Tuesday, 24 July 2007

Shopping for goodies

Did a quick runaround this afternoon, looking for pre-prepared type food at Lipscombe Larder, Wursthaus Salamanca, Salad Bowl and Hill St Grocers.

Looked at the variety of goods available, quality and convenience but not price.

Decided on Lippy Larder as being the venue of choice.

It has lots going against it. It's not on my regular route, its clientele generally consists of your Sandy Bay people, who, quite frankly, sometimes can be quite disdainful of the rest of us. But their food offerings were interesting, varied, looked great and catered for any kind of taste you felt like.

Wursthaus were good, and the service was definitely there (I was asked 3 times if I was being looked after while I was ambling round looking) but it wasn't quite up there with the amount of product variety.

Salad Bowl need to travel round a bit more & look at what others are doing, and change their standard menu.

Hill Street are good too, but I think overall Lipscombe Larder remains the winner - today, anyway.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The gourmet deli in Elizabeth mall gets my vote. Its a treasure vault of goodies, that my suppliers don't carry. All the ones you mentioned are good, but for sheer product knowledge, and quality, I often find an excuse to walk in and out with the very bits I'm convincing myself I need. They all smash the pants off the big two anyhow. I love independent operations.

Rita said...

You're right Cartouche - only disadvantage is that it's a bastard of a place to get a parking spot at or near when you're in a reasonable hurry.

Anonymous said...

Mind you, Rita, in the time it took you to trawl from Lipscombe to Hill St, you could have found a park at Argyle or Centrepoint!
Then, when you are loaded from the mall deli, you can nip round to Spice World.
Sir Grumpy

Tassiegal said...

Only disadvantage of being in Med Sci and not the Clinical school is the fact that I am not walking distance to the Gourmet Deli.

Anonymous said...

Just to skew off the radar slightly. I was off in Lauderdale neck of the woods today. Spotted a neat little restaurant called "On the Edge" anyone been? Also Fritto Misto for sale, same question. Love to know, if not I'm going next week so I'll let you know.

Rita said...

Sir G - I was wondering when someone would pick me up on that one!

Cartouche - I've been to both those places at Lauderdale.
Both were fine. I think their main problem, as with your Channel places as well, is that they rely on people travelling/visiting (frequently) those (perceived) outlying areas & then wanting to eat there.
I had great meals at both, but empathised with their owners regarding customers.

Please tell us which one you go to, and your thoughts. I'm really interested.

Anonymous said...

I've also eaten at both of these restaurants. Fritto Misto was not too bad. A group of us dined, one of the ladies being a local and a regular customer. I adored my seafoood chowder and my flathead was wonderful, but the chips, that bad they remained on my plate. Sadly my local friend has stopped visiting because of the decline in food quality, even though her husband used to say he eaten the best steak ever there.
Went to Eating on the Edge only a couple of months ago. Oh no I thought, just another Italian place. So I thought outside my square and had the most wonderful calamari with salad and {one of the best meals I've ever eaten} fegato with penne. A dish of livers and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. HEAVEN!! I live in the northern suburbs and would happily travel to Lauderdale just to have that dish whenever I could.
Enjoy your meal cartouche Let us know how you find things.

Anonymous said...

Eating on the Edge - have had a number of lovely meals there, happy to travel down anytime, excellent service each time.

Fritto Misto - From my perspective - very poorly run, miserly with regard to drinks and food, and not suitable to the local demographic whatsoever. Often no stock as it hadn't been ordered - how can you forget when the wine chiller is empty?? Having said that, the food was (often) high quality and enjoyable, would go back with new owners/same chef. Just because you eat in a restuarant doesn't make you qualified to run one.

Very Very Anon.

Anonymous said...

Christina, Rita and very secret anon; I'm having a little get together of my longer serving staff. We are actually dining at my place, but its my apprentice who is cooking for them. He has copped a bit of flack from the FOH recently, so I'm giving him a little leeway to impress them on Monday (not to mention the wife). If he succeeds, as I'm confident he will, then the reward is to head off to "On the edge".
I will let you all know what we thought.
Fritto Misto, all sounds a bit cryptic. But I think I'm getting the drift, good staff, nice food, bad management? Probable reason for sale?

Rita said...

I'd say you pretty well had got the drift there cartouche!