From the hand-built furniture to the beef cheek with beetroot and black sesame to the extensive wine list, EXP Restaurant in the Hunter Valley is about all things local and carefully handcrafted. You'll find it tucked away in Oakvale, a family-owned and run winery in Pokolbin with a focus on drops made with minimal intervention. Head chef Frank Fawkner is a local. He started out at Mount Broke Wines, before training at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, then moving to London, where he became sous chef at Tom Aikens's Tom's Kitchen. On returning, he joined the team at the two-hatted Muse Restaurant. To sample as many of Fawkner's creations as possible, settle in for a tasting ($90). The current multi-course menu offers slipper lobster, and Hunter wagyu beef with pumpkin and pepita. For dessert, there's myrtle gum with wattleseed, chocolate and caramel, among other delights. Add matching wines for $65. Most of the drops on the list come from nearby, with Oakvale getting a good look in, as well as Tyrell's, Margan, Keith Tulloch and Tinklers. Fawkner worked with a bunch of other creatives to give EXP. its handcrafted yet sleek interior. Expect to be immersed in woodwork by Mark Aylward, crockery by Helen Stronach and sculptures by Bloodwood Botanica.
The KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix is hurtling back to Sydney Harbour from Saturday, February 28 to Sunday, March 1, 2026, marking a record seventh visit of the globally-touring race series to the city. Once again, the world's fastest foiling catamarans and their national teams will take to the iconic harbour for a high-stakes, high-speed display of world-class sailing, but this year, with a twist: racing kicks off at 5.30pm, delivering the first-ever twilight session in the event's local history. On home waters, the BONDS Flying Roos will be out to reclaim their dominance. Having already secured three championship titles, the rebranded team enters 2026 with fresh momentum and new co-owners (including Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds), and local fans no doubt keen to see them rule the race once more. You can catch the action from a range of spectator areas. There's the option to experience the ultimate view on Shark Island with all-inclusive food and beverages, live race commentary and boat transfers from Barangaroo. Otherwise, you can properly get in the splash zone on an open-top Official Spectator Boat, book a spot with a privately-owned vessel inside the public exclusion zone, or go full luxe with a chartered spectator superyacht. Sailing superfans can also kick off the weekend with a behind-the-scenes Tech Site experience on Friday, where you can get up close to the action before racing begins. Watch the high-performance F50 vessels being craned into Sydney Harbour, meet the athletes at Q&A experiences and soak up the festival atmosphere with live DJ sets, tech talks, food trucks and giveaways.
Do you remember the maze of brightly coloured vinyl tape on the floor of the MCA at the 19th Biennale of Sydney? That was Glaswegian artist Jim Lambie. He creates hypnotic site-specific installations using a broad range of found materials. Zero Concerto, opening on August 13 at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, will incorporate potato sacks, bicycle wheels and more of his trademark vinyl tape. Lambie compels his viewers to consider new dimensions and modes of perceptions, responding to the architecture of each exhibition space. He produces hallucinatory installations that seem to pulsate with energy. If you were to look through an origami kaleidoscope, it might come close to what Lambie’s practice is all about. Head along to the opening party on August 13 from 6pm.
