The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 20

ft Tta Sydney Morning Hwald, VH Aug 30, 1978 20 9 School holiday eating guide Paddington's "Irish" restaurants cheese with heart what future for red wine? lllllll f.laric oshack DnimiEUG George 7ruby -i FOOD A pedl So (30 (30 (3 GCOCTDGp Have a areat day aboard VIENNA WOODS, 161 King Street; open 10 am to 7 pm (8.30 Thursday), children's meals $1.20. There's another Cahill's, the ISLAND TRADER at 1 Alfred Street, Circular Quay. MANLY PIER SEAFOOD RES TAURANT: children welcome, open or dinner Tuesday to Sunday from 6 pm and Sunday lunch from noon; children's meals are $2, reservations. For a good day out, drive to Coal and Candle Creek. You can take your own picnic or barbecue, or there's NAUGHTICS fish in.

the old sail loft of the boatshed, sur-' rounded by water and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Open for lunch only on Sundays; you must book ahead. Special children's meals only. $3.50 Wednesday and Thursday nights, and Sundays. FLANAGANS AFLOAT, Rose Bay; good shipboard atmosphere on Rose Bay, with special meals for children under 12 fish and chips fish croquettes junior steak (3.25) etc.

Open every day (another Flanagans at 92 Pitt Street, City). every day; no need to book, put your name in a queue at the desk and wait PITT STREET GARDENS, 252 Pitt Street (near Park Street); two floors, with self-serve food at low 10 am during school holidays. Special children's holiday specials include hamburgers, fish croquettes for about 80c; children under 14 charged', half-price for everything else on the menu. CahiU's restaurants; still the old-stand-bys for cheap snacks and meals. THE DUTCH VILLAGE, 27 Park Street, City, has friendly atmosphere, good food and hearty serves, with roasts the speciality of the house.

Children's meals cost $1.30. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. OPERA HOUSE Harbour Restaurant, self-serve, 11 am to 8 pm every day, indoor or outdoor eating. Snacks and meals, children's serves. SANITARIUM HEALTH FOOD, 90 King Street; emphasis on nutritious fillings, brown bread sandwiches or rolls, from 35c or hot vegetarian pies, etc.

Wholesome energy drinks, Tiger Shakes from 50c, another Sani-. tarium take-away at 10 Hunter Street OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY, 78 George Street North, The Rocks; enormous, full of kitsch (eg, Bondi tram). Spaghetti (or similar), moderately priced, with cheaper children's serves (various pasta dishes from $1.95 to Open from noon, nDAY out during the school holidays brings the problem of where to take the children to eat if you want a change from McDonalds and other fast-food establishments. Many restaurants, department stores and other eating places put on special children's menus smaller serves, smaller prices during the holidays. Some even do it all the time.

Here's a selection of what's offering these holidays: MAkY REIBEVS PARLOUR, Ar-gyle Arts Centre, 18 Argyle St, The Rocks; small with historic atmosphere, and children charged half-price ($1.70) for the smorgasbord during the week ($1.85 at weekends). Open 10 am to 5 pm weekdays, noon to 5 pm weekends. PHILLIPS FOOTE, 101 George Street, The Rocks; do-it-yourself barbecues, indoor-outdoor eating in historic setting. Small portions of steak provided for children at $2, which is half the regular price. Open from SOUP PLUS, 383 George Street; no children's special serves or prices but lots of hearty soups at lunch; minimum charge of $1.50.

RUSTY SCUPPER, 15 Park Street, City; snacks and meals, smaller and cheaper serves for children including cheeseburgers burgers and chips ($1) and fish and chips Open noon till after dinner, Monday to Saturday. COLES CAFETERIA, cnr King and. George Streets, City; open 8.30 pm (7.45 pm Thursday). Specially Commander Coles holiday Luna burgers, Bionic drumstick and chips, Cosmic Fish and Martian jelly, all $1 each, with free place mats. WOOLWORTHS CAFETERIA, 2nd floor, Park Street; open every day at 8 am for cheap breakfast (bacon and egg, toast and pot of tea or coffee; School holiday bargain menu includes meat pie (95c), meat pattie (90c), fish roll (85c), all served with vegetables and chips; jelly with topping (35c), and gingerbread men (26c).

