School Holiday Fun - Adelaide Central Markets

Hi All,

The previous School Holidays arrived with a bang and the kids were busy either heading up to their nanna's for a holiday or at their Vacation Care - my wife also took off a fair bit of time too and whisked the kids away to the local swimming centres or movie's!

We learnt however our local Vacation Care was to be shut for a considerable amount of time over the Xmas break, in fact not re-opening until the 13th of January - which majority of you will understand this is not helpful for working parents...

So we decided I would apply for leave for three of the days in January before the centre opens again to help out.

I was a bit apprehensive of what to do, the obvious was already decided for the Thursday - The Ice Arena at Thebarton - this is a family favourite, my son who is now 10 loves ice skating and is really quite good at it - he was even thinking of taking up Ice Hockey... My daughter who is 6 has only been two times but wow - what a natural! The first time she spent a bit of time on the learners rink but within 20 minutes was pushing for a go on the big rink - she now skates just as well as her brother and is now asking for us to put her in figure skating...

I still had one other day to come up with an idea, the Wednesday.

With a flash of genius I thought, how about a Treasure Hunt! I know I know its a game that has been played for 1000's of years but I couldn't think of a time I'd ever created a hunt from scratch for the kids.

So I decided to take them to one of my favourite places in Adelaide, The Central Market. It is full of everything food wise you could hope for - and and awesome chance to teach the kids a bit about unusual foods which they've never seen or tasted before.

For a while there a friend and I would walk to the markets at least once a week on our lunch break, takes about 5 minutes to walk there - we don't always buy stuff but its just fun to walk through and look at all the different fruit, small goods and seafood mustered in one building!

So I printed off a Map which was available on the Central Markets website: http://www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au/map/

The thing I love about this website is the detail they've included, very professional site. For example, click on the above link and it will give you a map of the markets, best thing is - you can hover over each stall and it will highlight and let you know the name of the stall holder, if you want more information including some photos click on the stall and it will take you to a mini intro for the stall holder.

Ok I'm getting excited, for locals its probably not as used but for tourists and visitors this is perfect for someone researching a trip to the markets for the first time, or even to work out where they bought an item they loved on their first or second trip and can't remember who it was!!

I started coming up with a list of ideas and items the kids could hunt for, sure its easy to give them a shopping list and say go but where is the fun in that? One of the main aims for me was to get them to work together to get the job done, most parents will agree siblings don't always see eye to eye nor always prefer to work with each other to get the job done...

Ideas came flooding in as I remembered stalls as we walked through them, such as mud crabs, macaroons, pig's heads (i know grose..) and all the exotic fruit we've often walked past and thought "wonder what that taste's like".

So I came up with this:

The night before I charged their cameras, had a bag and a water bottle ready and put in their bag a Map each and Hunt Questions.

I told them on the way to the markets where we were going and what we were up for and gave them each a chance to look over the questions - instructions were though, no discussing before we get there. The Questions were loaded with cryptic messages packed in with Dares and photos required.

The kids were quite enthusiastic and we began our hunt well, the Minion Banana question was quite easy, I should have watched Despicable Me 2 first... But easy ones thrown in are good as some were quite difficult.

Most parents will say they have smart kids, I'm the same, we have somehow combined to create two of the smartest kids around, sometimes can be lazy but what kids aren't! I wanted them to use their brilliant minds to problem solve. Worked well - almost too well, most of the ones I expected to be hard even for an adult the two were knocking them off in quick succession..

Tragedy though, the famed Pigs Head which is usually at O'Connell Meats was not there.... Every time I walk through the markets there is a pigs head proudly displayed in the window - someone buys one each time, not sure I would but its funny to look at. The dare for this was the kids to take a selfie with the pigs head - something their mum would not be too keen on haha.

Sadly there were no Mud Crabs either, not sure if out of season or what but like the pigs head, mud crabs are prominent each time we go to the markets.

To top it off the awesome macaroons I planned to get the kids to try were all out of stock in the first isle, but we still managed to try some at another shop near the coles.

Somehow, my family is no big fan of seafood, yet I absolutely love it... so getting them enthused with some of the riddles involving them going into the fish markets were hard at first due to the "fishy" smell "dad!"... but once we headed around to Samtass Seafoods that all changed, so much better presented and that fishy smell my youngest was complaining about was completely absent. Here they managed to find the famed nanigui, or Red Snapper as its also known as. They were both fascinated by the rich red colour of the fish but also its massive eyes - they each took a photo for their album and we pushed on. A quick "who wants to try an oyster" didn't go down well as they both proceeded to bolt out of the shop.

