December 24th, 2018 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
“You can’t f–k with the matzo ball soup.” That’s what Adam Wolfers learnt from his grandmother. Etelek, his pop-up restaurant, is inspired by the chef’s Eastern European background. It’s a history that draws on memories of his grandmother tending to six pots on the stove at a time, as well as his grandfather Julius’ time […]
October 22nd, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
“The chef said he was going to the bank and never came back.” Shannon Martinez was working as a bartender at The East Brunswick hotel in Melbourne when she was asked to take over the kitchen. She happened to put a vegan parma on the menu and it blew up – the pub sold close […]
October 19th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
“It was an old smashed-up pub that had no floor and no ceiling and no roof.” It wasn’t the greatest site, but Brent Savage and his business partner Nick Hildebrandt (somehow) transformed it into Bentley, the first restaurant they’d ever open together. 11 years later, they now run four acclaimed Sydney venues, including Monopole, an award-winning […]
September 30th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Restaurants | Leave A Comment »
Last year, Yellow in Potts Point got reclassified as a vegetarian restaurant. Adam Wolfers and Brent Savage kept the brunch menu intact (bacon and its friends got protected status), but switched dinners to be all-vego and it was fantastic. I went three or four times in 2016, and each time, the restaurant was more crowded […]
September 1st, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Favourites, Latest, Restaurants | 4 Comments »
Madre in Marrickville opened last week and already qualifies as my new favourite pizza place. Maybe I’m a fast mover or maybe I was always pre-destined to be in its fan club, as this new eatery is from the excellent team behind Two Chaps – a venue I’m always happy to cheerlead for. Like its […]
August 24th, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Bars, Favourites, Latest, Restaurants | 4 Comments »
“I don’t know what I’m eating, but it tastes amazing,” my friend Tabitha says about the menu at Bad Hombres in Surry Hills. You don’t need to carry out an intelligence operation to enjoy the dishes here – the tacos and quesadillas are optimised for strong rat-a-tat bursts of flavour that’d score well on any […]
August 10th, 2016 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Cafes, Latest | 2 Comments »
From the “I’m glad you exist” files is Clementine’s in Pyrmont. Sure, the menu is as tight and tiny as the space, but it proves you don’t have to go blockbuster big to make a point. My fave thing here is the Belluci ($10), which is a mushroom thyme sub that’s just an excellent transit […]
May 30th, 2016 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Cafes, Latest | 3 Comments »
“Everything dies on Enmore Road!” That’s what Piero Pignatti Morano was (cheerily) told when he set up his latest cafe, El Chapel. A local helpfully pointed out the high mortality rate of all the businesses that had optimistically tried to set up on this unforgiving stretch of Marrickville. I’m gunning for El Chapel to get […]
January 15th, 2016 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Bars, Cafes, Favourites, Latest | Leave A Comment »
The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar reopened in Redfern last week, so it’s a good time to respark interest in this great one-of-a-kind venue. It’s gotten a lot of worthwhile attention for proving that there’s more to tea than a bag thoughtlessly dunked into a mug – and even though steeped leaves are a headline […]
December 1st, 2015 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Favourites, Latest, Restaurants | Leave A Comment »
Two Chaps in Marrickville is one of my favourite places for dinner right now. You’re given such an insanely generous amount of food that you wonder if the waiter might secretly be your grandmother – you know, the kind that sees empty plates as their arch-enemy. The set menu here is rustic, Italian and such […]