Rosellaandrhubarb
millefeuille.Above:
vegetable pie.WHAT’SOLDISNEW
JamesWirthandhispublicanpartners
havebeenona spree,butsurelythebest
decisionthey’vemadehasbeeninstalling
NicholasHill(Sepia,TheLedbury)at
TheOldFitzroyHotel, thepubtheytook
overin February.He’ssupportingregulars
suchasScotcheggs(above),anda pork
pie-turned-tartcappedwithBranston
Picklejellywithspecialslikepig’shead
andeelchouxfarcitoppedwithbacon
bits,whileDRNKSownerJoelAmosis
evolvingthedrinksoffer. 129 Dowling
St,Woolloomooloo,(02)9356 3848.BREAKFASTBANH
Marrickvillehasnoshortageof
Vietnameserestaurants,butBanhCuon
BaOanh, acrossfromCornersmith,is
thegreatestofthelatest.Theslippery
ricenoodlesheetsfromwhichit takes
itsnamearesilkyanddelicate,andmake
a finebreakfastwitha sideofwarm
nuocchamfordipping.Andthecongee,
richandloaded,is builtforwinter. 343
IllawarraRd,Marrickville, (02) 9059 0259.ISBONISGOOD
A café.A restaurant.A bistro.A public
barwithshinyflatscreens.A wineroom
upstairs(andsuchstairs!).Everythingat
TheBonPavilion, theGosfordproject
mannedbychefSeanConnellyand
bankrolledbyJohnSingleton,is buffed
orvarnished.Ontheplateit’ssolid,if
notquiteaspolished.Thechickenand
prawnpiecanselloutearly,buta kingfish
cevichewithjalapeñoandlimehitsthe
rightnotes,whilelambchopswithmint
saucearewellhandled.Forthekids,
a $12fishfingersarnielooksa winner.
159 Mann St, Gosford, (02) 4302 1593.AND ALSO...
DetailsMary’s
Underground
7 MacquariePl,Sydney,
(02) 9247 3430,
marysunderground.com
Licensed
CardsAEMCV EFT
OpenMon-Thu5pm-
1am,Fri-Sat5pm-3am
PricesEntrées$20-$35,
maincourses$32-$70,
desserts$25
VegetarianThree
entrées,twomains
NoiseAboutas
loudasit gets
WheelchairaccessNo
MinusExtrasaucy
PlusSuch funRees(nowtheMary’sGroup
drinksdirector)hasput
togethera wineofferthat
standsuptothefood.It’s
decidedlylow-intervention,
andthere’slotsofground
coveredintheorange,rosé
andramatostakes,butit
sidestepsfunkinfavourof
winesfrommakerswhoknow
theirstuff.There’sa short
sectionof“Jurassic”wines,
eitherfromtheJuraoracting
likeit,a wholezoneof
pinotnoir,andanotherof
chardonnayandchardonnay
blends,rangingfromclassic
(fromCullenandBassPhillip,
say)totextural(fromXavier
GoodridgeorThomasPicot)
toracy(frombiodynamic
makerTarrington).
Reesmovesthroughit
withpoise.Infact,mostofthewaitstaff
do.Smyth,whorunstheshowwithreal
panache,is ablysupportedbya bunch
ofhospitalityheavieswhoarerevelling
inhavingtheshacklesloosened.They
careabouttheproduct,butnotthe
pretence.Theylaynapkinsonyourlap,
turnuptheoillampsif it’sgettingtoo
dark,andcanwalkyouthroughthemenu
withtheireyesclosed,butthey’veclearly
imbibedthebriefthathavinga goodtime
is moreaboutbeingengagedthanpleases
orthankyous.
Therôtisserieduckis plentyengaging,
too.Pasture-raised,dry-agedandserved
witha persimmonsauceandslivers,it’s
donetoa turn,skincrisp,fleshblushing.
Brillat-Savarinwrotethatonemaybecome
a cook,butmustbeborna rôtisseur.
Gettingthebreastspotonwithoutthe
legs being under is no mean feat, and the
balanceis ascloseasa
trainedrôtisseurmightget.
It’sthepickofthemain
courses,butthere’sa lotto
besaidforcominglateon
a Friday,orderinga lobster
Australiennetossedwith
kutjerabutterandservedwith
duck-fatchips,andsplittingit withfriends.
Noteverythingis spoton.Dishescan
besalty.Chipscanbesoggy.Pastry,in
a bigandbeautifulrosellaandrhubarb
millefeuille,canbedense.Butthisis a
placepackedwithtoomuchtalentfor
problemstolastlong.Andcertaindishes,
suchasthecharredsugarloafcabbage
withalmondsauce,ora cheesypithivier
stuffedwithchestnutsanddrowningin
cauliflowervelouté,neednoimprovement.
I don’tusuallybuyintotheunlike-
any-other-venue-in-Sydneyspeak.But
Mary’sUndergroundis.Andina city
whosenightlifehasbeenina kind
offreefall,thistypeofproject,from
ambitiousoperatorswhowantto
makelivemusicanintegralpartof
a nightoutandservegoodfoodand
drinkwhilethey’reat it – well,that’s
something we can all get behind.●GOURMET TRAVELLER 43Sydney review