This year’s Eat, Drink, Perth begins on the first day of autumn. That can’t be a coincidence. What better way is there to celebrate the end of bikini season and the start of winter weight gain, than an entire month’s worth of culinary events, from hawkers’ markets and coffee tastings to pop-up bars and cooking classes?

We had a chat to Lalla Rookh general manager Patrick Ryan (pictured at right with head chef Joel Valvasori-Pereza) to tell us about A Taste of Middle Perth, a progressive dinner hopping from Andaluz to Lalla Rookh to The Greenhouse and Helvetica.

Um, what’s “Middle Perth”?

Middle Perth is the city block that runs between Barrack and William Streets and bordered by The Esplanade and St Georges Terrace. It includes a bunch of high quality, well run hospitality venues that have a good sense of humour.

Despite being competitors, Lalla Rookh, Andaluz, Helvetica and The Greenhouse seem to be the best of friends. What’s the story behind the mateship?

Odd as it sounds, we are all team mates as much as we are competitors. We want to attract people to the Middle Perth precinct. The more people who are in the area, the busier we will all be, providing we maintain our standards. I think it helps that we are predominately ran as small owner/operator style venues, almost family like you might say. I think we help to keep one another on our toes a little bit, which is a win for the people coming through the doors.

What can diners expect from A Taste of Middle Perth?

They can expect a great representation of the various food and booze that the four venues have to offer, as well as a good indication of the differences between the venues that are so close together. We want to demonstrate that you can easily spend your night within the Middle Perth precinct, whilst experiencing some very different venues. I think the difference will be in the venues themselves, as I said we all have our personalities, quirks and all. Our guests will be hosted by the owners and operators of the venue and have the opportunity to have a chat with us if they want.
 
Do you have any bets going for how many guests will come dressed as Gandalf?

Not expecting any fancy dress, but would rather see Gandalfs than Gollums, that’s for sure.

A Taste of Middle Perth is happening at 6pm on Tues, 5 March. Tickets cost $95

Did someone say Applecross needed a wine bar? The owners of Bad Apples ask this rhetorical question on their Facebook page. With crowds of customers streaming through its doors each night, it would seem the answer is an emphatic yes.

Although Bad Apples has only been open for a month, you wouldn’t know it from the slick service and friendly staff. Managing owner Owen Hutchinson and his band of waiters are confident, attentive and ever-accommodating, splitting bills, replacing drinks and checking if there’s anything else they can do. This is what service should be.

Bad Apples boasts an Enomatic Wine Machine, which offers a variety of wines in self-serve sizes. Exchange your credit card for an electronic bar card and swipe your way through a taste, half glass or full glass of the wine list. If that’s too futuristic for you, Bad Apples also has skilled bartenders and Owen will happily talk you through the wine list.

While the wine reigns supreme, food isn’t forgotten at Bad Apples. Tapas and dishes to share make up most of the list, with pizzas providing a more substantial alternative, and the food is good – perfect to snack on with a glass of wine.

Another venture from the Bad Apples team is expected later in the year. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take as long to surface as Bad Apples did – a welcome addition to Perth’s small bar scene and a place we’ll be returning to for sure.

(Guest post by Sophie Raynor)

What do you get when you combine a food blogging/interior designer wife, a culinarily inclined husband and a dream to beautify and caffeinate Albany Highway?

A delicious and photogenic cafe by the name of Harvest Espresso.

Throw in 5 Senses coffee, homemade goodies, wooden accents, all-day breakfast on Sundays and bottles of dried flowers and you won’t mind the fact that there’s no wifi.

Our tip – order a tart. Or five. You’ll see.

Surely I’m not the only one whose appreciation for Spanish cured meat began while watching the cult classic Jamón Jamón?

Hm, the silence tells me I might just be.

Xarcuteria, the newly arrived Spanish deli in Claremont Quarter, has something even more gorgeous than a Javier Bardem look-alike behind the counter: a selection of meats, terrines, pates, cheeses, olives, and imported goodies you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the city.

The Barcelona-inspired takeaway deli is run by David Coomer (of Star Anise, Pata Negra and Print Hall fame) and his business partners Adam Willie and Anna Campos. When asked about how he was enjoying the shift from a high-intensity kitchen to the gentler pace of the deli, David said, “It’s my first time working in retail. I’m really enjoying interacting with the guests and, as you can imagine, the conditions are a lot less stressful.”

Take my advice and accept the free samples the staff invariably offer you. Xarcuteria is all about educating Perthites on Spanish cuisine beyond paella and chorizo.

