Win Tickets to Taste of Melbourne!

The greatest food event on the Australian calendar is hitting MELBOURNE! Running from Thursday 26th - Sunday 29th August, The Royal Exhibition Building will be transformed into a foodie's playground - a definitive who’s-who of Australian dining.

To find out exactly what's in store see HERE

Melbourne's finest chefs will be out in full force, with tasters, samples, new experimental foods, and tiny tid-bits for you to feast on.



AND glutton and nuts has TWO pairs of tickets to GIVEAWAY!!


All you have to do to WIN is SHARE this link on your facebook profile and you will automatically enter yourself into the comp.

Entries will be drawn on Monday 23rd. Tickets are for The Friday Long Lunch session. Good luck!




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The Tomahawk

A quirky little dessert like chocolate slab doesn’t follow a normal meal. In fact, it shouldn’t actually follow 1.7kgs of steak either but oh hell, whatever.

The Tomahawk, as it’s affectionately known, is an unwritten Chophouse speciality.

This being, it's not actually on the menu and you only get told about it if you look 'man' enough. You also get a hat if you can finish the whole thing yourself, which apparently THEN earns you a beer each time you walk through the door.

It’s clearly a very special club.

As The Chophouse doesn’t stock many of these, they're usually quite hard to get hold of. Most are reserved for pre-orders or go to those whom the waiters deem worthy. They also cost around $170, so are certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Although huge, The Chophouse has actually imported a special kiln-like oven from the US to cook these huge slabs of meat up in just 20 minutes (at heats of up to 2000C!) Apparently, as a result of the high temperatures, quick cooking speed, rising and falling infra-red heat, the meat is unbelievably tender... so, clearly the oven can handle this huge chunk of meat with ease...

The only question is, can you?

The Chophouse
25 Bligh St
Sydney NSW 2000
1300 246 748
http://www.chophouse.com.au/

Chocolate Block

Forget vanilla ice cream, apple tarts, chocolate brownies... we’ve had these zzzz-inducing things a million times over - in a variety of different ways - and somehow, they no longer seem to tempt us into popping that last button open.

Which is why it’s quite surprising that when we read ‘block of chocolate’ on the dessert menu at The Chophouse, it caught our attention... sounds, well, kind of normal. But intriguingly so...

What I think we learnt at The Chophouse in Sydney’s CBD, is this: a giant slab of chocolate, presented on a wooden board with a mini butcher’s knife, is hands-down FUN.

Oh, and that ‘The Chophouse’ truly deserves its name.

Even if you’re not hungry after the 1.7kg steak (which we harp on about here) you can’t argue that wielding a knife around your head and slamming it down into a massive block of choccy (with tasty honeycomb bits inside) isn’t gratifying. There’s something very, VERY relieving about it.

Glutton & nuts ordered this dessert just to see what was so good about a normal block of chocolate... and why exactly anyone would order such a thing after such a massive meal. With every intention of having a peek , taking a quick snap-shot and sending it back, we ended up wielding the knife in the air and cutting the thing to shreds. Ooops. Suppose it’s not so normal afterall...

If swinging a knife around in the air how you like to finish your meal, then this is definitely for you.

The Chophouse
25 Bligh St
Sydney NSW 2000
1300 246 748
http://www.chophouse.com.au/

Taste of Melbourne

Even as Sydney-siders, there’s something about a food festival in Melbourne that makes us tingle with joy. You’ve got to give it to Melbourne... it’s a city that knows (and loves) its food, and certainly isn’t shy about it.

Taste Fest hit Sydney a few months ago and saw Jamie Oliver rocking-out (quite literally) and cooking up a storm for a live crowd of VERY willing tasters. But even with Jamie headlining while blasting out some beats on his drum-kit, and Sydney’s best restaurants knocking our socks off, there’s something about Taste Melbourne that makes our hearts race even faster...

The line-up is like a who’s-who of Australian dining, including: Charcoal Lane, Esposito, Le Traiteur, Libertine, Longrain Restaurant & Bar, maze & maze Grill, Melbourne Wine Room, Mezzo Bar & Grill, Mr. Wolf, The European, The Palace by Luke Mangan, Sarti, Stokehouse Restaurant & Bar.

Add to this, the introduction of THE POP UP RESTAURANT (oh how we love Melbourne for this)

Each day a ‘pop up’ restaurant will steal the limelight...

Thursday: French by Koots Salle a Manger
Friday: Tapas by Comida Bebe by Raúl MorenoYagüe
Saturday: Japanese from Izakaya Den
Sunday: French moderne from Embrasse.

A weekend ticket is clearly the only answer.

If your foodie tastes ebb towards the produce-scene rather than fine-dining, then prepare yourself - over 90 producers will fill out the festival... glutton & nuts personal faves include: Green & Blacks, Mövenpick of Switzerland, Bultarra meats, Gridlock coffee and Bagdad foods. Then there’s the selection of spirits and liquors whole be present... best we don’t even begin that list...

