Tucked away in a lane behind the East Village Hotel in Darlinghurst you will find a little gem called Lotforty. Wow. It’s definitely on the new favourite list and I plan on Rediscovering it with friends as often as possible. This aint no regular tapas joint people – there’s no chorizo here.. No sir-y.

Upstairs or downstairs we ponder.. I go with up. So up a cute little staircase we meander, tea candles line the stairs as we go up past a pop-art portrait of Marilyn (you can’t go wrong), and some groovy wall-art. Upstairs is a divine cosy space. There’s antiquey style mirrors with writing scrawled across in hot pink pen – “I’m a lover and a fighter” it says – I’ll drink to that. A corrugated wooden wall gives the room a wonderful texture and sense of groove whilst a wrought iron feature wall keeps us from falling down the stairs. A black and white piece of art at the back of the room gives of an essence of cool and makes me giggle when I read “tap ass” in the corner.

Right.. Now the food.

YUM! YUM! YUM! Where does one start.. where else but the beginning. So the LOVELY waiter brings us our menus and we promptly order a jug of Sangria.. you’d be nuts not to.. There’s a choice of red or white.. we go with red but the waiter offers to give us a taste of the white as well.. Now I’m not one to say no to an offer of alcohol and I’m in love with this place already.

Next thing, the waiter appears with complimentary aranchini balls to nibble whilst we mull over what to order – this place is getting better by the minute and I the aranchini is delicious.. Crunchy on the outside and filled with a delectable bolognaise centre.

We are impressed by the menu – it’s not your usual tapas spread – and the prices are good too. Our waiter pops back to take our order and we go with:

- BBQ baby bocconcini wrapped in pancetta and basil – $7.5
- Fresh oven baked half shell scallops with prosciutto & tapenade crust  – $10
- Oven baked duck crepe with plum sauce, crispy eschalots & brocolini – $12
- Twice roasted pork belly served on a bed of green beans, barbequed onions, and seeded mustard sauce – $12

The waiter mentions that if we like scallops we should try the special – which, now we’re testing the memory here, was a ricotta and pumpkin pancake with sage and with scallops on the side.. He says it’s to die for – but we stick with our oven baked scallops instead.

Every single dish was divine. The textures and flavours were expertly matched and my taste buds were having the time of their life. With an Asian influence and a modern flair, I could not fault one single dish.. Expect for the fact that they had to end!

Much to our surprise – and very much our delight – our lovely waiter turned up with the scallop special that he had suggested – what remarkable service and brilliant hospitality. He said that the chef really wanted us to try it – and damn, I’m glad she did! It was SENSATIONAL. Wow. If I was ever to request my last meal.. this little beauty would definitely make the grade.

Our ‘taste’ of the white sangria was also far more than we expected – and again a wonderful concoction of flavours and fruit. Delicious and nutritious – well that’s what I tell myself because it had cucumber and fruit in it.

All in all – what a wonderful night. I’m in love with Lotforty and I know you will be too. They’ve been open for just three months and I’m worried that the secret will get out and this wonderful hidden gem will be bursting at the seams. Go there. Do it. You won’t regret it.  

And if the food isn’t the clincher for you – on Sunday’s they do $10 jugs!! Bless their little cotton sox – jugs of white or red sangria or Pims (and you all know how I feel about Pims!!). And the best part of all is you don’t have to feel guilty because it’s so chock full of fruit that it HAS to be good for you. Eat your cucumber kids.

Cannot recommend Lotforty highly enough. Wonderful food, attentive, friendly and generous service and just the right measure of cool. Please check it out – it’s fab – and at this rate, I’ll probably see you there. Anyone up for tapas tonight??

RS x

You just got to love the Watsons Bay Hotel. I mean come on. Absolute beach front, great food, splendid view of our wonderful harbour and city and, if like me you don’t mind a little bit of liquid indulgence, jugs!

Recently re-visited the Watto with my little fire cracker of a wing-man. Now, the plan was Saturday afternoon, late lunch, few beverages, bit of sun and home at a respectable hour in a respectable state. Epic fail. Well, we got most of it acheived. Actually, we got all of it acheived except the respectable state bit. Unless of course you consider swinging from the hand rails on the bus and singing like idiots to be a respectable state.

Now where was I? Oh yes, the Watsons Bay Hotel. Epic. What better way to enjoy a sunny Sydney Saturday afternoon than with a Jug of Pimms? Let’s just reflect on the Pimms for a minute. Absolute kudos to the lovely bartender who made our multiple jugs of Pimms especially special. The whole shebang.. cucumber, strawberries, lemon, lime, lots of ice, ginger ale and a good old hearty helping of Pimms. It was pimping.. pardon the pun.