In all I think we all had a great day, although my boy isn't a massive fruit and veg fan he still had fun learning new things and exploring the markets - hopefully experiences like this will help his phobia of good foods. My little one is the opposite and loved the markets too - it was a good family experience and a nice way to kill 3 or 4 hours!

Hindsight I think I should have not given them all the questions before we got there, I think if we do this again I might print off the questions individually then give them once each one has been answered - this way they both have to read it together and not have it pre-known in their minds before they arrive.

I encourage anyone with children, and, who is keen on fresh produce and teaching the kids new things to give this a go - head to the Central Markets Website (http://www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au/map/), print off a map and start exploring. You don't have to even make it based around riddles - just go up and down all the lanes!

If you do attempt it with your children I would suggest though to add little ideas like the quiz or even a list of stuff they have to find so you can buy - if not that amount of time they may get a little ratty by the end :)
Please if you do try this please comment and let me know your experience!

Top 10 Burgers in Adelaide - Part 1 - The Stanley Tavern

Hi All,

About a month or so ago the local newspaper in Adelaide, The Advertiser, posted an article showing "The Top 10 Burgers in Adelaide"... (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/heres-adelaides-top-10-best-burgers/story-fnizi7vf-1226837067771)

Being a lover of a decent Beef Burger I decided I wouldn't mind checking out a few to see what each one was like.

For me the best burger needs a multiple of inclusions, it can't be one element that decides its fate - all needs perfect balancing. The burger roll and patty needs to be large, no point offering a burger costing over $10 if you're still hungry at the end.

• The Patty needs to be seasoned to perfection - right now my wife makes the best tasting patties around, i'll argue it til i'm blue in the face and these burger bars have alot to live up to!
• Pickles... has to have pickles, not everyones cup of tea but for me the option of having a handful of crunchy pickles is to die for.
• Tomato Chutney - For me, has to be Tomato Chutney - just stunning and the taste is 2nd to none - Ketchup and Tomato Sauce just doesn't have the flavour.
• Garlic Aoli - Just stunning, when included with tomato chutney it brings the burger to a whole new level
• Lettuce & Tomato - A generous portion is required, can't eat a burger without a bit of healthiness added!
• Egg - For the Burger to be complete a runny egg sweetens the deal (not too gooey but just a little run to it)
• Bacon - Who doesn't love a nice helping of nicely smoked bacon!
• Onion - For me its gotta be cooked, with a little bit of crunch!

We were sitting home one weekend with not much to do so we thought we might take a drive up to the beautiful Adelaide Hills and visit the lovely town of Hahndorf. Its fun for a family to make a day trip from the city and has loads to offer everyone, from family activities like the Hahndorf Farm Barn (http://farmbarn.com.au/) which boasts a huge variety of animals to get up close with and even feed, theres also the famous Beerenberg Strawberry Farm (http://www.beerenberg.com.au/) where not only can you purchase some of the best Jams and Sauces around but you can also venture down to the Strawberry field and pick the best tasting Strawberry's you will find in Adelaide!

For the Wine lovers there are also a nice selection of wineries around, from Boutique wineries such as my favourite Hahndorf Hill Winery (http://www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au/) who make the best Rose wine I've ever tasted!, or a crowd favourite such as Maximillians (http://maximilians.com.au/cellar-door).

For the traditionalists who love a good German Pint or German Food you can't go past The German Arms (http://germanarmshotel.com.au/) or the Hahndorf Inn (http://hahndorfinn.com.au/), each show true their German heritage and offer old fashioned German meals and beers for you to try!

For our family the day was set out, a trip to the Farm Barn, head off for lunch then back to Beerenberg for a big punnet of Strawberries!

Lunch was decided, we would try the famous Stanley Burger at the Stanley Bridge Tavern (http://stanleybridgetavern.com/) located in Verdun just a 5 minute drive from Hahndorf. Its nestled on a beautiful street, if you haven't booked and it was a stunning late Summer day like we did on a Sunday then parking and getting a table may be difficult so I would suggest you book in advance.

It was a 30 degree day, nice breeze coming through the trees and the tavern from the get go looked very warm and inviting. We went through the old rustic main door and were immediately impressed by the structure of the building itself, its been maintained extremely well and all its old features are a definite plus.

We were lucky enough to score a table out in their garden on a rustic wooden table, set up for the kids was a game of bocce and totem tennis. I think the main feature for my children though was Benny the Jack Russell which moved freely through the restaurant and mingled with the guests.

My wife and I decided to each go with the Stanley Burger but were amazed at the amount of mouth watering options available - Ribs, Steaks, Pies etc. To the order we also added a small serving of their Benny's Ribs.

