Thursday 29 July 2010

What? Another meal out, Rita?

It's famine or feast for Rita! For months she never eats out, then it's every day or night!

Tonight it was a top meal at Piccalilly, with eating partner Colette (from Ut Si Cafe in Perth) and number 5 Rita offspring - Bec. Because her Mum absolutely rocks, Bec shouted her mother out for dinner tonight! OK - so it didn't quite go that way, but the result was the same!

The food, as always, was absolutely the most excellent ever. I won't go into details, as anyone can read an online menu, and everyone should go there, at least once in their lives - which is exactly what Bec did tonight. She was sick of hearing me comparing all good restaurants to Piccalilly when SHE hadn't been there, which is basically how we ended up doing it tough at Piccalilly!

Iain has to be THE most talented young chef around, and Elysia complements him well.

I love the food there. I love the flavours Iain manages to maintain in his innovative food.

And wonder of wonders, I even had a few drinks. Thanks guys.
Posted on by Rita
15 comments

15 comments:

Anonomouse said...

Jealous!

Bloody good restaurant Piccalilly. It's not a Quay, L'Arpege or Pierre Gagnaire if I'm comparing to my experiences their but it's heading in the right direction. Good service with really good food.

My only gripes, and are very minor, are sometimes I think the food needs a bit more punch, or a slightly bigger contrast in flavour and texture while still having that balance they do so well at the moment, a bit more personable service at times, and a renovated dining room. The last one is the big one. The rest are all very minor and easily obtainable.

The room just never seems quite right to me. Not sure why - maybe it's a clash of "personalities".

I'm really enjoying seeing the chefs career and food progress. The only difference between those aforementioned restaurants and Piccalilly is time. He's young, hungry and the world is his oyster.

Christina said...

I'm jealous too Rita. Picalilly is always on my must go list but I never seem to get there.

Had an experience last night though and wondered what the feelings were on this.
Dined out, meal was lovely, service was okay, got the bill which came to $83. Put $90 on the plate with the bill, girl collects the plate and thats it. Never to be seen again.
Had we taken the bill up and paid at the counter, the change would have been the tip.
Had the waitress bought the change back it would have been the tip, but is it okay just to assume and take the money?
I know it wasn't much, but to me it's the principal. If you take something without it being offered, or without asking, isn't that theft?

Anonymous said...

Christina, I agree with you. Except I would have gotten extreme angry, and gone up and demanded my change.

Why is tipping expected? And to not even thank you is simly rude.

Name and shame that place please.

So this morning when I go into a cafe for a $3.50 latte, if I hand over a $10 note, will the cashier just pocket the $6.50 change?

Rita said...

I agree too Christina. It's extremely presumptuous for someone to simply think they are entitled to a tip, and keeping the change seems tantamount to stealing the change out of your purse! Naughty, naughty!

I'm afraid the mother in me would make me request the change, just to make a point to the waitperson.

Unless someone tells this person, they will keep on assuming that it's OK to keep change, and that they are doing a good enough job that they feel they are entitaled to a tip, when maybe they're actually not?

Christina said...

This girl definately wasn't entitled to it.
She came with one of those bloody pepper grinders and asked if we'd like pepper, on a garlic pizza,????? and at the same time as we're answering no, she's grinding away.
We were leaving the tip for the hospitality recieved from the owner I suppose. It was a nice evening but the waitress did nothing to contribute to it.
I agree with anon too. There was no thankyou recieved at all. We deliberately went up to the counter to say goodbye and thank them for our meal, as we always do, but not a word was said even then.
Love the food at this place but every time we go there's always something.

Anonymous said...

Dont know about other people here, but there is no way in the world I am giving away $7 of my hard-earned to some hopeless waitress who cant even say please and thankyou. The fact that she just assumed you were tipping also annoys me.

I would write a letter to the owner, and complain, saying that if the $7 isn't given back ASAP you will name and shame that business as much as possible -- it will certainly cost them more than $7 and that waitress will quickly learn that change is change. Not her personal tips for beer or cigarettes or hair cuts.

ASSUME = makes an ASS out of U and ME .......... hahahaha

Please name and shame the business, I will avoid it like the plague.

sir grumpy said...

You know, when I look at menus and pictures on restaurant websites and see just a couple of slices of beef (even if it is wagyu) and little assembles of bits and bobs, I know why I've given up on posh nosh.
It all looks great but I like a main course to hang together. Meat or whatever with veggies and a starch.
The veggies and spuds, or pasta or rice can all still be done nicely.
I also like a proper soup (with bread) and proper starter.
And a decent pud.
In other words I want a feed and the company of friends. Two, three of four courses (cheese for fourth). Not a barrage of little fancy nothings.
I'm sure it tastes good and it sure looks good. But if I want entertainment I can turn on the telly or go to the theatre.
We have lost our way...

Anonomouse said...

We have a diet like Americans. We like big meals, we like convenience foods and bigger is better. Places like Hog's Breathe are going strong while places serving high quality food struggle. Biggest seller in the pastry department of Coles? Shake and Bake cakes... What a joke. We have lost our way...

sir grumpy said...

No, not big as in Supersize, nor poor quality.
Just a course that comes together.
Not a single-ticket item with a petal here and a splodge there.
Not a succession of say, 12 dishes for everybody, where the whole night is taken up with interruptions from the (no doubt well-meaning) staff.
Just high-quality bistro-style meals with a splash of decent plonk.
Not sacrificing quality or range and not an ``all you can eat'' ethos either.
But if all that foam and fiddling suits you, then I'd be the last person to deny you the right to go for it.
When someone demurs, there's usually another who disagrees and will push the ``extreme other scenario'' button to shoot them down. Give me a break.
We have lost our way insofar as dining out has become competition cooking and eating. I hate that....and I'm entitled to my view.
So there.

Anonymous said...

Just had a great pub meal Sir G at the Waratah!
Superbly cooked ribeye at $21 with a pleasant mushroom sauce.

Plenty of bottled wine to be bought but we went for the house wine at I think was $4 a glass.

Great mid ranged food and wine.

P

Anonymous said...

waratah for lease/sale right now

Anonymous said...

Dirt cheap too, I heard.

Cant see much profit in selling wine at $4 a glass, when a fine bottle can fetch $1000's these days

lemon curd said...

Methinks it may not have come from a bottle!
But seriously, most 'house' wines land for under $5 a bottle, so the old $4 glass isn't beyond the stretch of the imagination...

Anonymous said...

Well its poured from a bottle, I think it was a Linderman or a Taylor/Fergusson, a Langhorne creek red.

The place is up for sale. I think I saw in the paper that it turns over $3 million but maybe not so much in the counter meal area!

Three million is three million.
A bit more than the odd bottle you might sell for $1000.

My response was a response to Sir G not a discussion about high priced wines which I do enjoy drinking but can't usually afford!


P

sir grumpy said...

Yes P, there are lots of lovely drinks out there I can only look at and wonder.
I'd love to see Tassie's food revolution involving our local pubs in getting great food and grog into us.
With a good atmosphere, of course.
We can leave a couple of per cent for the top end...everyone is entitled to enjoy grub and fine wine their own way and it does invite higher skills that can trickle down.
Now, where's that $10 red the wine club guy said normally retails for $20?!!