Buffalo Dining Club, Darlinghurst

If "All I have in the world is my Mozzarella and my Word" then after promising to "write a post tonight" for so long, all I am left with now is just my Mozzarella and there will be cheese aplenty in this post! The faithful trio of myself; Demos and the Gooseman wound up finding ourselves at Buffalo Dining Club, another new addition to the Darlinghurst precinct off the main drag of Victoria Rd

Buffallo Dining Club is a two storey super casual eatery. It's  fun and rowdy, just the way we like it. It was a busy saturday night and although they don't take any bookings we missed the first wave of diners. There are no menus, only a chalkboard and a very reasonably priced wine list. A great bottle of Santa Cristina Sangiovese ($42) was the pick of the bunch and was one of the several bottles listed that was under $50. 

Now for the food. With a name like Buffalo Dining Club, I know I was picturing another new eatery riding the american food wave and serving buffalo hot wings with cowboy hats. No friends; the buffalo in question here is buffalo mozzarella and LOTS of it. Lactose Intolerants need not apply. No seriously, just don't. 

Starting the proceedings was a serving of Burrata, with a side of potato croquettes and chilli brocollini. $15 gets you 125 grams of Burrata (or 100 grams of fresh buffalo mozzarella) and a selection of two sides from the chalkboard menu. Aside from the two we selected they offered other dishes such as balsamic baby carrots, portobello mushrooms, honey roasted fennel almonds and so on and so forth. What about the meat? 

Bootleg Bar and Italian Restaurant, Potts Point

Hello friends. Apologies for the brief absence, no excuses here - just be assured that I have missed you friends of the fridgers. Now lets get back to all things boozy, tasty and ridiculously good and forget about me going M.I.A. and slipping into a black hole of bleagh.

 So here we go...  Let me start with a confession. I dont consider myself as bonafide foodie; I don't fit the description of "Living, Breathing and OBSESSING over food" which is quite odd for a food blogger, no? The focus of this blog has always been about the experience - the good times and the fun times involving food. I've had a thinky thinky moment while I've neglected this blog and realised that although I do love a great meal; I'm more about the experience, the stories, the atmosphere... the fun, getting people together, the memories. Queue segway...

Good food experiences shared with a bunch of friends make for a great night out. Along with our friends Lu and E; Demos and I led the way to our venue for the evening. Bootleg was buzzing with the Potts Point crowd and was pretty busy for a school night - we were able to score a table in the back corner and get acquainted with a medium bodied bottle of Negroamaro. Such a thirst quencher on a balmy night and not too heavy to overpower the meal ahead. The lighly battered calamari ($17) could not be ignored on the menu. Light and crispy; we fought over the last few pieces and drowned them in lemon juice. Simple Pleasures really.

The arancini that came next were not your usual standard Italian fare ($10 2/pc). Topped with a tangy and almost relish like tomato sauce with some bitey provolone - it was a taste sensation; especially as we bit into the crunchy coating through to a treasure trove of more melted provolone.

Once inside and away from the hustle of Kings Cross, once can be forgiven when thinking about Bootleg as an escape. Framed photographs with scenes from a very hip circa 1990 New York era put a smile on my face as did the boomboxes and random religious statues. They could be channeling Harlem or Queens or Compton perhaps - without overdoing the kitsch factor and making it feel like an awkward themed Christmas party venue. Comfortable booths and tables line the walls and the neon lights above the bar give Bootleg a subdued liveliness..save the bright lighting for the Coca Cola sign around the corner.

Uccello - Ivy Complex, CBD

Taking a joke to far. Thats the best explanation as to what happened one ordinary evening. The usual suspects - The Boss Lady, Wiki Mel, Demos and Myself assembled after work at Uccello. Now Demos, bless his little heart, has become used to the company of us three rambunctious (his words) females. Of course being the gentleman that he is - he arrives on time and patiently waits for us as we file into the restaurant. One by one we greet our favourite male companion "Happy Birthday" ever so loudly and apologise for being a tad late. 

Demos' birthday is in November and this dinner was during an outing in April, so of course the poor boy was confused. But hey, we needed something to get excited about and celebrate. We toasted to Demos' imaginary birthday - and because this was an after work dinner, I know I speak for my dining companions when I say the vino was much needed.

As we get comfortable in our lovely booths, we arrive quite early and it seemed like we were the only people there. Uccello is a elegant Italian restaurant located in the Ivy complex. During the day the sun just fills up the whole room and reflects so beautifully off the white marble tables and bright yellow accents. You have a wonderful view of the Ivy pool and bar on one side, a expansive wine collection on another, and an bustling kitchen on the other side.

