Clams opened over the fire and served in a pool of buttery juices at Osteria Il Coccia at Ettalong Beach. Edwina Pickles
Instead of the Good Food Guide, this year we bring 100 Good Things to the table: a collection of people, places, moments and mementos that best represent 2020.
- The next instalment: 41-60
21. Bold Italian food in regional NSW
22. Caviar bumps and whole crab in Coogee
Well, they don’t make ’em like this any more. In These Unprecedented Times, Merivale’s luxe lobster and crab pitch may not have seemed like the wisest idea, but Mimi’s popularity has only surged since the Coogee Pav restaurant reopened in July. It’s all about the late, long lunch, and linen-clad locals fill every table on a Saturday. Seems like everyone submits to the $32 “bump” of caviar and no one is upset to be eating Jordan Toft’s food, blending French pomp and Mediterranean verve. (Yes, that’s a $120 oscietra tart with scallop mousseline and citrus butter. Yes, it’s delicious.) Stick to a game plan and Mimi’s can be experienced without the hip pocket hurting too much, but gosh darn if those beach views don’t call for another martini. CB merivale.com/venues/mimis
COVID kilos be damned: Cheesecake from Fifteen Centimeters. Supplied
23. Fifteen-centimetre cakes. No more, no less
24.The superfood that may yet save the world
Seaweed has been a Sydney “it” ingredient since the first Good Food Guide in 1984, when a concept known as sushi had the Sydney lunch set ditching salade nicoise for nori. What’s exciting now, however, is how restaurants and producers are incorporating seaweed into everyday foods. Try it as a Vegemite substitute at Love, Tilly Devine in Darlinghurst, say, slathered on toast and topped with furikake (seasoning). Or check out PhycoHealth products made by seaweed scientist Pia Winberg on the South Coast and available at Harris Farm and Carriageworks Farmers’ Market. There’s PhycoHealth seaweed corn chips, pasta, salts, dukkah and even muesli. More protein from seaweed rather than cattle seems like the right idea. CB lovetillydevine.com; phycohealth.com
Macheroncini pasta with lobster at Leo. James Brickwood
25. The chef collab we never saw coming
In the red corner: Oscillate Wildly’s Karl Firla, a man of few words but many beautiful dishes inspired by his time at Marque and Est, who sadly closed his Newtown fine diner in 2019. In the blue corner: LuMi Dining’s Federico Zanellato, a man of even fewer words armed with a battery of Japanese ingredients and a head full of Italian cooking. At Restaurant Leo, in Angel Place, CBD, they combine their formidable clout. Next door, Piccoleo serves coffee and truffled croissants. Ding, ding! We’re all winners. MR restaurantleo.com.au
26. Stix’s Marrickville mush-room
After 21 years in the catering business, Stix opened its Marrickville roller doors in July for breakfast and lunch. Many dishes showcase organic produce from their Hawkesbury farm (also supplying Firedoor and Fred’s), such as a thicket of shaved summer vegetables bolstered by romesco and fior di latte. It’s hard to find a lower-foodmile brunch in Sydney than the oyster-mushroom toast made with fungi grown in a special room above the cafe. CB stix.com.au
The original pita at Jimmy’s Falafel. Edwina Pickles
27. Just falafs
Reacquaint yourself with the noble falafel. Jasmins, an old school favourite, is always buzzing with local families. Also, who knew that falafel would go so well with cocktails? Ezra, in a back street of Kings Cross, sees former Moon Park and Paper Bird chef Ben Sears on the pans. His tahini-capped falafel on a bed of silky avocado puree proves to be an excellent match for a hibiscus negroni. At Merivale’s Middle-Eastern diner/takeaway Jimmy’s Falafel, on George Street in the city, head chef Simon Zalloua uses a mix of chickpeas and fava beans – soaked, ground, kneaded and spiced. Break one open, and it is bright green, fresh with coriander, parsley and mint. TD jasmins.com.au; ezrarestaurant.com.au; merivale.com/venues/jimmys-falafel
28. Always was, always will be
It’s estimated just 2 per cent of Australian First Nations businesses are majority owned by Australian First Nations people. It’s a number, however, that’s set to change as more businesses become established, and more restaurants support them. Currie Country is a Tweed-based education and resource hub from one of the largest Traditional Custodian families within the Aboriginal Yugambeh-Bundjalung nations. They work with nearby restaurants such as Pipit and Fleet to showcase First Nations produce and bush foods, such as murun (emu) eggs. Pipit currently features a murun yolk confited in grouper fish fat. That’s the kind of excellence 2020 should be remembered for. MR curriecountry.com
