Part 2 (2/2)
Neither of us really grasped the vastness of Australia before we began planning our visit In a week to ten days, we assumed naively, it should be possible to see Sydney, our li maybe the Adelaide area, Melbourne, Tasmania, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Outback Fat chance The country is so huge it constitutes a continent, one of those raphy that our brains inconveniently misplaced
In the end, Bill pushed to limit ourselves to Sydney and one other destination, so we didn't waste half our time in planes and airports For him, the natural choices for the second spot on a food adventure seemed to be Melbourne, a worldly city many Aussies prefer to Sydney, or Adelaide and its nearby wine regions, or possibly Tas quickly in international culinary renown Cheryl settled the ot the best chance of finding kangaroos and koalas in the wild That's been a dream of mine since childhood If one of your three places offers the opportunity, sign ”
Her best hope, it turns out, is Adelaide, which serves as the gateway to nearby Kangaroo Island, a ninety-e part as a nature reserve for Down Under species Eager to enjoy the South Australian wines, Bill cheerfully accepted the provincial city as a stop and booked both of us to Kangaroo Island on a nonrefundable day-trip package with airfares included Unhappily for him, when the appointed day arrives, he wakes up with a horrible cold, the result, he suspects, of the overnight ordeal of getting here froht involving an extended 4:00 AM AM stopover in Darwin Bill decides that Cheryl should go alone on her wildlife quest ”I don't want to risk eardrue on a plane”-a close friend of ours went deaf in one ear froth” stopover in Darwin Bill decides that Cheryl should go alone on her wildlife quest ”I don't want to risk eardrue on a plane”-a close friend of ours went deaf in one ear froth”
Bill stays true to his word, leaving bed only to hand-wash his laundry and to seek out a pharmacy and fast-food lunch near our small don business hotel, the Rockford Cheryl has atime with Ron and Phil of Adventure Charters, who take her and six other people in an all-terrain Laingley to explore thefulfills all her lifelong aspirations, as she indicates to Bill repeatedly over the next few days in stories filled with exclauides, who refer to the rest of the country as ”the northern island,” focus in theon the ht hundred varieties of the stately native tree and such splendid birds as glossy black cockatoos and the scarlet parakeets called rosellas When Cheryl brags about spotting three koalas in the branches, Bill teases her about the feat ”Aren't there thirty thousand koalas on the island-sothe the herd?”
”Yes, that's true, but seeing three is good because they are solitary aniaroos, as you ht expect, abound on the island naroup corazing in the bush, leaning back on their tails between bites ”Once,” Cheryl tells Bill, ”e rounded a corner, there was a big 'roo standing upright beside the road, just like he was hitchhiking!”
”Probably trying to get away fro koalas”
For lunch, Ron and Phil prepare a cookout picnic for their charges, frying fillets of freshly caught whiting over a propane fire to serve with crusty potato wedges, a green salad, and a selection of local cheeses and wine Cheryl uses the break to get acquainted with the only other Americans on the excursion, a couple who happen to live part-tiether with theht after our return from the trip
In the afternoon the tour continues to Seal Bay, populated by sea lions rather than fur seals To remain unobtrusive, everyone crawls across a stretch of beach to watch the ani in the water ”Guess what they eat,” Cheryl says to Bill
”Tuna-fish sandwiches?”
”No, sobble whole crustaceans, shell and all Afteron a lobster or similar creature, they chew rocks to break up the shell they sed and then regurgitate the stones!”