PANCAKES ON THE ROCKS, 10 Hickson Road, The Rocks; open 24 hours, seven days a week, serving every kind of pancake under the sun. Features a children's Alice In Wonderland buttermilk pancake, topped with chocolate syrup and hundreds and thousands, for 80c. THE SUMMIT, 47th floor, Australia Square; children under 12 charged $6.25 for the buffet lunch, $8.25 for buffet dinner (More at weekends). CENTREPOINT TAVERN, Cen-trepoint, cnr Pitt and Market Street; self-serve complex, big selection of. budget dishes for children always' available, including sausages and chips jumbo burgers and chips ($1.25) and roast chicken and chips Holiday special: free Pepsi for every child customer.

Open 10 am to 10 pm, Monday to sider the following: Our vignerons, who between them have a red grape den. Unless they are encouraged to continue making red wines of breeding and sophistication, they will be left with two alternatives, both undesirable. The first is that the grapes will be left to rot on the vine, a situation that will restrict many smaller winemakers to a diet of bread and dripping. Or they may decide to recover a small percentage of revenue by bleeding more juice for flagon and cask production. You may wish to argue that the end result will be a better quality bulk wine but remember a screw top or plastic bag cannot contribute the way the cork does to quality wine.

Further, our palates would develop at snail's pace. I hope by now I've helped some drinkers feel adventuruous, many at least curious, and perhaps some a little guilty. So how do we begin identifying and appreciating the styles and grape varieties available? It would, of course, be foolish to at-: tempt a blanket coverage. I have chosen what I believe are excellent examples of some regional wines. COONAWARRA Mildara Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.

1971. ($4.05) Lindemans Rouge Homme C.S., 1966, ($6.50) Redman Coonawarra Claret (Shiraz), 1976, ($3.98) mclaren vale Chateau Reynella Cabernet Sauvig- non, 1971, ($5.35) Ryecroft Shiraz, 1 973, ($2.40) Hardy's Nottage Hill Claret, 1973. ($3.75) CLARE VALLEY Stanley Leasingham Bin 49 C.S., 1975, ($4.75) Enterprise Wines Shiraz, 1975, ($3.50) BAROSSA VALLEY Orlando Cabernet Sauvignon Bin V59, 1971, ($3.90) Basedows of Barossa Hermitage, 1975, ($2.65) HUNTER VALLEY Tulloch Pokolbin Dry Red (Priv Bin), 1974, ($4.00) Tulloch Cabernet Sauvignon, 1973, ($4.80) DOUBT whether a day has passed in recent months that I haven't been involved in a conversation which included debate on the anticipated market swing to red wine consumption. Is this swing Inevitable? Is it a likeli-Jwod, a remote possibility, or just a pipe-dream? Now, I'm a gambler, often guilty of too fatalistic an attitude, but in this matter I'm praying alongside the winemakers that the first prospect will be the case. Many people, who in recent years have swung from beer and spirits to white wine, often the sweeter variety, have stayed with it thus starving their taste-buds of splendid red wine.

Some probably consider they will stay with it for the rest of their lives, through all all and any foods, while playing host or hostess to guests who may be bursting for a red. Another group presently avoiding our reds is the many who swung away from them in the 1 960s because many were too big and jammy in style and others were from newly-planted vines not yet offering the true character they have now attained. This group perhaps will be surprised, but assuredly rewarded, by the elegant reds available today a cross-section of which we have never seen before. If your habits or attitudes place you in either of these categories you should give your palate a chance to experience red wine. And for the romantics, let me draw this picture: A winter night, sitting alone with your lady, the room lit only by the embers of an open fire and filled with the gentle sounds of Shearing or Cugat Outside, winds howl and rain batters upon the window-pane.

