1001 things.

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, I had a couple of food revelations. The only one I can formulate clearly at the moment is this: Cheez Whiz is really pretty delicious on anything. I tasted it on Momofuku pork belly, cold shrimp cocktail shrimp, and even, yes, a chicken nugget...every time, I thought "man that's delicious". Way better than American cheese.

Anyway. So in my Christmas stocking I got this book, 1001 Things To Eat Before You Die. You know me, I like eating, I like nitpicky trivial things like this, plus the timing was right to take a peek at what someone/anyone had to say about Australia's essential eats, fortunately there are several pages' worth of stuff in there on Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti.

Well wait: for context and comparison's sake, let's also look at what they consider essential eating for some of the other places we're already familiar with. For example:

Dutch
Banketletters
Hutspot
Lamb's Tongues in Madeira Sauce
Nieuwe Haring
Eel in Green Sauce
Kroketten
Bitterballen
Haagsche Hopjes
Uitsmijters
Broodjes
White Asparagus

Et cetera. Not a terrible list, only the lamb's tongues seem really out of place on a list full of things you see all the time, though you see eel less and less.

And America, though a much bigger section, also gets a lot of things right: apple pie, biscuits, bacon, BBQ, baked beans, BLT, Brunswick stew, brownies, candy apples, Caesar salad, Cobb salad, cornbread, corn on the cob, crab cakes, deviled eggs, gumbo, jambalaya, key lime pie, lemon meringue pie, clam chowder, toasted marshmallows, muffaletta, Oreos, po' boys, saltwater taffy, fried chicken, shrimp and grits, Tex-Mex, Thanksgiving dinner, etc. I left out more than half of it, but those things all feel pretty nostalgically, uniquely American to me. Thus:

Australia
ANZAC biscuits
Barramundi
Abalone
Carpetbag Steak
Damper
Doyle's On the Beach
Emu
Granny Smith Apples
Kangaroo
Lamingtons
Macadamia Nuts
Pavlova
Peach Melba
Pie Floater
Sydney Rock Oysters
Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey
Tiger Prawn
Vegemite
Wattleseed

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midpoint.

A couple of helpful links would be Transport NSW, Sydney Coastal Walks, and the Grand Pacific Drive site.

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DAYS 1-3: KIAMA, CATHEDRAL ROCKS, LITTLE BLOWHOLE, BOMBO HEADLAND, KIAMA COAST WALK, MINNAMURRA, GERRINGONG.

I know it all sounds like gibberish but these are the things we should see around Kiama if we're awake. We should at least do the first part of the Kiama Coast Walk from Minnamurra to Blowhole Point, then off to Cowabunga and Gungagamunga and Great Googlymoogly etc. Note: we arrive on Bong Bong Street on Tuesday, when very little seems to be open, might be a grocery store night.

Olive and Vine. Italian/Pizza. Tuesday to Sunday 5.30pm to 9pm.
Penny Whistlers. General cafe. 7am-4pm Mon-Wed. Thursday - Saturday 7am - Late, Sunday 7am - 7pm.
Little Blowhole Art Bar. Half-hour walk from hotel but seems civilized. Open Wednesday and Thursday 5-9pm, Friday and Saturday 12-3pm and 5-10pm, Sunday 12-6pm.
Hanoi on Manning. Vietnamese. Wednesday-Monday 11.30-2.30/5.30-9.30.
Milk and Honey. Breakfast.
Flour Water Salt. Breakfast.
Gerringong Cafe and Deli. Breakfast.


DAY 4: GRAND PACIFIC DRIVE, THIRROUL, AUSTINMER,  SEA CLIFF BRIDGE, BALD HILL, STANWELL PARK, ROYAL NATIONAL PARK.

Then we drive up to Sydney and spend most of that day on the Grand Pacific Drive, hopefully see a kangaroo in Royal National Park and not be disemboweled by it.

Scarborough Hotel. "Rubbish service, mediocre food, awesome views."
The Palms. Breakfast and lunch, 9am-4pm.


DAYS 5-7: NEWTOWN.

