Healthy Food: The Belvedere Hotel: Cosmopolitans and Sex and the City 2 movie, Sydney (25 June 2010)

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Belvedere Hotel: Cosmopolitans and Sex and the City 2 movie, Sydney (25 June 2010)

Cnr Kent and Bathurst Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://thebelvederehotel.com.au

Cocktails and the City

I've been a long time admirer of the Sex and the City TV series and even though the movies don't usually live up to our expectations I had to see the first one and of course to complete the experience see the second one. I tend to avoid trailers and previews with a passion because they tend to spoil it for me so the same philosophy was applied to SATC2. I've heard mixed reviews with some friends loving it and some friends hating it so I wasn't expecting much and in preparation I thought a few drinks beforehand would help make it better — and I think it did. I think Sarah Jessica Parker (45), Kim Cattrall (54), Kristin Davis (45), Cynthia Nixon (44) and looking pretty good for their age, how good does Samantha look in this movie — smoke and mirrors and all that comes between perhaps. Penelope Cruz was looking pretty amazing although Alice Eve as the nanny put them all in their place — something to keep the boys happy I guess. In the end there weren't any real wow surprises for me but I did find it enjoyable, quite funny at times and the story line was more focussed on Carrie's marriage relationship with Mr Big.

Pre drinks were chosen at The Belvedere Hotel which seems to have undergone a nice renovation. Of course for the complete SATC experience a Cosmopolitan ($13) was in order but my choice tonight was the Long Island Iced Tea ($14) which is my all time favourite cocktail for it's strength factor and for $1 extra I thought it was better value too. The bartender made it with freshly squeezed lime and lemon which really made a difference to just using pre-mixed lemon juice which most bars tend to do when busy. He also layered with coke first, then the spirits and topped with crushed ice. For taste it was nicer than the Kuleto's Happy Hour version although for visual presentation it's hard to top the Different Drummer which includes a slice of lime and a marashchino cherry.

The basic no frills wedges ($8.50) fitted the bill as a stomach filler which were cooked to a nice crisp. House drinks of Gin & Tonic ($6.50) and Tyrrell's Brut Hunter Valley NSW ($6.50) seem reasonably priced and the bar service on level 2 was friendly and accommodating. There's a nice open courtyard on level 2 although when busy it's mostly filled with smokers which isn't so pleasant for the non-smoker.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Centrally located in the city, Nice cocktails, Friendly service, Nice renovated decor, Reasonably priced drinks available

CONS: Limited outdoor areas which is usually taken up by smokers

MUST TRY: Long Island Iced Tea cocktail

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Cosmopolitan (42 Below vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice & fresh lime) $13 , French Martini (An infusion of Chambord liqueur, Smirnoff vodka & pineapple juice) $13, Long Island Iced Tea (The four white spirits shaken with fresh lemon juice & coke) $14