The Carrington, Surry Hills

Brunch is my ultimate favourite meal of the day, and I appreciate anywhere where alcohol and eggs go hand in hand. Meet The Carrington, my current favourite breakfast joint and Drink'n'Dine sibling of the The Abercrombie, The Forresters and The Norfolk. The Spanish-inspired menu has many unique gems and the best goddamn Bloody Mary I've had, ever (in my 1.5 years of legal drinking).

Bloody Mary $15

Served in a retro mackerel tin is the bloodiest Bloody Mary of them all, with vodka, tomato juice, pepper, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and a mysterious "+ more" according to the menu. Strong, fresh savoury with lashings of spice, forget coffee, I'll definitely get out of bed with a promise of this bizniz.

Also loved from the alcoholic breakfast drinks menu is the Pillow Talk, a deceptively refreshing concoction of fresh apple juice, camomile tea and boom, more vodka. It makes me feel healthy.

Cappuccino $4

Morcilla & Potato Hash $16

My favourite food groups are fat, carbs and salt, so naturally the morcilla and potato hash is my favourite thing on the menu. Salty Spanish blood sausage, crispy fried potatoes and green beans for balance, topped with a crumbed and fried duck egg with the gooiest orange yolk.

Spanish Baked Eggs $16

The Spanish baked eggs is a good choice for the more health-conscious diners out there, i.e. not me. Two eggs are baked in mini pan with a sofrito, piquillo peppers and spiced eggplant, and served with two slices of sourdough.

Empanada Rancheros $14

The empanada rancheros is another unusual but amazing dish on offer, there's an empanada pastry stuffed with ham hock and beans, served with creamed corn and a fried egg.

Tortilla $16

I totally thought the tortilla was going to be the South American flatbread but surprise, it turned out to be a Spanish omelette. This version consists of baked eggs with fried potato, grilled mushroom, goats cheese and slivers of capsicum.

Media Noche $14

The media noche is an amazing "midnight" sandwich, and possibly the ultimate drunk food. The Carrington version is double-deckered and toasted, soft white bread spliced with mustard, melty Swiss cheese and "triple" pork (roasted and ham I think). Yep yep yep yep.

Torrijas $16

And of course for our sweet-toothed friends, I've saved the best for last. Torrijas is a Spanish bread pudding, similar to what we commonly know as French toast. It's fried crisp on the ouside but pillowy soft inside, and is served with grilled banana, churros-flavoured ice-cream and a good dose of maple syrup. Thanks, Spanish bros.



On a related however tragic note, in light of the recent death of one-half of the founders of The Carrington, I feel obligated to pay my respects here to a man who gave our city fringe pub scene new life. RIP James Miller, and thank you for blessing us with these fine establishments. 


The Carrington
(02) 9360 4714
565 Bourke St, Surry Hills 2010

Cafe Ish, Surry Hills

Being your average uni student, my meagre income is funnelled into three main expenditure categories: food, clothing and alcohol. This axis of evil is a persistant problem for me, trying to maintain a lifestyle I can barely afford but cannot find the will to give up. Through the perpetual struggle with these first world problems, I have developed an appreciation for cheap food and sales (but never cheap alcohol), hence the reason why Tight Arse Tuesdays at Cafe Ish were a great ally to my poor abused wallet. At Ish the food is Japanese-cross-native Australian, the love-child of the labours of owner/chef Josh Nicholls and his Japanese wife/business partner Ai; and at $10 a pop for select menu items on Tuesdays, gave me my own happy food baby.

Crab Omelette Set $16.50

This is the dish that Ish is most well-known for, and the crab omelette does indeed look impressive. I don't eat crab but I wish I did, because the omelette is huge, filled with crisp karaage soft-shell crab, chunks of avocado, shallots and topped with a garlic, chilli, ginger and soy dressing. The lunch set size comes with a bowl of rice and miso soup - a very decent meal, methinks.

Ai's Freaking Awesome Fried Chicken $14.50

Ai's freaking awesome fried chicken speaks for itself, chunks of crunchy karaage chicken covered in a vinegar and pickled garlic sauce, topped with fresh and crunchy fried shallots. It's served on a bed of rice, with a bowl of miso soup on the side.

Wagyu Burger $16.50

I realise this is not a very good photo of the wagyu burger, but underneath the toasted housemade bun lies a wagyu beef patty, grilled onions, cheese and tomato relish. It comes with a very generous bowl of shoestring fries served with aioli and tomato sauce.

Wagyu Short Rib $16.50

The wagyu short rib was cooked tender, succulent, fall-off-the-bone and drenched in a rich, sweet 'smokey soy caramel', topped with fresh chilli, coriander, shallots and sesame. It's kinda phenomenal. Served as set with miso soup and rice.

Croc in a Roc $10.50

A thick slice of house-made bread, buttery and toasted, stuffed with crocodile sausage, fetta, egg and shallot, served with tomato relish. For most people, any type of exotic meat will be described as "it tastes like chicken" but no, the croc sausage did not taste like chicken. The croc in a roc was spicy and meaty, covered in egg and punctuated with bits of salty fetta.

Wattle Maccacino $4.10

The wattle maccacino is the signature coffee, a cappuccino flavoured with wattleseed extract and macadamia. Sweet, nutty and smooth, it's one of my favourite cuppas despite the fact that I generally dislike flavoured coffees. Also I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to macadamias but I brave the possibility of hospitalisation for this indulgence (I also bring my EpiPen).


