Foodies’ Diary: Hot’n'Cold
- Author:
- Jackie McMillan
- Posted:
- Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Eat Mex Daily
Not many fast food restaurants volunteer their product to be tested by the Australian Government National Measurement Institute – that’s how sure that Guzman Y Gomez are that their product is actually GOOD for you. In fact it’s more like “restaurant quality food served fast” with a nutritional profile that means you can eat it guilt free “every day because it is fresh, healthy food”! Now if your personal trainer looks at you askance, there are brochures in store that break it down into carb., fat and protein. Plus you can tell ‘em that chilli speeds up the metabolism, pico de gallo lowers cholesterol and their tasty guacamole (made fresh three times each day) is full of good fats too! With this information in, you can imagine the look on founder Steven Marks’ face when one of his Newtown customers asked if the “D.F.” stood for deep fried! Ouch.
Flavour of the Week
Now I’m sure you need another reason to visit Gelato Messina in Darlinghurst like a hole in the head, but by golly I’ve got one. This man (I’m dubbing him ‘the flavour maker’) is Donato Toce, an experienced chef who is brain-storming up new flavours with founder Nick Palumbo. Now while I’m personally still hooked on Nick’s Yoghurt Caramel, Donato’s Gingerbread and Peanut Butter has extraordinary depth of flavour. The intensity of the peanut butter only stops when a chunk of gingerbread melts on your tongue; it’s like communion, only better! They’re adding a (limited) flavour each week. Word on the street is this week it’s Black Forest made from milk chocolate gelato, kirsch mousse and Amarena cherries. Sigh.
Padrón Peppers
As the weather heats up, so do our palates as chilli fever spreads across the land. Get in fast for an order of my favourite Padrón Peppers, the Russian roulette of peppers (because you never know when you’ll strike a hot one). Grower Richard Mohan at Midyim Eco tells me they’re “in full harvest mode.” He also let slip there are some new chillis on the horizon. Expect to see the O Couto (pronounced oh kowtoe) a chilli with no heat, and the Gernika from the Basque region of Spain next year… for now we can but salivate at his tempting photo.
Christmas Cookies
For another excellent Aussie icy treat, rock on down to the Eveleigh Markets between 8am-1pm for a limited edition Pat & Stick’s Christmas Cookie. Their latest seasonal ice-cream sandwich features cassata ice cream and gingerbread cookies. I hear it’s delicious! I can of course vouch for their Expresso Lace personally – I’m an avid product tester!
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Story posted on Wednesday, 16 December 2009, filed under Convenience Food, Dessert, Dining Guide, Foodie Diary, Mexican, Produce. Follow responses via the RSS feed.
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