A bottle of Apple Cider to accompany and I was set for a very enjoyable afternoon. Justine and I chatted away while the kids ran off and played, but unfortunately as time went by the kids became more and more irritated and edgy as we waited a very long time for the food to come out. I think in the end the kids meals came out, just before the entree, after a solid hour and a half waiting... by that time we were all over hungry and a bit over the waiting... Our mains came out about 10 minutes after and began we did...

First on the agenda, try these stunningly presented Ribs, I was interested to try the sauce which included Honey, Spices and Blasted in the Furnace with Hoi Sin, Orange and a Sesame Seed Sauce... My lips were watering thinking about it.

The sauce delivered just like I hoped, it was stunning - beautifully sweet with a hint of spice but not enough to overpower you. The ribs were massive but unfortunately mostly bone, each were separated from the rack but just didn't have heaps of meat on there to get you overly excited. The downer for me also was the ribs appeared to have been cooked for a while earlier but mine were cold when they came out - almost appeared to be re-heated but just not enough. It was yum but 6 definitely isn't enough while also sharing - fork out and get the 9 or 12!

The massive winner though was the sauce, it was so good we all spent ages afterwards mopping it up with our chips!

The Stanley Burger, was definitely impressive to look out when it first came out. Accompanied by a big bowl of curly fries I proceeded to crack the egg and see how we go.

Nice - egg flowed just perfectly!

The burger was nice, not brilliant but nice, the Pattie was nicely made, good helping of smokey bacon on the top, nicely melted cheese and cooked onion, tomato and lettuce. I love a good burger and I think this was ok but it just didn't have the wow factor I was looking for. Notable exclusions from the burger was Chutney, Garlic Aoli and the most important feature for me.....Pickles... I love pickles with my burger - even if its an addition...

The Tomato Salsa advertised with the burger wasn't the best for me, took the taste away from the patty and hit the wrong note - a beaut chutney from local Beerenberg would have been spot on!

Overall I think I'm going to have to give this burger a 6.5, Probably could have scored higher but the long wait and exclusions brought me down some.

I would definitely order it again, I did like it and the Stanley Tavern is a great place to go to but I just can't push it much higher on the day.

I invite you all to check it out for yourself, personally if I was to rate the venue, staff and an overall experience and not take into account the long wait on that occasion I would give the Stanley Tavern a 9 - its setting in the heart of the Adelaide Hills and all round rustic appeal makes it a fantastic venue to sit down for lunch or dinner. The menu is extremely appealing to all taste buds and the Kids Menu is very good also (Picture of the Kids Cheese Burger opposite!)

If you do try the Stanley Burger feel free to give your rating as feedback, I'm keen to see what everyone else thinks!

So - 1 down, 9 to go. They rate these the best 10 burgers in Adelaide, I'm going to try them all and give my honest opinion. 

Elimination Final - Richmond v Carlton - A Father & Son Journey

Finally, after 12 suffering years our beloved Richmond Football Club has made finals.

15 glorious wins and we finished 5th on the ladder, for me finishing 5th exceeded my expectations or this year - I had thought they would finish 7th or 8th. 5th meant we finished higher than Collingwood, Carlton and Port which was an awesome feeling.


Fans Leaving Messages for the players prior to game



The Elimination final for me meant far more than it did for most, for me it was my first ever live final - of course I watched their finals in 2001 & 1995 however it was the first time I had gone and watched them play it. Being in Adelaide its far harder for me to get to the games like a local melbourne sider would but I was determined this time, as soon as I knew they were in and what day they were playing - I would be there!

This in itself was huge but the proudest part of it all for me was sharing this first final experience with my son, Noah, who would also see his first ever final.

Monday morning came like a bang, the anxiety was huge and my stress levels were peaking! I had a heap of tasks to get done, firstly, book annual leave - whilst looking at flights Sunday night I realised getting there wouldn't be the problem, it was flying home the same night that would be. Not only was it very close to the end of the game (within 2 hours) but it was also going to cost over $350 each to fly home... I think not!

Second was getting the tickets, my son was previously a Cotchy Club member and not eligible for tickets, the team in the membership department suggested I sign him up for the $1 special that was happening - this way he could get tickets. Only problem, his sale went on @ 11am... I was stressing I wouldn't get any by then and they'd be all sold out!

Third on the list was flights, I knew I could fly in nicely with Jetstar for approx $100 each, the stress would be how to get home, we managed to score seats on Virgin the day after for $150 which was good.