Cafe Ish
82 Campbell Street, Surry Hills 2010
Telephone: (02) 9281 1688

Naggy's Cafe & Espresso Bar, Glebe

I had emergency brunch with Zac a couple weeks ago, because there is nothing brunch cannot make better. Except for maybe food poisoning. But anyway. Naggy's Cafe & Espresso Bar in Glebe is his favourite bruncheon place, cosily decked out with a large communal table and plush red lounges, the vibe is casual and the prices are very reasonable.

Eggs Benedict with bacon $13.50

I go for my typical brunch order, eggs Benedict with bacon, which arrives on a piece of toasted turkish bread. Two perfectly poached eggs with thick, bright orange runny yolks, two pieces of grilled bacon (one was slightly burnt, unfortunately), topped with Hollandaise. A little skimpy on the sauce but outstanding regardless - I think what really makes a good eggs benny is decent Hollandaise and Naggy's definitely had some decent Hollandaise.

Club Sandwich with beer-battered chips and salad $11.90

Zac went for his usual too, the club sandwich which comes with a serving of beer-battered chips (the best sort of chips, obviously) and salad. The sandwich involves turkey, bacon, fried egg, avocado, tomato, tomato sauce and cheese on Turkish bread, however ironically not double-decker'd. Nevertheless, I took a bite and it is indeed a delicious and very satisfying combination of flavours. I also nicked many of his chips, which were thick-cut and perfect by the way.

Cross-section of club sandwich

Sad news on my front was that I managed to smash my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II prime lens a few weeks ago and so sub-par food porn is now the result. Hence unfortunately, you might notice some motion-shake in the photos taken in dimmer eating places. If you want to know what happened, I had my camera mounted on a gorilla pod, but being the careless person I am, I hadn't positioned the legs equally apart, and when I walked away, the set-up over-balanced and I watched on in slow-motioned horror as my camera face-planted into my desk, snapping the lens into two pieces. I made an awful crunching sound and I very nearly shed a tear. So until I get it replaced, you must suffice with slightly blurry images and less pretty bokeh.

Iced Mocha $4.50

The iced mocha I had was very pleasing, but however had too much chocolate syrup for my tastes and got too sweet towards the bottom, but I understand that I am a terrible person who does not appreciate chocolate as much as the general public. Zac's espresso wore a beautiful coat of crema and looked lovely and rich, I didn't have a taste but he did approve.


Naggy's Cafe & Espresso Bar
333b Glebe Point Rd, Glebe 2037
Telephone: (02) 9566 4860

Well Connected Cafe, Glebe

I'll have you know that in truth, I am really slow with blogging because I am so ridiculously lazy, which has resulted in a backlog, so please excuse me as I catch up on a few posts before I get onto the epicness that was Ramengeddon on Friday (the unofficial end of my Ramen Safari). A few weeks ago Fiona and I finally managed to catch the ever-elusive Sharon for brunch at Well Connected Cafe in Glebe. We sat upstairs on the balcony over-looking Glebe Point Road and Sharon made fun of all the people sipping lattes with their laptops.


Eggs Benedict $14.50
Fi and Sharon shared the eggs Benedict with bacon, which compromises of two poached eggs on baby spinach and bacon on buttered sourdough toast topped with a Hollandaise. The eggs were perfectly runny, the bacon fried crisp and the Hollandaise a pale gold, needless to say, the plate was demolished in a matter of minutes, though some cracked pepper would've been nice. Please excuse Sharon's impatient fingers and cutlery invading my photo, she was very eager to dig in right away. Also, don't quote me on the prices, I don't really remember the exact numbers but these should be right give or take 50 cents.


Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, asparagus and cream cheese on toast $13
My plate arrives with an enticing presentation of colours of soft, fluffy scrambled eggs with chives, roasted asparagus, two slices of smoked salmon and cream cheese spread on two slices of toasted sourdough. The salmon was folded into a rose but I didn't notice until I began eating and I was too consumed by the food to stop to take another photo. I don't think there's much to say about this, it was perfect and tasted exactly like it should, scrambled eggs is a breakfast classic and this one was faultless. I piled then onto the bread and cheese with a slice of salmon, said poo-poo to table manners and ditched my cutlery to pick up the toast with my hands. I regret nothing.


Cappuccino $3.50
Well Connected Cafe
35 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe 2037
Telephone: (02) 9566 2655

Vegetarian Week

Last week, in a bid to prove to myself I do indeed possess the power to say 'no', I decided to perform an exercise in self control in the form of vegetarianism, for seven days (basically a wussier version of The Vegan Challenge). Anyone knows me should know I am a vicious carnivore with a personal meat consumption level equivalent to a small African nation, so this was going to be no easy feat. Just for the record, the only vegetables I tend to eat are potatoes and onions, and I am convinced that I am allergic to leafy green vegetables (with good reason though, I've been through two trips to the hospital emergency ward as a result of anaphylaxis after eating salad).

However, I did indeed survive, with an additional two days on the end because I'd bought too much produce at the markets which I had to use up. Honestly, I actually feel healthier too, probably because I've been getting my five serves of veggies/three serves of fruit on a regular basis. Anyway, onto some animal-friendly food porn, these are some of my meals from the last week...

Brunches


Avocado with olive oil on toasted Vienna bread


Scrambled eggs with baby spinach and mushrooms on toasted Vienna bread


Mi Goreng noodles and fried egg

Greek yoghurt blended with blueberries and baked muesli

Dinners

Avocado, tomato, cucumber and mozzarella salad with balsamic vinegar and whole-seed mustard dressing

Asparagus with poached egg, basil olive oil and shaved parmesan

Penne pasta with vegetarian bolognaise and parmesan

Creamed spinach with sunny-side up egg and croutons

Miscellaneous

Pan-fried croutons with whole-seed mustard, parsley, garlic and sesame oil

Mint leaves, kiwi fruit, strawberries, lemon

Summer iced tea