Jasmyne Tea

El Loco, Surry Hills

I both love party season and hate it. Of course, going out and seeing my friends, eating good food and drinking good wine are all wins in my book, but it all comes with the hassles of trying to find a way home when the designated driver has had one too many, and it leaves a big dent in my bank account after a while.

So when yet another birthday rolled around, I suggested a bar a little less expensive than usual, yet still vibrant and interesting - and with awesome food: El Loco, in Surry Hills.

El Loco is a Merivale restaurant, but it doesn't have the posh, unapproachable air of the other restaurants and bars, so when the three of us turned up one Saturday, we felt right at home. We snagged a table right away and set about ordering.

Pink Cuco - $13.50
Classic Margarita - $13.50

We started off with drinks. Elain ordered a Classic Margarita, which included a good dash of Herradura Blanco tequila and zesty Cointreau. It was fresh and zingy and probably the best margarita I've ever sampled.

My Pink Cuco slushy was a tad more complex: El Jimador tequila was mixed with pink grapefruit and lime juice, and finished off with a ginger and coriander syrup. I was so enamoured of this drink that I ordered two more before the end of the night.

Corn Chips with Guacamole and Salsa - $5.00

The thing I love about El Loco is that a lot of items on the menu are five dollars. With that five dollars you can order a healthy serving of thick corn chips with a creamy guacamole and salsa with a bit of a kick. It's a great bar snack, and we munched on these as we waited for the rest of our order.

Crispy Fried Barramundi Taco - $5.00

Carne Asada Taco - $5.00

The tacos here are all soft-shelled and jam-packed with fillings. We chose one of the specials, a crispy barramundi taco topped with salsa verde and smooth queso - it was chock full of different textures and the flavours were perfectly balanced. The Carne Asada taco included lemongrass beef that was slightly tough but redolent with the fresh, zesty lemongrass, and pico de gallo, a zingy salsa.

Market Grilled Fish - $15.00

The fish of the day happened to be some sort of snapper, which was grilled to perfection. The flesh was tender, which really showed against the crispy skin, and the freshness was accentuated with a beautiful salsa verde. Served with a shaved fennel, cabbage and coriander salad on an oddly floral plate, it was a great meal.

Quesadilla with Chorizo, Jalapenos and Chipotle Mayo - $5.00

Now this quesadilla was SPICY! Stuffed with chorizo, jalapenos and a smoky chipotle mayonnaise then toasted, there was no way I was able to finish it (I'm a light weight when it comes to spice though).

Secret Taco - $5.00

The server wouldn't tell me what was in my secret taco, even after I'd eaten it, so I'm not really sure what it was. It's normally offal and changes daily. My mystery meat rested atop a pile of cabbage and was smothered in a tart pico de gallo salsa, and it was quite tender and slightly gamey.

Churros with Orange Dulce de Leche - $5.00

I thought that each serving of churros would be just enough for one person, so I ordered three serves. What came out were nine massive columns of dough, accompanied by a sweeter-than-sweet dulce de leche spiked with orange syrup. It was delicious, but we had to take half of it home.

If you're looking for a place to chill, with great food and even better drinks at a reasonable price, then I'd definitely recommend El Loco.

El Loco

http://www.elloco.com.au

64 Foveaux Street
Surry Hills
NSW, 2010

Phone: 02 9211 4945

Funky Bar, Newtown

Won't you take me to - Funky BAAAAR. Sorry, personal moment.

When Roxy and I went to the Enmore Theatre to see Elbow (it was INSANE), we met up beforehand for drinks and dinner. We walked a little way down King Street from the station, examining menus, until we reached the front of Funky Bar - the chilled vibe, crystal chandeliers, and the promise of a Hubba Bubba cocktail lured us in.

Our waitress was a bubbly girl wearing a short black dress and a top hat, and she led us to a small table in the middle of the bar, gave us menus, and told us to give her a wave when we were ready to order. I was struck by her buoyant yet professional attitude, and her ability to know exactly when we'd be needing her assistance - I'd barely looked up from the menu before she flounced over and asked what drink I'd like.

While we were waiting on our orders, I admired this kick-ass wallpaper which I hope to one day have in my bedroom.

Citrus Hubba Bubba - $16.00

Apparantly the Head Mixologist at Funky Bar, Preshanth Pillay, makes all of the syrups in house (and guards the recipes zealously), which I find extremely impressive. The Citrus Hubba Bubba actually tasted like the chewing gum from my childhood, except the extreme sweetness was countered by the contreau and gin in this drink.

Fairy Floss Martini - $16.00

Roxy and I then tried the Fairy Floss Martini, which we didn't find quite as interesting as the previous drink, but the sweet cotton candy flavour was definitely there - the taste of ethenol was simply stronger in this drink, and there wasn't as much contrast in flavour.

Atlantic Salmon - $26.00

Roxy ordered the Atlantic Salmon, which was panfried to flaky perfection and served with an olive crust and vegetables, including fennel, spinach, and tomato.

