schnitzel

Seacliff Beach Hotel

- Alex 3 Comments

Seacliff Hotel Schnitzel

date of visit: Sun 29 August 2010

It had been quite a long time between schnitzels and a friend had returned from a long stint working in Hong Kong … so rather than wait to organise a more substantial night we headed to the Seacliff (or, more properly, the Seacliff Beach Hotel) for a Sunday evening meal.

I haven’t been to the Seacliff for years (living abroad does that) so the original plan was to meet in the upstairs bar for a drink before eating in the Bistro. Now, ten years ago or so, I’d enjoyed quite a few quiet Sunday evenings playing pool in the upstairs bar, but while the pool tables remain, the vibe now is distinctly … rowdier. There was a live DJ and the crowd seemed to be winding itself up for a reasonably big night.

Because I’m a grumpy old lady type, particularly on a Sunday night, we scurried down to the front/sports bar. While we weren’t too interested in the various types of racing being shown around the bar, we could at least hold a conversation.

We moved in to the Bistro, where we had a totally unnecessary reservation. At the start of our meal there was just one other table (of two) occupied and by the end of our meal, we were the sole diners. Of course, it was a Sunday night – I wouldn’t like to comment on a Friday or Saturday evening.

There’s no table service – you order (and pay) at the counter which makes it ideal for large groups, or groups incapable of splitting the bill. We started with some garlic bread which was pretty underwhelming and not very garlicky before moving on to the schnitzels. Disappointingly there were no chicken schnitzels left so it was beef schnitzels all round – mostly parmigianas, one with gravy.

The schnitzels were pretty much pub standard. The parmigiana was nothing particularly special: the tomato sauce was topped with a thin slice of ham and melted cheese. It did avoid the (seemingly common) problem of the sauce being overpoweringly sweet. The chips were standard frozen chips and the salad was OK although a little heavily dressed for me (I would have to say that about 95% of dressed salads I eat so it’s not much of a criticism). One thing though … if sufficiently ripe tomatoes aren’t available … just don’t put them in the salad. No one orders a schnitzel explicitly for the tomatoes in the salad, so no one will miss them if they’re not there.

Schnitzels are $18 ($20 for parmigiana). This is a standard price for a standard schnitzel. I’ve certainly had far worse.

And let’s not forget, the Seacliff has great views over the sea so roll on summer and daylight saving!

Seacliff Beach Hotel on Urbanspoon

Chicken Schnitzel Parmagiana

- Alex 3 Comments

Nothing says ‘pub lunch’ (or ‘pub dinner’) like a schnitzel.  The whole time I was in the UK I tried to explain the idea of a ‘parmi’ and failed miserably.

It’s also a dish which is ridiculously easy to put together at home.  Invariably you can produce something tastier, not to mention healthier, than that for which you’ll pay the best of $20 for in a pub.  Pub parmis usually have a remarkably similar lifecycle – one that involves the freezer and the deep fat fryer.

For an ‘at home’ parmi you don’t need anything more exotic than a frying pan.

First, choose your meat.  A chicken breast is very easy – one will do two people and you just need to slice it in half horizontally. If you want to use pork or beef choose a cut which generally cooks quickly and flatten it out by wrapping in cling film and beating with a rolling pin (or meat mallet).

Dip your meat in egg followed by breadcrumbs and quickly fry it in a pan of hot oil (something like peanut oil, which has a high smoking point and is almost flavourless).  The meat needs to be thin enough so it cooks quickly and you want your breadcrumbs to turn golden but not burn!

Set the meat aside (on some kitchen towel to soak up any excess fat) and prepare your topping.  You’ll definitely need mozzarella cheese.  If you want to go the really simple route, then top your meat with a slice of ham followed by the cheese.  For Hawaiian then you’ll need thin slices of pineapple (if you’re using tinned make sure you use pineapple in its own juice, rather than in syrup … you’re not making a dessert!) in addition to your ham and cheese.  A simple tomato sauce will do your basic ‘parmagiana’ , or you can go all out and have a Bolognese style sauce.  Think of it in the same way you’d think of pizza toppings.

When you’re done, top with the mozzarella cheese and finish under a hot grill – the cheese should be melted, bubbling and going brown.  I think in this case I wasn’t quite generous enough with the cheese – make sure you don’t make the same mistake!

chicken parmigiana

Serve with a salad and you can pretend it’s healthy!

The Stag

- Alex 2 Comments

date of visit:  Monday 2 Nov 2009

We’ve been drinking visitors at the Stag on previous occasions – sucked in by the imperial pints and spacious, generally calm atmosphere we can put up with the slightly steep prices.  On the food front the Stag sells itself as “serious about meat” with a menu covering pub staples (burgers and parmis) as well as some serious steak.  If you’re looking for a pub in Adelaide that sells Wagyu … head to the Stag.  300g of prime Wagyu Porterhouse will set you back $50.

It was a rare occasion when we were on a schedule which wasn’t helped by the fact I was starving.  We arrived at the Stag just after 5 to discover the kitchen doesn’t open until 6.  The affable barmaid said she could sort us some chips but that would be it until 6pm.  Plans thrown in to disarray, we opted to have a cheeky schooner while re-grouping.

We decided to sit it out until 6 … This gave Andy enough time to join the Stag’s club.  The club is free to join and gives you $1 discounts on beers, $5 discount on steaks and $10 discount on the Stag’s food and wine events.

All of this gave us ample time to inspect the menu and when 6pm rolled around we ordered straight away.  We ordered two chicken parmigianas and a side of bug tails and before long huge plates of food arrived in front of us.  Like most things at the Stag the parmis aren’t cheap, at $18.50 each, but the menu does claim it’s free range chicken and the serves are generous.  Given the size of the schnitzels I was surprised by how small the portion of bug tails seemed:  3 tails, pan fried in white wine and lemon juice for $10.90.

We powered through our meal:  I was famished.  Andy felt that they were a little generous on the sauce topping and I thought someone had been heavy handed with the oregano but neither of these niggles was enough to slow us down.  They also mean I’m not going to claim these are the greatest schnitzels in Adelaide!

The thing that really stood out at the Stag was the friendly, polite service from absolutely every member of staff we dealt with.  The friendly barmaid, the barman who discounted our cashew nuts because Andy was a member, the waiter who gently steered us out of  the restaurant and back in to the bar … it actually seems as though the staff enjoy their jobs and want people to enjoy the pub.

And that makes me more than happy to pay a premium for a beer.

contact:  The Stag Hotel, 299 Rundle Street, Adelaide, SA, 5000, phone: 08 8223 2934

The Stag Hotel

Super friendly pub

Rating:3.5 stars