BLUE KING - Warp Magazine

32 Eat Out
EAT OUT REvIEWS
107-109 St John St
Launceston
6331 1542
149b Collins St
Hobart
6236 9360
Liveat Catering / orders@liveat.com.au / 6236 9399
www.liveat.com.au
33 Elizabeth St
Hobart Mall
6236 9399
grazing is not Just for coWs
Ethos Eat Drink
100 Elizabeth Street, Hobart
The premise of this place is that you go there
to drink and graze on tapas. I went on a busy
Saturday night and as soon as I walked in I got
the strong impression that they were serious
about food and drink.
They have done a great job of turning a dump
into an appealing café / restaurant. My only
real gripe with the fit-out is that I didn’t like the
art on the walls where I was sitting. Next time
I will try to sit outside where I don’t have to see
it. But I did really like the light fittings made of
the found pharmacy bottles from the derelict
site that they took over.
We were squeezed in between fashionable
people by the very professional staff, but we
didn’t feel uncomfortable because everyone
seemed to be celebrating. It is perhaps not the
place for an intimate rendezvous.
I started with $3 plates. The braised ham
hock croquette was tasty and the anchovy and
smoked cherry tomato was delicious. Both
dishes were very small, but what would you
expect for $3 at a swanky place. The second
round got better ($10). The parfait pate with
grapes was really tasty even if the tall jar
meant you couldn’t get to all of it.
The mussels with hot and sour dressing tasted
like mussels should, even if it didn’t taste hot
or sour it still respected the flavour of the food,
which I liked.
Then I skipped the $15 round and went
straight for the $20 plates. I tried the Hangar
Steak with Togarashi and Lime, which I found
disappointing after having been subjected to
raves about Hangar steaks.
If it is all about the taste of the meat then it was
overpowered by the flavouring, and if it is the
texture then I prefer fillet, which is a lot more
tender. I am not sure if it was the dish itself, or
their serving of it.
By this stage I was beginning to think that all
the food was done well, and that it was my
ego as much as anything that was making me
order the more expensive dishes. They make
a note on the menu that the only difference
between the $10, $15 and $20 dishes is the
cost of the ingredients, not the size, or,
it seems, the quality.
You could easily go there and order half a
dozen $3 dishes to have with beer, or get all
the $20 dishes to have with a $100 bottle of
wine. Either way you would be having a better
tapas experience than going to Francisco’s.
I am really happy this place has opened and
will be going back.
Eat Live Love - Italian
JASON JAMES
Our full-range restaurant menu including
pizza, pasta, steaks, chicken, fish and salads.
Dine in, take away & functions.
NORTH HOBART
315 Elizabeth St PH: 6231 6777
SALAMANCA
93 Salamanca Pl, Battery Point
PH: 6224 4848
www.laporchetta.com
in sEarch of thE nEW
kafe kara
119 Elizabeth St, Hobart
I’ve become a creature of no habit. In my
continual search for new flavours and new
destinations in which to enjoy them I have
shunned the places I have already tried; both
places I’ve enjoyed and, understandably, the
places I’ve despised. If I already know a place is
good then where is the need to go back?
Perhaps it is a flaw on my part, but I find it hard
to be surprised and excited on a second visit
when I know what to expect. With a catwalk
full of new eateries opening up seemingly
every week this behaviour of mine becomes
more pronounced.
Step one was admitting I had a problem.
I decided to skip the traditional second step,
as I didn’t really feel it was worth bothering a
“higher power” over. Instead I stepped into a
place I’d greatly enjoyed in the past, a place
that was already trusted in my mind, and
therefore wrongly overlooked except for a
takeaway coffee most Saturdays.
Kafe Kara has been around seemingly forever.
Squeezed into a narrow space is great service,
some of the best coffee in Hobart, and an
obviously passionate team in the kitchen.
“Beans on Toast” I would walk away from
on most menus but here I knew it wouldn’t
disappoint. It was simple yet complex,
a generous pile of mixed beans slow baked
with the flavours of tomato, rosemary and bay
leaves really standing out.
The richness was counter pointed beautifully
with fresh shavings of quality parmesan and
Italian parsley. This all sat atop rye bread that
was designed to match the dish, unlike many
others who strive for the trendiest bread with
little thought of it really works as a whole.
A classic dish executed to perfection and
only $12.
Feeling excited by this rediscovery I vowed to
keep with the program and revisit some of my
classic favourites. If only there weren’t so many
other new temptations.
warpmagazine.com.au warpmagazine.com.au
CARL WISE
nEW Kid on thE squarE
Salvete
Salamanca Square
Salvete - which essentially translates from
Latin as “Hello” or “Greetings” - is where Say
Cheese used to be located.