As you chew, take a glance around. Xarcuteria’s fitout is reason enough to visit. Upcycled junkyard finds create a homey, lived-in country feel. Giant industrial-sized kitchen whisks serve as pendants. A soldered and rusting balustrade was reborn as a shelf packed with sardines, sauces, preserves and sweets. My favourite element is the fire engine red irrigation-filter-turned-olive-oil-barrel given pride of place in the shop window.

An upcoming pilgrimage to Alimentaria Barcelona will see the owners return laden with more Spanish treasures. Here’s hoping there’s room in the suitcase for Javier.

This spring, Thursdays have been the day to visit Subi for late night shopping, a pre-weekend-frenzy drink and a hawker-style meal at the weekly Subi Sunset Night Markets, which, sadly, are ending next week.

This Thursday, Subi upped the ante. Yesterday saw the addition of the annual Subi Street Festival to Subiaco’s Thursday night mix. Obviously, we couldn’t miss the spectacle of thousands of people getting into the Christmas – and carnival - spirit.

Stretching from Station Square to Rockeby Road were hundreds of stalls selling a little bit of everything. The shops behind them were lit up, open and inviting. We stopped by the Llama Bar alleyway pop up bar for a free sample of cider and then watched the live bands outside. Louis Baxters was open late, so we grabbed a coffee and some Maison Saint Honore macarons while watching a circus performance. The market was still swelling and pumping when we hopped back on a train at 8:30pm.

We ended the night hoping that the Subi Street Festival would become a weekly Thursday night fixture. It might just be the cider speaking, but we’re even be willing to rename Thursday “Subiday”. Who’s with us?

(Guest post by Kelsie White)

We’ve stopped going to Subway – not because of the mystery meat slices, the tacky faux brick walls or sickly “fresh bread” scent they blast into the street. It’s because of the customer ahead of us. You know him. The guy who orders the most disgusting, never-meant-to-be-combined concoction of sandwich fillers like crab meat, cheese, meatballs and onions. It’s the sandwich equivalent of a graveyard.

Mount Lawley’s newest sushi joint Mr Munchies is running a similar concept, giving lunch-goers free rein on what gets rolled up inside their sushi. First, you choose the base of tuna, beef, pork, salmon, chicken, or tofu. On top of that goes your choice of toppings like bacon, mango, cucumber, carrot, radish, garlic chips, potato salad . Your creation then gets doused with lashings of sauces like wasabi mayo, sweet chilli, teriyaki or sweet onion sauce.

And just to make things even more unconventional, you can even opt to have cheese melted on top. Do you see how things could get out of hand?

All warnings aside, Mr Munchies is an awesome little lunch joint. For the risk-averse, the menu offers tried-and-true sushi rolls like the spicy tuna roll and the crunchy spider roll. The portion sizes are huge (take a gander at the sheer size of the rolls before deciding on small or large, we beseech you!) and the vibe is super fun with its colourful chairs, chalkboard menus and a manga cityscape mural complete with Astro Boy and Godzilla.

Great: Innovative flavour combos and no bready breeze wafting through
Not so Great: The hockey puck-sized slices require delicate handling as they have a tendency to fall apart in your chopsticks

Have plans for Saturday? Ditch them or risk missing out on the biggest street party of the year. The Beaufort Street Festival is back! And this year the street is longer, the crowds are predicted to be bigger and there’s even an accompanying cookbook.

For the music lovers, there are four stages of live music, including an all-ages stage, not to mention the RTR and Planet Block Party, busking programs and pop-up choir. For the fashion junkies, there will be an STM Fashion stage that will spill out to the street with screens displaying the shows outside, and there will be photo opportunity stations along the street to catch your best angle. For the artists, there will be yarn bombing, art battles, roving art performances and a wish tree for you to contribute to. There are also family friendly events for the kids to enjoy, hundreds of stalls to rummage through and foodie events like the food and wine micro festival.

Love the taste of country WA but hate driving there? Lucky for lazy old you, husband and wife team Kiren and Kelli Mainwaring have opened their new dego restaurant Co-Op Dining in East Perth.

Like their Caversham restaurant Dear Friends, Co-Op serves 100% gathered and foraged local produce that is prepared in-house for their ever-changing and uber-innovative menus.

But while Dear Friends’ hyperlocal focus may have tied Kiren’s creative wings to the Swan Valley, at Co-Op his creativity is less loose to fly throughout the state.