And the food you ask? Well no complaints there. HUGE helpings. I could only manage half my steak sandwich.. and I’m not one of those “I’ll just have a salad” girls.. I love a good steak sanga. ‘Twas delicious and love the fact that, when taking my order, they asked how I would like my steak cooked.. now that doesn’t often happen with a steak sandwich and indicates two things.. firstly, that the meat in your sandwich is not going to be reminiscent of a piece of old cardboard and, secondly, that the kitchen staff and the establishment actually understand the chronic importance of one’s personal preference when it comes to steak. Me? Medium rare thanks.

My compadre had a Mexican chicken burger, also ridiculously huge, which also received rave reviews. Both were topped off with a very generous serving of deliciously devilish battered chips.. holy crap they are tasty.

Must admit, the whole atmosphere of the Watto is very laid back – and an interesting mix of people – families, bucks days, tourists, girls just wanna have fun types (not unlike ourselves), oldies, littlies, people off the ferry, boaties swimming in for a feed and a beer.. It’s pretty sweet. Wait.. wait.. wait.. I’m forgetting someone here.. Ah yes. The freaking seagulls. I don’t know whose idea it was to invent seagulls but I think you really f***** up there. I mean – what purpose do they serve but to be, well, nothing short of $%#!&)&@$!. They are a little rife up at the Watto, probably due to the fact that people that ‘aren’t quite all there’ if you get my drift, think it’s fun to feed them. I took the liberty of throwing my thong (that’s the shoe, not my underpants) at one and some animal rights libertist had a go at me. Well sorry lady but unless the seagull coughs up the cash that I forked out to go halves with me in my steak sandwich and chips then quite frankly, you can both f-off.

Go there. Do it. Get a bus (swinging from rails and dancing in the aisles optional) or a boat (if your lucky enough) or a ferry and make an afternoon of it – it’s well worth it. 

RS x

Ok.. enough of that – it’s the pizza that we are interested in. Somewhat the pizza connoisseur, my plight for the perfect pizza paused momentarily this fine sunny day at Mad Pizza on Victoria St, Darlinghurst. Now a damn fine pizza must tick three particular boxes.. Base. Taste. Waist. Mad Pizza has it licked.

BASE: Claiming the title “home of the super thin pizza”, Mad produces a light, crispy, Italian style super thin base. It’s ticking the first box with a big shiny red pen – with the perfect amount of crunch, the base doesn’t leave you feeling like you’ve just consumed an entire dough factory and doesn’t call for the flicking off the top button out of it’s special little hole.

TASTE: Well, let’s just say the buds were singing for freakin’ joy!

On my visit, Kindred and I shared a half and half number that consisted of one-side Tibia (shredded lamb shank, grilled eggplant, red onion & rocket leaves with yoghurt dressing) and one-side Funghi (fat field mushrooms, rosemary, fetta & rocket leaves with shaved parmesan & extra virgin olive oil).  

Big Pauly consumed a half and half all on his lonesome – one-side Pepperoni (sliced pepperoni, roma tomato, black kalamata olives & basil leaves) and the other side Polpette (beef meatballs with roast peppers, bocconcini, roma tomato & basil leaves).

Young Mitchell devoured a half and half consisting of Havianna (double smoked ham, fresh pineapple, oregano & cherry tomato) and Tibia. At one point I looked over at Mitch and he was chewing away with his eyes closed – ’twas unusual but an indication of how good this damn pizza is!

One thing I picked up on the taste factor was the creative and thoughtful use of herbs and spices in addition to the toppings.. for example, the Tibia used the aromatic herb cumin to enhance the flavour of the lamb - ’twas nice, different, unusual. Add a little zing to your thing!

WAIST: Now we all know Pizza is not the optimum choice when considering summer on the beach in an insy-winsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini, or any bikini really, however, Mad does claim to be ‘super thin and healthy’. Whilst I find it difficult to fathom that eating an entire pizza to oneself can be considered either super thin or healthy – I will agree that the toppings are fresh and when you pick your slice off the wooden plate, there is no big blobs of grease lurking in its wake. Furthermore the “lightly on the cheese” mentality is no doubt rescuing waistlines and sending dairy farmers broke simultaneously.

We attended on a Tuesday lunch, there were four of us, three half/half pizzas, a beer, two soft drinks and a bottle of water for a grand total of $84.. so 20 bucks each aint too tough on the ole hip pocket.. I have walked past the place at night and it’s always got a great atmosphere – Friday and Saturday nights they have a DJ from 7pm to late, a well stocked bar, groovy surroundings and one of the tastiest pizza’s RS has enjoyed in quite sometime..

You’ve gotta love a restaurant that gives you paper table covers and crayons.. it keeps big ones and small ones occupied and makes for instant judgement of your dining companions.. for example, I whooped Paul’s ass at naughts and crosses, Mitch claimed to be drawing ‘random shapes’ but we think he was trying to draw a house and Mel claimed to be drawing a ‘cute bear’ which looked somewhat like Mickey Mouse in drag..