After relocating to Newtown, the next day we should maybe go to Avalon Beach to make sure we get there. And then maybe the Bondi to Coogee walk, or vice versa and have dinner at Bondi.

Handcraft. Closest coffee to the apartment.
Rising Sun Workshop. Interesting bike repair/breakfast place that looks good, also close to apartment.
Jamaica House. "The closest bar."
Continental Delicatessen. Advanced preserves and things, I'm pretty interested in this.
Delhi 'O' Delhi. Indian. Supposedly kind of a "don't-miss".
Brewtown. Coffee and food, 8am-4pm.
Hartsyard. Dinner. One of the better looking things, should maybe reserve. Never mind, not open until 12 January. Could do dinner on the 14th.
Bloodwood. Not open til 10 January, and then not open for lunch until the 14th, our last day. Maybe worth booking.
Earl's Juke Joint. Secret bar with a "Betta Meats" sign out front.
Corridor. Rooftop.

DAYS 8-14: MARRICKVILLE.

And then we move to Marrickville and rehearsals and I don't know what will happen other than Manly early Wednesday morning. This is all a bit challenging because rehearsals are from 6pm-10pm which takes a giant shit right in the middle of my date nights. Thanks.

Two Chaps. Breakfast and lunch, dinner Thursday and Friday. Very close to home base.
The General. Breakfast and lunch. Looks worth making time for.
Cornersmith Cafe. Cafe with supposedly great homemade pickles, might not be open.
Gasoline Pony. Live music and cocktails, close to rehearsal.
Thai Pothong. Thai restaurant that caters to vegans, close to Gasoline Pony.
The Henson. Trip Advisor's #1 restaurant, website looks horrible but you know. Can't be good.
Hello Auntie. Adventurous Vietnamese, looks worth a reservation.
Creek and Cella. Not really Marricksville, a bit of a stretch, but looks nice.

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AVALON BEACH
Swell Cafe. Seems like the default for food. Tue 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Wed - Mon 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM.
Pineana. Vegan Asian bowls.
The Mill. Sun 1:00 PM - 10:00 PM, Tue - Thu 3:00 PM - 12:00 AM, Fri - Sat 1:00 PM - 12:00 AM
La Banette. Bakery.

BONDI BEACH
Brown Sugar. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Should probably make a reservation.
Drake Eatery. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Second choice. 
Rocker. Open all day, seems a good backup plan.
Funky Pies. Probably the only place to try a good vegan "meat" pie.

CBD
Love, Tilly Devine. Little good-looking wine bar.
The Lobo. Secret bar. Cocktails and small fried things.
Opera Bar/Kitchen. Cheapest good option in Sydney Opera House.
Hubert. Late night French in CBD.
The Kittyhawk, Cocktails.
The Baxter Inn. "Secret bar" that has 760 reviews on Trip Advisor. Supposedly "legendary".

DARLINGHURST
Mr. Crackles. Emergency late-night pork cracklings sandwiches, Darlinghurst, til 4am. Looks fantastic. Hey there's a pumpkin option too.
Shady Pines Saloon. Dive, Darlinghurst. 4pm-midnight.
Big Poppa's. Late-night Italian til 3am, Darlinghurst.

GAP PARK/WATSONS BAY.
Watsons Bay Hotel. Hotel with things other than seafood.

MANLY.
Hugo's. The more expensive waterside option, not much vegetarian, but maybe pizza is a good idea.
Chica Bonita. Mexican, supposed to be good. Tue - Sun 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM, 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Papi Chulo. BBQ, also limited vegetarian.

POTTS POINT
Yellow. Fancy vegetarian, also in Potts Point, should try and reserve.
Monopole. Wine bar owned by the Yellow people in Potts Point.

REDFERN
The Bearded Tit. Live music in Redfern.

THE ROCKS
Fine Food Store. Breakfast and lunch in The Rocks.

SURRY HILLS
Bar H. Japanese/Australian wine bar in Surry Hills, looks really interesting. Never mind, they're not open until the 9th and they don't do lunch.
The Wild Rover. "Pirate-themed bar".
Golden Age. "Art deco bar". In a cinema.

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dilla says go.