Restaurant Reviews

Miss Perez, Stirling

- Alex Prichard 2 Comments



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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

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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

A Little Light Bar Crawling

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Cage Under Lights
photo by Theen Moy, cc licensed
Peel Street … not actually this quiet …

As you’ll know if you live in Adelaide, our liquor licensing laws have changed, making it much easier for small venues to open.  And boy has there been a rush: bars are opening faster than … um, something very fast.

Thanks to an insanely hectic couple of weeks, I’ve actually had a chance to check out some bars, miss out on others and generally wear myself out.

What have I missed? Yes, I’m still the only person in Adelaide (or so it seems) who hasn’t yet been to Clever Little Tailor (CLT). In fact, I’ve got a friend who lives in London who’s been there so maybe I’m the only person in Australia … Every time I wander down Peel Street, CLT is full to the brim and I’m just not the kind of person who queues. In addition to this, I’m also old and grumpy and once I have my drink, I like to sit down quietly and have a nice chat. I guess I’ll just have to make sure that next time I head there I get there at 4pm when it opens!

So whizzing past CLT but staying on Peel Street, we headed in to Peel St, where we managed to find a sneaky seat at the bar, only to be told that it was booked for about 20 minutes or so. So now we book seats at bars in Adelaide? Peel St is actually more restaurant than bar and the menu, wine list and friendly service were enough for it to be put on the ‘to do’ list. If you want to head there for a meal I’d recommend booking. If you’re just having a cheeky drink, you’ll have to try your luck.

On the same evening, with still an hour or so to kill til our dinner reservation at Cos, we headed to Leigh Street. We knew that Udaberri would be totally rammed (and we were right) so we sat outside Casablabla and enjoyed a couple of drinks. We were actually able to hear each other talk! We left just before the belly dancing kicked in though …

On a separate occasion (this time a Wednesday night) I ducked in to Proof (at just 8 weeks or so old this is nowhere near the baby of the Adelaide bar scene …), and enjoyed a glass of Austrian Grüner Veltliner and a conversation with some friends. However, it was busy and I suspect come Friday nights you can expect to be shoulder to shoulder with the bar men (who, I might add, were nattily dressed in shirts, ties and waistcoats). Proof is on Anster Street, just off Waymouth Street (usually described as being behind Press*).

Meal wise on these occasions I ate at Cos, on Leigh Street, and Melt, on Waymouth Street. At Cos we had a lovely meal (sweetbreads, steak tartare and lemon tart for me, pork belly, fish and affogato for Andy, accompanied by Rieslingfreak No 8) and were very well looked after. At Melt, they were happy to adapt the tasting menu (insanely reasonably priced at $39 a head) to accommodate the vegan at our table. While some of the dishes were a little under-seasoned some were absolutely amazing. The stand out dish for me was the No 38 pizza: chargrilled courgette/zucchini, caramelised onion, speck, lemon and mint. That was one serious pizza.

This is just a tiny bite of the bars popping up all over Adelaide … what’s your favourite new drinking hole?