EATING OUT IN BRISBANE

“In general, mankind, since the improvement in cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.” - Benjamin Franklin

I took my staff to lunch today as a little bit of a social, team-building exercise but also as a small way of acknowledging their continuing efforts in doing their job well. In the past when I was a junior staff member at University, I remember working very hard, doing my job well and getting very little recognition for my work. It often takes very little to show people that work for you your appreciation of their work. Today’s lunch was a case in point. I let them choose the venue and was pleasantly surprised as it turned out to be a little of a revelation. I guess I should not have been surprised given that they were academics.

We walked to the restaurant, which is about a kilometre from our College and I had some reservations as the skies over Brisbane today were leaden grey and we had a few downpours during the morning. Nevertheless, the weather held fine during our walk and we were able to enjoy our lunch in dry clothes. The place is called “L’ Académie” and it is a combination hotel, restaurant, bar, patisserie. The interesting thing about it is that it is the training establishment for a cooking academy, catering and hospitality industry school. It is where the aspiring chefs get to try out their skills under the watchful eye of their supervisors. The advantage is that the prices are extremely reasonable ($15.00 for a three-course meal!) and one gets the satisfaction of helping these young people develop their skills.

I must say that I was quite impressed by the venue, the service and the food. The interior is in harmony with the late Victorian exterior of the establishment and the sensitively renovated generous rooms have dark red and green walls on which hang suitably lurid Victorian oil paintings, with the regulation potted palms. An open central kitchen and food preparation area allows one to watch the young chefs at work and it is wonderful to see them busily working away producing one’s selection from the menu. I had the Mediterranean platter for entrée (marinated baby octopus, eggplant and capsicum antipasto, tomato and onion appetizer and toasted home made rusks). This was followed by a well-done steak on a bed of mashed potato and spring vegetables, and for dessert a tiramisu parfait. It was accompanied by a very good Western Australian shiraz wine.

Although not “gourmet” quality, my meal exceeded my expectations and was ten times better than the (much more expensive) meal that I had the previous night in my hotel’s “gourmet” restaurant. The evening meal last night was abominable. I chose to have only main course and dessert, and unfortunately I selected the grilled pork. I always like my meat well and truly cooked, even steak (what did Woody Allen say? “I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead - not sick, not wounded - dead.”), but pork especially has got to be very dead, very well cooked. The pork last night was blood-red raw inside and seared on the outside. Add to that the fact that it took just over 50 minutes to arrive (and I was one of only three patrons in the place!). Needless to say, I did not eat my pork, only nibbled on the sickly sweet stewed apple that accompanied it and made do with the broccolini on the side. The dessert was a standard chocolate mud cake – nothing to write home about.

This restaurant was at the “Watermark Hotel” a four star establishment which would only manage a maximum of three stars on my scale. Admittedly the staff were solicitous when they saw that I did not eat my meal an enquired whether I would like something else. I politely but firmly refused and they did have the decency to cut my bill. Nevertheless, I don’t think that this type of meal or service is representative of a four star hotel or a gourmet restaurant.

I am now home after a flight which was (surprisingly for a Friday night) on schedule. Needless to say that I shall be relaxing at the weekend (although there is some work to do, as well). Tomorrow night we are going out to a very nice restaurant in Melbourne (entertaining overseas guests), and certainly in Melbourne the standard of the food and service is easily the best in Australia. That concludes my Food Friday entry, even though it included a little beef…