Icebergs Dining Room

A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer, just like a girlfriends birthday deserves a fancy meal and this fancy meal was at bondi, bondi icebergs (please read to the tune of the VB ads) The interesting thing was while the setting and for last nights meal can fit the tune of the golden backbone of our beer industry, the beverage itself could not be had at the restaurant - it was that fancy!

Icebergs Dining Room and Bar is the very swanky place above the sea water pool at south bondi - the home of the icebergs swimming club. The restaurant has been open for 4 years now and throughout that period has regularly been in Sydney's top eateries but TK and i have never had the pleasure. While it is of no surprise that i like the finer things in life, like the best 5 Star Kebab has to offer, every now and then i will settle for a meal in a 2 chef hat establishment with all the trimmings. Having eaten at places with more hats than a gaggle of women at the races (yes collectively same as geese) over my short life i can honestly say that this was excellent and well worth the wait.

MENU:
Icebergs is officially Mediterranean cuisine (and since they eat everything over there what the hell isn't? Get a meat pie and bung on some balsamic and presto; you now have a Mediterranean pocket with meat ragu) so that translates to a menu with seafood, pasta and meat dishes all with olive oil or balsamic vinegar. The dishes are all very tempting and are created with the finest ingredients and some of them sounded special - particularly the ones with the pancetta or bacon :-) The wine list was very extensive,with a large selection of Italian wines, and had some great wines at decent prices.

FOOD:
The food at this place was excellent with nothing eaten on the night disappointing, even something a simple as the bread was great. They actually sell the olive oil that you dip it in and it crossed my mind to grab a bottle as it was tasty.
For entree i had crab served with polenta, chilli and garlic that was beautiful. The polenta was very rich but the serving size was spot on, as you were not overwhelmed and it perfectly complemented the fresh crab - recommended. As TK has a sweet tooth she decided to forgo the entree and have main and dessert.
Mains for TK was the Rib Eye steak - a 550g monster served with this very tasty 'Salsa Erbe' herb and chilli sauce. It was cooked perfectly and was top quality animal flesh but i would only recommend it for the serious meat eater as it was too much for TK. I ordered the Ox Fillet which was served with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, it was so good that i can not write about it for my lack of vocabulary and grammatical prowess would hugely diminish the accolades that this taste sensation deserves. Needless to say that it has become a personal reference point for meat dishes. The only downside to it was that it was so good that i had to swap with my better half.

TK ordered Cannoli for Dessert and she really enjoyed it. I only had a mouthful so can not really comment but the flavour was not to my liking. Coffee was very cool as my machiato came on its own little tray with a shot of coffee and a little thing of milk to add to your liking - tres cool. I have included a very bad photo - must remember to bring my camera.

COST:

This is not a cheap meal with mains around the $45 and entrees starting at $25 but it was excellent. While the price was high it was not one of those places that have serving sizes inversely proportional to the price tag and we both left feeling very satisfied. All in all the expense for us was worth the meal so did not hesitate to pay it - but would not make it a regular at those prices.

OVERALL:

Icebergs Dining Room and Bar was thoroughly enjoyable and i would highly recommend it to anyone who would like to go somewhere a step above the norm. The atmosphere for us was ruined by being right next to the kitchen and having the staff fly by constantly but the food was top shelf.

Weekend in VIC

While in Melbourne for the weekend catching up with family TK and i do what we normally do eat... and try to take over the world (if you do not get it watch Pinky and the Brain cartoons from late 90's).

While many comment on Melbourne and the cosmopolitan nature of the place i personally find Melbourne to have shit weather and no beach. If that is cosmopolitan then everyone is spot on but give me Sydney any day. They do however have some quality eating options and that gets them a gold star.

Lygon st, a street just on the outskirts of the cbd which is basically little italy, had some great looking cafe's and restaurants. Spent an afternoon there with TK's side of the family and had some great pizza - very nice base and sauce, the veges were plentiful without being too much. After the 2 pizzas (not all mine we shared) and a bottle of Lambrusco, we went to a cake shop around the corner. The place is Brunetti, and to call it a mere cake shop is doing it a disservice. it has a counter for coffee, one for gelato, one for cakes, one for hot food and a huge one for biscuits/chocolates - this place is MASSIVE. While many things were on offer i can never go past a canoli washed down with a machiato, both very good but haberfield still takes the crown.

We also went to dinner at docklands. Originally wanted to go to Mecca Bah, serves up middle eastern dishes, as it was recommended by my sister but due to the no booking policy we could not get in - this is an issue with me and something that will be addresses on http://sternjoel.blogspot.com/ in the near future. We ended up at Renzos Bar which was just opposite.

