Bar Reviews

Il Mondo Caffe Bar

- Alex Prichard Leave a comment

Untitled

date of visit: Tuesday 4 March 2014

There are way too many interesting bars opening up around Adelaide at the moment. One of the things that I loved about Leeds was the small bar scene. Yes – there were the arena sized Wetherspoons, the cheesy nightclubs and the shopping (oh, yeah, I never got into that!) but there were also so many small independent bars where you could get something interesting to drink.

This is something that Adelaide has lacked for far too long. Too many of Adelaide’s old pubs have had the homogeneous makeover treatment and, if you want to feel trendy, you can have a boring pint in many shiny establishments.

I don’t know if it’s the small bar legislation, but a bar revolution has been under way for quite a while and now, when faced with an all too infrequent drink after work, I find myself spoilt for choice.

Tuesday’s drink after work was postponed for a week which meant even more bar-prevarication on my part … but I held my nerve and headed along to Il Mondo Caffè Bar, located on James Place. Surprisingly central to Rundle Mall, for anyone needing a restorative retail tonic …

Il Mondo opens at 9:30 so breakfast, coffee and lunch are well catered for.  At lunch and after work (from 5:30pm) you can indulge in ‘il aperitivo’: a drink and free run at Italian bar snacks for $15. If you’re up for more serious food there’s plenty available, including my all time favourite, spaghetti con alio, olio e peperoncino.

Unfortunately I was there for a super quick drink so I couldn’t indulge in any aperitivo snacks and I certainly couldn’t wolf down a bowl of pasta (well, I could have … but at home, Andy and dinner were both waiting for me) so I had to console myself with the wine list.

The wine list is (unsurprisingly) Italian wine heavy with pretty much everything available by the glass (and mostly under $10). It is SO refreshing to see a wine list which doesn’t start by listing New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc …

As it was a warm day, white wine was definitely in order. I’ve recently become a little concerned about the quality of wine by the glass being poured in Adelaide so when it came to ordering a glass of Falanghina (there are two Italian Falanghinas on the wine list – on its own, impressive!) I was cautious. After all, it was just gone 5 so would I be drinking from yesterday’s open bottle? And how many people in Adelaide are actually drinking Falanghina at the moment?

I’ve clearly spent far too much time thinking about the ‘stale wine by the glass conundrum’ because I’ve actually come up with an approach to counter it.

I approached the bar and asked “which of the two Falanghinas would you recommend and which have you opened most recently?”. This enquiry was met with a broad smile, an immediate recommendation and the offer to open a new bottle for us. You can imagine – I was sold.

My friend and I sat at a wine barrel outside, had a couple of glasses of wine and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. of course, the highest praise of all is that Il Mondo is definitely now on my “to return to” list.

And let’s face it – today’s Friday and you should really try somewhere new for that after work drink!

Il Mondo Caffè Bar
20 James Place
Adelaide SA 5000
phone: (08) 8212 3626

il Mondo caffè bar on Urbanspoon

Miss Perez, Stirling

- Alex Prichard 2 Comments



20131123_193823 20131123_193810

20131123_193030 20131123_181310

disclaimer: I was a guest at the Miss Perez launch party.

date of visit: Saturday 23 November 2013

The Hills is somewhere we don’t get often enough. Places like Stirling are almost on our doorstep and yet they are usually overlooked as either being too far away or somewhere we pass through on our way to a winery. So when the invitation for the Miss Perez launch party arrived, I was keen to check it out. Yes, we were hosting a party for five three year olds the following day but really, what would we be doing from 6pm other than sitting on the sofa feeling shell shocked in anticipation?

With bullet proof logic like that, Andy and I headed to the Hills to see what it was all about.

Miss Perez is the baby of Che and Rebecca Zahra. The names may be familiar to Hills locals, as the owners of Jimmies at Crafers. The restaurant is named after Rebecca’s mother, who was famous for her warmth and hospitality. It is this spirit that they hope Miss Perez (the restaurant) embodies.

Che, Rebecca and a gorgeous, curly headed, but very shy, five year old greeted guests on Saturday night and it wasn’t long before drinks and food were heading out of the bar and kitchen in a steady stream. After some bubbles, Andy rated the Cristal (Cuban) beer very highly – served in very funky combination jar/pitcher glasses. Also on offer was Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc and Spanish Tempranillo. In the background, a Mexican mariachi trio provided entertainment.

