Food, Glorious Food

While I was very excited to take this trip, I was also very apprehensive about eating out alone. It’s not something I’ve done much before - when I travelled solo for work I did a lot of room service, or self catering. But I’m happy to say it’s been REALLY pleasant so far.

I’ve been trying a lot of different cuisines and dining styles. The food here has been fantastic and so diverse. And I’m only about a week in!

Here are just a few highlights.

Last night in Adelaide, I went to Luigi’s Delicatessan. It is Italian, and has no menus - the wait staff ask about your allergies and preferences and give you the option to hear the whole menu or go with their suggestions. I had them pick my food, which was excellent. The appetizer, pictured below, was lightly fried seafood - calamari, clams, shrimp - and a burratta with the yummiest cured meat and sun dried tomatoes. So delicious, but way too much food for one! Then my main was a ragu pasta - so good!

While the food I was fantastic, what really impressed me was the service and atmosphere. From the moment I walked in, I felt warmly welcomed. The very good looking young man at the front desk let me know my table wasn’t ready, and offered me a drink in a comfy chair to wait. Not 5 minutes later, he seated me at a table with an excellent view of the piano man, who he let me know would be started momentarily. The piano accompaniment to dinner was really fun, with some singalongs and lots of swaying. The host as well as my servers were so friendly and had me laughing and comfortable all evening. It was such a fun night, even though I only finished about 25% of the food I was served.

My first night in Adelaide I went to a restaurant called Part Time Lover, a few seconds

walk from my hotel. Wow. The food was amazing. I had an anchovy toast starter - with whipped feta, roasted peppers, honey and chili oil - and a vegetarian main of charred brussel sprouts, whipped ricotta, preserved lemon, chili honey and basil. Again, Wow. The food was amazing, the wine list really interesting, and the vibe very hip - big open kitchen with seating all around, high top tables, open to the patio, good music, friendly service. Plus I loved the name of the restaurant.

And tonight I went Asian/japanese at a place called Shobosho. The restaurant has a large open kitchen, with seating all along the bar, in addition to booths and tables. I reserved at the bar so I could watch the kitchen action. It was really interesting to see the food being cooked and plated. This was the view from my bar seat:

The food was fantastic. I had duck dumplings with chili sauce, raw tuna with edamame, black rice, and nori, mushroom fried rice, and charred octopus skewer with smoked sour cream, xo sauce, and lardo. And before dinner, a sesame old fashioned with Japanese whiskey to die for. Amazing! I only wish I could have tried everything on the menu. The guy next to me had a steak dish that he said was out of this world, and that chicken dish on the pass through looked great as well. That is one down side of solo dining - no one to share tastes with.

I also visited the Adelaide central market, which had everything from produce, to meats and seafoods, to baked goods, to prepared foods ranging from Portuguese cheese pies to sushi and tacos. Great way to spend a little time and do a little snacking

There have been other great bites as well. Great Greek chicken platter at Dinos for lunch today, lamb stew at a pub during the great ocean road portion of my trip, and I’m still thinking about that middle eastern food in Melbourne.

I have some great places lined up for when I return to Melbourne next week, and am looking forward to the food in SE Asia, so I suspect there will be more of these food porn type posts in my future.

Til later!