gouger

Lucia’s, Adelaide Central Market

- Alex 2 Comments

Adelaide Central Market

photo: Janice Chan

date of visit: Friday 6 January 2012

A visit to the Adelaide Central Market with some out of towners meant an obligatory first stop at Lucia’s.

I’m guessing by now most South Australians are yawning and thinking we know about Lucia’s and everyone else is thinking that this is another Adelaide restaurant review, move along, nothing to see here.

And that’s kind of true. But it’s worth pointing out that whether you’re a local or a visitor, a Lucia’s first timer, or an old hand, that this tiny (and crammed and very busy, at any time of day) café is worth visiting.

On this trip, it was coffee and panforte for my overseas guests and me, and babycino for the baby. We managed to grab a table inside, soak up a skerrick of Adelaide history and leave before the lunch time crowd hit.

Besides coffee and cake, Lucia’s offers more substantial food and you can book a table or take your luck. You won’t be having a leisurely lunch but you can always head next door and buy some Lucia’s pasta to take home with you.

And if you’re not in town, Lucia’s now has a shop in Mitcham.

The Village Indian Restaurant

- Alex Leave a comment

date of visit: Friday 30 April 2010

We were tootling around town doing a bit of after work shopping and decided to grab something to eat. Andy nominated Indian and we headed down to The Village, on Gouger Street (close to Morphett Street).

The decision was driven by the fact that we’ve eaten at The Village once before, with a group of friends and possibly after more than one beer, but the overall impression had been positive.

At The Village there’s no specialisation in one particular area of Indian cuisine and every dish on the menu is annotated with its area of origin. There are plenty of dishes you’ll recognise (such as butter chicken and chicken vindaloo) and others that may be new (chicken 65 – chicken fried with coriander seeds and pepper which was on our list to try but was unavailable).

In typical curry eating style we over ordered …

We started with pappadums, which were served with mint and tamarind chutneys. I always say that I make my mind up about a curry house based on the mint chutney and/or the hot lime pickle. The Village’s mint chutney definitely passed muster.

For entrée, I chose, unimaginatively, the vegetable pakoras while Andy opted for the chutney chicken kebab. We were going to share but I didn’t like the sound of this … Actually, I would have been perfectly happy with the kebab but I did prefer my vegetable pakoras. They had a good heat about them and, laced with the mint chutney, they were absolutely delicious. It was a large serve, of four big patties. If you were expecting individual pieces of battered vegetable (as pakora sometimes appears) you would be disappointed but there were enough distinct pieces of vegetable in the patties to keep me happy.

For main course, with no chicken 65 available, I opted for the lamb dhansak and Andy chose the chicken kadai. The dhansak came on a large tray, with the lentils (dhal makhani) on the side, rice and even a piece of chicken tikka. I accompanied this with a really good paratha – flaky and super buttery. The sauce was tart and spicy. Andy’s kadai sauce was also reasonably spicy and very tomatoey. In both cases, the meat was tender and juicy, well sized and nicely proportioned.

As usual, after stuffing myself on entrée and pappadums, I struggled a little with my main course bit I made sure to finish the paratha!

A standout feature of The Village is the cheerful, attentive service. My water was kept topped up, after our entrées, both our waiter and front of house checked we were enjoying our food, and at no point did we feel either forgotten or suffocated.

At the end of the evening, we left feeling extremely well fed for around $80 (this included a couple of beers). And obviously, we have to go back again to check out that Chicken 65 …

The Village Indian Restaurant

Diverse Indian cuisine on Gouger Street

The Village offers dishes from across India, pairing generous portions with sensible prices and excellent, friendly service.

Rating:4.0 stars
****

The Village Indian Restaurant on Urbanspoon
The Village, 125 Gouger Street, Adelaide, SA, 5000
phone: +61 8 8212 2536

Paul’s Seafood Restaurant

- Alex 3 Comments

 

 

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Sometimes you just want something quick and simple to eat.  You don’t want to spend a fortune, you don’t want to take 4 hours over your meal and you don’t mind stepping back in time.

And on such an occasion, if you also happen to feel like fish, then Paul’s on Gouger Street, should hit the spot.  But let’s establish, from the start, that you’re not heading in to fine dining territory.  I saw this because quite a few web reviews I’ve read have complained about the restaurant being a little basic:  I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up!

We headed there for an early fish supper on a rainy evening and Paul’s delivered on everything that counted:  quick, cheap, fresh and unfussy.

Seated at a barely dressed melamine table we scooted through the menu – which consists of fish.  The specials consist of fish.  A plate of tartare sauce arrived at the same time as our drinks.  Hopefully by now you get the idea that this is a seafood restaurant and there’s little point in coming if you want something else!

We started by sharing an entrée of whitebait and followed it with the special salt and pepper soft shell crab and a piece of whiting, crumbed.  For much of the fish you have a choice of battered, crumbed or grilled, one or two pieces – so the health conscious and hungry can be accommodated.  All the meals are served with a very simple salad:  some lettuce, some tomato and, in what I can only presume is a nod to the 1970s, a slice of orange.

All the fish is cooked at the front of the restaurant, ready to go straight from the fryer to the plate of salad and then to your table.  We enjoyed fresh, perfectly cooked seafood:  the salt and pepper soft shell crab was notable for not being greasy and for tasting of … salt and pepper, rather than salt and chilli or (far worse) salt and grease!

We finished up in an around an hour:  far from ideal for a leisurely Friday evening out but perfect for a school night.  The service was friendly and efficient and didn’t compromise on actually looking after us.

For a shared entrée, two main courses, two beers and one glass of wine the bill came to just over $70.  With our Entertainment Book voucher we saved 25%, making the final bill just over $50.

Yes, Paul’s is more fish caf than restaurant – and I certainly don’t mean that in a disparaging way.  It’s like having supper at home – but without the hassle of shopping and washing up!