Fourth and final was accommodation, I remember back 12 odd years ago I flew my wife and I over to Melbourne to not only watch a game but also take her out for dinner. Being I spent most of our cash on horse drawn carriages and dinner at the Windsor.. I spent less on accommodation.. we stumbled upon a place called the George Powlett, astonishingly it was 2 minutes walking distance from the MCG. I immediately looked it up for this trip, as really, all Noah and I need is a roof, 2 beds and thats bout it. Booked!

I broke the news to Noah later that night, we were all booked, he and I would fly out first thing Sunday Morning and would be on our way to the glorious home of football. His face was priceless, he loves his Melbourne Trips.



Crossing the bridge to Adelaide Airport



Speaking with alot of people via twitter one thing was common, the week was going just too damn slow!

Finally, Saturday night approached, we had our backpacks filled and our Richmond Flags ready to go. Before I knew it the alarm was going off and I snuck in and woke Noah up - 5 minutes to get ready and head straight for the airport.

The plane departed Adelaide nicely and it was clear skies toward Melbourne! Noah and I love flying and pretty much our favourite destination is Melbourne to watch our beloved Tigers, but this trip just meant so much more. I could sense Noah was extremely edgy about the game, 10 minutes in he announced there were no games to play on his DS... I said whats wrong with the 30 you have.. they're all boring...

Just like that we touched down in Melbourne, colder than normal but god it felt good to be back!

We arrived at our hotel, the George Powlett, which is a 2 minute walk to the MCG and about 5 mins to Bridge Road - awesome, the plan was to get our Guernseys on and have everything we were going to take to the game and go for a wander down Bridge Road to see what the shops had to offer..

 

That plan was quickly shelved as we stared out the window and saw one of the great Light Towers, we quickly got dressed, grabbed our flags and departed for the MCG. As we crossed the road we approached a bridge and noticed the train line in the picture opposite, I'm jealous of the public transport in Melbourne, it all makes sense and is so widely used - Adelaide we have a failing bus and train system and one Tram...

We made a quick detour as we noticed the gates weren't yet open, 3pm game and we were there @ 12.. is that too much to ask haha. The detour landed us at Punt Road Oval, more importantly, amongst the masses, we moved into the Tiger Den to see if any specials were available. Being we spent so much travelling to and from Melbourne we decided to not spend much on merchandise.. In the end I bought Noah a Dustin Martin hat which was on sale (Now I know why!!) and a player badge.

Before we knew it we were sitting at the G eating one of the most expensive souvlakis and hot dogs available, as we approached our seats (affectionately adorned as the "Nose Bleed" section), we sat down knowing 2 and a half hours to go..

Thankfully the MCG was playing the replay of the last time Richmond and Carlton played each other in a final, it was 2001 and what a glorious win and year we had!

We watched as the crowd slowly poured into the ground, the sea of Yellow & Black was starting to take shape. 

Suddenly - just like a switch had been flicked, the ground was full and Carlton was running onto the ground - the stadium filled with jeers and boo's as they crashed through their banner!

Like a flash of lightning the crowd lifted and watched as Richmond entered the stadium, the roar of the crowd was deafening as we all sang the song whilst clapping them. I took a moment and looked over at Noah, his face and jubilation was everything I wanted to see - there were nerves, just like me, but I wanted everything for him to see and witness what it would be like to sit and cheer along with 94,000 others. I must admit some happy tears started to form.

The siren sounded and like the whole world flashed before our eyes the game began.

Carlton made the first dent on the scoreboard but failed to execute early chances and our Tigers gained their feet and started to maintain the midfield well, Ivan Maric was dominating the taps early and you could see Martin, Cotch, Ellis, Jackson and Deledio all full of run and gaining good possessions.

The loss of Conca was mixed emotions, we just lost one of our key rotating midfielders but we saw early the addition of Shane Tuck who was earlier was listed as the sub.

At quarter time we held on to a minor lead of just 8 points.

Carlton again kicked an early goal in the 2nd quarter but after that it was all Richmond, the midfield completely dominated the 2nd quarter helping us pile on 7 goals to 4 and holding on to a handy 26 point lead at half time.

At this point Carlton looked a different team, body language was down and the Tigers and their supporters were full of roar!

Sitting there at half time though a sudden rush of nerve began to grow, we've been in this position before against Carlton, had awesome quarters then fallen asleep - god not today!

Just like that the switch had again been flicked, Carlton bounced into action. They applied massive pressure and hit the midfield running led by their former Captain Chris Judd, they dominated the 3rd quarter and all our players could do was scratch their heads and attempt to stem the bleeding...

By the 4th quarter the signs were there, Carlton had clawed their way back and not long into the final term had finally hit the lead. 50,000+ Tiger supporters all sat quietly in their seats as the unthinkable was starting to unfold, Carlton, boised by a huge running effort hit the lead and never looked back.

