2013: A Year of Gastronomic Delights

I, like most people, enjoy going out for dinner a couple of times a week (or more, depending on how loathsome I perceive cooking to be). And, like most people, I have my favourite, tried-and-true haunts, like our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant where I am greeted by a familiar face, ushered to my usual table by the window and swiftly order a Number 11 and a Number 24 without so much as glancing at the menu.

However, of late I have (out of little more than laziness), come to over-rely on the 'usual suspects' when it comes to picking a venue for a ladies' lunch or a long-overdue catch-up with an old friend.
I feel this laziness is manifesting as the gastronomic equivalent of the 'Law of Diminishing Returns'; the more often I eat at my usual restaurants, the less pleasurable the experience becomes, irrespective of the quality of the food, ambience and company.

As one who hates to be be stuck in any kind of rut, I have decided to sample the bounty of (at least)one new restaurant per week throughout 2013. I am already relishing the opportunity to get myself out of my culinary comfort zone and began my mission last night with gusto, dining at Continental Café with a close friend.

This was truly a magnificent find! I can't believe it has taken me so long to stumble across this bijou venue, tucked away in a cosy enclave in New Farm. The experience can best be described as a 'warm hug'; sumptuous comfort food, like Nan used to make.

Everything we sampled was divine, the wait staff were knowledgeable, and the ambience made one feel they were a guest in the owners' kitchen. A particular highlight were the fresh Moreton Bay bugs served with tomato and Cognac sauce and saffron linguini.

 The menu @ Continental Café

 

 

Delightful appetiser of warm bruschetta of seasonal tomatoes, sweet basil & sea salt.

 

 

 Front to back: Moreton Bay bugs served with tomato and Cognac sauce and saffron linguini, seasonal steamed vegetables and 90 day grain-fed rump steak with diane sauce and french fries. Note: While I met my dining partner's choice of meal with derision (he seldom orders anything but steak), the dish was truly magnificent, with the sumptuous diane sauce warranting a particuarly special mention.

 

Delicious affogato. Note: I may have been one of the last people to learn this; Affogato means 'drowned' in Italian...the wonderful imagery this evokes makes this classic dessert even more appealing (if that's possible).

So if you're a Brisbanite who has yet to sample the delicacies of Continental Café, I implore you make it a feature on your To-Do list. As for me, I'm already looking forward to whatever gastronomic delights await me next week. Bon appétit, darlings! Xx