Well, you’ll be pleased to know that today marked the third day in a row that Rita has lunched at Karen Goodwin-Roberts’ Taste Café.
So far, I have sampled the following dishes:
Marinated pyengana and oregano cheese balls with grissini sticks ($5)
Asparagus, poached free range eggs, roasted capsicum mayonnaise with shaved pyengana cheddar ($8)
Bratwurst scotch egg with boks bacon and mum’s chutney ($8)
Warm salad of beetroot, wursthaus chorizo, ashgrove fetta, greens with an orange vinaigrette ($8)
Nichols chicken panko crumbed schnitzel in a roll with kimchi ($10)
3 free range egg omelette of peperonata, wild roquette and boks bacon ($12)
King Island skirt steak, seared and served rare with chimichurra ($12)
Braised shoulder of cressy lamb, south arm pinkeyes, dutch carrots and green peas in an onion broth ($12)
Not to mention 9 little cupcakes ($2.50 each)
I can’t think of one of the above dishes which I would recommend as being better than any other. Everything I have had has been of the highest order. Absolutely stunning. Faultless. Exemplary.
Much as I love the fact that I can get a table every time, I just don’t know what’s holding everyone in Hobart back from mobbing the place. They’re open Monday to Saturday.
If you read the article in today’s Australian (regarding the economic crisis) about restaurants having to produce what their customers want at better prices, you’ll see that Karen has pre-empted that.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
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12 comments:
rita you must really love it there. i dont think i could go eat sonmewhere 3 days running.
Rita - you sound like me and pigeon hole!!! Am about to Blog about Ebb - just gotta finish reading this chapter.
Hello there Rita..... I just had to let you know, after reading your reports on Taste (my new regular) I took my mother there for lunch today.
It was undoubtably the most delectable lunch that I can remember.
I had the Braised shoulder of cressy lamb and my Mother tried the warm salad of beetroot. It truly was a "Taste" sensation.
My 5 year old had the apricot bread and also a little pink cupcake, her facial expression said it all!!
Mother enjoyed it so much, she will be taking my Grandmother and Aunt there for Granny's birthday in the next week - Granny is somewhat particular as to what and where she eats, I know she will not be disappointed.
I concur..... "FAULTLESS, EXEMPLARY".
Hey TG - what happened to hte Ebb review?
Anon 4.34 - I'm so glad you believed me, and that you found it as I described it. It is ideed a place where you can successfully take Granny, and anyone else who is slightly suspicious of todays food. Karen's food is simple and extremely tasty - just what our older generation prefer.
The reason I love the cupcakes there is that usually I find cupcakes look spectacular but taste ordinary, and probably a bit on the dry side. Karen's are light and fluffy, and the butter icing is to die for! A fabulous mini-package. Your 5 yo exhibits extremely good taste!
How do I find this place? I don't know where the Bahai Centre or the ABC are in Hobart and their website is no help.
Can we have an address/directions to get there please so more of us can experience this place.
Blind Freddy - I'm so sorry for your disability. The ABC is on the (Railway) Roundabout at the Hobart end of the Brooker Highway, opposite the Domain. You get to the Bahai Centre by travelling towards the Hobart Bridge down Macquarie Street through the city. Go past the lights outside the Old Woolstore (hotel) making sure you're in the second lefthand lane. That second lefthand lane, as you're coming down Macquarie St towards the Woolstore, has white painted arrows on the road which direct you to either turn left and proceed up the Brooker Highway, or go straight ahead towards the bridge. You keep going across through those lights as if you were going towards the bridge, but you turn left just 50 yards past those lights at that intersection of Brooker Hwy and Tasman Hwy. You'll see the dome-topped Bahai building on your left, and that's where you're heading.
And if you can find it from geographically-challenged Rita, you deserve a medal!
Should Blind Freddy be driving Rita? Hmmm.
Excellent question Sir G - and good to see you here. Been missing the old Sir G words of wisdom of late.
Well Rita! today, Wednesday the
4th Feb, Hobart was mobbing the place. We turned up at 12:30 to discover crowds of people. We just managed to secure the one remaining table, our waiter Camilla obtaining seats for us from the main Baha'i hall. Camilla turned out to be the most charming, natural and efficient waiting person it has been my pleasure to encounter in years. The staff certainly had their mettle tested with 32 "Probis" ladies having phoned for lunch at 11am.
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Rita, this is a real gem - a lovely space, fine atmosphere, wonderful service and sublime food, and they coped superbly with the crowd.
The dishes are essentially simple, tasty and beautifully presented, using fresh, high quality ingredients. Mon and I shared a serve of the marinated cheese balls and grissini, the smoked salmon with creme fraiche, horseradish, capers and lemon,the braised cressy lamb shoulder and vegetables, bread roll and butter plus two cupcakes for takeaway($33 total). Mon, who is one of those older, fussy eaters, was very impressed. Wonderful!
I'm glad you're enjoying Taste, Rita. In fact it's great to have a place you return to often, like a little anchor.
It also gives you a sort of measure to compare other places on your jaunts.
I had a little Chinese place back in Britain I practically lived in.
Business lunches, post-pub grub with me beer-swilling mates, Saturday ``treat'' dinner with the family and takeaways.
It helped that it was the nearest to home and the food was good. The Chinese guys played mah-jong upstairs.
So, maybe you've found a little spiritual niche and retreat for yourself and pals, Rita. Good stuff.
Hi Rita
Looking forward to trying it tomorrow perhaps, Do they take reservations? Is it true that you are not allowed to indulge in a bevvy of the grape variety?
Hi Anon2 - so glad you and Mon made it there, and sampled those goodies, and agreed with me. I think Karen is going to have to find bigger premises if she keeps up like this! Camilla is Karen's daughter, and I agree with you, she is delightful - well trained by mum I presume combined with her own particular brand of friendliness and helpfulness.
Sir G - I'm not sure about it being my spiritual niche if it means taking on any form of religion, even if it is something like the Bahai's, which seem like a sound religion from conversations with them over the last week. However if you mean it to be the eating-out venue I feel most comfortable in - then you're totally correct! RVL is another like that, but Taste is closer!
Anon 4.18 - Welcome and yes, the Bahai's don't sanction alcohol there. Karen takes reservations. Let me know how you go there, and if you enjoyed it, what you had etc. I'm jealous!
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