The Pork Barrel

——-23/11/2012——-

A popular place for lunch for everyone in the area, there were very little seats available with most large tables being reserved. They have a large selection of baked goods and sandwiches from their ‘embreaded‘ range, but I chose my lunch from their blackboard specials.

Red velvet cake – moist but it is more pretty than it tastes.

Paw paw salad (from the blackboard). A light small portion with no chilli although it did have fresh herbs.

Guinness pie with salad and mash potato ($17.90 from the blackboard). I don’t know why I chose a Winter warmer meal when it was hot and sunny. The beef was delicious and tender but the mash was lumpy and cold.

 A lovely sunny day to be sitting amongst the roses.

Venue: The Pork Barrel

Address: King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600

Phone: (02) 6273 1455

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Italian and Sons – vino e cucina

——-23/11/2012——-

One of my long awaited restaurants that I have wanted to go to for a while now (I probably should have tried booking a lot earlier), although they only had a restricted time slot we took the reservation and tried to eat as fast as we could.

They had an authentic Italian menu offering pizza biancas to house made pastas and hearty secondi options.

Antipasti~

‘suppli’ pear and gorgonzola risotto balls ($16.00). I knew Italian and Sons was pricey but I still expected more than three risotto balls for $16.00. The sauce was a very strong sharp gorgonzola but when paired with the risotto it was perfect.

roast portobello mushroom ‘gratinati’ ($15.00). This was hot but salty and after serving we essentially got one mushroom each.

Pasta~

gnocchi di patate – seared potato gnocchi with wild mushroom ragu and house smoked ricotta ($28.00). I’ve never had a seared gnocchi before but despite the sear the gnocchi was very light. This didn’t have any sauce but because of the moisture and texture of the mixtures of mushrooms it didn’t matter.

Secondi~

Roast pork belly ($31.00) – A nice piece of pork with crispy skin on top of a bed of lentils.

Dolci~

Flourless amedi chocolate torte, baked rhubarb and brandy gelato ($13.00). This felt like a thick mousse layer sandwiched between two thin layers of cake. It had a very rich dark chocolate taste but it was somewhat balanced out by the gelato (the gelato didn’t taste like brandy though).

Tira mi su ($12.00). I couldn’t directly compare theirs to Mezzalira because it had been so long but both in my memory are magical and amazing. My friend who doesn’t even usually eat tiramisu shared my thoughts and my dessert. 

A very busy little restaurant but the service was impeccable and attentive. Somewhat noisy and dim lighted inside, not the best lighting for food.

Venue: Italian and Sons – Vino e Cucina

Address: 7 Lonsdale St, Braddon, ACT 2612

Website: wwww.italianandsons.com.au

Phone: (02) 6162 4888