Would anything other than a warming, well-rounded, velvet-textured, burgundy befit the occasion? Having recovered the last paragraph, you may be ready to con- CHEESE Diehard IVidcombo lloari off Sho cncrtffca AH Neufchatel types need to be eaten when young. At their best they are mild tasting but delicious, simple and uncomplicated perhaps but creamy and savoury too. Over-ripe they become excessively salty and bit-, ter tasting; one I had in recently tasted like a firm-textured Camembert with distressingly soapy aftertaste. Not an easy cheese to find at its peak and as you can't sample before buying, you're really in the hands of your local retailer. But a cheese worth persevering with, making the effort worthwhile.

The heart-shaped types look particularly striking and unusual on a cheeseboard and can be used as a dessert cheese combined with a delicate white wine. Alternatively, Neufchatel makes a delectable mid-morning snack with tea or coffee. It is the most famous of a range of Normandy cheeses characterised by their small size, their light, white, velvety surface moulds and their soft, creamy textures. These cheeses are made in a variety of shapes cylindrical, tube-shaped, square, even heart-shaped but all usually weigh only between lOOg and 200g. While there are various names for them such as Malakoff, Gournay, Bondon, Briquette and Coeur, they are basically the same cheese.

In France, when sold unripened, they resemble extremely mild, almost flavourless, very soft, cream cheese; cured for a short period they develop a firmer texture and a more discernible flavour. One variety on the local market is Coeur de Neufchatel, a 200g cheese which retails for $4.50. As the name suggests, it is made in a heart shape. SUN. SEPTEMBER 10 Air-conditioned return train travel Fruit Juice and Fruit Winetasting aboard train on forward journey Cheese and crackers Jazz Band entertainment Delicious lunch of Beef cooked on spit, damper and table wines Conducted tour of vineyard Coach tour of Wine Country FARE $32 (10 discount offered to groups of 20 or more) ra RANCE makes more varieties IJof cheese than any other IJ country.

But to sample the majority of them you'll have to visit the country, as most French cheeses never reach Australia. This is particularly true of fresh country cheeses, which are not geared for travel. Many have to be eaten un-ripened; others are only ripened for a short two-to-three-week period. One of the latter types occasionally appears in Sydney in small quantities. This is Neufchatel, a cheese with a history, from Normandy.

A good one is well worth seeking out Not Only Witchetty Grubs but also Came Dishes, Selected Seafoods, Fine Wines Reservations 33 5447 The Gamekeeper Restaurant 238 Crown Street, Darlinghurst, 2010 (Just below Oxford Street) BOOKINGS: 211 4255 Trevor Ldnc GATING OUT Public Transport Commission of iMtWltlAWlw' New South Wales BODEGA ITCdq DpucCd On FONDUES ARE FUN AT, oopes" Fondue restxaurorc rxu ica LUNCH DINNER MON. SAT. FULLY LICENSED 'OD06B fonaue cocenna service yoifts tracing geejsl ttas SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR YOUR PARTY FREE BROCHURE 83 Clarence Street, Sydney, 2000 Ttkphon: RESTAURANT 29.2970 CATERING 290.181S SERVICE 290.1797 Natural loorcoverinos Seagrass Coir Rush etc When we had ordered and eaten a good dinner I could better appreciate that remark: for there was a robust homemade brawn and, for me, a large baked mushroom with lobster meat We passed over Patricks' special and popular steak and kidney pie for duckling with a generous stuffing of apricots and chopped almonds ($5.85) and veal cooked with honey and thyme Recipa frcia a royal court We couldn't resist Ed Silver's description of a sweet called But-ter'd Orange, a seventeenth century recipe from a royal court -orange pulp, mixed with butter, curacao and cream, heaped back into its shell and chilled "A most impractical dish," said Ed. "It takes about two hours to make but we love doing it" We started with a very dry martini and stayed with a 1970 Pokolbin dry red over dinner; a worthwhile choice. Altogether a smooth, well- resented meal providing the appy incentive for a return visit to Patricks soon.

aid few oW rrct from tn Specialist importer ortpoc tacnoose and cream. It did much for our. eager taste buds. From a smallish wine list we ordered a Leo Buring DW-series Rhine Riesling (a good wine over the years) and a Penfold's Ka-limna Bin 28 dry red of 1970 vintage. Aldo runs a first-class restaurant, as we observed from our corner table.

