Overview
Have you ever hosted a dinner party? It's no simple thing. Making a quality menu, inviting the right guests, keeping things tidy and most importantly, fun. It's a part-time job for people like Andrew Minutillo, who — other than writing on Substack and creating cookbooks like Souvenirs; Four Dinner Parties in Review and working a non-culinary full-time gig — is the mind, hands and most of the effort behind George Street RSL.
Despite the name, George Street RSL is not an actual Returned & Services League. It is, however, inspired by the communal feel of a local RSL — generous, unpretentious dining, but without the meat raffles, pokies room and multi-storey parking lot. Minutillo's main vision for the project? To establish a small dining collective in his inner-city apartment and reclaim the art of the dinner party."[George Street RSL] is a reintroduction of the art of a dinner party that doesn't take cues from fine products or high-end, refined, rigid cookery," Minutillo explains. "It actually takes its cues from what exists in my [Italian] culture and exists globally around the world — which is eating in excess."
The name? More of an inside joke. Minutillo's dinner parties began in his George Street apartment, with hopes of turning his home into a "cute little bougie boutique," but it didn't last. "I think our dinner parties were originally starting around 7pm and then the more we did them, we were eating dinner at midnight to 1:00 am. So, I was like, this is definitely more of an RSL."
These are no basic potlucks either, Minutillo themes each party around a concept or culture. "We did a Mariah Carey one, we did Egyptian night, we did gay guy food, we did medieval food," Minutllo rattles them off with a smile, showing Concrete Playground a detailed list of future ideas on his phone. We catch glimpses of entries like "Bosnian food" and "guy Hooters".
In the process of creating these menus, Minutillo has drawn a lot of inspiration from underappreciated dishes around Sydney. He took a moment to tell us about some of his favourites.
Panini and an espresso: Raineri's Continental Delicatessen, Five Dock
"My family have been going to Raineri's since before I was born. We aren't really inner-west Italians (shout out City of Ryde), but we travel a lot to hit up the shelves. The Raineri family stock their shelves with some real, quality, Nonna-approved inclusions for your Italian pantry. If you go for a panini, let Sam freestyle it and stock up on some deli items while you wait. Be nice, Sam might make you an espresso if you're cool about it."
Sizzling Silken Tofu: Sun Ming, Hurstville
"The Cha Chaan Teng [a style of diner native to Hong Kong] game globally is cutthroat. The cuisine codes are defined and distinct, matched with a customer base unafraid of pointing out any shortfalls. Sun Ming Hurstville thrives in this game as a heavyweight champion of Hong Kong food in Sydney. HK french toast for breakfast, baked pork chop rice for lunch, mud crab vermicelli for dinner — they have you covered."
Chicken Tenda Wrap Combo: Tenda Wrap, Fairfield
"Winner of the Official George Street RSL Venue of the Year, unofficial title, but the highest that I can bestow. Tenda Wrap is an earnest corner shop chicken store in Fairfield, serving an emerging national gastronomic treasure — the viral Dubai Chicken Wrap — kind of like a best new artist award. Expert-level chicken chefs hit the grill day in and day out with a perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked, top-tier-level chicken wrap. Pickles, chicken, chips, some kind of special sauce — you know the vibes. A day without the viral Dubai Chicken Wrap is a day wasted."
Chip Butty: Splash Coffee, Petersham
"I love swimming, a lot. I love eating after I swim too, like a lot of food. I love hot chips a lot too. I like eating a lot of hot chips after I swim. I love being outside, swimming and eating hot chips. If this sounds like you, walk your speedo down to the Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre and hit up Splash for a Chip Butty. It's all those things I said, which is cool. You will probably see me there, either mid-butty or mid-set. Say hi."
Grilled Trout: Baba's Place, Marrickville
"I cannot speak more highly about Baba's Place. It's special to me in so many ways. Sincerely speaking, it's nice to be recognised in a culinary way by an institution of Sydney. Seeing my culture and community represented on a plate, in a way that feels both authentic and contemporary. I love seeing wog food in this way, something dynamic but also sentimental, championed by a group of young wogs landmarking our contemporary identity. Wogs grilling trout? It's like a mousetrap to me."
Aloha BBQ Mixed Plate: The Big Big Aloha, St Mary's
"I honestly think the team behind The Big Big Aloha think I am a groupie. You know what? I probably am. Who else in Sydney can platform Hawai'ian food like the Big Big Aloha team, in such a deeply delicious way. I follow the Big Big Aloha the same way you would follow the news app — finding out where the truck is going to be this week and how quickly I can get a spam musubi. This is my order, write it down; Aloha BBQ Mix Plate add extra garlic fried chicken, add potato gems and a cold sprite."
Mixed Plate: Island Dreams Cafe, Lakemba
"Cocos and Keeling food not on your radar? You are supremely lacking. Island Dreams Cafe is a family-run business in Lakemba, with four generations of cooking Cocos and Keeling food in the Lakemba Community. I am really sentimental about Island Dreams, I love sitting with the staff drinking Milo and chowing down on rendang, chicken briyani and tamarind chicken hearts. I love hearing about Cocos and Keeling, and how much they love the Lakemba community."
Classic Set Menu: Firepop, Enmore
"I want to call it a rags-to-riches story, but I feel like it was never really rags. It was actually really fabulous. The Firepop team have gone from grilling in a food truck to a really fabulously designed Enmore venue. If it isn't clear, I love the grill. Firepop are beyond grill masters, elevating Sydney's skewer game a head above every other city in the world (my opinion, but intensely true). Interestingly, the same grill masters also sling one of Sydney's best desserts — the buttermilk pannacotta. Legendary stuff."
You can find more of Andrew Minutillo's opinions on the George Street RSL Instagram account, on his substack page, or in his cookbook, 'Souvenirs; Four Dinner Parties in Review'.
Lead image: Justin Cueno