“We wanted to create a premier place to promote what we’ve got in WA because, really, we should be proud of it,” Kiren said. “Our produce is used all over the world – over east at Attica, at French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York.”

There’s pork from Bullsbrook, vegetables from Muchea, marron from Margaret River and wild fennel, garlic and wattle seeds that Kelli and Kiren forage themselves in the Swan Valley.

Tuesday nights see the addition of a vegie-only “experimental menu” which depends entirely upon whatever Kiren picks at dawn the day before. On our visit, we tasted an incredible dish of wild Lupin tofu, artichoke and wild garlic bulbs and an equally delicious concoction of wattle seed lasagne, yellow squash, celeriac and eucalyptus foam.

“We try to keep the menu as simple and minimal as possible so it’s full of goodness but still presented in fine-dining form,” said Kiren.

And the philosophy seems to have extended to the décor as well, which is elegant, if underwhelmingly simple. But who needs an architect-designed dining room, postcard views, or conversation-sparking artwork when you’ve got a fork full of flavours that are unequivocally WA?

Perth has gone loco for all things Mexican, and our collective interest in Mexico has drifted beyond our palates. Yep, it’s officially time for our eyeballs to do the feasting.

The Hola Mexico Film Festival has made Perth its fourth and final stop on its Australian tour. From 15-21 November, Cinema Paradiso in Northbridge will be showing the festival’s line-up of films showing us there’s more to Mexico than chimichangas and Corona.

But enough of that. Back to our palates. We hit up festival director Itzel Rosas – who hails from Mexico City, but has lived in Perth for the last three years – for her recommendations of where to find this city’s most authentic Mexican food.

1. That Little Mexican Place, 382 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth

One of the first Mexican restaurants in Perth, That Little Mexican Place started in North Perth and now has locations in Vic Park and South Fremantle. “I always recommend That Little Mexican Place,” Itzel told us. “The owner, Gavin, travels to Mexico every year and brings his head chefs to learn from the masters of the authentic Mexican cuisine…that is love!”

2. La Cholita, 279 William Street, Northbridge

A favourite small bar in Northbridge, La Cholita has an amazing vibe thanks to its rough plywood tables and tattoo-inspired murals cover the walls. The ginormous collection of tequila lining the bar has a certain effect, too. “La Cholita is another excellent place to go with good ambiance and excellent margaritas!” gushed Itzel.

3. El Publico, 511 Beaufort Street, Highgate

“El Publico is another goody; the service and the ambience is excellent,” Itzel said. “I highly recommend the Huarache with green chorizo.” We, on the other hand, highly recommend anything poured by bartender James Connolly who just won the Diageo World Class semi-finals in his division in Brisbane last week.

4. Mad Mex, 484 Hay Street, Subiaco

“For something quick and cheap, go to Mad Mex. Try the soft corn tortilla tacos and don’t put excessive salad or it will kill the flavour!” Itzel warns. Who’d have thunk it?

Gracias, Itzel!

(Also published in Agenda City)

If there’s one thing that is not in short supply in Fremantle, it’s coffee (and beer and barefooted backpackers – but that’s another story). Proof that Freo’s become a bona-fide coffee destination? Last year’s inaugural Fremantle Coffee Festival was such a hit it’s been added as a permanent fixture of the annual Fremantle Festival.

Sunday will see the entire cappuccino strip from Parry to High closed to traffic and open to over-caffeination. Eleven different coffee roasters including Dimattina, Rubra, Bonissimo, Silvana, Rubra, Remedy and Braziliano will be offering samples in exchange for gold coin donations for Telethon and the finals of the Barista Competition will be happening at Town Hall. Beyond the opportunity to get seriously caffeinated, there’s also live entertainment from local bands, children’s activities and the ever popular spaghetti-eating competition at Gino’s. Because some things never – and shouldn’t – change.

To get a local’s perspective on Fremantle’s coffee scene, we  caught up with one of the Coffee Festival’s organisers and local business owner Joanna Macleod to give us her top five coffee spots*:

Cafe #1: Wild Poppy, 2 Wray Avenue
Joanna’s verdict: “As well as the coffee they do great pastries.”

Cafe #2: The Attic, 16 Bannister Street
Joanna’s verdict: “Gorgeous venue and really friendly staff.”

Cafe #3: La Vespa, 247 South Terrace
Joanna’s verdict: “Lovely lemon tart and pastries.”

Cafe #4: Il Cibo, 2 Market Street
Joanna’s verdict: “Great for people watching and good biscuits.”