 

Selection of Italian style cured meats with marinated olives $27

The last time us Empty Fridgers visited Uccello, it was back in the day where Massimo Bianchi was at the helm. Chef Fernando Riva has now taken the reigns at this establishment and we were all very curious to try his take on Italian fare. We start off with the Salumi platter and a bowl of mixed olives. The cured meat selection was top notch - Prosciutto San Danielle, Wagyu Bresciola, Spicy Salami but unfortunately it did not go too far with 4 hungry patrons who do love their antipasti.

 

Heirloom tomato, Ligurian olives, basil and caramelized Spanish onion $15

We find our other starters very tasty, however the portions didnt seem to be big enough to share. We did fight over the sweet chunky slices of tomatoes in the heirloom salad - it was a beauty to look at as well with Demos making the comment that he only wanted to eat the yellow pieces because yellow Lambourghini's go quicker then the red ones. I'm sure this was said to throw some random masculinity in the mix being the only male on the table.

Tuscan style calamari, baby spinach, chickpeas and spicy tomato sauce $24

The calamari was one of the favourite dishes of the night and WikiMel happily let us attack her plate and try it even thought he serving was quite small. The chickpeas cut the acidity brought by the spicy tomato sauce, but the winner definitely was the fresh and tangy calamari pieces. We all wanted more!

Spelt tagliolini, seared scallops, roast pumpkin, basil and pangrattato

Hugos Bar Pizza, Kings Cross

"Hugo's Sunday?"

There was a phase not too long ago when this text message was received clockwork at around 7 pm on a Sunday night. The troops would be gathered, we'd put on our Sunday best and indulge in Hugo's $5 pizza's and cocktails on their balcony at Kings Cross. My lovely friends (affectionately nicknamed the Mediterranean Gossip Girl - we are far less glamourous and all we like to do is eat) would dance the night away and dread monday mornings all together.

Barbera d'Asti $50.00

One particular Sunday, we decided to get together for dinner at Hugo's Bar and Lounge, a place we have often ignored as we'd walk up the stairs to the club..or stumble back to our cars.

Although they have a mean cocktail list, we did the adult thing and ordered two bottles of Barbera d'Asti. The vino went perfectly with our Italian meal - it was not overpowering or bitter, and very easy to drink with dinner. We took our places by the window sill in the beautiful dining room and looked upon the groups lining up to get to the club, dressed to impress. 

Pumpkin & Sage Tortellini $28.00

The first dish we tried was the Tortellini filled with pumpkin and mascarpone in a burnt butter and crispy sage sauce. This was an impressive and hearty pasta dish, the burnt butter sauce was not too overpowering or oily and each tortellini was generously filled with hot pockets of pumpkin and creamy mascarpone.

Polenta Chips $10.00

The polenta chips arrived as a side and they smelt divine. They were thick portions and had that delicious crunch - so fresh that when you split them, a burst of steam comes popping out. The polenta chips came with tomato chutney which was nice and tangy and also a plain whole egg mayo dip. We would have all love the added naughtiness of a gorgonzola sauce to slather these bad boys with.

Sicillian arancini filled with pork ragu, mozarella $18.00 Salad of figs with prosciutto di San Danielle, buffallo mozzarela & apple balsamic dressing $24.00

More delicious entree's arrived to share. The arancini's were of perfect rice and filling proportion and glued to a bed of sauce that is packed with the tanginess of tomato. Now for the prosciutto salad - could there be any better pair than this wonderful meat and fresh figs? Our group had to make sure our proscuitto slices were shared evenly as we all could not get enough. The apple balsamic added a punch to the greenery and before you know it our plate was empty.

Fig Pizza $26.00

I think there was a phase where my friends needed to book me into therapy because I was heavily addicted to Hugo's pizza's. There is nothing like them - thin (tick) crispy (thick) super tasty (double tick). For Christmas, I even asked Santa for the Pete Evans pizza oven.

La Casa Ristorante, Russell Lea

As a rule we here at the Empty Fridge would not describe ourselves as 'romantic'. We simply don't do the loved up eye gazing soul connecting that so many couples do on that one day of the year - Valentines day. After driving past La Casa every single day, we thought it'd be nice to warrant an occasion where we could potentially end up in a food coma. Reading delicious reviews of this family owned restaurant (Brother and Sister team Tony and Carmel Rugerri) and following Carm's delightful tweets, it was too difficult to stay away any longer.  So came into fruition a new tradition; The "Non-Valentines Day" celebration - no romance, strictly food only.