Sitting 3 goals down I think we were some absolute Maric brilliance brought one of the goals of the game, the roar from the crowd was second to none, we all stood screaming for joy as he too sprinted back to the middle trying to lift his team. But it wasn't to be as the next chance on goal went as one of our guns tripped over on the half forward and the ball spilled Carltons way as did the rest of the game.

Watching the time click over it was beginning to hit home, with a minute to go I sat in my chair, staring blankly at the ground - how and why the hell did this happen... The supporters were already on the march out of the ground, the Carlton crowd - along with some over the top drunk Tiger Supporters yelled abuse as they left early. 

The siren sounded and that was it, the Carlton crowd lept off their chairs and the sound was deafening, I looked to Noah who had tears flowing from his eyes - the look of a defeated 9 year old, the sadness and anger in his eyes were just too sad for me, I too had tears in my eyes (I'm starting to tear up again whilst writing this some 2 weeks after the fact...), I wrapped my arms around him and consoled him as best I could. The poor bugger!

Noah asked if we could leave and I suggested we stay to allow the crowd to die down a bit so easier to walk out. We both sat in our chairs staring blankly at the ground as the Tigers left for the changerooms but more importantly Shane Tuck received his final farewell, we stood and cheered him off then again sat quietly. Time seemed to pass slowly but before we knew it a considerable time had passed.. I gathered Noah up and said lets head back to the hotel, as we approached the stairs a sea of supporters were already waiting trying to leave also.

All I remember is just saying to Noah, 1) stay absolutely with me, 2) don't react to anything anyone says to you, 3) never leave my side.

An ocean of supporters both Richmond and Carlton ascended outside the MCG, some drunk and some abusive. We made our way peacefully and unscathed through the crowd and made it to the bridge we earlier crossed, we watched in shock as the train station which before was empty, was flooded with people all wanting to get the first train. It was madness and I was really worried someone could be hurt or killed.

We hit the hotel and sat on our beds still in shock. Later we peeled ourselves from the hotel room and made our way down Bridge Road to try and find something kid friendly for Noah and I to have some dinner. We stumbled a fair way down and came across a BBQ place with burgers and souvlaki - awesome, souvlaki is one of the best pick me up foods available! Noah and I sat, silently, as we waited for our food. Just after it arrived a shriek of horror came from Noah - a Carlton poster was on the wall... god dammit. I said its ok cos theres Richmond ones too as I pointed to the other side of the room.. Poor Noah, he was just so shattered.

After that we headed off in pursuit of dessert! On our quest we found the golden arches of Maccas - awesome - McFlurries all round!

Well this was our take on the Tigers finals push, I wanted to word this more so on the positives rather than the negatives, to do so would push me back into the stage of Anger I held onto tightly for many days. We returned back to Adelaide beaten, still angry but loved the experience. 

Ok the Tigers lost, but to me this game represented far more than just a final. To me, this was one of the moments in time I shared with my son which I will treasure for the rest of my life, this final was the first live final both he and I had ever been too. To share that moment with him, along with 94,000 others was electrifying. The sound, the atmosphere, the jubilation, the nerves, the gasping and finally the sadness and anger - it all created the trip of a lifetime for us despite the result.

I do hope this isn't the only time we'll be able to do this but for me this trip meant everything and meant much more than Richmond winning. 

Well I hope you liked our take on the Tigers Elimination Final, its hard I know but drawing your own positives from this extremely bad result has helped ease the pain in some way - but, the focus for us was always the experience and nothing more.

Regards

Bo_Gas

The Coffee Barun - 2nd Review

Hi All,

This is another mini review of The Coffee Barun so hope you enjoy - remember to try it out :)

Over the weekend I drove over a screw and was forced to change my first flat on my commodore, I've had it for approx a year but never had to do much to it. I changed it over and as everything was shut decided I'd take it to Bob Jane T-Mart on Monday morning.

As i've dropped the car off and found out the original tyres on the car were the wrong size... (another story for later...), they mentioned it will be a 45 minute wait so I decided to cross the road (no jokes here...) and head over to The Coffee Barun for a cappuccino and maybe some breakkie.

First thoughts were I really need to try their Raspberry & White Choc Muffin freshly made, these things are massive and extremely enticing, haven't had one yet but I can imagine it tastes as good as it looks...

Sadly it wasn't to be as my head focused on the blackboard above displaying "Egg & Bacon Roll" $7.50...

Hmm - very hard for me to knock back an invite such as that, plus, I had 30 more minutes to spare...

I whacked through the order for a large cap and egg and bacon roll and went to sit down to jump in to the free wifi... did I mention they have free Wi-Fi!

