Monday, November 21, 2011

XXII

XXII

22 Union Street, Pyrmont, NSW 2009


Until now, I’ve always walked past this cute little corner café brimming with curiosity an unfortunately full tummy. Tucked in a well-heeled neighbourhood with a Simon Johnson instead of a Coles and a stone’s throw away from the newly refurbished Star, I knew I was in for a treat when my date and I finally walked in.


At the suggestion of our charming waiter, we started off with the Bruschetta du Jour ($10.5) that was quite different from the typical too-hard crostini with arbitrary marinated tomatoes. A rosette of salmon “confit” crowned with a dollop of dill-infused crème fraîche was presented on a silky smooth blanket of mashed avocado atop pillowy pliant foccacia. I could not have enough.


Bruchetta du Jour


The Handmade Gnocchi with Burnt Butter Sage Sauce and Chargrilled Prawns ($18.5) should not be missed. The gnocchi were in beautifully irregular rustic nubbins, richly satisfying with a blend of polenta and ricotta. The sauce was brilliantly perfumed with sage, the verdant leaves fried to a crisp and tossed in for extra effect. Undeniably perfect prawns completed the trifecta with their moist crunch and marine sweetness.


Gnocchi


My Chef’s Special ($16.5) was good if a little less spectacular. Al dente penne in a pomodoro sauce enriched with eggplant with chunks of pork fillet was tasty but left me still quite hungry.


Pasta du Jour


We finished off with a Hazelnut Brûlée with Savoiardi Gelato ($12). This was really quite beautiful with that bittersweet burnt sugar tang having an added nutty edge and balanced by a deliciously creamy gelato capturing that rich yet delicate sweetness of ladyfinger biscuits.


Hazelnut Brulee


A remark on service: For the better part of the meal, we were impressed by our debonair waiter who was full of wonderful recommendations and a rich Italian accent that added atmosphere to the meal. Thankfully only our dessert order was somewhat poorly handled by a rather lazy and irritable Aussie waitress who had to be told to check which desserts were available as she agonised over the possibilities for a good two minutes and - to our shock - hollered them to us across the room. The other diners present appeared rather taken aback too.