La Casa's very own wood fired pizza oven

So on this lazy Sunday evening a Concord girl and a Henley boy decided to meet halfway on Lyons Road, Russel Lea. As long time locals of the area, we have been desperate for a great Italian place to open up. A 5 minute drive where we could venture when the fridge is in fact empty. La Casa is the perfect home away from home where the smells and comfort of the food just hit the spot. 

As soon as we were seated, we immediately felt at home. We tell our lovely waitress Daniella our plans for a non-romantic dinner, we can't help but notice that even though it was early on a Sunday night, the place was filling up rather quick! "Daniella, do we have a time limit on this table? Because....how do we put this?..we really want to eat." So with a bottle of Lucarelli Negroamaro our amazing meal begins.

 Polpette della Mama $14 or Mama's meatballs for those unversed in Italian. 

Now we don't know what Mama Rugerri's secret recipe for these soft, perfectly seasoned meatballs is, but we would offer ourselves for temporary adoption and the promise of producing bottles of Passata if we could have this for dinner everyday. If historical architecture can bear any comparison to food, then this would be the colosseum of italian home style dishes. 

Tomato Sauce Day - Italian Backyard Style.

Mention the words "Tomato Sauce Day" to several Italians and you can guarantee that they would get flashbacks of their respective family memories. I distinctly remember a scene from the movie "Looking for Alibrandi" where everyone gets together in the backyard to make sauce. It looks like a blast with Italian folk music playing in the background..but, as is often the case - our Italian backyard is not like the movie. I have to burst this imaginary notion of a  laid back and relaxing Tomato Sauce Day (TSD) -it is not a time nor a place to Mambo Italian in the backyard. It is that one day of the year where everyone is expected to perform back breaking labour to produce bottles of precious, homemade tomato sauce which serves as the base of family meals throughout the year. And when they say they make it in bulk - they mean BULK!

The night before, the Boss Lady and I were out, enjoying a rather boozy saturday night. She says : "Tomorrow is TSD..you are coming and you are writing about it, you are an adopted Italian anyway". Boss Lady clearly gives no options - and I was more than happy to oblige! I have always wanted to participate in this tradition, so come Sunday morning my adoptive Italian family, Boss Lady, and our respective hangovers were all present in the backyard. We already got scolded because TSD starts at 6am sharp.. I can't even tell you what time we started participating! And so the day begins, surrounded by tomatoes!

TSD is a very well organised affair. I can tell that my adoptive Italian family are experts in the art of TSD and have their well oiled procedure down pat! I'm  lucky because some strict Italian families do not let non-italians help during TSD. Apparently ruins the sauce! This is a silly myth but I washed my hands with Italian soap (Palmoli-vino) as a preventative measure.The first sets of photos above show the preparation. The ripe tomatoes are sorted and selected, washed, cut in half and put aside. All up there were 34 large boxes of fresh tomatoes to turn into rich tomato concentrate (passata), and this was just for the small immediate family! Some families make TSD a major "once a year" family affair - producing massive quantities of sauce with Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents involved in the process. This was TSD was small in comparison!

10 Course Degustation Dinner - Alio, Surry Hills

When an email popped up with the text "We are going to Alio - its a Degustation dinner, and you're blogging about it" I got super excited. My two fabulous girlfriends and supporters of The Empty Fridge cause - The Boss Lady and Wiki Mel have embraced the idea that every dinner we have would be shared online. I count them, along with my mom - Mrs Fridgemagnet to be my most enthusiastic readers. "G, are you ever going to put that post on Alio up? You are being super slack on the blog front - unacceptable." Yup, this dinner at Alio was actually a Christmas catch up and they so kindly remided me of the delay.

There are times when my brain feels like mush and I am the worst decision-maker - it was actually great having the venue pre selected by friends. Having our 6 courses mapped up for us gave us more time whinging about all things non-food related and less time deciding and racking our brains as to what to order. Wine was easy - it was one of those weeknights where everybody needed a big glass of Vino. Demos' fuzzy logic of "It's an Italian place - we are having Italian wine" was  in place and so a bottle of 2005 Beni di Batasiolo Barbera D'alva Sovrana was selected. Now i'm no where near an expert in wine - but I do find that Demos and I are always drawn to wines from the Barbera D'Alba region of Italy. Tonight's selection was light in acidity but still had a strong bold and fruity flavour making it easy to go down after a long day.