Within 2 minutes of sitting down my cappuccino was brought over and it looked a treat - as usual it tasted brilliant, they really do great coffee!

It wasn't much longer after my coffee had arrived that my roll was delivered also, beautiful roll with super tasty bacon, cheese and runny gooey egg!

Being time poor I didn't go for the usual Barun Breakfast, the roll was just perfect for the time I had available.

Knife and fork (pictured...) accompanied the dish but thats where they stayed... With both hands I formed a perfect grip and launched into taste sensation as I experienced their bacon & egg roll whilst breaking the egg and watching with glee as the egg yolk poured throughout and also onto the plate.

Wow - for something as simple as bacon, roll, egg, cheese and sauce, they really made it a treat! Using what was left of the roll I mopped up every last bit of egg yolk, finishing off with a couple of sips of coffee and I was done.

My belly was happy, taste buds were jumping for joy and I departed for the tyre shop feeling very happy and keen to get more to experience The Coffee Barun.

I stand by this comment that I believe The Coffee Barun is the Best coffee in Adelaide, it is roasted to perfection and the taste is second to none. The Breakfast & Lunch Menu has something for everyone and child friendly.

Theres a good little spot set up in the corner of the shop for the kiddies so do yourself a favour and head on down to The Coffee Barun this weekend - you won't be dissapointed.

The shop is located at 217-219 Main North Rd (cnr Third Ave), Sefton Park. They also have a website you can check out: http://www.thecoffeebarun.com/ or Facebook page: facebook.com/thecoffeebarun

 

Sostas Argentinian Kitchen - Restuarant Review

Hi All,

Received some good feedback from my last restuarant review of The Albion so thought I'd share some more restuarants that we've tried recently.

As mentioned before school holidays are some of the fun times for my wife and I as we get to venture out to restuarants whilst our children are holidaying up at their nanna's in the Clare Valley. Don't get me wrong I certainly miss my kids whilst their away but its a chance for us to have some alone time and venture to restuarants we either haven't yet tried or are more adult orientated.

Our 4 year wedding anniversary was last Thursday night, we've been together for over 13 years however finally took the plunge 4 years ago. This was the first year the kids were away on holiday so I decided to look around for a more formal location than a regular place like the Daniel O'Connell or similar where we've been previously.

I stumbled across a place called Sosta's located on Rundle Street in Adelaide, its an Argentinian restuarant famous for its steak.

I looked at the menu online and straight away I could see us tucking into the 600g Rump or T-Bone.

My wife loves her food yet packs it into her tiny frame without showing any weight unlike her more plumpy husband... So this place looked perfect, happy wife when T-Bone on the menu.

I made the booking and arranged for my wife to pick me up from work in time for us to go straight there for a 6pm booking.

Sadly it was a 44 degree day, can't change that but we were hoping for some good airconditioning, which on a 44 degree day in Adelaide its not something that would be easy to come by unless your in the freezer section of Woolworths or Coles...

Unfortunately I think Sosta's airconditioner was working as hard as my house was but struggling.

Anyhow, we jagged a window seat which we were very pleased with. First impressions was it was very nice, pleasing to the eye and the menu wasn't overly expensive.

My wife quickly eyed off the T-Bone and I was tossing up over the Rump and the Mixed Grill. I opted last minute to go Rump but wish I went Mixed Grill as for me Rump is a hard one to master, Medium Rare is always needed for me, if cooked longer and more around Medium it gets very tough and chewy..

We also ordered the Pan Espanola which is crispy toasted Ciabatta bread with tomato, garlic, herbs and spices, this accompanied my wife's Bife de Costilla (T-Bone) and my order of Cuadril (Rump). We added a side of Ensalada Mixta (mixed lettuce, fetta, red onion, tomato, cucumber and kalamata olives).

We both added Hongos to our steaks, their oven roasted field mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, rosemary and beef glaze... sounded awesome so had to add it!

The Steaks were accompanied by crispy fried potatoes.

Our Entree (Pan Espanola) arrived first, impressions were high as to us it was a different version of Bruschetta (My wife's favourite!). It was more so like a pizza version of bruschetta and wow it was tasty! Definately recommend as a good starter.

Our mains came out and again impressions were high, both steaks looked amazing. Both sides of salad and potatoes came out equally looking good.

I quickly dived into the potatoes which were coated in spices, crunchy and super tasty I loaded up my plate with as many as could fit next to the steak.

The steak cut nicely, although wasn't medium rare, was closer to medium. The taste was a different story, just so tasty, not like an Outback Jacks steak, this had a standalone taste of flame grill that I haven't had before.