If you’re a fan of foodie activities then grab yourself a ticket top the Australian Gourmet Traveller Chef’s Table where you can get to meet a range of top chefs, the Gourmet Traveller Wine Theatre where you can taste and learn about rare and boutique wines, and the Bacardi 'Art of Cocktail Making' class – which is a dangerously enjoyable a step-by-step lesson on how to make the world’s best cocktails...

Taste of Melbourne – The Ultimate Dining Experience
Thursday August 26th - Sunday August 29th, 2010
Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens Nicholson Street Carlton
Tickets start from $27.50

Thursday: 26th August - 5.30pm – 9.30pm
Friday: 27th August 12.00pm – 4.00pm, 5.30pm – 9.30pm
Saturday: 28th August 12.00am – 4.00pm, 5.30pm – 9.30pm
Sunday: 29th August 12.00pm – 5.00pm
http://www.tastefestivals.com.au/

Experimental Dining: Celsius Restaurant & Bar

Creative eating hits Adelaide TODAY!

Ayhan Erkoc is one of Adelaide’s most exciting young chefs. Formerly Head Chef of The Manse, with experience in world-class restaurants such as Copenhagen’s Noma and both Pier and Marque in Sydney, he’s now back in Adelaide and has experimental dining in mind...

When glutton & nuts heard he was putting SOIL back on the menu (not that soil was ever even ON the menu mind) our ears pricked-up with excitement and we became very jealous that he’s decided to do his creative thing in Adelaide. Lucky Rads.

Celsius Restaurant and Bar opens today and if it weren’t for the thousands of miles between us, we’d be there... bib around neck, cutlery poised and tongues curling the words ‘vegtable patch please’ (which is an experimental starter of snails, herbs, soil, flowers, raw and pickled vegetables).

Ayhan’s focus is on local produce and classics with an experiential twist, meaning a bit of tradition and a LOT of fun. In our opinion, this is exactly what modern dining should be about. Ayhan and his staff will also be devoting time to ‘foraging expeditions’ – which means they’ll be making the most of seasonal, sometimes-overlooked ingredients growing wild around Adelaide, which is sure to be a real eye-opener!

Ensuring that guests enjoy a meal that plays on all of the senses is at the heart of Ayhan’s motivation: “I’ve already started playing with experiential accompaniments such as smoking pine cones and dry-iced lavender flowers," said Ayhan. "One of our first dishes, the ‘vegetable patch’, will include 'soil', snails, herbs, flowers, raw and pickled vegetables”...

We’re sure that the soon-to-be-famous veggie patch is where it will all begin, but with an imagination like Ayhan’s it’s certainly won’t end there.

In fact, we’re already eyeing up the star anise custard...

Celsius Restaurant and Bar is open for lunch Wednesday to Friday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday, from 10th August 2010.

Call 08 8231 6023 for bookings.
http://www.celsiusrestaurant.com.au/
95 Gouger Street
Adelaide, Australia, 5000

The Rocks Markets - honey cinnamon cashews

If you happen to be in old-Sydney-town on a Friday, stroll down to The Rocks Markets and check out the area's culinary offerings in express stall form. Apart from being a great open air lunch alternative, it's also a great way to preview the local fare before committing to a full-blown dinner.

Whether you've opted for the Dare gozleme stall, wagyu burger a’la Pony or a Lowenbrau sausage dog, it's still best practice to bypass the nuts stand on your way out of the markets for something to nibble on.

Sitting under a sign that humbly reads 'Fresh Nuts' on the east side of The Rocks Markets is this unassuming stall selling everything from cherry-flavoured Turkish delight, to wasabi peas, to homemade fairy-floss candy strips.

Then there’s the roasted honey cinnamon cashews, a dish where sugar and spice and salt meet in perfect matrimony. Everything about this snack is good, from the crunch of the fresh roasted cashews, to the sweet honey-coating, to the depth added by the cinnamon, not to mention it 'technically' makes the health-food cut (please note that we here at glutton & nuts are fairly liberal in our nutritional assessments). Everyone knows that cinnamon is the natural friend of many foods, be it toast, smoothies, rice, or gum. Now, you can cross cashews off that list.

The Rocks Markets – every Friday from 12 noon at The Rocks, Sydney
honey & cinnamon cashews - $3.50/ 125g bag from the 'Fresh Nuts'

stand

Bloody Mary Oyster Shot

Ok, so the last time glutton & nuts had a Bloody Mary, we were on a flight from Sydney to London, so hung-over that jumping from the plane seemed like the only appropriate option.

That was of course, until the idea of drinking more vodka sprang to mind...

Those who say a Bloody Mary cures all have never had one served to them by an insane Etihad flight attendant whose 90/10 split of vodka/tomato juice resulted in a feeling we can only imagine as being similar to downing bleach. This combined with the hangover from hell and a 24-hour flight... not so good.

That aside, it was time once again to face the bloody demon... and the only way to do it was in shot form - with an oyster thrown in, obviously.

