Foodtourist

Part 2.
Continuing the story of our @the_seven_and_a_half_floor December lunch.
While it may feel like a private party these Sunday lunches’ uniqueness is inextricably tied up with @lukeburgess77’s thoughtfulness and knowledge. It’s a bespoke match of wines and other drinks – a process of matching food and people (we know that not just because of this lunch but because of the conversations he’s had with us about trying to source the right wines for a particular group).
We didn’t capture everything with what it was matched with but there is an inevitable photo near the end of this set of photos with everything we drank except this sake which acted as a bridge, sitting there beside the wine, adding a layer of complexity to just about everything.
Not surprisingly, seeing he was a guest at the lunch we drank some or Rory Duggan’s @r.dmeure wines including a macerated pinot gris (grapes from Fleurty’s Lane, which was d’Meure once upon a time). It was a good colour match as well as flavour match with fermented radishes and carrots and a good segue after @ch_mariecourtin Champagne Concordance (sourced from us, this is from Dominique Moreau’s biodynamic vines, a wine she makes with no dosage and no added sulphites / a glorious starter).
We drank Domaine Lajibe’s rare Haure, made with Gros Manseng from the Jurançon with a dish of lobster with golden beets, in a broth rich in sotolon, from fenugreek and curry leaves (and one of Roger’s flavour obsessions).
Then a dramatic shift to a spicy red (Mont de Marie Salve Ager, like the previous wine, imported by @aguard) with hand-made egg (lots of egg) noodles with a sauce of fermented peppers, olive oil, pecorino, and kanzuri, served at room temperature.
Last photo is of the river views from one side of the room because it’s hard to deny that is part of the experience, even if we forgot to photograph it (this photo is from a different day). We’re not there yet though. We have one more post to come – the rest of the beginning and the end. These few months of Sunday lunches (ending in May) are not to be missed.

A post to be continued because a meal at our friend @lukeburgess77’s @the_seven_and_a_half_floor project needs more than one and there may not be many chances to revisit. It’s a finite project, with these glorious lunches ending later this year. Ephemeral, but currently not, it is a reason to get on a plane to Tasmania and essential if you are already here.
Our meal was a luxury, shared with dear friends the weekend before the borders reopened, our last shared meal without masks and uncertainty for the foreseeable future. Irreplaceable.
It’s a table for 10 – you can book in small groups and you are likely to find the other diners interesting and good company, just like it was dining at the communal tables at Garagistes where Luke first made his mark. If you are a solo diner in Hobart it would be perfect. Or, organise 10 friends and it will seem just like a private long Sunday lunch (with views in every direction). Everything, including the wines and other drinks are included and carefully matched so there are no decisions. The inspiration is Japan but it is not Japanese. The location, in Avalon’s city retreat, is an eyrie above Hobart in the centre of the city.

We’ll continue this but here is a teaser first post (not in the order of the meal).

This first photo is kohlrabi. It was braised whole in an elderflower and cray stock, cut into discs, fried in a tapioca batter, and seasoned with sansho pepper.

Inspired by Osaka’s kushikatsu, the next photo is a mix of yellow eye mullet (aged for a couple of days before cooking) and periwinkle (braised until they popped out then cut up and skewered), all then covered in panko before frying.

And finally garfish with white asparagus, fermented (and seasoned) with white Kampot pepper and anise hyssop, the garfish prepared as if for sashimi, salted, then bathed in olive oils overnight. Served with the complex juices from fermenting the asparagus and dill oil.
To be continued…

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult time to open a restaurant than in the week Tasmania’s borders were opened to welcome not just tourists but Omicron. We’d watched, via Instagram, how much work @chefmassimomele, @glenn_byrnes and the team at @peppinarestaurant put into their preparations for opening. Test run lunches with many of the producers who supply them with produce, recipe testing … it was all documented. But so much of the planning must have been thrown out the window as, like many restaurants and bars, they are struggling to keep the doors open, with staff unavailable and so much uncertainty. It is a credit to this new and large restaurant which needs many staff to operate that so far they have been able to do that, albeit with a pivot to a smaller set menu.
@peppinarestaurant is beautiful, spacious and comfortable, with many different dining spaces and moods, including the upholstered oval booth we sat at, maybe Hobart’s most sophisticated dining table. We didn’t take any photos of the room but there are plenty if you follow their Instagram account.
These photos are of dishes from the à la carte menu they opened with and which hopefully they will be able to choose to go back to soon.
We don’t often eat big pieces of meat but the bistecca in this first photo was definitely a good move. Tasmania is renowned for its seafood but good quality fish is actually hard to find. It should be more renowned for its beef and this dish is evidence for the argument.
Also … excellent house-pickled sardine fillets (from Port Phillip Bay – if only someone could fish for ours again!). Octopus with almond cream, artichokes (an off-menu treat 🙏), cavatelli, beautiful leaves (there are some great producers supplying this kitchen), and very good chocolate cake.
This is a big restaurant and because the kitchen team goes down the harder road of sourcing much of their produce locally and even more importantly directly it will become an important part of the network supporting our vibrant community of small growers. It’s an important role which we all benefit from. It’s these producers & their proximity which give Tasmanian restaurants an edge.

@sunbearhobart at home – not quite the sociable experience of lunch at Sunbear but we probably would have spent most of time doom-scrolling anyway so it is not an entirely different experience.

And an occasional thank you to @ridgelinepottery whose plates feature in so many of our posts.

Remembering December. Even though covid had arrived its tentacles hadn’t reached as widely as they have in the last couple of weeks. This panettone was a completely unexpected gift from Matteo and Fiona from @casacarboni, which is a wonderful enoteca and cooking school in Angaston. Made by Matteo, with spiced pear and a generous quantity of Valrhona Manjari dark chocolate, it somehow survived the vagaries of December Australia Post shipping and was stunning.
The condiment is a mix of lemon curd (neighbour’s lemons (thanks again Vicki), @provenancegrowers egg yolks and @growcookeat’s foolproof recipe) folded through lightly whipped @elgaarfarm cream. There were cherries too but they didn’t make the photo.
We ate a delicious lunch at @casacarboni early in March 2020 which feels like a lifetime ago.

We’re largely keeping to ourselves and avoiding restaurants while we wait until the current mess is a little more manageable (people have ready access to tests, the omicron wave subsidises a little, we are both eligible for boosters, or some similar combination) but we have plenty of delicious things to share from last year including the pizzas at @neighbourhoodlaunceston. This one, draped with thinly-sliced but dense zucchini from @feldsfarm, almost looked healthy!

In the meantime we’re grateful to those much younger than us for whom the risk is much less who are supporting restaurants, bars and cafés through this tough time now the government has abandoned them.

Be kind to the people who cook your food, pour your drinks and serve you. It’s not quite the same front line where heath workers are operating, which must now be so intense, but it’s close enough to be challenging and stressful. Not only are they risking their own and their families’ health, but many are also currently working with fewer people than usual because staff are sick or quarantined and it’s hard to easily find replacements.

Please everyone be gentle, accommodating and patient!