Alternative Media Group

Have A Toss

Author:

Jackie McMillan

Posted:

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Ah April, month of blissful public holidays, how I love thee, especially on days when you’re unseasonably warm. Hopefully as you’re reading this you’re recovering from a big pre-ANZAC Day night out…

If you’d like to kick on, go hang out with the tossers at Cargo Bar. We’re talking a massive 2UP arena, hotdogs, KB and pumping tunes. Down at the other end of King Street wharf, Bungalow 8 will have celebrity tossers, like Mike Goldman, holding court in a multilevel 2UP arena. If the possibility of hot chicks in uniform isn’t enough, they’ll also be doing $15 cocktail jugs all day, and they pinky swear that their newly renovated private tiki bars will be full of beer!
www.bungalow8sydney.com

Now if the day turns out to be not so warm, go cosy up in a restaurant with a nice bit of pork. The Porkstars have declared April Australian PorkFest, yes, a month long celebration of Aussie pig! As a result you’ll find Caramelised Pork Hock at Longrain, Suckling Pig at Est. Restaurant and Leigh McDivitt, one of my personal favourite chefs, is cooking Milk Braised Pork Cheek, Pork Tail Agnolotti with King Prawn and Cider Gel at Rozelle’s 3 Weeds. Get in and try one of these babies before the month is out.
www.pork.com.au

April is also Australian Wine Month and to celebrate, you might like to attend an A+ Wine Celebration event. With events finishing on the 29th April, you only have a short time to get out amongst the grape vines, at events like the Sydney Wine Trail & Harvest Festival, designed to explore wines grown within a stone’s throw of town. If you hate leaving your (gated) community, Yalumba is doing a Museum Tasting in Surry Hills on Friday 27th April. Here you’ll taste 18 wines, including an Eden Valley Riesling from the 1940s.
www.apluswines.com

I’ve been doing my bit to support NSW wines too, by drinking them. The latest to pass my lips was the 2008 Miranda Golden Botrytis from Griffith. Now as far as dessert wines go, I’m not a huge botrytis fan, preferring the grapier taste of late harvest wines. However this one won me over with apricots and marmalade. While it would suit cheese or perhaps a lighter sort of pud., it was actually quite nice all on it’s own.
www.mirandawines.com.au

Also bang smack in the ghetto are the new Ketel One Bar Tours; perfect for those having trouble staying abreast of all the small bar openings across town. Alex Adams, who blogs as Ms Darlinghurst over at Eat Drink Play, promises to lure you down back lanes, steep staircases, and through unmarked doors, to bars like Grandma’s and Stitch. Once there, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll soon be drinking bespoke Ketel One cocktails, eating snacks and getting loose with a bunch of people destined to become your Facebook friends before the night is out.  Their next hidden bar adventure is slated for Wednesday 2nd May.
www.ketelonebartours.com.au

Last month the Janus Group made the uber-green No 1 Bligh Street building even more attractive by opening an Italian inspired wine bar alongside the green wall, and a contemporary bistro at the top of those commanding stairs. Over 250 guests, who included Underbelly stars, Anna McGahon & Salvatore Coco, were treated to Italian wines and Janus’ signature cocktail, the Vanilla Pash.

They dined on an array of arancini balls, lamb burgers, Italian cheeses and freshly cured meats, but I was told the highlight of the night was Kaz Debas’ pizzas. This inspired me to get down there myself to try them, so keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming review…
www.janus-sydney.com.au

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