This drink selection really gives you a good idea of Miss Perez’s theme. In the brief opening speeches, Che noted that the restaurant wasn’t Spanish or South American or Mexican but a fusion of all those Latin flavours. So just as the drinks are eclectic, the canapés worked in a similar vein.

On the deck, a chef braved the cool (it’s hard to believe I’m typing that – it’s not quite 11am today and we’ve already hit 34°C!), putting together a huge seafood paella on a very smart looking dedicated paella barbecue. Inside, we were snacking on delicious aubergine (eggplant) croquettes that had just the right hit of heat to them and they were beautifully crispy too. There were roasted scallops with pea puree and a coconut and chilli sambal, a salsa served in witlof leaves and prawns served with a pineapple chilli chutney. Well, at least that’s what I tried! For me, the scallops and the croquettes were tight contenders for my favourite. With the scallops I loved the play between the very traditional (the pea puree) and the coconut and chilli sambal, but those croquettes were really really good too …

The formalities were very brief with Lady Rose doing the honours. Lady Rose was also in one of the rooms writing love letters, as required and in the Peacock Room, a mind reader and mixologist were both on hand.

We left the party quite early (but hey – we went home and cut out animal masks for the birthday party! It’s all rock and roll) but I’m sure that the remainder of the guests kicked up their heels.

For us, the launch party did its job and we definitely want to head back and check out Miss Perez’s full menu. Perhaps the weather will even be good enough for us to sit on the deck!

Miss Perez Restaurant & Bar
2 Druid Avenue
Stirling SA 5152
phone: (08) 7225 1932

Miss Perez Restaurant & Bar on Urbanspoon

El Jamonal, Madrid

- Alex Prichard 1 Comment

Untitled

date of visit: Tuesday 23 October 2013

When I lived in Leeds I studied Spanish quite intensively through the Instituto Cervantes. For a year I went to two classes a week with a couple of guys from work. I wouldn’t like to say how proficient or otherwise any of us became (my workmates used to go to the pub both before and after class). Bar one long weekend in Barcelona, it’s a skill I’ve had very little opportunity to put into practice.

And now, I find myself in Spain on a flying visit to attend DWCC – the Digital Wine Communications Conference. The conference is being held in Logroño in Spain’s north but I managed to squeeze in an overnight in Madrid before heading to wine country.

Madrid is a very pretty city with an incredibly compact feel to it (this may have been helped by the fact my hotel was very centrally located!). The buildings are mostly beautiful and incredibly clean but you also don’t have to look too hard to find signs of the economic troubles that grip much of Europe at the moment. Even on my first afternoon, when skies were grey and it was raining, it felt a comfortable and welcoming place.

One of the things I noticed immediately (as in, in the bus on the way from the airport) was the huge number of shops selling ham. They are just everywhere. And porcine products are clearly something the Spanish take extremely seriously, and in which they take enormous pride. So it was obvious that dinner should be pig related.

I cheated and asked the internet where to go and it sounded like El Jamonal on Calle Jacometrezo would be a good starting point. Forewarned that the staff didn’t speak English I knew that my rusty Spanish would get a work out.

Ham & beer - what it's all about!

As always, the problem was not in communicating what I wanted, which was pretty simple, but in understanding the flurry of Spanish returned to me. After a little hand waving, helped along by me looking very disappointed when I was told the boquerones was a very large portion, I soon had in front of me a plate of ham, a plate of boquerones and a beer. A result all round, I’d say.

Boquerones

Boquerones appear to be something of a Spanish thing – I’ve yet to see them anywhere else, bar the time in Adelaide I paid $7 for the tiniest portion of them. They are fresh anchovies in vinegar. I daresay this sounds unappealing but combined with parsley, garlic and a bit of oil they are absolutely delicious. A lovely combination of fish, mouth puckering acidity and garlic: perhaps not for those who don’t like strong flavours but one of my favourite things in the world to eat!

My dinner set me back just 11,50€ – a very welcome change to airline food!

El Jamonal
Calle Jacometrezo, 7
28039, Madrid
Spain
phone: +34 695 81 59 56