151
HOT 100
FOCACCIA IN FOCUS
With handsome examples coming
from the likes of Fugazza in
Melbourne and Sydney’s Bar Brosé
(with seaweed butter, no less),
the question isn’t so much “why is
focaccia coming back now?” as “why
did it go away in the first place?”
The loaves Enrico Sgarbossa turns
out at Sydney pizzeria Al Taglio
are impressive enough to put any
questions of retro-naffness to rest
permanently. He ferments the dough
for 20 hours at 18 degrees, putting
a third more water into it than most
recipes call for, producing a result
that’s light and spongy but full of
flavour. Fugazza, 31 Equitable Pl,
Melbourne, Vic; barbrose.com.au;
altaglio.com.au
TIKI TALKIN’
The owls didn’t align last year when the débuts of both
Twin Peaks’ long-awaited third season and Sydney
“dark tiki” bar Jacoby’s – named after Laura Palmer’s
eccentric, tiki-loving psychiatrist – were delayed till
mid-2017. A more intimate effort from the team behind
Newtown speakeasy Earl’s Juke Joint, Jacoby’s will
feature reboots of tiki cocktails, a tight list long on pink
and orange wines, and a quirky Tropicália-meets-Lynch
vibe.154 Enmore Rd, Sydney, NSW>HAVANA
MAKEOVER
All eyes are on Havana as a flotilla of cruise ships sails
towards the Cuban capital and a wave of luxury hotel
groups rush to restore heritage properties in the city. In
Habana Vieja, the storied Hotel Inglaterra and Hotel
Santa Isabel, both grande dame landmarks, are destined
for the Starwood Luxury Collection, while Hotel Quinta
Avenida Habana in the Miramar District is set to become
a Four Points by Sheraton. The city’s most lavish
restoration will be the 19th-century Manzana de Gómez
building, reopening this northern spring as the sleek
246-room (and rather wordy) Gran Hotel Manzana
Kempinski La Habana. A former European-style
shopping arcade in the heart of the old city, the hotel
will have a rooftop swimming pool and spa.
starwoodhotels.com; kempinski.comFROM LEFT: PASAN
WIJESENA, JAMES FURY
AND ADRIAN SANCHEZ
OF JACOBY’SFOCACCIA AT AL TAGLIO