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Food, Wine and Coffee - by Jas

Food, Wine and Coffee - Food, Wine and Coffee

Wine Glasses

September 25th 2006 10:55

It pains me to see someone scoffing down even a barely decent chiante out of a tumbler. People who drink burgundy out of plastic 'glasses' (yes even at picnics) make my hands contort and become all strangley. The receptacle you choose to hold your celestial nectar is extremely important. I thought it was all a great wank myself at one point in my life but I've done enough blind tests with glasses of varying shapes and sizes to know. An aged Bordeaux can be stifled in the wrong glass and its sexy little secrets completely unlocked in another

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Pardon My French: But What a Mouth-F**k!

September 19th 2006 00:27

That's what I thought after a 10 course degustation at Atelier in Sydney's bohemian and culinary paradise: Glebe. When you enter Atelier, you're greeted by a quaint little cottage front. The interior, however is a different story. Modern ambience with an old world charm is the best way to describe this restaurant. There's no pomp and ceremony here - just excellent service and a permeating sense of welcome. The cosy courtyard replete with roman columns is a welcome spot to perch on warmer evenings

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Creme Brulee' - Easier Than You Think.

September 7th 2006 09:49

Preparing food for one's friends and family is one thing, preparing fare that will convince them your cooking skills exceed that of a drunken chimpanzee is another story entirely.
Nothing sexes up a dinner like dessert. End on a high note and even that lamb rack that you charred - to the extent that made the pagan gods take notice - will be forgotten. Excel at the end of a meal and that's generally what your victims will store away in their memories under '___insert your name here___, Cooking Skills Of'.
Creme Brulee' is an excellent way to fake cooking prowess. It's relatively easy, it's dramatic and - if done reasonably well - transports the dinner guest on a sensory journey...perhaps to the bank of the river Seine on a lazy Sunday afternoon whilst watching Renoir dab away at his canvas

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What Does 'Corked' Mean Anyway?

September 6th 2006 03:55

I've been to polite dinners where guests bask in the witty banter of enlightened adults. I've been to the kind that degrade rapidly into debaucherous evenings involving oiled midgets and edible underwear too. But no matter what the affair, what never ceases to surprise me is how many people unjustly accuse a bottle of wine of being "corked" (yes I suppose I am easily surprised).
Some folks seem to think that little bits of cork floating around in their glass are a direct symptom of cork taint. Others think that the smell of rotting eggs or vinegar indicate that their fermented grape juice is corked. What's it all mean?

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Take the Plunge (pathetic pun...sorry...too much coffee)

September 4th 2006 04:01

With the price of 'Instant Coffee' set to rise, now is the time to forget freeze-dried beverages and look to higher 'grounds' (Hee hee - a little coffee joke...very little...oh forget it!). In fact, what were you doing drinking 'instant' in the first place?! The All Knowing Geek forgives you...there, there...shhhhhhhh. Come and suckle at my coffee flavoured teat and let me guide you to the gates of Coffee Valhalla.
I would recommend an Espresso Machine as the ideal but a cheaper and easier way to ease yourself in to the universe of serious coffee drinkers is the plunger. The humble plunger is a really decent way to make coffee; in fact sometimes it can gently ply subtle nuances from the coffee grounds that a machine can't (yes I'm a wanker - yes I did just say: "subtle nuances").
If you're making coffee on your onesy then just pick up a 1 - 2 cup plunger (usually around the $15 - $25 mark for a decent one

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A Japanese Oasis in Sydney

August 30th 2006 00:54

Mention Japanese food to some people and they go green at the gills. They think of raw fish atop sticky rice smothered in enough wasabi to melt their will to live. What a shame, as good Japanese food is not so much cuisine as a life affirming experience. It's all about subtlety and nuance and above all else - something that's missing from a lot of modern cuisine: elegance.
Tetsuya's in Sydney is Mount Olympus for lovers of not just good Japanese food but good food all round. In fact it's a wonderous fusion of Japanese and French food that takes the patron on a gastranomic journey. Their seafood barely sees a flame but the flavours transport one to the ocean itself.
Treat yourself to a degustation and you'll see what makes this restaurant 4th best on the globe - yes you heard right - we have one of the finest restaurants in the world tucked away behind the George St. cinemas. Don't delay as one day Tets will be gone and you'll have missed the experience of a lifetime

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Where do we go now?

August 29th 2006 06:05

I hate to oversimplify but I will just to tick myself off. Coffee drinkers can be split into two very broad groups:
1) Those that drink coffee purely for the buzz AND
2) Coffee lovers who are passionate about the aroma and flavour of the magical brew

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Mmmm...foamy

August 28th 2006 13:16

My coffee machine at home sits atop my kitchen bench like a stainless steel God. It should do too as it's the focal point of my kitchen, my apartment, my entire life really. As soon I rise each morning, my palate anticipates the first touch of rich coffee infused with creamy foam, beautifully balanced with just the right amount of acid and sweetness (that is of course if I get it right). It's all too easy to stuff the whole process up royally and end up with a cup of mud that tastes not unlike battery acid. Where to begin though. As most coffee based drinks incorporate milk in some way, let's talk foam.
Many people are under the impression that milk should be frothed with an up-down motion and that's fine. Notice that the constant up-down action reminds you of something though? And how very apt it is. Forget the up-down crappola, that's for amateurs. We need to start with the jug. Get yourself a decent stainless steel jug with at least a 600 ml capacity.

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