Cafe #5: Gino’s, 1-5 South Terrace
Joanna’s verdict: “In the evening I  go to Gino’s for the atmosphere and people watching.”

*”I drink long blacks, so for me it’s more about the accompaniments!” Joanna told us. We can tell!

The Fremantle Coffee Festival is happening on Sunday, 4 November, 10am-7pm

Is it wrong to have a crush on a bar? Right or wrong, Great about Perth + The Classroom = L.O.V.E.

Admittedly, we’re not the only ones smitten by The Classroom. Since opening in January, the North Perth small bar has enjoyed wild success: 50-person queues on weekends, a finalist spot in the Small Bar Association WA’s first Small Bar of the Year award, and a semi final win of the Diageo World Class in Brisbane by Bar Manager/Co-Owner Andrew Bennett.

And the bar hasn’t even reached its first birthday yet.

But we haven’t even told you the most exciting bit: The Classroom is now twice as big. Owners Adam Keane and Daniel Sterpini have just finished a brand new extension, doubling the bar’s capacity and opening up the possibility for private parties.

The extension comprises two rooms filled with the bar’s signature blast-from-the-past, education-themed paraphrenalia. The School Yard has been fitted out with booths made from repurposed bus seats, murals by urban artist Jackson Harvey and rusty bikes with banana seats. Across the velvet cordon is the School Library which is decidedly more debbonaire: leather sofas, a fireplace, antique globes and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It’s fraternity style minus the telltale stench of beer-soaked carpet…. or passed-out sorority girls.

Shhhh…. we’ll let you in on a secret: the entrance is through the bookcase. Nope, we won’t tell you which book opens the door!

Great: Delicious, inventive and reasonably priced food, unique cocktails and a relaxed atmosphere
Not so Great: It’s much too far from Freo

It takes a lot to convince a Freo local to head out to Vic Park. Ok, not as hard as convincing a Vic Park local to visit Fremantle, but still hard.

So when the locals started whispering about a swish new wine bar in Vic Park, we took it as a sign from the wine gods.

FYI: the 30-minute drive goes by in a flash when you’re dreaming of Chianti, bruschetta and mozzarella di bufala. Hey, it’s still not as distracting as texting while driving, so stop judging!

L’Enoteca lived up to hype with its fantastic Italian-heavy wine list comprising big hitting varietals like Chianti, Amaretto and Valpolicella, and a list of digestifs that includes – yay! – limoncello.

The food reflects the owners’ shared Molisano background. There are share plates like polpette (meatballs), marinated octopus and mozzarella di bufala so good it’ll bring you straight back to that holiday you took in Campania. There are also mains for those looking for a full meal.

We’ve got to give props to a restaurant that manages to create such a warm, comfortable atmosphere despite having John Hughes as their neighbour.

Great: Authentic Italian flavours and a great wine list
Not so Great: No website

L’Enoteca is located at 249 Albany Hwy. The current trading hours are:
Tues-Thurs: 5-9pm
Fri-Sat 5-10pm

When King Street cafe Zekka closed last August, tears were shed, hands were wrung and caffeine withdrawals were begrudgingly endured. Even homages were paid.

Zekka’s all-too-sudden disappearance created a void that only one thing could fill: a cafe of equal brilliance.

Enter Uncle Joe’s Mess Hall, a temporary cafe created by the owners of Head Studio. Relax – you’re not getting abandoned again. The plan is to eventually develop the space into a larger cafe, hair salon and basement small bar.

Until then, the current version of Uncle Joe’s Mess Hall does more than suffice. What? You want me to prove it? Fine, bossypants. First, there’s the creative military-themed fit-out, 90% of which was recycled. Ammunition boxes prop up plates of pastries, rough plywood serve as benchtops and the walls are adorned with only a giant red first aid cross and a framed poster of the 1967 Italian wartime film I Giganti del Mediterraneo.

Even more creative is the food. There must be a wizard whipping up the sticky pecan spiced buns, chia seed and peanut butter protein cookies and the amazing-sounding blueberry and buttermilk popsicles. More substatial breakfast and lunch options are available alongside Five Senses coffee.

Still can’t forgive Uncle Joe’s Mess Hall for replacing Zekka? This might help: the baristas are gorgeous. Enough to make you forget how you take your coffee.

Imagine a Wednesday night where you get dressed to the nines, indulge in a multi-course dinner at one of Perth’s top restaurants, sip local wine and then attend a lavish after-party. And the kicker? The whole night is in the name of charity. Decadent do-gooding, let’s call it.

Date:28 Nov, 2012