”Now that would have been a sight worth seeing”
Bill thinks the sarees, about the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale wine regions, both in different directions from Adelaide than the Barossa Valley and even closer to the city In the heart of the Hills, the large Petaluewater Mill, where the cos of all its labels at a cellar door, and operates thecombination of treats lures us to the old mill and ultimately detains us for most of an afternoon
In the cellar door, we meet a couple of enthusiastic e us sa superb examples of a sparkler (named Croser after founder and wine, and a shi+raz After lunch, when the tasting rooive us a tour of the building, showing us the huge nineteenth-century heel and the up-to-date processing facilities for the chaer to please as Kate and Mike are, the ee, born of Chinese parents, he cae of sixteen, beginning his career in the culinary field by taking a job as a dishwasher in a French restaurant With pluck, luck, and lots of talent, he rose froradually honing one of the most respected repertoires in the country for conte, often called ”Mod Oz” cuisine
Le's constantly changing redients frohtened with Asian accents Appetizer choices e wrapped in prosciutto hite bean tortellini, soybeans, and black cabbage, or maybe seared yellowfin tuna with teins with a beautifully balanced dish featuring a gorgonzola and caramelized onion tart with apple, celery, and pickled-walnut dressing Bill orders one of the regular starter specialties, dazzling grilled Kangaroo Island iant crayfish) with crustacean mousseline, shellfish essence, truffle crea, which he folloith a hearty, rare steak dressed with meaty oxtail samosas and robust Moroccan chile jaaroo Island chicken with scanac sauce, perfectly prepared and wonderfully flavored
It's a nificent introduction to the sophisticated tastes of Mod Oz food, even to Bill with his deepening cold, but at the tinificance of the style Until we gainin Sydney, the lunch is htful yet on the trip Within a few days, it becomes part of a revelation
The drive to McLaren Vale yields surprises h Adelaide'sconfidence in his left-of-the-road skills, and gets onto an expressway heading south After a few he're barreling down: an abundance of traffic signs face the opposite direction than Bill is headed ”Could we be going the wrong way?” she asks
”If so, we've got lots of company There could be a helluva pileup ahead”
Later, after our arrival in McLaren Vale, locals tell us the highway department ran out of money to purchase land, so it only built half of the projected road Traffic flows south in the , then access shuts down for two hours, and after that, it runs north for the rest of the day At least the strange arrange on the appropriate side of the street
A se and the surrounding hills, McLaren Vale enjoys a similar kind of bucolic allure At the head of Main Road, the only street in the valley with any red lights or commercial activity, Bill pulls into a wine inforet a map It's not open yet, but Mary Ha Committee, shows up to drop off some paperwork Cheryl asks her about special places to visit, and Mary invites us to join her for a cup of coffee don ”I handle sales for h Haularly to the United States, where we export much of our production” She shows us one of their labels, pointing out the black sheep logo and the slogan ”Every family has one” ”That's my father, our black sheep,” Mary says with pride ”You shoulddirections she provides, we drive up to the winery's cellar door, perched on a hilltop offering panorah and Mary's hing with guests Several open bottles sit on the bar: Loose Cannon Viognier, Scallywag Un-wooded Chardonnay, Mongrel Sangiovese Blend, Jekyll & Hyde shi+raz-Viognier, Ratbag Merlot When Hugh co the wines, Bill says, ”Looks like you keep some pretty shady company”
”I do indeed The wines are na?”
”In Aussie slang, that's an affable rascal May need to change that label It scares off American buyers for some reason”
Pam offers us some olives froarlic, and a hint of chile, and also pieces of bread with the Hamiltons' olive oil and dukkah, a Mideastern mixture of nuts, seeds, and spices that's popular locally because of a profusion of alo pertly with the wines, particularly the unoaked Chardonnay (”Just ran out of barrels one day and discovered the pure grape flavor for the first tiorous structure, backbone, and tannin
As we drink and nibble, Hugh tells us about the winery ”I'eneration of a family that planted vineyards here in 1837, less than a year after the first European settlers carew up in the 1950s, rape juice because so few people in Australia cared at all for dry wine I've seen the whole progression in interest since then, a seismic shi+ft in ot into the wine business more recently, in 1967, but their estate dates back to 1860 and some of their shi+raz vines first budded in 1919 The cellar door, in an old stone barn building, sits astride a hill along with a cottage garden, a plot of Flanders poppies, and an amphitheater for Shakespeare in the Vines perforlasses of Chenin Blanc, Sangiovese, and shi+raz wines, all well crafted, along with sa room The Lloyds raise the olives on their property and also own Woodside Cheese Wrights, a respected oat cheeses In lieu of a lunch stop, we buy stocks of both products for a picnic
