Healthy Food: Bruschetta

Monday, October 24, 2011

Jamie's Italian: Pasta made fresh every day, CBD Sydney (24 Oct 2011)

107 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 8240 9000

http://www.jamieoliver.com/au/italian/sydney

Fresh flavours at fair prices

A simple cheese and salad sandwich was on my mind today for lunch after I'd pass by the new Jamie's Italian restaurant expecting to find a full house. To my surprise the restaurant had plenty of seating at 1.30 pm after its apparently initial rush I was told a bit earlier in the day. So I ventured in to check out the decor and decided to try the food thinking it's just going to get more popular and harder to get in later when it's bound to get popular. To start a complimentary Italian bread selection is provided. I think the amount I received was probably enough to feed me for lunch alone. Not sure about the dryish bread stick but all the other breads including the exclusively made Sourdough from Brasserie Bread was good. My only thoughts was I would have preferred the focaccia to maybe be a little more toasty and crusty. I usually try a tomato bruschetta but the Spanner crab with chilli, lemon & zesty mayo ($15) sparked my interest to try something a bit different. It had nice flavours, noticeable crab meat and would have been a good one to share between two or even four if you cut up so you can try more.

The Spaghetti Bolognese ($12.50 entree size) combines beef and pork which apparently has been slow cooked for about 3 hours. It has good depth of flavour and I really enjoy the crunchy herby breadcrumbs on top. The pasta is al dente and thankfully the dish isn't too oily which is a bonus. The entree size is just right for me so I can try a few dishes. For dessert I always have to try the Tiramisu ($9) and this version is worth coming back for. The use of orange zest gives a refreshing note I haven't really come across before. There's a decent alcohol taste and good flavour to be had. The cream was perhaps a bit firmer than I'd prefer making it quite rich so I would have been quite happy sharing with someone else. The Affogato ($6) comes with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream that's silky and creamy. The espresso isn't too bitter and runs like liquid gold. It had good flavour balance and seemed priced to make a $4.35 coffee sound comparatively pricey. Service seemed friendly and eager to please and my waiter who was actually named Jamie was knowledgeable about the dishes being served.

Other visits to Jamie's Italian:

• 24 Oct 2011 - Spanner Crab Bruschetta, Spaghetti Bolognese, Tiramisu, Affogato

• 21 Oct 2011 - Set to officially open Monday 24 Oct

• 9 May 2011 - Opening soon construction site

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Pasta made fresh each day, Nice decor and comfortable atmosphere, Lots of menu choices, Prices seemed reasonable for the quality, Service was friendly and eager to please and seemed knowledgeable, Plenty of seating

CONS: Only take bookings for 6 or more people, No sign of Jamie in the kitchen, No wood-fired pizza, Dined alone so didn't get to try many things and thus can get expensive when not being able to share, 0.8% credit card transaction fee

MUST TRY: Spaghetti Bolognese, Other dishes on the menu at another time

DAMAGE: $42.50 for one

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For lovers of freshly made pasta

Italian bread selection: Homemade rosemary focaccia Artisan sourdough, ciabatta & tortano from our bakery Crispy carta di musica (on the house aka complimentary)

Bread served with extra-virgin olive oil & aged balsamic

Bruschetta: Spanner crab with chilli, lemon & zesty mayo ($15)

Spaghetti Bolognese: The old-school classic ragù of beef, pork, herbs, Chianti & Parmesan with crunchy herby breadcrumbs ($12.50 small)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Not too much oil used in dish

Tiramisu ($9)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Affogato ($6)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Scooter graphic — so Italian

Bill $42.50 for one

Executive Chef David Clarke at the kitchen helm

Open kitchen

Over 180 seats available

Downstairs seating

Upstairs seating

Graffiti feature wall upstairs

Lighting features

Look for WC graffiti for toilet — it's not most intuitive set up to find the toilet

Clean and simple design

A decent powerful hand dryer — I remember these were popular in the UK when I visited

Table supports at fairly flat which I like

Products for sale

Outside street entrance — quite easy to walk past without noticing unless you see someone making pasta in the window

View Larger Map

Jamie's Italian (opening July 2011) on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Candelori's: Italian, Smithfield (10 Sept 2011)

685 The Horsley Drive, Smithfield NSW 2164
Phone: (02) 9729 1155
http://www.candeloris.com.au

Italian haven in Smithfield

On recommendation from my brother the family heads out to the industrial suburb of Smithfield to check out an Italian restaurant of massive proportions compared to its misleading shopfront. A 40th birthday of around 50 people is already in progress as we enter via the rear entrance close to the outside parking area for our 6.30 pm booking. The large dining area is divided near the middle by an impressive sized bar displaying bottles of spirits and wine. The kitchen doors are in constant flux of service bringing out tempting looking dishes so luckily we’re not sitting too close to it. Most of the customers seem to be Italian so that’s a good sign. To start my NV Astoria ‘Baby Lounge’ Prosecco Cuvée DOC ($13.5) is pricey but decent and my brothers Peroni Gran Riserva ($12) will set you back more than your average local beer. For entrée the Garlic bread ($5) is nicely toasted and full of garlic and butter flavour as hoped. The Bruschetta bread ($8) is flavoursome and not overly topped so it’s fairly easy to eat without becoming too messy. House bread is complimentary showing a bit of Italian family hospitality. The Pan-fried olives ($9) is a nice tasty starter although I prefer the large sized ones over the smaller ones.

