the Food & Wine section of The Weekend Australian, 3-4 October 2009. But do you think I could find it online to link to this blog post? Nahhhhhhhhhh. I may as well plagarise, since apparently The Australian couldn't be bothered posting this article to its website, but I can't be bothered so I'll just say it's about cool wine labels. Not just cool wine labels, of the type designed to attract young 20 something drinkers, but cool wine labels that are backed up by decent wines. I decided to try some of the bottles mentioned, just to make sure the wines were decent chop.

I've tasted the Ad Hoc Wallflower Riesling and The Killer Pinot Grigio but have yet to lay hands on Mother's Milk by First Drop or Monsters, Monsters Attack by Some Young Punks. The Some Young Punks Website is quite annoying with its applets and suchlike, but with names like The Squid's Fist, Double Love Trouble, Drink'n'Stick, Naked on Roller Skates, Quickie!, The Fire In Her Eyes and Passion Has Red Lips I've gotta get my hands on some.

By the way, Ad Hoc Wallflower Riesling and The Killer Pinot Grigio are heartily recommended. Both can be purchased at Dan Murphy's.

The Greatest Show on Earth (Episode 1)

I am, of course, refering to Aussie Ladette to Lady. That show has everything - slappers, loud-mouthed old school marms, well heeled inbred toffs, and everyone displaying appalling behaviour from go to whoa. Don't you just love it when a show simultaneously holds a mirror up to the boganity it exploits while showing up the equally crass, judgmental and class-driven snobbery of the supposed arbiters of decency and good behaviour? I do. And the even greater truth is that I, the viewer, revel in every minute of it.

Season two brings us a fresh crop of hard-drinking, hard-living young women all intent on outdoing each other's "ladette" behaviour. The stand out ladette for me as of the first episode is Shari, for whom "clothes just get in the way of a good time". For some reason, despite some pretty off colour behaviour, Shari made it through for another week of televisual humiliation. Perhaps they've recognised that a girl like Shari makes for good television. Or am I being cynical? Letisha got the boot on the first episode so we won't get a chance to plumb the depths of her bogan psyche. Jessica is another stand out ladette, but for my money I reckon Kerryn will bring home the pearl earrings. The rest are a mix of extrovert teens and early twenty somethings, mere episode padding fodder. And of course, Mrs Brewer, Mrs Harbord and Mrs Shrager bellow their way around Eggelston Hall, accusing the girls of being " disgusting sluts". Now that's finishing school!

Check out this link for more info on the girls:

http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/aussieladettetolady/ladettes/

I'm taking bets on which ladette will be first to crumple against the ample bosom of Mrs Shrager, sobbing about the terrible life she has led so far and how desperately she wants to turn it all around. I think we'll see some action of this sort by episode 3, episode 4 at the absolute latest.

Also, an honourable mention for whoever best describes the animal Mrs Harbord looks most like.

7th Annual Sydney Vintage Show

I made the trip to Canterbury Race Course last weekend to check out the vintage show. I picked up a gold glomesh coin purse for 15 bucks but apart from that I probably wouldn't have felt I got my $12 entry fee worth if I hadn't made a rather intriguing discovery. It turns out that one of my favourite characters about town, Jeff from Mitchell Road Auctions (Pic 1) is in fact moonlighting as Dame Edna Everidge (Pic 2).

Pic 1 - Jeff onsite at Mitchell Road Auction Centre

Pic 2 - "Dame Edna" at the Vintage Show

I waited what seemed an age for him to notice me standing demurely off to the side as he falsettoed his way through a number of bon mots with passers by. I had remarked to my companion a few moments earlier: "Wait til he sees me" and she looked through a nearby clothes rack as time passed and my confidence slowly wilted. Oh Christ, I thought, please notice me, this is getting embarrassing! Finally, Jeff/Edna turned in my direction and without pause he exclaimed: "What are you doing here?" Phew! Anyway, we chatted a while and he kept up the falsetto admirably well. My vocal chords were starting to ache in sympathy. I hope he survived the day.

By Popular Demand ...

Due to *ahem* overwhelming demand I am going to provide a couple of vague and unhelpful movie reviews, mainly because most films I see go in one eye and out the other. Anyhoo, here I go.

Inglourious Basterds

Brad Pitt doing a weird accent. Nazis. Thuggish jews with baseball bats. A vengeful cinema owner and much, much more. The real star of IB was the guy who played Colonel Landa. What a menacing prick he was. Recommended.

District 9

We ended up seeing District 9 'cause our friends got tickets first, then the session proceeded to sell out, then our friends gave us their tickets. What bloody superstars! Thanks Lala & Mark. It was a very entertaining flick, with what Margaret and David call a "predictable narrative arc" but nevertheless it makes my recommended list simply for being set in Jo'berg replete with cool, freaky SA accents and names like Wikas.

The September Issue

Anna Wintour is nothing but a stone cold bitch, and don't let this documentary lead you to believe anything different. She is THE woman responsible for bringing fur back into fashion. Enough said. The true hero of this doco is Grace Coddington, the fashion editor at Vogue. It is obvious she has serious artist talent. Heaven knows why she wastes her vast artist energies on fashion.

$9.99

We took TBC to a Reel Mums session at Dendy Newtown. We missed $9.99 at the Sydney Film Festival this year so I was glad to see it got a cinematic release. I was primarily curious to watch $9.99 as its a Sherman Production, as in the Sherman family who fund the animal rights charity Voiceless. Emile Sherman runs the film production business that has produced such Australian films as Candy, Rabbit Proof Fence and more recently Disgrace. Plus I'm also a sucker for claymation. There was an a-list cast of Australians voicing the characters - Geoffrey Rush, Anthony Lapaglia, Claudia Karvan, Joel Edgerton and a few others I can't remember right now. I enjoyed the film but felt the stories didn't intersect terribly well and relied on being set in the same apartment building.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

See previous posting for a review of Anvil! Recommended.

