Sunday Funday

I'm not one to regularly blog about a meal I've had.  I'm not much of a food critic, and I don't take amazingly appetizing looking pictures.  But, I had such a fun Sunday that I'm going to share.

A friend of ours birthday was in January, and my guy's was earlier this month.  We used this as an excuse to get together for a Sunday meal.  My friends recently visited the Barossa Valley, a wine region in Australia.  At one of the vineyards, she was told about this restaurant in Newtown called bloodwood.  Newtown is an eccentric area of Sydney and has some amazing places to eat, drink, people watch, and shop. 

 I got myself all dolled up to go out for the day.  I wore a new dress, and I feel Stevie Nicks-ish because it has big flowy sleeves that I can dance and twirl in.

We got to Newtown early and strolled for a little while, mostly window shopping.  Nature called, so I ducked into the restaurant before our reservation.  The decor is described "to reflect the inner west suburb, melding raw and industrial finishes with an emphasis on recycled and reclaimed materials."  I loved it.  So quirky and cool.

 

The toilets are downstairs - 3 individual ones with old doors, concrete walls, stainless sinks, and look at that faucet!

 Recycled bottles were used to separate a walkway and eating area.

A light fixture made of clothespins hangs over a table with brightly colored metal chairs.

The four of us were seated by the tattooed, mustachioed hipster who told us that the menu was designed to share all the plates and recommended six different plates between the four of us.  Perfect recommendation.  We picked out meat selections - miso fried chicken, argyle beef striploin, braised lamb nuggets with a pistachio crumb - and our vegetarian selections - polenta chips, fried yorkshire pudding stuffed with goat's cheese (which was amazing!), and my favorite, socca.  What is 'socca', you ask?  I didn't know either.  It was so, so, soooooo good.

polenta chips, miso chicken, lamb nuggets

socca - chickpea pancake, summer seeds, quinoa, pumpkin, persian fetta

 

 

I can't talk about this restaurant without mentioning the drinks menu.  It a well-rounded menu of cocktails, wine, cider, and beer.  It's summertime in Sydney, it was a warm summer day, so I wanted to sample some of their self-described "fancy beers".  

 The menu recommended this for anyone who is a fan of sour jelly beans or sour jelly chews.  If Kool-Aid was a beer, it would be this.  From Buxton Brewery in the UK, this was so interesting and a really great way for me to start my beer tour.  It tasted so sweet, but had a nice beer aftertaste.

 A bit of a gimmick, but too good to pass up.  The Slaytanic Swill is a red ale that was a combined beer effort from Victorian and New South Wales brew masters.  It was pretty heavy, but I liked it. 

 "Notes: Best drunk while bashing your head." - My kind of beer

Brewed with wildflower honey and corn, the sweet smell of this IPA was a-may-zing!  Unfortunately, the taste wasn't as good as the smell.  It wasn't awful, but it wasn't amazing.  

We stayed long enough that all the tables around us emptied.  Probably a good thing.  No one wanted to hear our debate about the Bali 9.

Unfortunately, one of my girlfriends had to go to work.  As we were deciding if we wanted to continue our Sunday Funday, we hung around their apartment, chatted, and drank some wine.  Well, 50% of us drank some wine. The decision was made to continue the day into evening by going to visit a pub that not-so-long ago had a menu change.  So, we headed to The Oxford Tavern.  Did I mention there were several hours between our huge meals??  I'm a girl who likes to eat, but I'm not that bad!

poor Neil only had soft drinks all day, but he had fabulous company!

As we perused the menu, I got a wee bit excited.  Quesadillas?  Pulled pork?  Tacos?  Chili fries?!?!?  Yep.  We'll be coming here more often.

Deliciousness!!!!!!

This may be the other half of the folks who decided to partake in a few libations.  Such as...........

...absinthe and red bull with beers to chase.  Who's idea was that?!  Mine.  Bad idea.  And, I'm pretty sure that is when Neil sober one called it a night.

So...........I highly recommend bloodwood in Newtown.  The service was great.  The food was fantastic.  The drink menu was fun.  The decor is awesome.  Go there.