Fortunately, with a head as fresh as a daisy and being served by staff who clearly knew what they were doing (glutton and nuts stands up and applauds Kingsley’s in Woolloomooloo) this time round the Bloody Mary experience was Bloody Marvalous!

This little shot of slithering joy was delicious... and no, not because they held back on the vodka (it's there in a big way!) but because the combo of salty oyster, tangy tomatoes and kick-ass vodka was mind blowing. And if you love your unusual foody textures then this is one you’ll not want to swallow. Swish it around and enjoy it a little bit... once it’s gone, it’s gone, unfortunately...

That is, unless you get the Kingley’s staff to rack up a long row of them... which, after discovering how seriously dedicated they are to all things food and booze, they most probably would!

Visit Kingsley’s... no, like seriously do...

www.kingsleys.com.au
Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse
10/6 Cowper Wharf Rd
Woolloomooloo
New South Wales 2011
1300 546 475

g&n hearts Kingsleys

This week we're tucking into...

Raspberry Licorice from the Bondi Road Fruitologist.

We say 'this week'... this pack has probably lasted a morning (if that). But hey ho, it's delicious and relatively good for us, AND the fact that it's got ‘98% fat free’ printed across the top gets rid of the glutton guilts. We love it because it’s like eating fruit (kind of) and the raspberry variety doesn't taste ANYTHING like licorice... *phew!

The Bondi Road Fruitologist is a local foodie legend and after scoffing down a full bag of these treats, we can see why...


Find this fruity legend at:

151/155 Bondi Rd
Bondi
NSW 2026
(02) 9387 2575

The Guava Snow Egg: Life before Masterchef

As hard as it is to fathom, this now nationally-acclaimed dessert once had a life, pre reality-TV-founded-fame, and it was just as sweet.

I first encountered the Guava Snow Egg after some friends sent us to Peter Gilmore’s acclaimed Quay Restaurant (and now, Australia’s best restaurant) via a gift voucher. Keep in mind, 'The Egg' followed a sumptuous three course dinner which included butter poached coturnix quail breast, chestnuts, truffle, bitter chocolate black pudding, milk skin & walnuts (and that’s only one dish). Needless to say, expectations were high, and rightfully so considering dessert is often the last taste lingering on your palette when you walk out the door. I don’t care how amazing the 13 course degustation dinner you might have just consumed was, if the dessert doesn’t cut it, you’ll never go back. Lucky for Pete, his Guava Snow Egg was possibly the best dessert I have ever devoured- and I did so in a shameful four minutes.

Because I may have been involved in a heightened discussion with my partner when the dish was brought out, I failed to hear that what being presented was actually a replica of an egg. So upon consuming the first few mouthfuls of meringue (which let’s face it, tastes a lot like egg whites) and suspicious creamy custard apple centre for yolk, I was certain that this was some sort of fancy sweetened egg. So I consumed dubiously (who wants to eat an egg for dessert?) The crunchy golden praline maltose shell should have given it away, but clearly, the sangiovese had done its job.

The guava comes from the granita that the faux egg sits on, as well as the sweet slick beneath it, and provides a refreshing accompaniment to the other fuller flavours. It’s no wonder this egg is now more famous than Guy Sebastian. My advice is: don’t let reality television taint this ridiculously clever dessert. It’s blow-your-mind good.

World’s rarest coffee hits Sydney...

‘Kopi Luwak’ (as it’s known to the more refined coffee drinker) is a coffee bean from Indonesia that the wider-population refers to as ‘coffee pooed-out by weasely-type creatures’ - or quite simply – the poo coffee.

Sounds pretty unappealing at first but with deeper inspection (no pun intended of course) the whole process is actually surprisingly interesting and results in one of the tastiest coffees we’ve tried to date.

To start with, it’s not actually pooed-out by a weasel... it’s an Asian Palm Civet – a cat-sized mammal found mostly in South East Asia. Tsk!

The Civets eat coffee berries for their outer juicy flesh. In their stomach however, enzymes slowly seep into the beans, then pass through their intestines and are defecated – still retaining their original shape.

These beans are then gathered by farmers, who wash them thoroughly, dried them out in the hot Indonesian sun, lightly roast them, and then finally brew them to make a surprisingly non-bitter coffee which is extremely aromatic. Understandably after that whole process, it has an earthy texture... yet what makes it so delicious is the faintest hint of cocoa.

Kopi Luwak hit Sydney with much enthusiasm. We Sydneysiders, after all, know our stuff when it comes to a good cup of coffee! If you’re anything like us at glutton & nuts, then you probably can’t function without it... and would gladly hawl-ass to St Leonards to get a taste of the rarest and best...

It’s here, at Olio Restaurant, at St Leonards main piazza, that you’ll have the most expensive coffee in the world... and will be surprised at how affordable it still is ($6 if we our caffeine-fuelled mind remembers correctly....!)

For more info... visit Olio in the virtual world at

http://www.olio.com.au/

OR in real life at:

St. Leonard's main piazza (near the train station.)
201-205 Pacific Hwy,

St Leonards

NSW 2065
Phone: (02) 9439 8988