MENU:
The menu was fairly large with the usual Italian fare. It however sounded better than most places i go to, some menus just do not entice you but i found this one giving me plenty of temptations. Entrees and pizzas were around $15, mains around $25 so nothing too expensive but not cheap either. The one thing of note was the wine list, most Italian places have an average wine list but this place had some very nice bottles on it with the new TK favourite Lambrusco.

FOOD:
After tossing up between bruschettas, i do what i normally do and ask the waiter/ress, and based on her recommendations we had the garlic focaccia - she is a wise woman. The focaccia was awesome and i should know since i ate most of it - sorry TK.
For mains i stuck on the pizza theme and ordered the Genovese with pesto, sun dried tomatoes, roasted capsicum and goats cheese. The pizza was very good with the base having just the right amount of chewyness, but the over use of goats cheese did not come off well - it was good for the first slice but by the third you were overwhelmed.
TK ordered pasta and her selection seemed good homemade pappardelle with a beef and meatball ragu - i was very keen for leftovers. We both had images of Portofino's veal ragu but were brought back to earth with what can be summed up as cold and bland. The pasta itself was nice but the sauce was cold and after my first bite i quoted homer jay "hello...taste buds". This was the kind of pasta you would expect at a steak house or fish restaurant who do a token pasta dish for those not keen on the proper dishes - not something to come out of an Italian establishment. To put the proverbial icing on the cake it came out after half my pizza was gone! My poor better half ate most if it but left feeling hungry - she happily filled that hole with cake.
Had a side rocket and Parmesan salad which was good but how can you screw that up. A bottle of the finest Lambrusco was the liquid of choice. TK, not being a huge wine drinker, loved it and i admit that it was not without its charm and would happily have another glass.

COST:
Do not remember but was not shocked so nothing terrible.

OVERALL:
The place was noisy but nothing terrible but given the experience we had with the pasta i can not recommend it. On a side note the couple sitting on a table next to ours ordered before we did and we had our mains served, including the delayed and terrible pasta, before they were even checked on. When their meals finally came, some pasta and an Osso buco, the dude took one mouthful and commented that it was the "blandest osso buco i have ever tasted!" - did not even finish half of it.

Global Burgers - Darlinghurst

I am a firm believer in the universal appeal of burgers. They are suitable for any time of day or occasion, breakfast add an egg, formal occasions add brie and improve the bun. In this instance it was a quick and simple mid week meal with TK. After my better half read a review of this place we decided that it must be put to the test and i am glad to report it passed with honours.

MENU:
Fairly large for a burger joint with something for everyone with chicken,fish and vege options. The menu is themed with all burgers being named after a location (hence the slogan EAT THE WORLD) but how the beef burger was named New York i will never understand - never have i seen any cows in the apple, lots of leather though. Burgers were around the $10 mark more/less depending on the burger ingredients.

The sides were chips (surprise) with an option of "spices" cajun, chicken and rosemary lemon. Milk shakes etc are also available, with a range of gelato for dessert.


FOOD:
I ordered the Wellington, lamb with mint relish & garlic mayo, which was bloody good. The meat was cooked well and the whole burger taste was great - recommended. i washed it down with a chocolate shake - which i did not enjoy as it tasted like Milo, the poor mans quik, but TK loved.
TK ordered the New York, beef with tomatoe relish, onion rings & smoked cheddar. I had a mouth full at the end and enjoyed it but found the meat lacking in flavour. The relish however was great - TK thought it was too sweet. The smoked cheese was the best part but i missed out on it but was assured it was great. Both of us agreed that the New York was good but lacked something to make it great.
We shared some chips (big enough to share) and chose the Lemon Rosemary "spice" - not the greatest as had minimal lemon or rosemary. the chips were nice and fresh so may try the cajun spice next time.
2 general comments on the food - the buns were good quality and reminded me of the buns that porcho's had back in the day in N bondi. The patties were very well cooked but needed to be flatter as the meat to bread ratio was hard to maintain towards the end.

COST:
2 burgers, chips and shake - $27
The burgers were large and filling so probably could have avoided the shake or chips but very happy for the total spend.

OVERALL:
Global Burgers was good and can see it staying around for awhile, franchises are available if you are interested. Deffinetely recommended if in the area or hankering for a burger but we both feel that SGBurger at the spot in Randwick and Burgerlicious in Bondi Junction still are the top shelf.