Showing posts with label Lunch Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lunch Series. Show all posts

Monday, May 8, 2023

Blast From The Past ~ Lunch Series: Two Bit Villains Soda Bar




Or 'The One Where Two Meat-Eaters Unknowingly Dine At A Vegetarian Eatery'

EDIT - Guys, I'm re-publishing this post from 2016 as a Blast From The Past, mainly because I ran out of time to blog (eeek!). This week my son is doing work experience, so hopefully I'll have plenty of time to write, so there will be a proper one next Monday. Two Bit Villains is still operating in the heart of the city, so this is still relevant and hilarious, but they may have changed their dishes since seven years ago lol. The tags on the pics are my beauty account but I now have a dedicated food account on Instagram called @imhungrymax so feel free to follow me there. Hope you enjoy the post!

Two Bit Villains
Shop 150
Balcony Level, Adelaide Arcade
Adelaide

LOL. I'm still not living this down. I surprised hubby with my choice of lunch date location last week, and he was pretty amused/appalled/surprised alright when he looked at the menu. I don't know how I missed this, because I did research Two Bit Villains online before proudly making my decision, but all the meat words were in quotes. For example, panko-crumbed "chicken", housemade pressed "beef" and spice-rubbed "pulled pork". ALL THE MEAT WAS FAKE. Oh My God, we laughed. We laughed, we laughed some more, and then as staunch Carnivores, we widely avoided ordering the fake meat. I looked at hubby and could see him mentally crafting the story he would tell his workmates upon his return. This tale would not feature me in a favourable light. Anyhoo, I ordered, said no to all the vegan and dairy-free options, and returned to our table. And thus began our one hour experience as vegetarians.





Drinks: I ordered a Passionfruit Hand-Crafted Botanical Soda which was very subtle in flavour and low in bubbles. My husband had a Tummy Tonic Soda Float (ginger, citrus, mint, star anise and icecream) which came in a jar (naturally) and was quite nice.





Food: I had the Onion Rings Burger (if you read this post you'll be aware of my onion ring addiction) which was lettuce, tomato, cheese on a bun stuffed with onion rings and a swirl of tomato sauce and mustard. I picked Tater Tots as my side, probably just so I could shove them in my pockets later like Napoleon Dynamite. This was a good sized meal. I mean we are talking generous servings here. I basically couldn't finish it and hubby just managed to eat his but couldn't finish mine. This never happens (he always has the ability to finish my food). I'm pretty sure the cheese was real and the burger was good. The tater tots were good. I enjoyed and was super-full afterwards. My husband got the Nacho! Nacho! Man meal with guacamole (a basket of crunchy tortilla chips topped with housemade salsa beans, grated carrot, corn, spring onions, sour cream and cheese). He said it was really nice, even the beans which he normally doesn't like. He had onions rings as a side, and obviously we shared the tater tots and onion rings, because of my #onionringaddiction. The onion rings were super crunchy and delicious! 10/10 for the onion rings!




Fun Fact: Adelaide Arcade is supposedly haunted. I was on the look out for ghosts, but disappointingly, did not meet any on the day in question. Although the pale look on hubby's face when he saw the menu came close.



Ambience: I loved the cute, funky decor, the quirky arches and the large opening out to Rundle Mall that provided a welcome breeze. We were told if we sat on a long table we may have to share, so we made a beeline for the high tables with stools along the wall. Our table was quite private and plenty fun! There weren't a ton of other diners, perhaps another four or five tables of people. The staff were all friendly and capable, no issues there whatsoever. I'm glad it didn't get super-busy. Overall, quite a lovely dining atmosphere.

I'm not gonna lie, we've probably eaten everything off the menu that we want to, with the possible exception of the Frozen Choc Peanut Pie dessert. I don't think we'd return, even though it was a pleasant surprise!


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Disclaimer: Non-sponsored. We paid for our own meals and all thoughts are my honest, unbiased opinion.


Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Restaurant Review: Jamie's Italian




Hello guys! Recently, hubby had a week of holidays to coincide with our son's three day soccer clinic, so we used the time to explore the city's gardens, Glenelg and of course, go to some restaurants for lunch! This is roughly our fourth visit to Jamie's Italian, the restaurant chain of popular UK chef Jamie Oliver, and here's what we thought of it this time!



Drinks
We always get the Homemade Lemonade and Lime Bitters (containing fresh lemon juice, lime juice & gomme syrup) when we come to Jamie's Italian. It's just a ritual we have and it helps that they are very tangy and refreshing to drink!