29. Chef-made pottery
Belles Hot Chicken impresario Morgan McGlone has always had a passion for pottery but COVID gave him more time to hone his craft, selling ferment jars and planters through online wine delivery service DRNKS. Look for McGlone’s Ryo’s Pottery on the site. MR drnks.com
Small Talk’s salty-sweet cinnamon doughnut is chewy, yeasted and flavourful. Edwina Pickles
30. This salty doughnut
Small Talk Coffee & Snacks’ motto might be “coffee, bagels and good times” but they’re forgetting one crucial thing at this Dulwich Hill cutie: their cinnamon doughnut. It’s chewy, it’s yeasted, it’s flavourful and most importantly, it hits that special high note of being salty and sweet at the same time. Best enjoyed standing up so you can make a real sugary mess. MR @__smalltalkcoffee
31. A beautiful gnocchi board made by a couple of avocado farmers
Sick of not being able to find good quality Australian-made pasta tools, author Elizabeth Hewson set about getting them made by avocado farmers Warwick and Naomi Backhouse. Make all your cavatelli, orecchiette and malloreddus perfectly etched and perfectly beautiful. MR saturdaynightpasta.com.au
32. Australiana tablecloths? You beauty
So the pie was a flop and the Basque cheesecake has a sinkhole the size of Spain. But don’t despair, your table looks amazing. Dress it like you mean business with Utopia Goods’ handprinted, Australian bush-influenced tablecloths such as their Madras Garden featuring Australian bluebells. MR utopiagoods.com
Grab your loved ones and head to Chippendale for Ester’s Sunday roast. Supplied
30. This salty doughnut
The Ester Sunday roast might be the best reason to get out of bed at the weekend. Grab your loved ones, head to Chippendale and strap in for roasted marrow on sourdough, wood-fired suckling pig, duck or lamb (depending on what’s available that week) and roast hasselback potatoes. MR ester-restaurant.com.au
34. Paste Thai hits Mittagong
In an otherwise unremarkable stretch of downtown Mittagong, discover Michelin-starred chef Bee Satongun’s restaurant, Paste. She calls her cooking “80 percent tradition and 20 percent creativity”. Find an enticing blend of old and new, going beyond the usual green chicken curry, fish cakes and green papaya salad to explore the old, forgotten recipes of private families throughout Thailand. TD pasteaustralia.com
Clockwise from left: Cebu lechon (charcoal roast pork), longanisa fried rice, crisp bicol xpress (spicy fried pork belly in coconut curry), and humba na manok (braised soy chicken) from Sydney Cebu Lechon in Enmore. Cole Bennetts
35. Filipino food makes noise across Sydney
36. The sexiest potato since the Dutch Cream
Potato farmer Gary Kadwell is behind these gems – Andean Sunrise potatoes are creamy, yellow, highly nutritious, densely flavoured, and chefs across NSW are in love with them. You can also order direct from Kadwell’s website. MR thegourmetpotatokadwell.com.au
Ryan Broomfield’s Blackmore fullblood wagyu pie with roast garlic and onion puree, black pepper, cinnamon and Bovril gravy. Supplied
37. The majesty of a pie
Vic’s Meat’s pie collaborations with chefs such as Matt Moran and Mike McEnearney have been deeply rewarding over the past eight months, but our favourite is this England-channelling creation from butter-pastry king Ryan Broomfield. Blackmore fullblood wagyu with roast garlic and onion puree, black pepper, cinnamon and Bovril gravy, oh boy. CB vicsmeat.com.au
A strawberry sando at Sandoitchi Cafe. Edwina Pickles
38. All our emotions, between two slices of bread
39. Chocolate for your soul
Loco Love sells sugar-free dark chocolate, some flavoured with medicinal Japanese mushrooms and sunflowers. You’re very welcome. MR locolove.com
Produce from Fabbrica pasta store. Supplied
40. Ciao, Ragazzi!
The Ragazzi team (Matt Swieboda, Nate Hatwell, Scott McComas-Williams) and Fino Fine Foods’ Cameron Birt present Fabbrica, an ode to carbs of all shapes and sizes. At the King Street, CBD, shop find takeaway dry pasta and sauces (hello, duck ragu and rye casarecce), fluffy focaccia and all the fixings for a delicious Italian meal at home (The oils! The cheeses! The meats! Even the right flours to make pasta from scratch if you’re in the mood to DIY!). Plus panini and wine for those keen to linger. MR ciaofabbrica.com
Words: Callan Boys, Terry Durack, Myffy Rigby