My wife's T-Bone was exquisite. That description is an injustice, perfectly cooked medium rare and hardly any effort to cut. The taste was second to none, never have I had a tastier T-Bone which the meat just melted in your mouth. The taste was similar to mine of flame grilled but this was truly the best steak we have encountered at a South Australian Restuarant.

The salad was very nice too, a great compliment to the steak, the fetta however was similar to the T-Bone, best we've ever tasted. To me it reminded me of melted tasty cheese in texture, it just melted. The taste buds were diving around in a mad frenzy, sadly there was only about 5 or 6 cubes, we could have easily polished another 10 each...

We both worked hard to finish the meals, they were very big steaks and to finish them along with the sides was a great feat but we managed to just finish.

With no room for dessert we sat patiently as we finished off our beers and sat shaking our heads at what we had just been served.

Sostas Argentinian restuarant rates up there as one of the best restuarants we have been too, The steak is close to the best and entree's and side dishes are amazing.

The atmosphere and friendly service pieced together a fine evening and truly memorable for our 4th year wedding anniversary.

I would truly recommend this restuarant to anyone keen for a great steak but also anyone looking for a more intimate dining experience for you and your loved one.

Had the weather been our friend that night we probably would have stayed longer and tried a dessert or two however the air was muggy and we were keen to retreat home with our bellies full and happy.

If I was to put a rating out of 10, I would give Sostas a 9 out of 10, for me if my rump was medium rare it would have pushed it to another level and the rating would have been a 9.5-9.7 out of 10.

Many thanks to the chef's and service staff at Sostas for making it a great evening for our anniversary!

For anyone keen, Sostas Argentinian Kitchen is located on 291 Rundle Street in Adelaide, website has a copy of their menu and can be found on http://sostaargentiniankitchen.com.au/ and can cater for smaller intimate bookings or large and functions!

Round 1 - ETPBC Div 5

Round 1 came and went as quickly as the lead we worked hard to maintain late in the game.

Our Div 5 team travelled down to West Torrens last Saturday for the Round 1 "Torrens Clash", rivalry has always been strong with the two clubs and this game was one neither side wanted to drop.

East Torrens Div 5 this year is a completely new outfit, new coach at the helm Robbo and his band of merry men, brought a wealth of experience and power into our side which last year failed to win more than 3 games and struggled both on the mound and with the bats.

One of my best mates Jarrad is one of the players from last years squad, both he and I agree we both need some work and we've struggled in the past couple of seasons (where coaching individuals for improvement hasn't been the focus). But both Jarrad and I agree the new coach and squad coming down has been a breath of fresh air.

This has been noticable throughout training and before warm-up's on Saturday, Matt our new catcher (and Robbo's right hand man) is everything about winning, but, he wants the team to win, not individual glory. He speaks to us all with respect and helps every batter out as much as possible to better their game.

So, Saturdays game a number of us had pre-game nerves, myself included. I spent all morning working through my bevy of songs to help calm down and not get worked up too early, songs including Layla (Eric Clapton), Bella's Lullaby (Twilight), The Back of My Head (Short Stack), Paparazzi (Lady Gaga) etc.

Yes the list above includes a song from Twilight and Lady Gaga, I am definately not a Lady Gaga fan but just like this one song... Twilight, well, have to admit I do enjoy watching the saga but that song and its melody I really love listening too.

The above worked for a while but the nerves kept coming, normally I'm not nervous before a game, Game 1, under a new coach, new team, this was a different scenario. So a swift change to "Fire Up" music was in order, special thank you to Linkin Park, Blink 182 & Good Charlotte for helping me out there.

I have everything to prove to the new guys, I cemented my spot at 3rd base last year (but thats easy when your the coach haha..). I had a great year last year and wanted to return so I had to prove myself worthy of staying in the infield. I also won the batting trophy last year so I wanted to show why and that I wanted to be a threat with the bat again this year.

My first at bat came before the first chance at fielding, felt ok out there but my timing was out... I found I was swinging late. Finally on the fifth pitch I claimed the ball with my bat, unfortunately I deflected it straight into my left foot, just below the shin... The ball kicked out to short stop and I hobbled to 1st base..

With that painful experience came the embarrassment side, my first fielding error. With a Double Play looming the ball was hit to me at 3rd and a late unexpected bounce left the ball hitting the top of my mitt and fumbling onto the ground, once I finally retrieved the ball it was too late to get any runners out.

Now with my head down and cursing myself came the new players in our team, never have I received so much encouragement after a bad play - Wazza at first, Hung at SS, Matt at catcher, all yelling out.

This lifted me quite well, spent some of the game still a bit jumpy but gathered my nerves to start fielding well and getting the runner out at first without overthrowing or misfielding the ball.