It’s maddness people.. give it a whirl.. you’d be mad not too.. Mad if you do, mad if you don’t. 

 With an Italian flavour and a taste to savour, do yourself a favour, Mad Pizza’s a saviour.

Santorini is GREAT!! I love love love going here.

Located on Oxford St, right in the thick of it, Santorini serves up some of the best Greek food around. Dimitri is a brilliant host and I always always feel welcome and well looked after.. On various occassions this has included glasses of Ouzo or baklava at the end of the meal.. 

You simply must try the Arni Kleftiko.. it is, in a word, AWESOME. You can see the remains of one to the right. I always go to this restaurant with the very best intentions of taking photos to add to RS.. but I always forget once the food comes out because I just want to eat it… Tender lamb shoulder marinated in garlic and lemon and then slow cooked in its own little clay pot with paprika, tomatoes, potatoes and melted feta.. It’s a big fat Greek winner!

The taramasalata is delicious.. comes with the trio of dips or on its own - I could just eat it all day long if there wasn’t so many other delicacies on the menu! For those of you that don’t know what taramasalata is.. it’s a Greek caviar dip made with fish roe, onions, lemon and olive oil.. It comes served with warm flat bread that has been dusted with oregano.. mmmm.

The whole rainbow trout is delicious – as is the whole John Dory fillet which they sometimes have as a special. Also can recommend the Chicken Melitzana – chicken breast pan fried with eggplant, haloumi and served with honey, cumin tomato sauce and broiled asparagus.. tender and tasty.  

Now for the big hungry men out there.. the meat and seafood platters should keep you out of mischief.. they are huge and overflowing with juicy goodness.

No pretentious crap going on here either.. nice simple decor, friendly hospitality and good, honest and delicious food!

I went with my mum a while ago.. bless her heart.. and we thought we would try something different – which at Santorini, if your not Greek, is quite easy to do! We decided we would try the Kefalotiry Saganaki – Kefalotiry (if you didnt know – I sure didn’t) is a type of cheese -  a bit like Haloumi – anyway, basically they pan fry it and flame it with Ouzo.. it’s different and well worth a go if you are looking to expand your cheesy horizons.

If I had the time and if the waist line would accommodate it, I would like to sit in this restaurant and eat my way through the whole delicious menu.. Maybe one day.

Cannot recommend this place enough – it’s not a huge space and on Friday and Saturday night it is packed to it’s little blue rafters, so get in early, make a booking or go on a weeknight.. it is definately worth trying out and there is something for everyone.

Love your work Santorini.

Don’t forget to keep me posted on your own adventures and if you have any suggestions about places, faces, food, wine, booze or any kind of debauchery.. let me know about it so I can blog about it.

Big love and sorry for neglecting you for so long.. I’m back baby.. I’m back.  

RS x

www.thelocal.com.au

Influenced by 1930′s European taverns, The Local Taphouse is a wicked boutique bar/pub located on the corner of Flinders & South Dowling Sts in Darlinghurst – it’s the old Palace, revamped (thank god).

If you love beer. Get here. The Local offers Australia’s largest range of beer styles on tap and is Sydney’s first independent beer bar – offering 150 beers on 20 taps every year.

I used to walk past on route to work (ppfff) when the rennovations were in full swing.. when the doors finally opened for trade, I grabbed two RS recruits and hot tailed it to a front row seat at the bar.

Upon entering the pub from the street - it’s a little, well, old school. But that’s exactly why I love it. Up an old rustic staircase we tipple with beers in hand (Sauv Blanc for me) and upstairs is a whole new world. Actually, upstairs is a whole old world.

I freaking love this place.

You just have to go and see it. It’s a bit like being in a 1930′s time warp. Vintage beer posters and random old framed photos are splattered across the walls. Antique pieces of furniture form little nooks for a gathering of friends. The walls are covered in dark wood shutters and the place is scattered with books. Bird cages are suspended from the roof.

It’s a lived in look. Unpretentious. Warm. Welcome. You get the impression that you could curl up on a couch, grab one of the books and lose yourself in an afternoon of reading.. bahahahahahaha.. or you could sample the 20 tap beers and 70 bottled beer varieties and become some kind of beer connoisseur.

There’s food too, rustic European cafe style. The burgers are DELICIOUS.. and the pizzas are damn good too.. especially when you have sampled more beers than you can fathom. Food helps.

Special mention to Guy & Claudia. When the owners also happen to be accommodating, friendly and fun.. it makes every visit even more worthwhile. 

