The food was very good.
Tim and I both agreed that we liked our pies better than the pies we've had in Australia.
But I started thinking, when we eat pies in Australia, they're not at the type of places you'd expect great food. It's usually places like zoos and museums.
I mean the pies weren't bad at any of these places. They were decent enough. But they weren't like Oh! Wow this is really good.
Well, actually. If we were in Australia, we'd say Wow! This is really nice.
When we got to the restaurant, they were playing a song, and we weren't sure if it was Australian or not. I had heard the song many times before, but didn't know what it was. Since Jack and Tim were unfamiliar with the song, we figured it's likely it was Australian. I'm not sure I know a lot of American or British music that Tim and/or Jack wouldn't know.
They also played some American songs we all knew. And there were songs I've never heard of before. It could have been Australian? It's not like I've heard of every Australian song out there.
What else?
The restaurant was sports-themed. They had some game going on. It was Australian. I think the TV said NSW vs. Queensland? But then on the screen it said soccer. That confused me. I didn't think Australians use that term.
For dessert, we had Pavlova. I thought it was okay. I much preferred the Pavlova our friend made us in Halls Gap.
The one at The Australian was like a meringue cookie with whip cream and fruit on top. The one our friend made us had a softness to it. Like there were parts that were sort of creamy? I don't know. But she said hers didn't come out right. So maybe the one at the restaurant is how it's supposed to be, and I just prefer failed Pavlovas.
One of the other desserts they offer is Tim Tams. I was very curious what that involved so I asked the waitress. She said it comes with ice-cream. That made me even more curious, but she was quite busy at that time, and I didn't want to bother her with a thousand questions. But I'm wondering—what kind of ice-cream? Probably vanilla. Right? Okay, but what kind of Tim Tams then? Just plain? Or do they give you a variety? And how many do you get? Are the Tim Tams crumbled into the ice-cream? Or do you get a plate of Tim Tams with a bowl of ice-cream on the side?
As for the waitress. Tim asked where she was from. She said Townsville. Then Tim asked me where that was, which was a nice compliment. I liked that he expected me to know. And I did. I said it was in north Queensland. Then we chatted a very short while. The waitress said she's an American citizen. Why? She was born in Hawaii. I told her that's like Nicole Kidman. This information was new to her...or at least she pretended it was new. Though why would you fake ignorance about something like that?
Then when she left, I thought, what if I'm wrong about Townsville? What if it's in Tasmania and I am totally confused. Tim was very nice and promoted my Australia love...even my TV appearance. So it would be funny if I totally got it wrong, and she walked away thinking, what a bunch of dumb Americans.
Anyway...I took some photos. I tried uploading them before and the internet was too slow. But I'm going to try again.
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| Tim's beer |
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| The outside of the restaurant |
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| Tim and Jack's food |
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| My dinner! Yum! |
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| The Pavlova |
The food looks quite good. Often chain bakery pies are quite good. Private bakeries are hit and miss. Yes, depending on the context, we mostly say soccer but during the World Cup, football is used quite a bit, which can be confusing. Never mind the complete differences between the states as to which type of football is being played.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, you were correct when you said that Townsville is in north Queensland.
ReplyDeleteAs for the football game playing on the TV, it sounds like it was NRL state of origin rugby if it was Queensland verses NSW. Why they called it soccer is a puzzle.
Actually it is quite funny because when me and my partner were in San Antonio Texas in March we were in an AT&T store picking up our prepaid sim cards for our iPads and they were playing on the TVS in the store an AFL game. It was Gold Coast verses Essendon.
There were two Texans watching the game while they waited to be served by an AT&T assistant and they have very puzzled looks on their faces as they tried to figure out what they were watching.
It was quite a surreal experience being an Aussie in Texas, watching an AFL football game on a TV at an AT&T store.
BTW as Andrew said, the BEST meat pies come from bakeries in Australia. Mind you, Four and Twenty meat pies are good too, especially when eaten at an AFL football game.
Andrew:Wow. I never knew that about the soccer thing. Do you know what chains have good pies? We've had PieFace. I think that's all. I mean in terms of chain pies. Tim and Jack had one at MCG. We never got around to eating at the Harry place. I forgot the exact name.
ReplyDeleteJason: That is so funny about the Australian game being on in Texas. I wonder if the owner of the store was Australian? I think I would have been very excited to see that at a store...even though I don't even care about sports that much.
Pie Face is quite good, but I was thinking of Brumbys Bakeries. It was probably a Four & Twenty pie at the MCG. Harrys Cafe de Wheels.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteYeah. I think chain bakery pies are good. But the one we had at the NY restaurant tasted better. I think it was more gourmet. And I'm definitely not saying "gourmet" is always better. But in this case it was.
Well, in our opinion it was.
Some people might think differently and think the pies at the restaurant weren't authentic enough.
One thing Tim said is that the pie he and Jack had wasn't minced meat. It was chunks of meat. He liked that better than the minced meat. But other people might feel a pie needs to have minced meat. I think that would be traditional.
i do imagine though that he had pies without minced meat in Australia. Usually, there's a variety of choices at the bakeries, chains...whatever.
What's your favorite type of pie?
Pepper steak pie. In reference to Tim liking meat chunks, but what sort of meat is it? You don't have think too hard about what might be in mince, but you wonder when there are chunks of meat. All quite irrelevant to a vegetarian, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think back when I ate meat. Would I be more bothered by the mystery of mince meat or chunky meat?
I'm not sure.
I think with mince meat you have to worry about what they add to the meat. Like eyeballs and bits and pieces of monkey brain.
I think the mystery of meat chunks would be bothersome only to people who are picky about what animal they eat.
I don't think Tim and Jack would care much. They're pretty adventurous eaters. What about you? Would you be bothered to know you're eating something besides cow, pig, sheep, or chicken?
If I did not know, it would not worry me later if I found out. But aside from goat meat, by choice I would stick to the meats you mention.
ReplyDelete