febfast...over at last

I never knew how many restaurants had alcohol-fuelled titles until I ate in two of them in one week. While I was abstaining from booze. Hmm.

My Mum and I decided, on January 31, that we'd attempt FebFast. No booze for 28 days. It seemed achievable until I realised Caliban and I were going on holidays for six days during Feb. OK, OK - 22 days without alcohol. That's reasonable. We were certain we could do it. And you know what? We did. Hurrah!

But my month off the sauce was definitely made more difficult by eating at the Bavarian Bier Cafe and Sake in the space of five days. OK, beer I can live without. Especially on a Monday night. Alright, a cold beer would have cut through the fatty veal schnitzel and sauteed potatoes nicely, but as I said, I could live without it.

But sake? Mmm. That's a different story. My friend Miss M and I went to Sake very early on a Friday night. Miss M doesn't drink too much, so she wasn't offended when I said I wasn't going to imbibe. (Honestly, you should see the looks on some people's faces! It's as if I've told them I'm taking away their booze as well as my own.) We feasted on Sake's excellent menu - grilled chicken and zucchini skewers, assorted sashimi (including some of the freshest, tastiest tuna sashimi I've ever eaten), spicy miso chips with salmon and tuna sashimi (a big hit; if only there were more than four on the plate!!), the crispiest and best salt and pepper tofu I've ever had, butterfish lettuce cups (a must), green salad, and a Philadelphia handroll (skip this one: cream cheese in sushi??? Not for me). The food was all excellent, the cute waiter deserved every penny of his tip...but I couldn't help but think there was something missing. That's right: hooch. Every time someone else received their sake or wine or beer or champagne, I felt a little twinge, the way diabetics must feel when their awful friend orders the profiteroles for dessert.

But never mind, because the following week, I went back to Sake with my considerably more booze-friendly friend D, who happily joined me in a glass of Pinot Noir. It was a soggy mess of a Sydney night, so we holed up cosily at Sake with dynamite and spider maki rolls, chicken ka-arage with assorted salsas (not to be missed - it will make you rethink fried chicken) and some disappointingly bland prawn and lotus skewers. But in all, Sake is a delight. The service is excellent, the food even better and the drinks menu extensive. Next time, I must try the chocolate fondant...even if I'm dining with a diabetic.

Sake
12 Argyle Street
The Rocks
Sydney
+61 2 9259 5656
www.sakerestaurant.com.au