The Calamari fritti ($23) is surprisingly very tender although I was hoping for a bit less coating like I had Lucio Pizzeria. Zucchini flowers filled with ricotta cheese & spinach ($23) are pricey although worth it for their crispiness and tasty filling. The Baked figs & prosciutto pan-finished with gorgonzola and mascarpone cream ($23) are seasonally available. They tasted better than they looked although at $7.50 each I thought they were quite expensive. Now for lovers of seafood you might want to check out the Linguine con aragosta, gamberi e cozze ($36) which comes with a half lobster, tiger prawns and mussels. Pretty reasonable I thought although I preferred the pasta flavour in the Spaghettini with scampi & scallops ($28) which actually had a decent kick of chilli which wasn’t mentioned on the menu. The scampi looked impressive although actually don’t provide much meat in the end.

My dad was pretty happy with his Quaglie saltimbocca ($29) of roasted quails wrapped with prosciutto which I think contained a whole quail family. The Lobster, prawn, crab ravioli ($27) comes with plenty of sauce although bordering on perhaps too much. The ravioli was huge and filled with lobster, crab & prawn meat but I tasted more prawn meat than anything else. For dessert the Nougat toblerone ($17) was a crowd pleaser although I was expecting a bit more crunch from the crushed nougat. The house made almond biscotti was very good. Some decent flavour was to be had in the Tiramisu ($16) albeit at the price and my Hot chocolate ($4) was nicely flavoured. I’m not sure who ‘Ray Hadley's Morning Roast’ is but he seems to have a permanent advertising spot on the cup saucers — I wonder if he’s Italian? All-in-all a pleasant experience except for a bit of absent service towards the end due to being busy. The sizzling hot pots looked good so perhaps next time.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Lots of seating although book ahead especially on Saturdays as it’s very popular, Quite nice décor, Big focus on seafood, Service seemed down-to-earth and friendly although got a little absent towards the end, Parking available around the back, Function space available

CONS: Some of the 2 seater tables towards the back near the wall are right next to service pathway so not ideal, I had trouble sitting my feet under the table comfortably due to table support in the way

MUST TRY: Sizzling hot pots and pizza next time

WORTH TRYING: Garlic bread, Bruschetta, The Linguine con aragosta, gamberi e cozze comes with half a lobster for only $36 which seems like pretty good value

DAMAGE: $314.50 for five people

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NV Astoria ‘Baby Lounge’ Prosecco Cuvée DOC, Veneto, Italy ($13.5), Lemon, Lime & Bitters ($5)

Peroni Gran Riserva, Lazio, Italy ($12)

Garlic bread - woodfired garlic ciabata bread ($5)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Bruschetta bread - woodfired ciabata bread topped with diced tomato, basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil ($8)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Complimentary house bread

Pan-fried olives with lemon zest, rosemary, dry chilli and extra virgin olive oil ($9)

Calamari fritti - tender calamari lightly floured and pan fried ($23)

Zucchini flowers filled with ricotta cheese & spinach; lightly pan fried ($23)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Baked figs & prosciutto pan-finished with gorgonzola and mascarpone cream (seasonal availability). We source our figs from NT, QLD, NSW and California ($23)

Linguine con aragosta, gamberi e cozze - long thin pasta, pan tossed with a half lobster, tiger prawns, mussels, virgin olive oil, diced tomatoes, garlic, chilli & white wine ($36)

Complimentary side vegetables with main

Quaglie saltimbocca - roasted quails wrapped with prosciutto; pan-finished with virgin olive oil, sage, garlic, white wine & served on a bed of lentils ($29)

Lobster, prawn, crab ravioli - large ravioli filled with lobster, crab & prawn meat; pan finished with diced tomatoes, basil & extra virgin olive oil ($27)

Spaghettini with scampi & scallops - spaghettini, pan tossed with white wine, garlic, virgin olive oil, parsley, shallots & cherry tomatoes ($28) - actually had a decent hit of chilli

Impressive looking scampi but more shell than meat

No crab meat left behind

Nougat toblerone - crumbled biscuit base filled with soft cream cheese, toblerone chocolate & crushed nougat; served with white chocolate gelato, warm dark chocolate & house made almond biscotti ($17)

Tiramisu - layered savoiardi biscotti dipped in espresso, zucchero and vecchia romagna brandy; finished with mascarpone and shaved dark chocolate ($16)