You know the summer slumber is over when even the gallerinas are back at work. Not that they have been on holiday. No, its just that everyone else has. Hamptons, anyone? Just like the traditional putting away of your white shoes after Labour day, Sydney commercial art galleries start to pry open their doors post-Australia Day with the lure of the group show. Last year we saw a bumper crop of group shows where most of the high profile Sydney galleries tackled the GFC head on with emerging (cheaper) artists. This sounds nasty but it actually worked. It really felt like the end of summer, coming up from your last salty wave into February. This year, we are back to stable (staple) group shows, and I am tongueing my tears for the salt. BREENSPACE puts on a good goodbye to summer. Here we see David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Dani Marti, Tim Silver, Sally Smart, John Tonkin & Emma White with almost all new works across the two gallery spaces. John Tonkin presents a stunning farewell with his last light view of Bondi, Emma White never fails to bring a smile with her wonderful work on 'the beach ball of death', and like a sprawling sea floor of anemone, Dani Marti envelopes us with his face-off portraits, standing guard by the entrance like the red and yellow flags we know so well. It's not all goodbye fun and sun and holidays, it's also hello art world — welcome back! Image: Emma White, A Blank (make your mark already), 2011
To really get a feel for a country, you have to experience its cuisine. And that doesn't just mean eating in nice restaurants—it means learning about the history, stories, sources, recipes and love that goes into creating dishes that have endured for centuries. If you're seeking inspiration for experiences like that, we've teamed up with Intrepid Travel and picked out eight of the best culinary holidays Asia has to offer. You get the best of both worlds: sightsee like a tourist but live and eat like a local. South Korea When thinking of South Korea, do you think of fried chicken, bibimbap, Korean barbecue and, of course, kimchi? You can get the chance to explore all these tasty treats on an eight-day loop of the country. Start in Seoul with a trip to Gwangjang Market (as seen on Netflix's Street Food) before attending a kimchi-making session in Jeonju. Other highlights include a dive into the burgeoning microbrewery scene, a home-cooked meal in Busan and a celebratory barbecue experience back in Seoul. South Korea's rich and diverse food scene offers much to explore, and this tour is an ideal taster of what the country has to offer. Sri Lanka The beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka is known for both its culture and its food, and you can experience the best of both on this twelve-day tour. Be part of the action at the famous Negombo fish market, tuck into traditional curries and dosas cooked by Tamil families and enjoy a local snack of buffalo curd and treacle. While the food isn't to be missed, there's much to do besides. Lion Rock is a picturesque climb with ancient frescoes, and the journey from Kandy to Bandarawela is a breathtaking scenic train ride. For the grand finish, you'll hit Colombo, the country's capital, where you can take in the city buzz and enjoy a meal celebrating the area's Dutch heritage. Thailand You probably enjoy a pad Thai now and again, and there's a decent chance you can whip up a fairly decent Thai curry (if armed with a jar of paste and a tin of coconut milk), but have you ever experienced a khan tok dinner? A Northern Thailand speciality, this eleven-dish meal has long been a traditional welcome, and the opportunity to prepare, cook and eat this customary feast is arguably the highlight of Intrepid's eight-day excursion to Thailand. Elsewhere, there are trips to Chiang Mai temples, an overnight train ride across the country, and a visit to Tha Kha Floating Market. You'll be blown away by the vibrancy and beauty at every turn. India Far too often, we make the mistake of thinking of Indian food as one single cuisine while, in reality, it's one of the most rich and varied food cultures on the planet. That's why you need half a month for a trip stretching all the way from Delhi to Goa. The itinerary reads like a spice lover's dream. You'll hit the 'Lane of Parathas' in Delhi, a chaat crawl in Agra, Rajasthani desserts in Jaipur, thali in Udaipur, a street crawl in Mumbai, and a cooking class in Goa. That's without even mentioning the Taj Mahal, Sikh temples and the Bollywood movie experience that will punctuate your time away from everyday life. [caption id="attachment_970029" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Yana Tatevosian via