the winery by gazebo

This summer, so far, I have been invited to The Winery, a new watering hole in Surry Hills, exactly eight times. Given that it's only been open for about two months, this is pretty staggering. I needed to pinpoint the reason for its popularity. So I went to discover The Winery myself.

Marky, Bec and I head to TW on a warm summer's afternoon. Having heard that TW is the place to be and be seen, I decide to wear something cool and trendy. Of course, when I walk in, I see that my efforts will go unnoticed, anyway - everyone here is wearing their Sunday best. Humph.

The Winery is run by the same cool folks who run Elizabeth Bay's Gazebo, famed for ladies' lunches, cool cocktails and a scrummy, on-trend menu. It's located in the recently revamped part of Crown St - approximately the blocks from Foveaux St to Campbell St. There's a new swish grocery store (Thomas Dux), an amazing-looking library (I'm so sad it wasn't there when I lived in Surry Hills) and a whole new host of cafes and restaurants. The Winery, tucked behind the sandstone gates next to Thomas Dux, is just another part of the ongoing gentrification of Surry.

I arrive early, order a glass of Riparian Pinot Gris (at $8, it's the cheapest on the menu) and start reading at an outside table. I quickly discover that this is one of my favourite pastimes - drinking wine in a bar, reading my book. I consider the discovery as consequential to my world as that of, say, penicillin, to the rest of the world.

When the ladies arrive, we order a jug of Pimm's & Sangria - at $15, we decide it's the cheapest way to drink here. It's also delicious, a bonus. We're all hungry, so we order from the option-heavy menu. There's a selection of share plates (I love sharing food, but we decide that we're all so starved that, as much as we like each other, we need our own meals right now), mains, cheeses, sides and desserts. I've heard that the veal and chorizo sausage roll with pear chutney is actually better than a Bourke St Bakery snag roll (and, I suppose, at $18, it should be), so I order it. Bec goes for the crispy squid, mint, coriander and chilled cucumber salad, which is heavy on the squid and utterly more-ish. Marky acts the ploughman and orders the ciabatta and dip board, which comes with olives, parma ham and a generous chunk of cheddar.

My sausage roll is: a) huge (probably about 25cm long); b) delicious; and c) fairly high on the artery-hardening scale, I'd say. I admit I was reticent to indulge in a sausage roll without the requisite tomato sauce to accompany, but I'm happy to say that TW's pear chutney did the job nicely. If only there was more of it. Bec and Marky report happily that their meals are going down a treat, and to celebrate, we order another jug of Pimms & Sangria.

Bec has spied a dessert that takes her fancy (marscapone and golden peach trifle with flaked almonds), and, ever a sucker for chocolate, I'm keen to try the chocolate brownie with icecream, fairy floss and hot fudge sauce. Sadly for our gluttinous appetites, neither is available. Sure, it's busy at TW, but at 5pm on a Sunday arvo, should you really be telling customers you're out of food? Especially when you're right next door to a grocery store, no?

Anyway, I had fun at TW. It's full of beautiful people, but if you can stomach that, you'll have a good time there. I can't wait to go back to try the Girls' Picnic (only on Saturdays).

The Winery by Gazebo
285A Crown St
www.thegazebos.com.au/winery/
+61 2 9331 0833

daily wrap

Over at The Punch, Nola James (a Tassie-based PR rep and sometime journo) writes about MasterChef backlash. To wit: her headline is “MasterChef created a nation of know-nothing food tossers.” Hey Nola, be honest: what did you really think? James is upset with the winner (Julie, who James rightfully labels a “cook” rather than the titular “chef”) and with what she calls the dictation of social values by reality TV. “Reality television is dictating to our society rather than being a reflection of it,” she remarks. Mmm – I don’t agree. We’re a nation of incredibly varied food tastes, with tons of foodie mags, farmer’s markets and delis to prove it (not to mention cooking classes, dining guides, and um, some of the best restaurants and dining districts in the world). I’d say the producers of MasterChef very cleverly picked up on our love of cooking and of food in general, and, coupled with recession-era hankering for DIY, made the show the runaway hit that it was.

Speaking of which, are you auditioning for the next season? Click here if you think you have the culinary nous to wow the likes of Matt, George and Gary.

Grub Street has picked up on New York Times’ outgoing food critic Frank Bruni’s contributing podcast for GQ, in which he explains how to order from any restaurant menu. The formula? Delete anything you’ve seen before, then anything that seems too crazy and experimental. Choose from whatever’s left. Might make visits to your local bistro a little difficult, methinks.

Finally, head to Good Living for a glimpse inside the dough-filled world of Paul Allum and David McGuinness, owners and bakers at Sydney’s Bourke St Bakery. The Bakery is the home of the most amazing sausage rolls you’ll ever eat (pork and fennel, or lamb and rosemary?), perfectly flaky croissants and deliciously delicate lemon tarts. If you want to recreate the cult Bakery’s treats at home, grab their new cookbook, Bourke St Bakery, for $69.95. Perfect for carb-loading Dads.