Note it down for a visit soon. At Patricks, around the corner, there is more space between tables and, with its stained glass and standstone brick walls, it has a churchlike air. Amiable Ed Silver and chef Steve Neave are ex-airline stewards who took over Patricks two years ago. I asked them to describe the cuisine. "We call it cosmopolitan," they said.

"We deliberately shy away from a definite Prices start per square feliW loy it for ypo-woll FIFTEEN years or so ago Paddington was beginning to crystallise into a fashionable area and I recall a woman at a cocktail party being asked where she lived. "WooUahra," she replied, then added quickly, but at the Paddington end." She was obviously in the vanguard of those who rightly felt that Paddington was headed for a recherche future. (I learned later that she had just bought two terrace houses in Gumer Street). Today Paddington has the lot: galleries, boutiques, smart bars and restaurants and a well-heeled and trendy population to help them prosper. Paddington originally housed mostly artisans and their families Irish ones at that so it seemed right that two good restaurants there, D'Arcys and Patricks, should have aggressively Irish names.

But actually the names had nothing to do with the early Irish character of the area. One D'Arcy Clover, a New Zealander living in London, decided he wanted to start a Swiss restaurant in Australia and settled for premises in a former grocer's shop in Hargrave Street, Paddington. At Patricks, in Jersey Road, the host, Ed Silver, couldn't throw much light on to the original naming of the two terrace houses that became his restaurant but he was certain neither Ireland's patron saint nor the early settlers inspired it D'Arcys was a whiez from the start While many classical Swiss dishes emerged from the kitchen, the decor was strictly Edwardian London sombre browns and velvet-shrouded windows. And 'that was the norm, even during brilliantly sunny Sydney lunch-times. After some years the question was asked: Did success spoil D'Arcys? The verve and quality the seagraSs trading NoU nw address tSESH Sol Abury tood-Stanmore 4W.

2014 (near seemed to have evaporated and D'Arcy Glover left: (He lives in Portugal now I am told). But the most recent boss, Aldo Zuzza, an unbelievably young-looking 45-year-old Italian who had worked at Mario's in Melbourne, Princes, Romanos and for some years at Beppis in Sydney, moved in to sweep the drapes from the windows, lighten the general decor, introduce new dishes, put an epicurean stamp on the old ones, broaden the wine list and smarten the service. Instead of having to plod through a menu, a great platter of splendid seafoods is brought to the table and one chooses entrees from giant prawns, fresh sardines and anchovies, calamarai, mud crabs and lobster. It was a good start to a fine dinner. Aldo is proud of the freshness of his victuals.

"My customers know good food," he said," and they would not accept frozen vegetables, seafoods or fruit A successful restaurant uses its deep freeze very sparingly." Our Mignonette Bardolino (beef fillet with a light garlic and red wine sauce) was excellent and the chefs choice of Veal Liv-ornese (with a sauce of tomatoes, garlic, brandy and oregano) was another good one. D'Arcys' menu is not big but skilfully planned. Old hands at dining out avoid those restaurants which offer a hundred dishes on its menu two thirds of them would have come from the bowels of the deep freeze. Aldo's brother, Guiseppe, displayed a sweet he discovered in Venice. He calls it Tiramisu, which translates into lift-me-up: a light sponge with a special cheese, coffee liqueur, chocolate wonrnortaTcnionjKhoriC sworn.

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8am Gam, Now Nam, Sam Fama. WAYS of improving Australian wines was one of the subjects discussed at the recent XXth International Horticultural Congress at Sydney University. Max Rives, who is head of tlie genetics and planned breeding section of the National Research Institute of Agriculture in France believes that our reds could be greatly improved by crossing' late-maturing 'varieties with the Eun pean varieties like cabernet-sauvignon a-! ready used here. This would give the flavour of the European varieties, with the added advantages of late maturing. But it would, be a long time before consumers tasted the results it takes about 18 years to breed a new grape variety.

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