iStock[/caption] Georgia Located on the edge of Asia on the banks of the Black Sea is the gateway to Europe: Georgia. Australia may be pretty good for overseas cuisine these days, but you'd struggle on these shores to find dishes like nigvziani badrijani (eggplant and walnuts), zhizhig galnash (noodles and lamb) or khinkali (traditional Georgian dumplings). All these dishes and more are available on this circuit of the country, starting in the capital, Tbilisi, and also taking in Telavi, the Pankisi Valley and Gudauri. And it's not just food. There's also the opportunity to hike up to Gergeti Trinity Church and catch a glimpse of Mt Kazbegi, a glacier that stands over 5,000m tall. Vietnam Banh mi, pho and bao are high-street staples here in Australia, but there's nothing like the real thing. You'll get to sample the genuine article on this tour of Vietnam, which also includes a cooking class in Hoi An that's preceded by a trip to the local market to find ingredients. There's also plenty of travelling and a bunch to see as part of this itinerary. There are two overnight train journeys, boat cruises, picturesque drives and even a sightseeing trip aboard a motorbike. This holiday comes to an end in Ho Chi Minh City, where you can soak up the atmosphere of the busy markets and marvel at the incredible produce on offer. Japan The Land of the Rising Sun has something for everyone, from skiing and sightseeing to cherry blossoms and huge city metropolises. But what we're talking about here is food and, more accurately, damn good food. Sushi is obviously a must, and in this Tokyo tour you'll be schooled in the art of sushi — which includes its history, how to choose the best cuts and, of course, how to prepare it. Additionally, there's a home cooking class in Kanazawa on the north coast, a visit to a green tea farm in Uji, a sake tasting in Kyoto, and more besides. Cambodia This diverse southeast Asian country has a rich heritage and vibrant food culture. This organised trip will show you the best this gem of a country has to offer. You'll see where reportedly the world's finest pepper is grown and taste pepper ice cream. You'll get to experience a traditional Khmer cookery class in Phnom Penh. You'll even get the chance to make cocktails in Siem Reap using local fruits and herbs. There's also plenty of opportunity for sightseeing, and you'll come away from your trip feeling like you've got to know Cambodia and perhaps even planning your next trip back. Get out, explore, dive into adventure and find your WOW with Intrepid Travel. Find out more on the website.
Australia's about to embark upon an entire month of parties, gigs and backyard shindigs, all raising sweet, sweet money to fight poverty around the world. Having run successfully in the UK for about ten years, Oxjam is a month-long, nationwide music festival aiming to raise money for Oxfam. Now it's launching in Australia, with goodhearted gigs coming to venues, garages and backyards nationwide. Even you can throw one. One of those star-studded fundraisers which has seen the likes of Hot Chip, Fatboy Slim, Coldplay and T.E.E.D. crank out a set for a good cause, Oxjam has been a long time coming for Australia. Teaming up with MTV Music and MTV Dance, Oxfam are launching the festival in August; with the main events happening across Sydney and Melbourne. Local venues, collectives and labels like I Oh You, Noisey, Goodgod Small Club, One Day, Motorik, UNDR CTRL and more are holding some of the official gigs — where of course, funds raised will go directly to Oxfam. But you don't have to be near a major gig, you can also host your own party wherever you are. Literally anyone can hold their own Oxjam, from existing venues to local bowling clubs, big time clubs to your very own home. So if you're deep house DJ in your crew you could set up the decks in your garage, put a collection tin at the door and throw down one humdinger of a fundraving do. (And if your neighbours complain, give 'em hell until they donate too.) First time at the event-throwing rodeo? MTV Australia are hosting an official event at MTV HQ in Sydney (date TBC), where budding venue managers, club promoters and regular shindig starters can get tips on throwing their own Gig For Good during Oxjam. If you can't make it to the how-to, Oxjam's website has a bunch of handy tips and DIY guides for party planners. Oxjam is happening Australia-wide over August 2015, with the main gigs happening in Melbourne and Sydney. But with one in three people around the world living in poverty, Oxjam's probably one of the best reasons to throw a local backyard gig we've ever heard. Head over here for more info and start planning. Image: Goodgod Small Club.