Starters
We ordered the SuperLunch offer of three courses from a special selection for $30 per person, which is pretty great value for money. For Starters, I had the Truffle Tagliatelle. This is described on the menu as 'Our famous handmade pasta served in a luxurious, silky black truffle butter with aged Parmesan, nutmeg & more shaved black truffle.' I thought this pasta dish was absolutely delicious and I was also pleasantly surprised by the generous portion size, as I was expecting a much smaller amount for a starter. I'd definitely order this creamy, perfectly cooked pasta again!
Hubby ordered the Tomato Bruschetta, described on the menu as 'Slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, whipped ricotta, basil & extra virgin olive oil.' He thought it was OK, but perhaps was overpowered by too much ricotta cheese.


Mains
It took a really long time for our mains to arrive, and quite frankly, they didn't seem put together with as much care as our Starters. I was underwhelmed with the look of mine and didn't even bother taking photos, as it didn't look great. I ordered the Gennaro's Chicken Club, described on the menu as 'A soft seeded bun stuffed with chargrilled, marinated free-range chicken, mortadella, spicy ‘nduja mayo, fontal cheese, tomato & rocket.' My main complaint; the piece of chicken in the bun was quite small, and calling it chargrilled is putting it nicely. When the underside is black and the main taste is 'burnt' it's taking 'chargrilled' to another (not so pleasant) level.
Hubby ordered the Fish Of The Day, which is a responsibly sourced market special that changes daily. When we dined, it was barramundi, which he thought was unevenly cooked, as some bits were firm, some were soft and the flesh colour ranged from grey to white.
The waitress did ask how everything was and when I said 'the chicken is burnt' she did offer to get me a new dish, but I declined as we were running out of time, given how long mains had taken to arrive and the fact we still had dessert to come!




Desserts
If we thought mains took their merry time to arrive, dessert was either just as long or longer. We were seated at 12 noon, and at 1:50 we had to ask for our plates, as it was taking so long. Anyway, I ordered the Epic Chocolate Brownie, which is 'Rich chocolate sauce, salted caramel gelato & caramelised popcorn' with a square chocolate brownie. I've ordered this before and it's a favourite. It's deliciously chocolatey, the icecream is smooth and creamy and the caramelised popcorn adds a fun, crunchy element that suits the dish perfectly. Recommended!
Hubby ordered the Orange Blossom Polenta Cake which was 'served with whipped crème fraîche, fresh orange & pomegranate.' He said it could have had more flavour, but still this is a super-pretty dish that I'm bummed I didn't get time to photograph, as we were rushing at this point!

The standouts for me were the Truffle Tagliatelle and the Epic Chocolate Brownie. We have had better experiences on our previous visits to Jamie's Italian, but still the SuperLunch is a great deal and this is a fun place to dine. Make sure you check out the toilets, which are set downstairs in the old bank vaults. It's like being in jail!





You may also be interested in Lunch Series: Gondola Gondola



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Disclaimer: We paid for our own meals and reviews are honest and unbiased. There are no affiliate links in this post. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Have you been to Jamie's Italian in your city? What type of food do you like?

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Wordless Wednesday: Pepper Lunch!




The subject of today's Wordless Wednesday post is Pepper Lunch (82 Gouger Street, Adelaide). I had lunch there with my husband on one of our regular weekday lunch dates (he surprised me!) and found it to be unique, fun and totally delicious! Enjoy the photos!












WIN ALERT! If thats made you hungry don't forget to enter my CookBook Giveaway!

You may also like: Lunch Series: Gondola Gondola

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Disclaimer: Non-sponsored. We paid for our own meals and all thoughts are my honest, unbiased opinion.

What's your favourite place to grab a quick bite?

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Lunch Series: Gondola Gondola

Gondola Gondola
1 Peel Street
Adelaide SA




I'd read a couple of great reviews of Gondola Gondola, another hyped Peel Street eatery, so took my husband there for a weekday lunch date. We were both pleasantly surprised!



Drinks: I had Besa pressed orange juice which tasted like ordinary fresh orange juice (I don't know if it's meant to be any different?). My husband ordered the Pearl Royal Coconut Water, which arrived in a can. We'd both never tried coconut water before, and declared it to be really yummy!


Steamed Chicken & Corn Dumplings
Banana Blossom
Red Steak

Food: The cuisine at Gondola Gondola is modern South-East Asian. We were only given chopsticks and spoons to eat with so I was fucked from the get-go, but decided to immerse myself in the experience and not request a knife and fork, thereby ignoring my natural instincts. I fumbled through with my choppies and weird spoon, although I'm pretty sure I used them hilariously incorrectly. I popped my dumpling cherry when we opted to order the Steamed Chicken & Corn Dumplings with Sweet Vinegar Sauce for our Entree. They were delicious and had quite a strong chilli kick, waking up my tastebuds and preparing them for the flavours to come. It was somewhat difficult to eat the accompanying sauce as the serving dish was shallow, so we ended up tipping the platter to collect the liquid in our spoons, like the unsophisticated brutes we are. Hubby's meal came a good five minutes before mine, which was the only negative, because he eats twice as fast, so I need a headstart if anything, not a handicap. For mains, he had the Banana Blossom, which is shredded chicken breast, prawn, banana flower, peanuts and coconut cream, and said it was really nice! I tried it, but preferred my dish as I don't like prawns. I ordered Red Steak, which is chargrilled sirloin with mixed herbs, chilli and peanuts. O M G, you guys! The flavour in this thing! It tasted absolutely delicious. The flavours were very fresh and zingy, creating a taste explosion in my mouth. The beef was really juicy and tender and there were a lot of fresh herbs, different salad leaves and possibly some lemon or mint? I don't know, but I can say it tasted clean and healthy, with multiple textures including delicious crunch from the peanuts. Yum!



