RESTAURANTS & ART

 FOOD & ART
The earlier blog entry on the Escape ArtFest RIPE sculpture exhibition and prize held at Cupitt's Winery just outside of Milton, brings me to the subject of art and food. Over the last few years the Shoalhaven has been blessed with the opening of some very good restaurants that have been upping the standards and quality of the food in the region. David Campbell’s Hungry Duck at Berry now has extended the “empire” and has taken over the Wharf Restaurant and Bar in Nowra, Rick Stein at Bannisters at Mollymook was a game-changer as was Cupitt’s Winery with its beautiful location with views over a valley and the top end of Burrill Lake across to the Budawang Ranges, and their link to and support of artists through Escape ArtFest and of course the food. Late last year I ate from their Slow Food inspired menu during a visit to view the Sculpture.

Cupitts Winery - Terrine

The meal included Pork, Veal and Duck Liver Terrine with Pear and Apple Chutney,  Rump of Lamb with Spring Vegetables and a dessert of Brown Butter Crème Brûlée with Spiced Biscuit, Rum and Raisin Ice Cream, along with a glass of sparkling wine which was not particularly memorable apart from lacking bubbles and a glass of a very good 2013 Carolyn’s Cabernet under their own label.

Other top restaurants around Milton / Mollymook are Alex Delly & Jo Thomas’s St.Isidore just outside of the former and Matt Upson & Clayton Till’s Tallwood at Mollymook, both of which had art exhibitions on display when I visited recently.



St Isidore

St.Isidore prides itself on its regionality and local produce and is sited in a great setting surrounded by dams, vegetable and herb gardens, chicken runs, milking cows and a series of dams that lead the eye to the Budawang Ranges in the distance. The ambience, sitting on the verandah on a summer day with a glass of 2013 Gilbert Sangovize Shiraz Barbarea Rose by Simon Gilbert of Orange, perfect with the food and the day, would be extremely hard to top anywhere. The food is really well cooked, and reasonably unfussy in presentation. My lunch companion, Michael ordered grilled octopus, followed by zucchini flowers stuffed with crab. A special of the day was roast duck (half or the whole), it was just after Christmas and I had not had my duck fix for the year, so despite my companion not being of the mind to eat duck nor any other kind of feathered beast, Boarding Schools of long ago have a lot to answer for, I ordered the zucchini flowers and a half duck. It was a bit over the top for one person but I enjoyed every juicy tender morsel of either, a very generous serve or from an animal with a lot more legs than normal; my half serving included a breast and two drumsticks. It came with potatoes, Savoy cabbage and blueberries, the latter when speared with a fork promptly burst with a spurt of purple juice. This usually happens when you are wearing a new fine linen or silk white shirt, so I was pleased I had worn a fairly old coloured shirt.......well it was summer and we had been to the beach, however the white table cloth was not so fortunate.

 

St Isidore - view over garden

The octopus and the zucchini flowers were the two highlights, perfectly cooked, tender octopus and the crunch of the batter into the greenness of the zucchini followed by the sweetness of crab. If there were any reservations, these were with the dessert and the art. Summer melons bring to mind abundance and on perusing the menu I thought of chunks of cold juicy melon, a reality which was not reflected in the “Summer Melon Salad with yoghurt sorbet”, eight or so very tiny balls of three types of melon surrounding the scoop of yoghurt like an bracelet of coloured beads; a pretty presentation which did not fit my pre-conception.

The art was by Katarina Willoughby who was exhibiting paintings, almost portraits, of cattle and dairy cows, a subject very appropriate to the setting, but I found they lacked depth and personality.... and yes, I know some people, though not most farmers, would say that personality is not something you should expect in a cow, but the best paintings of animals have a quality of life and individuality, I do not expect the equivalent of George Stubbs, that would be setting a very high bar, but painting animals is very challenging to do really well.

 

Tallwood - Beef & Scallops in Duck Broth

Tallwood, a relatively new concern, situated on Tallwood Avenue in a small group of shops in Mollymook, is built around the concept of food share plates. The owners, who previously set up the Merry Street Restaurant and Bar at Kiola, now under new ownership, have now focused on Tallwood and there are some similarities in the menu and special days which focus on Tapas or Yum Char. The menu is interesting, with dishes inspired from various European and Asian countries including China and Spain, the servings are generous and the prices affordable. I twice had lunch, on the first, with Michael, again, and the day after St Isidore , so the half duck was not an option, we ordered a special of the day Beef and Scallops in a broth, Seafood Paella, Dukka spiced Eggplant and three sides - Broccolini, Crushed Peas and Roast Sweet Potato.

 

Tallwood - on our way

This was way too much food, we struggled to finish but a great Rosé, 2012 Port Phillip Estate ‘Salasso’ from Mornington Peninsula, helped wash it down. The food is fresh, straight-forward, and really enjoyable to share with conversation and over a long relaxing break from the beach. 

Tallwood - DONE......well almost

Tallwood - Chocolate Cherry Sundae

I returned a few days later, this time with Adrian, apart from being a great place to bring friends I did want to try lunch from a vegetarian perspective. We ordered the bread, $2 per person, which really should be a part of the table like salt & pepper, I dislike the practice of charging for bread, though here it is good dense chewy sourdough, one slice, supplied with oil and a dip. The Taro chips with aioli - lovely aiolo but not so keen on the paper thin deep fried chips, Marinated Olives - heaps of local Kalamata, Dukka Spiced Eggplant – spectacularly good, Crushed peas plus the Beetroot with Curd and Leaves completed the order. Again the servings are generous and this is plenty of tasty food for two people, reasonably well balanced in terms of a vegetarian meal with quite a few options on the menu compared to a lot of restaurants where any vegetarian is left with a bowl of salad leaves. 

Mixed media, oil by Fiona Glaister

Tallwood features a series of art exhibitions, rotating exhibitions by local artists as well as by artists from further afield. The current exhibition features mixed media / collage paintings of scenes around Mollymook, Burrill Lake, Narrawallee and Milton by local artist Fiona Glaister, whose work I found hard to like, I have tried to understand why, as she captures the swirl of water and the physicality of the subject, it is more the lack of subtlety and nuance in colour and the (plastic ?) board used in collage. From where I sat, looking up highlighted the white edges of each piece and exposed the method of “construction” and detracted from the depth of field I assume the artist was trying to achieve. However it is great that Tallwood run regular exhibitions and that their web site encourages artists to get in contact and explore the potential for exhibiting. The owners are also supporters of Escape ArtFest, holding a photography exhibition during the 2014 festival, and no doubt will participate in future festivals.

Max Dingle                                                                                                             February 2015
www.maxdingleart.com