The name is rather hard to make out, with its
curly crimson script, however look out for the
novel use of wooden bed ends to demarcate
their outdoor seating from the footpath.
The interior is airy, spacious and elegant,
where solid wooden dining tables, understated
retro lounges and vintage suitcases make up
the decor. The tables are far enough apart
that you feel comfortable and relaxed - easily
a place where you could have a leisurely
breakfast or lunch. Service is well paced,
genuine and friendly - no snooty trendbots in
sight here thank goodness!
To my delight, there was black pudding on the
breakfast menu. Other items that garnered
my interest included baked duck eggs with
cannellini, chorizo, spinach, cherry tomatoes
and parmesan, served in a claypot ($16.50),
and sardines on sourdough, with tomato
ramesco, lemon and Italian parsley ($16.50).
I opted for the black pudding. It came with
confit shallots, goats cheese, a poached egg
and herbs on sourdough ($16.50). My egg was
perfectly poached, and the gorgeous olive oil
scattered about the plate accentuated all the
lovely flavours of the dish.
Being a bit of a salt fiend, I found the black
pudding a little under seasoned. Happily, there
are normal salt and pepper shakers on each
table, unlike some other trendy places where they
hide them from you and make you feel ashamed
to ask. Once seasoned to my liking, the black
pudding was superbly moreish, and I later learned
that it is from the fabulous Ziggy’s Smallgoods.
For the less adventurous, all the usual
breakfast suspects are here also, at very
reasonable prices. My long black was
pleasantly robust without being overly strong,
the beans a blend from Di Bella Coffee.
A quick perusal at the lunch menu invoked me
to mentally bookmark Salvete for a future lunch
date. How can one pass up a pork belly sandwich
in toasted brioche with pickled cucumber, fresh
chilli, spring onion and hoi sin ($17.50), or prawn
ciabatta with avocado, fresh greens, vodka and
tomato jelly and aioli ($16.50)?
All this, and a good wine list to boot, I think I will
be saying “Salvete” to Salvete, sooner than later.
SARA WAkELINg
Paris End of toWn
Tant pour tant
226 Charles Street
Just say, “Oui,” and indulge your decadence
at this elegant French-style café offers an
extensive range of cakes, tarts and sweet
pastries (it has the best lemon tart in town),
with a lunch menu based on northern
Tasmanian produce.
Pick up a loaf of the walnut and raisin
sourdough, made with an authentic levain
which is fed daily, or sit in the sun and feast
on their grilled Black Forest bacon panini with
Heidi gruyere, slow-roasted tomatoes and
scrambled eggs.
rEtro dining
Nanna’s
7 Coulter Court
WENDY NEWTON
Don your Sunday-best hat, gloves and coat,
and trip into the pop art reality of Nanna’s for
1950s-style homemade treats and coffee.
Fossick through the vintage clothing and quirky
objets trouves while you wait for ‘grandma’s’
coconut ice slice and sodastream spider. For
lovers of all things polyester, melamine, and
formica.
haPPEning huE
Blue
Invermay Road, Inveresk
WENDY NEWTON
It’s in a funky industrial setting (a converted
tram pay station in the historic Inveresk
Railyards), it’s full of art and students, and it
has the best wood-fired pizzas around.
Try the field mushroom pizza with leek, sage,
goats curd, parmesan and walnut oil, and
match it with a Tassie wine from their extensive
list. If you want to be ‘seen’ in a happening
place, this is it.
WENDY NEWTON
FAT
CHEWING
I am looking after this section because
I love beer, I love wine, and I love food.
Eat Out 33
WELCOME TO ThE INAU
gURAL EAT OUT SECTION.
I WILL BE YOUR gUIDE fOR
ThESE TWO PAgES. SO SIT
DOWN, RELAx AND TAkE
A DEEP DRAfT Of YOUR
fAVOURITE TIPPLE.
I AM.
I love coffee too, but sadly we are going
through a difficult separation at the moment.
After a brief reunion after dinner
at Ethos Eat Drink, we are back to staring
longingly at each other.
I have to say that I am heartened to see
some quality places opening up at night
time in the centre of Hobart lately. If this
trend continues we may see life return to
the wasteland that is the Hobart CBD.
This edition we are having a look at cafés.
The next issue will feature pub and bar
food. So if you have a food story that
you are hungry to share, contact me.
JASON JAMES
eat out editor
jason@warpmagazine.com.au