Fun Fact: Hubby had a ball using his phone to translate the various foreign language phrases on the menu. For example, 'mon an chat luong va huong vi dac biet' is Vietnamese and means 'quality cuisine and special flavour'!




Ambience: This is such a trendy little place, with three long benches in the middle, booths on one side and cute, cozy small tables along the street-side edge. There's a yellow theme running through Gondola Gondola, and it's quite dark inside, although not dim enough to hinder my Instagram photos! Loud music played and the table near us was a bit rowdy, but it never got unpleasant. We were served by a friendly, laid-back dude who was in danger of setting a new benchmark for the term 'relaxed'. I wish I was that chill! When we were settling the bill he asked what we thought of our meals and was genuinely interested in our response, enquiring 'how so?' when we commented the flavours were amazing.

I'm so glad I found this hip little eatery on the corner of Hindley and Peel Streets, as my husband and I really enjoyed everything about our Gondola Gondola experience. Even the little apple lollies we got after paying were tasty! I'd highly recommend this one if you're after somewhere a little different for lunch!


Yummy little lollies!


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Disclaimer: Non-sponsored. We paid for our own meals and all thoughts are our honest, unbiased opinions.

What's your favourite place to grab a quick bite?

Monday, May 23, 2016

Lunch Series: Bread And Bone Wood Grill




For the last few months I've been going into the city once a week (during school hours, because I like to live on the edge!), indulging in a spot of shopping, maybe an hour of blog writing in a quiet cafe, and inevitably, meeting the husband for lunch. We started off slumming it at various food courts, but now we've upped our game, and decided to scout out some cool places to catch a bite in the busy lunch hour period. So I'm starting this little Lunch Series to share with you food pics and our experience of the places we've dined at around our fair and churchy city of Adelaide!


Bread And Bone Wood Grill
15 Peel Street
Adelaide

I hadn't heard of this one, but apparently Peel Street (off Hindley Street) is quite a cool little food district. When you enter, you turn left and head up the stairs, to a trendy-looking eatery with about six long benches. We got there about 12:10pm and it was quite empty (yay!), but by the time we left it was well and truly packed! Hubby and I were seated on one end of a long bench; there was a couple at the other end but we were separated by condiments, including green and red hot sauce bottles, so it was still somewhat private. They also have a number of small, round two-seater tables on the side.

Drinks: Coke Zero's all round. They come with a slice of lemon and I quickly plopped mine into hubby's glass as I like my Coke pure, just as Lindsay Lohan likes hers.





Food: I had the Chicken Burger (fried chicken, guacamole, smoked bacon, cheese, iceberg, kewpie) from the spicy section of the menu and holy crap, was it spicy?! (Yes, the answer is yes). Super-delicious, though, and I am a bit fussy when it comes to burgers. There was a generous amount of sauce in the burger, unlike those dry-arse Maccas ones, and the crispy chicken was really yummy. Hubby said his B&B Burger (beef, smoked bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, caramelised onion, pickle, sauce, kewpie) was really good, too. All the burgers come with fries on the side; they were good, not brilliant, but nothing wrong with them either. We also ordered a serve of Onion Rings to share, which came with a tomato sauce. It was quite a small bowl, but taste-wise, we both thought they were great. If there are Onion Rings on the menu, it's a fucking no-brainer, I am ordering it. #Addicted

Fun Fact: Kewpie is a Japanese mayonnaise that's smoother, creamier, richer and more flavoursome than usual mayonnaise. It's made with rice vinegar instead of distilled vinegar.





Ambience: Quiet just after 12 noon, then loud and busy towards 1:00pm. I think we left exactly at the right time, as I hate crowded places. I quite liked the interior and the set-up. The staff were friendly and capable, although I will mention the girl who rang up our bill had not tried the red and green hot sauces on the tables when we asked which was meant to be hotter. Sorry, but if you work at an eatery, you probably should try the sauces, you will get asked about them. Just my opinion!

I would definitely return and try different menu items in the future!





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Disclaimer: Non-sponsored, we paid for our own meals. Reviews are my honest, unbiased opinion. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Do you have any Adelaide CBD lunch-time suggestions?