My affection for Lebanon is well documented. And when I needed a little bit of comfort food after a stressful and somewhat strung out week, I called for reinforcements from the Levant. Despite my whinging and revisionist tendencies of former residents, there is quite to love about where I live. The variety of fabulous food just a phone call and Evil Kenieval motorbike trip away. Malaysian, Turkish, Chinese, Mexican, Italian…and of course Lebanese joints are all within shouting distance. This includes the terrific little eatery Al Balad I was actually craving a dish called Eggplant Fatteh – comfort food personified – which is fried strips of eggplant with toasted pita,…
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What a Raclette…But I am Still Fondue of You
When I was a youngster living in Sydney’s west, it wasn’t the culinary melting pot that it is now. On my last visit home, the main drag of Merrylands’ restaurant count included Vietnamese, Turkish, Lebanese, Chinese, Thai and a couple of others. Nearby Parramatta is even more diverse. But in the 1980s in Parramatta, there was a restaurant called inexplicably Pinkys (the only name more inexplicable was the Foo Doo Chinese up on Sherwood Road, but that’s another story). And at Pinkys, the only thing on the menu was fondue and lots of it. Melted cheese in all its glory. I never actually went to Pinkys and it is long…
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Comte As You Are
As I type this, I am watching a “One Night Only” Duran Duran special on TV. Amazingly, they have aged quite well, Simon, admittedly wearing a rather flattering leather jacket, seems to move as well as he did in the 1980s and is still endearingly out of tune. The other members still look a bit of all right too, I’m unsure of how much of their performance and current looks are wind assisted, but this didn’t affect my nostalgic moment. I knew all the words to the songs, except that weird later period around A View to a Kill, when they got all artsy and their all did “side projects”…