Vegetable Risotto - $22.00

In this dish, the arborio rice was perfectly cooked until soft, but with a slight bite, and was studded with zucchini, tomato, onion and spinach, and topped with parmesan. I didn't actually start out hungry at the beginning of our night, but you know I ate that all up :)

Heading South - $16.00

I'm going to be honest and say that I don't remember this cocktail, it was Roxy's and I was pretty tipsy, I don't remember what she said about it - my bad!

Espresso Martini - $16.00

My espresso martini was an invigorating concoction of Bailey's, Kahlua, and (obviously) espresso. It was smooth going down, and was actually pretty reminiscent of a good iced coffee.

Funky Bar is a fantastic place for a Friday night after-work drink, and we would have stayed to see the band they had lined up at 8pm, but we had a prior engagement with Guy Garvey to attend. The food is divine, with a varied menu and many dishes designed to share, and the drinks are out of this world - not too expensive, but incredibly good quality.

Funky Bar

256 King St
Newtown, NSW
2042

Phone: 02 9557 9755

http://funkybarsydney.com.au

The Absinthe Salon, Surry Hills

I've had a fascination with absinthe since I first saw it being consumed by Lodz on the television series Carnivale (which is WICKED). I also witnessed it being drunk by Johnny Depp in From Hell, and then Ewen McGregor in Moulin Rouge!. I wondered what the milky green drink was, that seemed to affect all of these characters so strongly with visions and hallucinations. The first time I ordered it was a couple of years ago at The Ruby Revue which is held at the Art House, and unfortunately they completely fudged the order, giving me a glass of harsh, bitter absinthe diluted with warm water. They had also run out of sugar, which totally ruined the expectations I'd had. However, I was still determined to one day try REAL, properly prepared absinthe, and so apparently were a couple of friends.

Source

My darlings Roxy, Sonia and I decided to quench our collective curiosities at The Absinthe Salon, a little parlour in Surry Hills that specialises exclusively in serving this drink. There is a three drink limit (the weakest variety of absinthe is 45 percent), and they close at 10pm, so straight off the bat I get the impression that this little establishment is serious about appreciating the absinthe they serve. We got a little lost trying the find the place (damned iPhones), but when we reached the store-front it was unmistakable that we were there:

We rang the doorbell, and even though we were a little early, a lady in a black bustle skirt and maroon underbust corset graciously let us in. The front room was filled with paraphernalia related to the consumption of this spirit, from traditional absinthe glasses and perforated spoons, to books and display bottles. These things are for sale except for the absinthe bottles, which they can't legally sell over the counter, but it is not this room which we came for, and we were lead to the back room where about 10 tables were spread out, and chairs were grouped into intimate pairs or trios.

We were shown to our table, and each one had an old fashioned water fountain, and absinthe glasses and spoons. We were also given menus, in which the drink selections were sorted in order of alcohol content. The lady who showed us in explained that each drink would have a different taste as well, and that all of the selections they have on the menu are either French or Swiss, as opposed to the Czech varieties we commonly buy here in Australia, which are really harsh and bitter.

We made our first selections from the tame end of the menu, and the lady swung by to show us how to prepare our drinks.

First, a measure of absinthe was poured into our glasses:

Then a French 'A La Perruche' sugar cube goes onto a perforated spoon, which is balanced over the top of the glass. The tap is then turned on at a slow, steady drip - the idea is to dissolve the sugar and dilute the absinthe at the same time:

The ratio should be at least 1:1 water to absinthe, but can be diluted up to 4:1 depending on taste and preference. As the absinthe becomes diluted, it starts to 'louche', or change colour:

Nouvelle Vague - $17.00

And then it's ready to drink!

Francois Guy - $15.00

My first drink was French, the Francois Guy, and was a verte, however by itself the colour is more of a yellow than anything. Our hostess told us it was made at the Distillerie Pierre Guy, and gave us a short background of how it was made. As the water was added (at a ratio of 3:1), it louches almost straight away to white. The aroma was very sweet and chock full of anise, which hid everything but the smallest amount of bitter wormwood. My first sip was a shock of anise and alcohol, and at first it's like a kick in the teeth, but as I got used to the strength of the drink, I found myself enjoying it immensely. I definitely thought it a good choice for my first glass.

The second one I tried was the Nouvelle Vague (as above), which was stronger at 68%. Our hostess told us this was a Swiss variety, made at Oliver Matter AG, and it was a light, rich green colour before I added the water and sugar. Because it had a higher alcohol content, I used two sugar cubes and a bit more water. Being so new to absinthe, I'm not sure if I was able to fully appreciate all of the subtle differences in these two varieties, but the prominent notes of chocolate and coffee were obvious, with anise and wormwood in the background.

One thing I was shocked to discover in my experience here was that absinthe tasting can have the complexity and variety that wine or cognac tasting can - each variety has its own character. When sampling these varieties in a setting as dark and decadent as The Absinthe Salon, where every question is answered to the fullest extent in an attempt to educate and the hosts dress the part, the experience becomes extraordinary.

We'll definitely come back here, not least to try the absinthe truffles that they had run out of - but not too often, because after those two drinks, I couldn't even let myself in to my apartment.

Note: There were NO hallucinations experienced by any of us after our two drinks each.

The Absinthe Salon

87 Albion St
Surry Hills, NSW
2010

Phone: 02 9211 6632

www.absinthesalon.com.au

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