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"Cooking, in effect, took part of the work of chewing and digestion and performed it for us outside of the body, using outside sources of energy. Also, since cooking detoxifies many potential sources of food, the new technology cracked open a treasure trove of calories unavailable to other animals. Freed from the necessity of spending our days gathering large quantities of raw food and then chewing (and chewing) it, humans could now devote their time, and their metabolic resources, to other purposes, like creating a culture."

Michael Pollan

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Entries in bistro (7)

Monday
Mar122012

Ondine

DateMonday, March 12, 2012 at 10:10PM

I have just returned back from a gut-busting, gastronomic weekend in Edinburgh. It is a testament to how much I ate over the weekend that today I was perfectly happy with some cereal for breakfast and a Be Good to Yourself sandwich from Sainsbury’s for lunch, usually a guilt-induced chore.

The weekend got off to a disappointing start at Ondine. Voted Scottish Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide 2012, I had reasonably high expectations.

The best bit of the meal was the part they can’t really take any credit for – oysters au natural. Well, they have good suppliers, I’ll give them that, and they were fresher than fresh but that kind of goes with the territory – if they weren’t I would’ve spent the weekend glued to a toilet seat, rather than dining in better restaurants.

There were 3 oysters on and I had one of each - a Dorset, a Maldon and a Carlingford. The Dorset was largest so I ate it first, because they are usually my least favourite. I must have had them out of season before because usually the intense creaminess is too overwhelming for me, but this time it was the selling point. If it had even a hint of the metallic bitterness that an off season oyster can have it would have been too much, but this was clean, fresh and bright.

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AuthorVix | Comment3 Comments |
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Tuesday
Apr262011

Orto have been there

DateTuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:30PM

Updated on Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 7:55PM by Registered CommenterVix

Updated on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 12:02PM by Registered CommenterVix

One of the things that sucks about living on the other side of the world from your home town is that you miss some fairly momentous occasions. My regular readers may remember that I missed my sister’s 21st birthday last year; this made me very sad, but it provided a good excuse to splurge on an extravagant meal for two at Tetsuya’s. Then in March I missed my Aunt Sally’s 60th birthday hosted by my parents – the first ever gathering of the extended family from the NZ side in Sydney. And now I have been sent photos (along with rave reviews) from the opening night of my sister’s boyfriend’s new restaurant, Orto Trading Co.

Chris Low (some of you will have come to know him as the Windang King), Anne Cooper and Louise Hunt were the team behind Baffi & Mo cafe in Redfern; Anne and Louise were the co-owners, Chris the chef. They sold up last year and took Chris with them.

Turns out the folks that brought us Baffi & Mo, mustachioed cafe at the vanguard of the Redfern rush, also have green thumbs. Orto translates from Italian as 'kitchen garden' and the new bright and airy space in Surry is decked with sprouting bottles, tin pails of potted herbs and garden tools that hang above the kitchen pass. (Cleo Braithwaite)

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AuthorVix | Comment7 Comments |
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