Sunday, February 26, 2012

foodie weekend! yes!

I love when I get to indulge in a food inspired weekend! It started with Grill'd on a very wet and rainy Friday night. I missed the BrisStyle Twilight market due to said wet weather and boy, did it set in! I quickly ran from my car with the brolli, picked up my take away and ran back to the car! I enjoyed the crispy bacon and cheese with the tasty rosemary salt chips! yum!
On Saturday morning, Sam and I made our way to One Drop Coffee.

These guys really know their coffee and I was served a delicious El Salvador Piccolo. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. I'll definitely return now they are open on Saturdays 8am-1pm. The breakfast menu looks very appealing too! mmmm...
                            

On Saturday night, Sam and I booked a table at The Crosstown Eatery in Woolloongabba. I have been wanting to try this place since it opened. 


Sam and I enjoyed 3 courses of gorgeous bistro-style cuisine in a welcoming and cosy environment. We started with the sticky pork spare ribs and pan fried haloumi with beetroot, quinoa, lemon and almond. One word for the ribs - AMAZING! The meat was falling off the bone and coated in a sweet and rich sauce that tasted like heaven! I would go back just for that as (consistently) good ribs are hard to find these days. The haloumi was a generous size with the lemon providing the great acidity to cut through the salty cheese. The nutty quinoa was well paired with the earthy beetroot. 
My main was the spatchcock and it was enormous. I didn't realize I would be getting the whole bird! It was beautifully cooked in a rich, meaty jus and served on a bed of cavalo nero with a side of duck fat potatoes. Sam ordered the lamb cutlets with tzatziki and served with beetroot puree and israeli couscous in a tomato sauce. It was tasty, but not as good as mine! It was also on the smaller size, but that didn't matter as I had spatchcock to share!
For dessert, I chose the mini vanilla bean panna cotta which was perfect - in size and flavour! Lovely texture and topped with a thin chocolate layer on top which added an extra somethin' somethin'. Sam enjoyed the chocolate nut brownie with vanilla bean ice cream and toasted coconut. This was so yummy and had a bitter chocolate taste - not too sweet :). The service was attentive, but not over the top as well as friendly and fun. We left The Crosstown very happy and very full! We will be back again!

Unfortunately, the menu on the website is different to the one currently in house and I forgot to take pictures as I was so involved with eating the food! D'oh! Thankfully, the reviewers of Urbanspoon remembered to take pictures!

haloumi

sticky pork spare ribs - must try!

dining rooms

bar

Sunday was fairly low key. For our morning coffee, we went to see Naomi at Shucked in Newstead. I enjoyed their new signature blend "Shuck n awe"- smooth and well balanced. I love the breakfast menu here and would've dove in had I not eaten so much the night before! :P


For afternoon tea, Sam and I went to visit Bien at Dello Mano. They opened up on Doggett st, Fortitude Valley last November and have enjoyed growing success ever since. I tried the signature hot chocolate (filled with spices) and a peanut butter brownie. Sooo good! Dello Mano really does make the best brownies EVER! Sam had the iced chocolate which had the same spicy, chocolate base as mine, but mixed with ice cream. Delicious!


I hope you enjoyed a fun, foodie weekend too! x



Saturday, February 11, 2012

Honestly...wtf

This a freaking cool website, and the name is even better: Honestly...wtf. I have just spent so much time gazing at its delicious pages. Take a look.









Divine.

J'espere que vous passer un bon week-end!
Bisous.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

I had to share.....

Cake Pops! Have you heard of them?? I can't wait for the day that i finally make them - I just need the right occasion! For future reference, the lovely girls at A Beautiful Mess have put together a "How to" for the amazing cake pop! (I think I'm a bit obsessed.. :P)




An afternoon with tea and cake pops would go perfectly with the dress I received today from People Tree. It's a lovely dress made with organic cotton :) So cute!

It has coffee cups on it! *squee!*