Tag Archives: Darlinghurst

not quite *my* Local

DRINK BEER

After a rustic, fortifying meal at Betty’s Soup Kitchen and an immense trek, four of us made it to the Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst. The first Local Taphouse opened in Melbourne, in St Kilda, and since December last year, I’ve been attending beer sessions and even beer-matched dinners that they run. For this reason, I was keen to see what the Darlinghurst Taphouse was like, even though I know they have the same menu and I think largely the same alcohol in bottles. How they differ is what they serve on tap, and any beer aficionado will tell you that nothing beats having (most) beer on tap!

Another important thing to note is that the Taphouse is highly supportive of the Australian craft and microbrewery scene. Simply put, the brewers that don’t make commercial slop (and no, I am not going to name any names. If you have even a modicum on interest in good beer, you’ll already know).

I judged appallingly, but for some insane reason, I thought my girlfriend L who is vehemently opposed to beer would like the Young’s Chocolate Stout. It has a head that smells of Cadbury milk chocolate, and for the first few gulps, tastes as such, mingled with a smooth characteristic stouty flavour. She hated it. C was determined to have the famous Meantime coffee porter. Porter to me does have a lot of burnt coffee notes, so this seemed more apt. I got one gulp and it was delish. The Young’s choc stout I’ll always like, but boy it is well filling.

British beer!

L left us because I probably scared the poop out of her with my beer choice, but not before being persuaded to have some barleywine. C then kindly bought a bottle of Maudite red ale for us remaining three to share

. Maudite red ale

Didn’t it go down a treat. Apparently this small Canadian brewery is closing down. A great shame.

'winners lane' sign

Anyone that makes it to the Local is in the winners’ lane. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, never condescend and are always happy to help out beer neophytes – and yes, this is at both branches. Thanks to my chums for making sure I got to visit!

The Local Taphouse on Urbanspoon

no soup for me!

I admit, I was a bad friend. I dragged C & L out to a part of their fair city that they did not get out to much. I was intent on dining and drinking at the Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst. We were all running late, and an executive decision was made to pop into a place before we reached the Taphouse. Thanks to the fantabulous suggestion of C, we ended up at Betty’s Soup Kitchen.

old-fashioned sign

I love that Betty’s looks so homely and welcoming – instantly. I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I was underdressed and instantly felt at home. The menu is not haute fare, but this was a plus. I remarked that a lot of the food on the menu reminded me of my childhood in England. The waiters are quite kooky, but lovely. When we ordered our food, we were given some bread and butter to share. Doesn’t it look rustic?

bread loaf

C chose the vegie shepherd’s pie, I the meat one, L had spag bol, and T was the only one who had the fabled soup. Here’s a photo of my shepherd’s pie. I’m sorry the photos are so dark. Unusually, instead of the piped-on baked mash, there are ice cream scoops!

meat shepherd's pie

T had the beef goulash soup, which he gobbled up very, very quickly. It’s a bit of a mess because our waiter was awesome and carried three large plates simultaneously.

beef goulash soup

Three of us were persuaded to have dessert, giggle. C & T had bread and butter pudding, and I had plum and peach crumble. T said he could easily have another serve of the pudding – he seemed to very much enjoy it.

bread and butter pudding

I hate custard and was sceptical about peaches and plums together…but it was delicious. To the last drop of custard!

plum and peach crumble with custard

Please open a branch of this place in Melbourne! Eternal thanks to C for leading us all to this cozy little eatery.

Betty's Soup Kitchen on Urbanspoon

shouting…jaeger, jaeger, jaeger

While in Sydney, it was suggested we check out Una’s, in Darlinghurst. I gathered about my posse and a few of us went there for lunch. The cuisine looks very German-inspired. Because I haven’t eaten very much of this type of cuisine at all, I can’t judge whether or not it’s authentic. I was eager to try some beers I’d never had before upon arrival. I had the Radeberger pilsner, while the Bit O’ Meat had an Erdinger Weissbrau. Mine was perfect for quenching my thirst after traipsing to the restaurant in the typical Sydney heat and humidity.

Radeberger pilsner

My friend L had been here before and suggested we all share the baked camembert as an entree. I certainly wasn’t going to argue!

baked camembert entree

A fellow Melburnian on Twitter, @artywah, had spoken highly of the Jaeger chicken schnitzel, so I convinced Bit O’ Meat to share that with me. I was pretty excited about it coming with rosti. L also had it (and they kindly let her take home the leftovers, hee hee), and our other dining companion E had steak. He mentioned he felt the steak a little expensive for the serve. I would like to have seen salad on my plate – perhaps I’ve been spoilt by having too many generous parmas down Melbourne way.

Jaeger chicken schnitzel with rosti

Personally, I prefer non-crumbed parmas and the like, but the sauce on this schnitzel was really good. Wish it had more mushrooms as they soak up the sauce wonderfully. I’m really glad I shared my main as it’s quite a filling meal. The wait staff took a bit of issue with us sharing one of the schnitzels, being of the opinion it most definitely wouldn’t be enough for either of us. I say they were wrong!

Glad to have visited, but I probably wouldn’t go back. It’s a little expensive for food that is just okay.

 

Una's Café & Restaurant on Urbanspoon