Australian Gourmet Traveller – September 2019

WhenyouranAcme,youdescribedit

as#notanitalianrestaurantandthepasta

wasinspiredbyChinatown.WillCiccia

Bella’smenuhaveAsianinfluences,too?

CicciaBellawillcertainlybeanItalian

restaurant.I’llbetakingalotofinspiration

fromsouthernItalyandthosebeachside

vibes.Wewanttokeepthefoodlightand

singing,rememberingthatwe’reinBondi

andhavelotsofloyalregularstokeep

happy.IfIdosneakalittledashiinhere

andthere,wewon’tbeadvertisingit.

WhatwillbeonCicciaBella’smenu?I’ve

gotaspreadsheetofabout 100 ideasforthe

menu.I’mplayingwithturningAcme’s

baloneysandwichintoafriedcalzone.

Andwe’dliketoutilisethewoodfired

ovenmoreandhavefunwiththepizza.

Isthereanythingyoufindchallengingto

cook,andwouldliketoconqueroneday?

Ihatepastry,butI’malsolazy,soIwouldn’t

sayI’mdyingtoconquerit.HavingJaci

Koludrovictoworkonthedesserto€erings

isanabsoluteblessing.Ican’twaitto

sitdownandbrainstormideaswithher.

JatzcrackerswereafixtureatAcme.

WilltheyappearontheCicciaBella

menu?Ithinkwe’lllettheJatzlegacy

staywithAcme.

You’renowworkingwithIcebergs

DiningRoom&Bar’sexecutivechef

MontyKoludrovic.Haveyoueverserved

himJatz?Yes,ImadeJatzàlaIcebergs

ataneventyearsago.Itwasaplayon

Monty’sseaurchinpappadums.

Besidescreamincarbonara,isthere

anythingthatshouldn’tgoinapasta

dish?Inmyhonestopinion,cream

shouldnevergoinanypasta.

CicciaBella,75-79HallSt,Bondi,NSW,

(02) 8090 6969,cicciabella.com.au,is

duetoopeninSeptember.

Mitch Orr

CICCIABELLA,SYDNEY

ONTHEPASS

The Splendid Gin’s Mesmeric is made

from an elegant mix of quadruple-

distilled grape spirit and Tasmanian

spring water. The result is a literal

winner: it scored a gold medal in

the Navy Strength category at

The Asian Gin Masters this year.

thesplendidgin.com

STREET STAR

Martha Cooper photographed New York’s

grati scene in the ’70s and ’80s – along

train tracks, in tunnels and long before it

was taken seriously. Over the next two

decades, her art book with photographer

Henry Chalfant, Subway Art, became an

underground bible for grati artists around

the world, as they recreated what they

saw in their own towns. Today, the

76-year-old photographer still follows grati

artists, camera in hand. Don’t miss her

Street Shots 1978-2019 exhibition, on show

at Brisbane Powerhouse until 22 September,

and look out for Martha: A Picture Story,

Selina Miles’s award-winning documentary

about Cooper’s life. brisbanepowerhouse.org

24 GOURMET TRAVELLER

PHOTOGRAPHY DAN BRIZNAC ”GRAN TIVOLI•, MARTHA COOPER ”

STREET SHOTS 19782019

• & NIKKI TO ”MITCH ORR•.