Taco and beers at the Beach Burrito Company + Pompei's Gelateria

Is there a better way to finish the week than with a mexican feast and frozen margaritas with friends by Sydney's most famous beach?

The second of walking in the door at the Beach Burrito Company, the bright interior and cranking playlist said it was time to toast the weekend. Three frozen margaritas from the multiple frozen margarita machines available, were ordered and it was cheers all round.

We couldn't resist being a little cheeky and starting with some chips, salsa and guac and it took approximately three minutes before the basket of happiness to disappear. The chips were packed with corn flavour, a lesson that the mass brands could learn from, and with tomatoes and avocados being so good at the moment, this was a reflection of the quac and salsa.

Another margarita down, we were presented with our mains, the Tofu and Slow Roasted Vegetable Mexican Fajita Burrito, Chargrilled Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas served with smokey salsa and the Tempura Fish Soft Tacos. Blame the margaritas but we couldn't stop ourselves from tucking straight in, not time for chat. The tempura fish tacos, ordered with a soft shell on the recommendation of the guy working the till, had a thicker batter than expected and were more deep fried but the fish was so tender and there was a real kick to the dish. The Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas had a nice smokey flavour thanks to the salsa and were nice and cheesy, which was a treat. A big shout out to BBC for embracing so many vegetarian options and i thought the tofu and slow roasted vegetable fajita burrito would have been a hit with the vege at the table. Surprisingly, this was deemed a little bland compared to the previous dishes however i was a big fan of the rich tomato sauce that sat atop it.

Sad to leave the very awesome playlist, the sugar cravings were setting in, so we strolled back across to Pompei's Gelateria to try the much raved about dark chocolate gelato. My partner was a trooper and ordered it, whilst we went for white peach. The dark chocolate was rich in flavour, too much for me in one scoop to be honest whilst the white peach was sweet with the subtle hints of peach. For a much raved about gelato, we all agreed that it isn't the best gelato we have ever had.

Stumbling home, the frozen margarita haze was settling in.

I do have to add that in my daydream of number 27 on the list, it took place during summer, watching the sunset and surfers walk by, as we kicked back after a swim at the beach. Instead we got a rainy, cool Sydney night with few surfers in sight. I guess this did mean that getting a table was not hard!

Three course Friday lunch at Assiette

It's not very often you can have three courses at one of Sydney's hatted restaurants for only $35.00. Almost unheard of in fact. However at Assiette, chef Warren Turnball's two hatted restaurant in the 2011 SMH Good Food Guide, it is exactly what you can have, every Friday for lunch.

During the many different festivals which happen across town through the year, some of the top restaurants do offer some great deals, usually a main and a glass of wine at some pretty decent prices. However every time these festivals come round, i think to myself that this time, i will take advantage. I had yet to.

I had read about the Friday lunch at Assiette for a while now and being a restaurant i had wanted to try for some time, it seemed only appropriate to go on the list. Two birds with one stone right? What made it even more appropriate was that it would be the first on the list as this particular Friday was my 29th birthday and the start of my year long food challenge.

Assiette itself is definitely my kind of restaurant. In the heart of Surry Hills, the cute terrace house is small with a minimal interior. Alot of white except for the huge spoons designs that featured on the walls. We were greeted with the option of either the three course set menu or the regular a la carte menu but after a perousal from the table, the three course sounded too good to refuse, particularly for only $35.00!

Two options were available for each course so the benefit of it being my birthday, my partner was happy to have the opposite of what i chose, so we could try all dishes.

It wasn't much of a wait before our entrees came out and i was presented with the pumpkin risotto with prawn beignet and spring onion whilst the second option was a goat's cheese croquette with pickled beetroot, rocket and walnuts. Happy with our selections, the risotto was creamy, with the prawns giving the much needed crunch to the dish. The goats's cheese was more mild than expected, but worked perfectly with the pickled beetroot.

Next came the roast pork belly with plum chutney and peanuts, which actually came with a mash as well. The pork was beautiful but the mash left me wanting. The alternate, a pan fried dory with pea, mussel and fennel emulsion was strong with the flavours of mussel and fennel, which worked nicely with the fish but not being the biggest fan of mussel, my partner was also a little less lost for words than with the entrees.

What was most notable however, was that presentation of the dishes was one of the main highlights at Assiette.

Being a birthday, i felt completely justified to squeeze in another course and luckily the portions had been nicely sized for lunch and the sugar pangs were kicking in. My selection of a pineapple and mango salad with a selection of sorbets, which included a plum and mango sorbet, was so refreshing, it could not have been more suited as the end to my meal. The almond financier with white chocolate ice cream and orange caramel suited the chocolate lovers at the table. Following a visit to Turnball's second restaurant offering, District Dining, the night prior, it as evident that desserts are Turnball's strength at the moment.

It can't be said enough that for $35.00, the quality and value is more than high. For a birthday and the start to my blog adventure, it took even another step up.

My 50 before i turn 30

Most people dread the day when they realise they have one more year in their twenties. Well, that is what i had heard before. Yet, as i sit on the eve of my 29th birthday, i only felt a sense of excitement for the year ahead. I am looking forward to turning 30. Maybe it is where i am in life at the moment but for me, turning 30 i knew it meant i was going to be reaching a good part of my life. Yet there is one thing that has played on my mind for a while before hitting this milestone. There were so many experiences i had yet to try, i had always talked about trying and had always planned on trying and well, just never done. I had never completed my foodie list.

What is my foodie list you ask? Well, for the last probably five or six years, i have always loved watching was happening on the food scene in Sydney. I say watching because that was what i had been doing, watching, not enjoying. I always love reading about the newest restaurant or cafe to open up. What the top rated dishes are each year. Or where were people i know going. Don’t get me wrong, i do go out and i have tried lots of places and dishes over the year, but for how much i paid attention to it, i didn’t really stay on top of it. I always read reviews or articles and make the mental note, “i really want to go there” or “ it would be get to get these people together to try that one” but that was all it often ends up being, a mental  list.

It was when i was reading Terry Durack’s The 50 things every Sydney food lover should try in the Sydney Morning Herald late last year, ticking off in my head which ones i had done, that the thought came to me about what my 50 things were. Now i did contemplate working of his list but i had already done a few of them and i couldn’t help but think i had 50 things i had never done. 

Earlier in the year i put the list together, a mix of restaurants i have always wanted to try, dishes i was keen on or even just food experiences i had heard of, some were notorious for Sydney, but i had just never done them. I was keen to actually start working through these this year, but of course, as is the case for so many of us in Sydney, before i knew it, it was February and i was already behind. Luckily it was my partner who suggested the idea of working through the list before i turn 30. As soon as he said it though, it was just a resounding “YES” in my head. Of course, that was perfect. Here i was feeling so good about turning 30 but knowing i didn’t want to be one of those people who were all talk, wishing they had done this or that, why not set myself the challenge and aim for that sense of accomplishment for next year? 

Well consider it “challenge accepted”. For the next 12 months i am working through my list of 50 things i have always wanted to try around Sydney but just never done. The most exciting part is knowing not only the challenge, but the challenge to fall into a food coma but trying so much foodie goodness...but that is a challenge i am happily accepting!