RS x

And I thought we were supposed to be laid back and easy going.. but then again, I didn’t need a poll from SCC to tell me that.. all I have to do is put on my best fake tan, my skimpiest dress, my most towering high heels, grab my best D grade celebrity and head to Trademark or Ivy.

Well it seems to me that Sydney has gone and got itself all tangled up in striving to be and have the latest and the greatest. Now it seems that all we have to show for it is nothing but girls with terrible fake tans and guys that spend more time getting ready than I do – resulting in a multitude of pretentious and slap-worthy twits.

With the ongoing influx of:

• new
• hip
• in
• ‘if I go here I might get my head in the social pages’
• ‘no seriously, is this dress too slutty?’
• ‘oh my god theres that guy from that TV commercial’
• ‘guess who I just saw.. oh my god he’s like that football player, you know the one’
• over priced
• over rated

clubs, bars and eateries – Sydney is completely over saturated.

I for one am OVER IT.

A friend and I were hanging out on a blessed Friday afternoon in good ole Sydney town, discussing another tedious week of work and contemplating where we could go for a good old fashioned ‘drink’.

Somewhere between a sip of our beverages and dry retching at the thought of the latest hot spots and dire lack of personality we would find there, my friend and I made a pact to “Rediscover Sydney“.

In a city of approximately 4.3 million people – my friends and I find that the majority of them are wankers.. but there are definitely some intriguing, fascinating and down right good ole people out there.

Rediscover Sydney is about rediscovering these people.

Our city is filled with awesome laneway bars, old school eateries and all sorts of wonderous drinking and dining experiences.

Rediscover Sydney is about weeding the pretentious shit out of what really equates to an awesome venue

Unless you are on a 2 day bender or need to fit into your latest size 4 dress of the moment – you’re most probably interested in eating.

Rediscover Sydney is about rediscovering delectable food that will not perform some kind of annihilating kamikaze move on my wallet

I may be getting older and my opinons may be heading in a more savoury direction BUT wine and booze in general are still high on my agenda.

Rediscover Sydney is about rediscovering the back street joints, boutique bars and suburban fixtures where one can indulge

Best Bar. Best Club. Best Restaurant. Whoever or whatever you are – what the majority of Sydneysiders want is good value and when I have to pay $11 for a vodka you can jam your ‘best’ up your bum.

Rediscover Sydney is about rediscovering value in a city that really is ripping us off left, right and centre.

Rediscover Sydney wants to rediscover our city. 

Help me help you to Rediscover Sydney.

RS x

With a little hunting and a little slaying of dragon ladies and fashionistas, you can actually find some honest hospitality, good food and that ‘local’ pub feel.

I dropped by The London yesterday, on the corner of Underwood Rd and William St in Paddington. It is one of the oldest pubs still operating in the area and a perfect spot to unwind or settle in for a session with friends.

The menu is honest and incorporates pub staples such as steak sandwiches and beef burgers but offers variety with seafood pastas, pork belly and confit duck salad. And the prices won’t blow the budget.

A highlight of The London has to be their pizzas.. now there is a bloody good excuse to sit around a table with friends on a Sunday afternoon, beer in hand and pizza in easy reach.. the crusts are just right and the toppings unassuming yet original. The menu also caters for the little ones if you can’t find anyone to mind them whilst you indulge.

On my visit yesterday with a particularly good friend of mine, I indulged in a homemade lamb and rosemary pie.. it was divine. Succulent and tender chunks of lamb, bursting with flavour and a crispy puff pastry lid.. All for the grand price of $16 and also including two slices of fresh bread.. let me tell you, with my trade mark glass of SB and a good friend to pass the time, my Sunday was both relaxing and fulfilling.

Tuesday nights are $14 Pizza & Beer (or glass of wine) and Sunday’s you can also toss the boss if that’s the kind of thing you’re in to. Hey, I don’t judge. Free beer is free beer – do what you gotta do. They always have a special or two on the food menu to keep things interesting and a good range of beer and wine to keep you from feeling parched.

Upstairs is a different feel. There are obscure pieces of furniture mixed with modern and feature items – thrown together to create a homely yet funky vibe. There are several different rooms including The Living Room, The Bedroom and The Nook.

Check it out for yourself www.hotellondon.com.au

RS x

Rediscover Sydney is a pact I have made to my friends, and now to you, to uncover, discover, rediscover and celebrate the people and places this city has to offer.. think off the wall, boutique, original, back alley, old school, new world, different, funky, fun and fabulous.

Basically, I’m searching for good honest fun, great service and value. I’m talking all occassions, after work drinks with friends, budget dinner, something different, late night venture, early morning brekky.. anything food and/or beverage oriented.. throw in some music for good measure and of course, a big dose of personality. I am inspired to go hunting. Get off the mainstream and get into the back streets where the real gems are hiding. I am inspired to Rediscover Sydney.

RS x