Both teams went tit for tat over the next 5 Innings, I enjoyed two hits from my next two at bats and also helped bring some runners home (We won't talk about me getting thrown out at home whilst attempting to slide - or as my son says, fall over the plate...)

In the 5th inning we were tied at 5 all with 1 out and my nerves came back to haunt me, I gathered the ball, an easy play to attempt to throw the runner out at first, routine play... Not sure why but my throw didn't have as much in it as required and it bounced to first base only just getting the runner out. Again my head down not happy - but like an alarm went off in the other fielders heads, the encouragement began to flow like crazy.

Last batter of the inning came to the plate and after watching a few balls he hit a grounder to me at 3rd, unfortunately this was one I couldn't wait for so I plunged forward. Gathering the ball whilst on my knees I looked up, rocketed a ball to first and just claimed the runner in time. This one play renewed my huge passion for baseball as it was one of those plays you hear in the big leagues the announcer screaming out in joy as the player dives for the ball then throws to first from his knees... Something i've always wanted to do.

Fired up we went into the last inning with confidence we could win this and just like that our boys brought home two runs and we went into the bottom of the inning 7-5 up.

Sadly West Torrens had their big hitters up next and they managed to tie up the game 7-7, luckily for us their last batter skyed the ball to me at 3rd and I was able to take the final out with a routine catch.

I thoroughally enjoyed the game, Robbo pitched all the way through and really controlled the plate well - never looked like tiring either. Matt controlled the plate like a real captain of the team, Hung the new boy was kept busy at short stop (I like to yell out Hit it Well Hung when he's batting hahaha) and Left & Centre fielders Jonesy & Ralph were kept busy too.

All our players hit very well and I think majority of us were able to grab a couple of hits on the day, sadly, like Matt spoke of at the end, 7 runs is great but leaving 10 runners stranded on base is something we need to work on. Looking back at the game our team played very well considering we only trained 3 or 4 times prior to Round 1.. This is also the first time our team has played together as one.

I was sore the next few days but Saturdays Round 1 game really ignited the fire inside of me to push to be the best for this team. I want to train hard and learn from the guys like Matt and Robbo as I feel they can really teach Jarrad and myself alot about our batting and the game.

One thing was also apparent to Jarrad and I, the need to also drop some kg's, so we now have a goal - 10kg's to be dropped, hopefully before Xmas. 10kg's off will help us compete more, run harder and be fitter for the team and family life.

This week we play our first home game of the season against Woodville @ 3pm. If this Woodville team is anything like we played two years ago then we will have our work cut out for us. But this team has the confidence that we can do it so I think this will be a very good game to watch - if your past Pattersons Reserve (Payneham) on Saturday then check it out, canteen will be open with some awesome hot food and drinks available!

One of Adelaides Gems - The Coffee Barun

I would like to share with you what i refer to as one of Adelaides Gem businesses.

The Coffee Barun which is situated on Main North Road in Sefton Park is the business, for me its one of the greatest cafe's around. The owners, Mark & Kate Barun know everything there is to know about coffee and have taken their business from the humble beginnings of selling coffee beans at the Pooraka Flea Market, to establishing their first shop just metres where their current one stands today.

Ok, I am a little biased in my opinions as i have known them for some years now, their eldest daughter used to go to child care with my eldest boy and they were the best of friends for some time.

So, lets discuss business, why are they so good?

Simple, for one to sell coffee, one must understand everything there is to know about coffee, a true barista. This sums Mark up perfectly.


Ever since i've known the Baruns, i've known them as the guru's in coffee. Mark sources specialty coffee of the highest quality, nothing less. I have never seen someone so passionate about coffee before, for me its something that comes easy - coffee is made before my eyes and i make zero effort to get the coffee... for Mark, its not as easy and cut and dry as that.


He sources the best, roasts them himself and on my recent visit was doing some interesting work with what i'm sure looked like a bunsen burner and sciencey looking glasses...

My wife and I had the day off today so we decided to head there for breakfast, here is the Barun Breakfast which we order each time we go there. Eggs made how you like them (for me it has to be poached....) generous amount of bacon, stunning beef sausages from an award winning maker in Adelaide, tomato, hashbrown and a beautiful mushroom all served on sliced foccacia.


As usual the breakfast does the job, beautiful fresh produce all super tasty. To compliment, we also enjoy a large cappucino of Marks finest brew.

 

So, if your a coffee enthusiast or know absolutely nothing about coffee like me, then do yourself a favour and visit The Coffee Barun, located on 217-219 Main North Road, Sefton Park. They also have a website too you can visit: www.thecoffeebarun.com