Up

I'm not just a sucker for claymation but pretty much all animation, so seeing the new Pixar flick was never in doubt. Great animation with astounding attention to detail, amusing dialogue and characters produced a very good film. Margaret and David also loved it. Definitely not just a kids film as so many would assume. Also, there was a cool little short at the start of the movie about clouds making babies and storks delivering them. Cute.

Julie & Julia

J & J didn't really appeal to me but Mum asked if I would take her to see it and I had a two for one deal for Palace Norton St cinemas after becoming a member, so I thought what the hay (or hey? ... hmmm). J & J was mostly light and fluffy and fun, but Amy Adams' character was annoying and Meryl Streep's performance had to carry the film. Which it did. Recommended if you like this sort of thing.

Moon

I was looking forward to seeing Moon. It looked very suspenseful and I thought I knew how the characters and plot would turn out, but was pleasantly surprised that the 'narrative arc' took another turn altogether. I won't reveal the details as it is a film worth seeing, but I can say Kevin Spacey's onboard computer GERTY didn't turn out to be as menacing as I had assumed. And I expected more suspense but the characters were not left in the dark as is usual in a sci-fi thriller.
It is important to note that Sam Rockwell is a hotty.

What was with Sam's vision of the woman? I didn't understand that.

Movie Madness

Perhaps surprisingly, I've been getting out to the movies quite regularly since the arrival of The Bear Cub (henceforth known as TBC). In fact, since 27 July I have seen 8 films at the cinema, not to mention lots of trashy telly:

Inglourious Basterds (25 August)

District 9 (1 September)

The September Issue (15 September)

$9.99 (17 September)

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (22 September)

Up! (29 September)

Julie & Julia (12 October)

Moon (13 October)

That's roughly a film a week and a half or so. I achieved this glorious feat through a combination of (1) the use of babysitters - 3 times; (2) leaving TBC home with MBH - 4 times; and (3) taking TBC with us to a baby friendly film screening, in this case Reel Mums at the Dendy Newtown. Bloody good invention these baby friendly film screenings. Variously called Reel Mums, Babes in Arms and Mums & Bubs, these screenings allow you to take your Squalling Little Monster to the movies with other mums and SLMs without fear of the stern looks and head shaking that come with public social disapproval. TBC was pretty good, but it wouldn't have mattered if she wasn't 'cause other bubs were piping up at various times during the film. The volume (of the screening not the babies) was loud enough to be heard without being too loud for the babies to sleep.

Nick Cave Exhibition

We visited Canberra last week, mainly to attend the birthday dinner of one of MBH's good friends. The rest of the time we mostly caught up with family but did also manage to see the Nick Cave Exhibition at the National Library. I remember the first time I heard 'Deanna' and 'The Mercy Seat'. I immediately knew that this man was the coolest of the cool and I went out and bought 'Tender Prey', the Birthday Party album with 'Shiver' on it and subsequently 'Let Love In' and 'Henry's Dream'. I saw Nick Cave perform 'Where The Wild Roses Grow' at the Big Day Out with Kylie Minogue some time in the '90s, I watched his cameo performance in 'Johnny Suede' and I've even read 'And The Ass Saw The Angel'. But after many years as an unquestioning Nick Cave fan something just happened. I suppose I just started to lose interest over time after being saturated by his prolific talent. And frankly, the Kylie duet didn't help. What a sell out.

Nevertheless, I was interested in the exhibition and I'm very glad we went along. For me, the most interesting part was a book from Mr Cave's personal collection of Louis Wain illustrations, the artist known for anthropomorphic cats. Nick is a big fan and collected lots of Louis Wain originals over the years. Wain's illustrations are very recognisable and supposedly show the deterioration of his mental health.

The Nick Cave exhibition is on at the National Library until 29 November 2009.

Reusable Goodness

You know how the planet is slowing filling up with eon-slow degrading, wildlife choking, river polluting plastic? Somehow we humans managed to get in the habit of buying drinks and lots of other products in disposable containers and bottles. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a horrifying culmination of this penchant of ours. But what to do? I much prefer to drink my coffees from takeaway containers with those cool sippy lids and water is much more portable when carried in plastic bottles rather than in the palm of your hand.

Luckily, I have recently happened across a couple of funky little products that are dead cool and incidentally rather enviro conscious. The first one is the fabulouso Aussie made (another bit of brilliance to come out of Melbourne) KeepCup. I can bearly wrap my head around the coolness and cleverness of the KeepCup ... it's a re-usable takeaway coffee cup complete with sippy lid (virtually essential to coffee drinking enjoyment, I think you'll agree), moveable plug and silicone band so you can customise your coffee order. You do this by filling in your choice with a permanent marker. This means I can order my ridiculous Large Weak Soy Decaf Latte with 2 sugars without having to even open my mouth.

KeepCups come in an ever increasing range of colour combinations and three industry standard sizes (small, medium & large). This is what mine looks like: http://www.keepcupstore.com/servlet/the-22/KeepCup-MED-F/Detail

The KeepCup idea is just so bloody clever I didn't even blink when I laid eyes on the Cheeki stainless steel bottle. We don't usually buy water in plastic bottles as MBH has an understandable aversion to paying for water, and I recently read that its not such a good idea to reuse plastic bottles because chemicals can leech out of the plastic as they begin to degrade. We took our Cheekis on a roadtrip this week and they have definitely come up a winner. So far I have spotted them at pharmacies and health food shops.