If Bill had been feeling well, ould have eaten instead at d'Arrys Verandah Restaurant, located in the old fa Perusing the posted menu near the entrance, Cheryl speculates about the choices ”Maybe I would get the warar snap peas, pine nuts, pea tendrils, and chard, or possibly the red-elk pie with glazed pot-roasted onions” Waiters whiz by us with soht sufficient to drive a sicksips of s Tawny Port, priced in the saue as BMWs The 's three iconic reds, the Dead Arnon, and the Ironstone Pressings Grenache, shi+raz, Mourvedre The 2003 vintage of each is tannic and tight but showing brawny potential On our way out, Cheryl spots a display of chocolates, d'Arry's truffles filled with fortified shi+raz, and decides pro to need a couple of these for a roadie dessert”
By the tione into reverse, sending us back on the saht us south hours earlier Our original plan for dinner calls for trying one (or maybe even two) of the city's plain, value-priced Chinese restaurants that residents rave about for urbane fare-on nearby Gouger Street alone, Ying Choins plaudits for northern Chinese fare, the Mandarin House for its hand duck Bill feels worn down, however, so we sup instead at our hotel dining roo much from the food
Each of us orders South Australian oysters to start, since it's their high season Some come on the half shell and others are baked briefly in the locally popular Kilpatrick style, topped with bits of crispy bacon and a light brush of Worcestershi+re sauce The oysters are pluh to stand up to the Kilpatrick kick Ourfillets fried in a tempura batter, shi+nes as well ”Even better than the whiting I had on Kangaroo Island,” Cheryl says
”Thisthan your three koalas Here in a small, provincial city in rural Australia, a business-hotel kitchen s us!”
The next day, with Bill tanked up to his hair roots in decongestants, we fly on to Sydney and check into the Russell Hotel Despite being too much like a B&B in intere space, the inn claims a prime location in The Rocks historic district just across a small park from Circular Quay, the transportation hub for the city, and provides grand views froe, and the Opera House Even acerbic Bill finally says, ”The advantages probably outweigh the dangers of choking on the Victorian charets off work The three of us met in France a year earlier, when she attended a culinary-adventure week that we lead annually in the Dordogne at a wonderful country retreat called La Co for this trip by then already called for a definite stop in Sydney, and Liz volunteered to advise us on our visit andus to a couple of her favorite places in town and showing us, at our request, a Sydney institution known as Harry's Cafe de Wheels
Harry's opened at the end of World War II, originally as a street-food cart pushed into place every day to serve sailors working on the nearby wharfs After it gained so Sydney and eventually acquired historic status, the cafe gave up its wheels and becahteen hours a day, selling er,” the nickname of the founder, coravy-and chili hot dogs, the biggest of which contains the naarlic, onions, mushy peas, and cheese It looks fun, but we pass on the chow
Liz escorts us down the sas of the lobby bar in the W Hotel, part of a sleek new residential development After we've taken seats in cushy chairs around a low table and ordered wine, Liz leans over to Cheryl and whispers, ”I've heard Russell Crowe and Tos”
”No kidding,” Cheryl says, al to look in every direction at once
The sightseeing turns out to be more successful on the drive to dinner ”I'll take you on a detour across the Harbour Bridge,” Liz tells us, and accidentally httilow ”A lot of tourists,” our guide roups to climb the built-in ladders to the very top of the structure”
”Good thing we're not joiners,” Bill says
Liz eventually parks on the waterfront near the end of the bridge and leads us into The Wharf, a restaurant operated by the Sydney Theatre Company, with spectacular harbor views fro the three of us, we try al zucchini and ricotta ”dus” (clouds of cheese dusted with flour and wrapped in thin zucchini strips), red bell pepper soup accompanied by a scrumptious Chinese steamed pork bun, salt-and-pepper-crusted calamari, and warm, luscious scallops folded in a thin orette
”This is all fabulous,” Cheryl says to Liz ”Tell us about Mod Oz cooking”
”The tere Australian cooking, which often blends European and Asian flavors, so up, Australians ate a lot of British-style meat pies, like those served at Harry's, and they are still comfort food for many people But in the 1970s the country abandoned a century-old whites-only iration policy, established back in British colonial days, and this led to an influx of Asian settlers Since then, we've beco reflects that, particularly in good restaurants like this one Our top chefs are always trying to outdo each other in creative new dishes”