Il Mondo Caffe Bar

March 7, 2014 - Alex Prichard Leave a comment

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

Ignite Unley – Craft Brewery Afternoon

February 27, 2014April 1, 2015 - Alex Prichard 1 Comment

fun in the sun in Unley

date of event: Saturday 22 February 2014

I honestly can’t remember which of the many emails that rest briefly in my inbox informed me that there was a craft brewery afternoon coming up in Unley. It was obviously one that I read though!

Ignite Unley has actually been a council of programme of summer events, each with a different theme and each free. The events started back in November so I appreciate that I’m very much behind the curve here.

It happened that on Saturday (the ‘craft beer’ themed day) we needed to be out and about anyway, so timing things to drop in and see what it was about was almost no effort at all. The events are held at the Soldiers Memorial Gardens, on the corner of Thomas Street and Unley Road (next door to the shopping centre that is opposite the Town Hall).

We arrived shortly before the 4pm kick off but the market stalls were all set up, a ‘drinking’ area (complete with security guards!) was cordoned off and music was playing. There were plenty of games and toys and tunnels and tents for little people and, while there might not have been quite enough chairs in the bar area initially, staff were on hand to sort this out.

The breweries that had set up shop were Gulf Brewery (based in Hahndorf), Prancing Pony (one of my favourites, based in Mount Barker), Birbeck’s and Barossa Valley Brewing, showcasing a range of beers and ciders. Birbeck’s Captain is very popular with me – if it weren’t quite so fizzy and served quite so cold it would almost qualify as a good session ale. It’s also very low in alcohol so it was perfect for anyone driving on the day.

Birbeck’s Captain takes centre stage

As we were heading out for a curry (more on that later) we didn’t sample of any of the food on offer – but the toddler made good use of the play equipment (if you’ve never seen a three year old try to play badminton you should probably put it on your bucket list!) and we enjoyed sitting in the gardens and trying some new beers (well, that was Andy!).

It was a great use of public space and a really family friendly event. It would be lovely to see more councils put on events like this over the summer months: they’re a good way of fostering community spirit and a really obvious way for the council to participate in the lives of its ratepayers.*

The next Ignite Unley event is on Saturday 8 March – no food theme, but with a garden cinema from sunset. However, the Adelaide Fringe sees the same gardens host the Double Shot Unley Coffee Fiesta on Sunday 16 March (10am – 4pm) and on Saturday 5 April Ignite returns with wine and cheese.

I’d recommend checking out these events for yourself – even if you don’t live in the Unley area, the more successful they are, the more likely your own council will pick up on the idea!

*I’m aware our council rates pay for mundane, but very important, things like rubbish removal. But seeing the money putting fun things in action is always good too!

[CLOSED] WIN CS Kochsysteme Induction Pans

February 24, 2014March 19, 2014 - Alex Prichard 40 Comments

Disclaimer: Crest Electronics supplied both the prize for this competition and a set of pans for me to try.

A couple of weeks ago I was discussing this post and giveaway with a food blogging friend. I was excited about both the product and the giveaway and she expressed some reservations about whether or not she’d be able to get excited about some pans.

Exhibit 1: some of the pans (now consigned to the bin) that I’ve been cooking with over the last 10 or so years.

I am the kitchen gadget queen and I have lots of beautiful and shiny kitchenware. And I also have a lot of really knackered kitchenware. The grey pan in the photo above: purchased in 2001 from a cheap supermarket in the UK by a student housemate. Its non-stick surface has well and truly disappeared. The 70s retro pan? One (of a set of three!) that Andy’s mum purchased for him from a car boot sale prior to heading to uni. I have bought the odd pan over time but often I’ve been paralysed by the choice, the range of sizes and my lack of research has always meant I’ve spent less than I should.

So when the email arrived asking if I’m interested in reviewing … AND GIVING AWAY … the CS-Kochsysteme pans which are new to Australia (and being sold by The Good Guys) it was something of a no brainer. One of the big selling points of this cookware is that its induction hob friendly (something my knackered aluminium pans most definitely wouldn’t have been!) but it does, naturally, work on other cooking surfaces. In my case (a ceramic electric hob) which is critical is flat bottomed cookware that won’t warp. Trust me – even these days it’s possible to buy stuff that is either not flat to start with or doesn’t stay flat for long.

I was sent the Vision 5-piece set (and you can win one … keep on reading) which retails for $199. This set consists of a 7 litre stockpot with lid, a 1 litre saucepan with strainer lid and a 20cm deep non stick frying pan. The pans are all beautiful: I’m a sucker for a brushed stainless steel finish and I consider glass lids (with steam holes) an absolute essential – I’ve never understood why someone would NOT want to see in the pan!

The saucepan has pouring lips on both sides making it suitable for left or right handed cooks and the strainer lid is, frankly, an excellent idea. Cooking pasta for one in this pan, the strainer lid meant that I didn’t have to dirty a colander in order to drain my pasta. Simply swivel the lid to line up the coarse holes with the lip and pour the water out – job done. I don’t think I’ve seen this on saucepan before and now that I have, I find it remarkable that it’s not more widespread.

The stockpot has so far been used for cooking pasta. I like to use a generous amount of water and the stockpot is a lovely change from the small 70s pan! I think it would handle pasta for up to about 4 quite comfortably. I’ve also made a curry (recipe to come) and a bolognese sauce in the stockpot. It gets a HUGE tick from me for being big enough to cook generous quantities in while still fitting in the dishwasher.

The frying pan, with its lovely high sides, is perfect for cooking small stirfries or scrambled eggs for two. I imagine it would also be very good for risotto (having a greater surface area means the rice will cook more quickly) and, if you ever need a bit of quick deep frying, I think this frying pan would come to your rescue.

As someone who agonises over pan buying, I’m quite happy to say that these are quality products and that the set is well thought it. It would be a generous gift for someone who was just moving out of home and is a great options for couples looking to upgrade some knackered cookware.

And the best part? Well, you can win your own set of CS Kochsysteme cookware. All you have to do is like the Eating Adelaide Facebook page and (optionally – but it is an extra entry) share the competition post that’s pinned to the top. Just make sure you fill in the form below.

This competition is only open to Australian residents and I will verify entries. I’ll email the winner who will have 48 hours to get in touch before I redraw.

Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway