Wet Weather Plans
Image: Over screaming I want my summer back? Let’s try to adjust. Leaves have been spotted falling from the trees, meaning autumn is right around the corner. Let’s just make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt…
Over screaming I want my summer back? Let’s try to adjust. Leaves have been spotted falling from the trees, meaning autumn is right around the corner. Let’s just make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt…
The Family Meal
All right, I’m feeling moody too. Rain in summer fills me with horrific memories of being trapped around a dinner table in a tiny cabin with my family. We’re isolated in some godforsaken corner of the south coast where the rained out beach was the only entertainment. If you can relate, head to Kika Tapas in Darlinghurst on a Tuesday night, and let their Spanish flair help resurrect the concept of a family meal. They’re pulling recipes from Ferran Adrià’s (El Bulli) cookbook The Family Meal – basically a collection of the staff meals they prepared and shared before they opened the best restaurant in the world (for five years). Sitting around a communal table, you’ll be offered up dishes like Catalan Style Turkey, Saffron Risotto with Mushrooms, and Yoghurt Foam with Strawberries, making a three-course meal for the bargain price of $25/head. You might even win a copy of the book itself.
www.kika.com.au
Foodie Trails
One of my projects last year was reviewing produce stores for The 2012 Foodies’ Guide to Sydney [RRP $29.95]. To make an adventure of it, I chose places in the Sutherland Shire to encourage myself to make a day of it and explore everything the area had to offer. If you’re after a wet weather plan for the weekend, why not pick up a copy and retrace my footsteps? With some clever parking you’ll be ducking the rain into shops like Cronulla’s Mountain Valley Meats, an old school butcher specialising in range-reared meat. Dijon Foods is also well worth a visit, but you might want to make sure you have a spare seat in the car for all the bulk gourmet food supplies (available below Eastern Suburbs prices) you’ll buy. Pack your togs just in case you spy a gap in the clouds, they have pretty beaches down in that neck of the woods too.
www.dijonfoods.com
Doona Diving
One of my favourite wet weather sports happens in bed. To ensure you don’t have to get out of yours unnecessarily, a clever company called Jimmy Brings has taken responsible service of alcohol to a whole new level, delivering late night liquor and condoms. Imagine if you will, a night with your special someone, a long lead in, and just before you’re ready to roll, you run out of er… beer. Co-founder Nathan Besser explains: “We’ve all been there. It’s 10pm, you’re about to finish your last beer and even if you had the inclination to schlep to the local bottle shop, it closed its doors hours ago.” He’s got a point – don’t risk your life driving drunk to get more grog, or your health by fucking without a condom – especially when your new mate Jim will have ‘em both to you in a jiffy. “Everyone needs a Jimmy in their life,” Besser says emphatically.
www.jimmybrings.com.au
Food’n’Flicks
Just when you thought there was one activity rain couldn’t bugger up, The Australian Film Festival decide to show an outdoor movie under the stars on Clovelly Beach on March 10th! You might want to wear your swimmers to that one! All jokes aside, they’re also offering some indoor films at the iconic Randwick Ritz, and an even tastier alternative, The Spot Food and Film Festival from 1-8pm on Sunday March 11th. I’m told that Randwick’s many cuisines – Indian, Italian, Thai, Indonesian, Moroccan, Bangladeshi, French, Greek, Mexican and Spanish – will all be represented in a jam-packed street fair, supplemented by an array of sweet treats like sweet and sour liquorice, and Greek honey doughnuts. We can only hope they’ve lined up some equally tasty films, as we’ll all clearly need to sit down and digest.
www.australianfilmfestival.com.au
