macchiato

Miss Shiny & I were running late (and oh! but doesn't that seem to always be the tale). We shouldn't have been, for we had both left work with time to spare. But then a phone call ("We're at the Bowler's Club playing Wii! Come along!") and a quick wander down, and a slow chat ("If we beat the high score, everyone gets a round of drinks!") was followed by a surreptitious glance at the time ("Ahh! We need to be at dinner 10 minutes ago!") and a hustle and bustle back up George Street, onto Park then onto Pitt. A scurry past the cupcake shop, Sakura and the convenience store... and we were there. The last to arrive, but present nonetheless.

She didn't know it at the time, but we were there to celebrate her birthday (and, yes. The order of my posts is all jumbled up, but I was never good at being chronological). They had already picked what they were going to eat (so late were we) and so as Miss Shiny & I nodded at each other ("Share?" nod. "Pasta?" "and a Pizza?" "You pick one" "I'll pick the other?" "Done." "Done.") they picked their meals.

Grilled Halloumi served with roma tomato,
olive oil & lemon wedges $13.50

"You know that's just cheese right?" we asked, when a starter of Grilled Halloumi was ordered. "I'm not very hungry". But when it arrived, we were all hungry and the scent of the briney, squeaky, golden grilled cheese was delightful. And paired with fresh slices of roma tomato, it looked ever so delicious. And even so, it wasn't finished, because some people (not me) just aren't that hungry.

Steak Macchiato: new york cut, served with
mushroom sauce, fries & salad $27.50

On the opposite end of the spectrum was the one who ordered the steak. It was brought out with much ooh-ing and ahh-ing for the meat smelt wonderfully charred and the cut was cooked just so. Had I been sitting up closer, I may have nabbed a chip. But, alas. I was not.

Vegetarian Spaghetti: pumpkin, spinach, mushroom,
capsicum, olives, pesto & napolitana sauce $17.50

Pastas here are ordered by sauce and then by shape (penne, spaghetti, angel hair, fettucini, risotto... I know. Risotto isn't a shape, but you catch my drift yes?) And this one looked a treat. Though the picture doesn't show it, I am told that there was a substantial portion of veges intermingled with the spaghetti strands.

Spaghetti Boscaiola: chicken, bacon, mushroom,
shallots, in a creamy garlic sauce $19.50

We had ordered the boscaiola (after some to-ing and fro-ing about penne vs spaghetti). And it was bacony and it was mushroomy and oh, was it creamy! The garlic was mild and the spaghetti was firm. The leaves of rocket on top were a bit of a lifesaver, especially as, after a while, the creamy, cheesy sauce started to stick to your mouth, and your throat and "oh! water? fantastic!" It needed a touch more salt, and a grind of pepper, but these were added without fuss and the dish was well enjoyed.

Sydney Supreme: ham, chorizos, pepperoni,
capsicum, onion, mushroom & pineapple $20.90

But onto the pizzas. And there were so many to choose from! They are served on gorgeous dark wooden blocks, perfect for hacking into the slices on, and have a lovely crisp base. And I will have to brief, because I only tried two of them. One really quite nice, and one which was ok. And neither of them was the Sydney Supreme.

Macchiato: roasted pumpkin, roasted capsicum, grilled onion,
eggplant, mushroom, feta, mozzarella & rosemary $18.90

The OK one was the Macchiato, though I wonder if my judgement was biased by eating it after it had become slightly cold and following a serve of rich boscaiola. The flavours were muted (which I know some like) and the cheese was evenly spread throughout. Oh, and it had pumpkin on it (which, more likely than not, is the real reason I had such neutral feelings towards the dish). best not to trust my judgement in this particular instance then.

Bombay: tandoori chicken, onions, mint yoghurt,
chutney & mozzarella $19.90

SuperDanny had ordered the Bombay, but oh! He was all the way down the other end of the table ("Well, you shouldn't have been so late then" "Yeah...") And the chicken looked tender and smelt oh-so-fragrant and the swirl of minty yoghurt on the top looked like just enough to provide flavour without overpowering everything else and making it all soggy (as yoghurt on pizza has a habit of doing).

Atlantic: garlic prawns, baby rocket, bocconcini
& sundried tomatoes $23.90

And oh, this was the pizza that was good. The prawns still had their tails attached, but I almost prefer that as it makes it easier to spot where they are (and, more importantly, where they aren't). The rocket was refreshing, the tomato provided a surprising zing and the bocconcini... well, I love bocconcini so I was always going to be happy with this, wasn't I?

surprise cake! (from 85C)

So we wandered back and *BAM!* surprised Miss Shiny with a cake from 85C. And she said "OH!" and we got cocoa powder all over the table and may have accidentally snorted it up our noses in the melee that followed. And I think that's the end of the birthdays, for now anyway. (And yes, that was a slightly abrupt ending, but birthdays take it out of me...)

Macchiato
Cnr Liverpool & Pitt St
Sydney NSW 2000
ph 02 9262 9525