Sydney may be saturated with restaurants and bars on the tapas bandwagon, but Bondi's recently opened Can Cava Pintxos & Wine is introducing a lesser-known sister snack into our palates: pintxos. The Can Cava team, in straight from Barcelona, opened the bar at the start of 2017 in an effort to bring some more authentic small-plate eating to Sydney. First, a bit of history on these bar snacks. Pintxos (pronounced pin-chos) are a staple of northern Spain and are traditionally simple, pre-made snacks stacked high on slices of bread and finished off with a stabilising toothpick. In some Spanish cities they come free when you buy a drink. At Can Cava you'll have to pay for them (shame), but, in a contemporary twist, their pintxos are, instead, made-to-order and made with fresh, local produce alongside Spanish herbs and spices. Think goats' cheese croquettes with rosemary salt and honey, zucchini and almond tortillas and tuna tartare tostadas (all $4-8). We're most excited to try the pork belly and chorizo pintxos, which combines two of our favourite meats on one glorious toothpick. As with tapas, pinxtos are made to be eaten in a few small bites instead of shared. For those who like to nibble as a group, head chef Jon Cowan (ex-The Lodge) brings his local background in share plates into the mix, offering larger cheese and charcuterie boards as well. Giant spiced prawn and squid also make their way onto the menu, as does dessert pintxos. But Can Cava is foremost a bar, and, staying true to form, the drinks menu is 100 percent Spanish, from the wines and cavas (sparkling wine) to the homemade sangria. The small, cosy interior boasts handmade Spanish tiles and furnishings, while the glass windows open fully, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor space. This adds to the bar's relaxed vibe, which is meant to mimic the atmosphere of pintxos bars in Spain, and also fits right in with its Bondi neighbours. Can Cava Pintxos & Wine is now open at 101 Hall Street, Bondi Beach. For more info, visit cancava.com.au.
Marrickville's Bucket Boys is not your average craft brew bottle shop, more closely resembling a sort of art gallery for beer — think minimalist, modern artwork, a four-tap tasting/refill bar and single bottles only on display, giving each beer its place to shine. Add BB's own brews into the mix, and you've got yourself one hell of a commitment to craft. This valiant endeavour is no surprise from co-owner Johnathan Hepner, who, apart from being the biggest beer geek we know, is also quite possibly the only Cicerone bottle shop owner in Australia. Hepner is joined by co-owner Clint Elvin (Gasoline Pony) and local legends Jay Cook and Ben Miller, who head up the in-house brewing team. The Bucket Boys concept is based on the history of growler-style takeaway, which originated in the early 1800s. Their own brews pay homage to ye olden days of beer as well — their Straw Dog, a 14th century-style Polish beer, is made from oak-smoked wheat. With only single bottles on offer, the name of the game here is the mixed six-pack. The stocklist currently sits at 400 brews, with over 60 sours, including many international brewers that have hardly made it to the Aussie market — like Italian craft Lover Beer and Belgium's Brouwerij Alvinne. Of course, Aussie and Kiwi craft is extensively represented as well. "I've ensured that at least one of every beer style is currently in stock," says Hepner. With his extensive beer knowledge, we're going to take this as gospel. But it's not all beer on the shelves. Apart from the impressive, ever changing beer stock, specialty wines and spirits are also well-represented — this includes Bucket Boys own house wines, made in collaboration with Alex Retief of Urban Winery Sydney, as well as a sheep whey vodka from Tasmania's Hartshorn Distillery. Bucket Boys is a spot for true beer lovers and a place for even the biggest beer geeks to discover something new in craft. Locals around here are lucky, with BB the perfect cherry atop the craft beer mecca that is Marrickville. [caption id="attachment_597742" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Marissa Ciampi[/caption] Images: Marissa Ciampi.
It's that time again: time for the Alliance Française French Film Festival to gift Australian movie-goers with its annual cinema showcase. 2022 marks the event's 33rd round of fests, so get ready to watch your way through more than 40 flicks that'll whisk you off to France while you're munching popcorn in your cinema seat. There's no shortage of highlights from this year's complete lineup — including the festival's opening night pick, the 19th-century Paris-set Lost Illusions — but Claire Denis' Fire is easily one of the most exciting films on the bill. It'll play AFFFF straight from the Berlinale, and marks the acclaimed French filmmaker's first release since 2018's exceptional High Life. It also stars her Let the Sunshine In lead Juliette Binoche, with the romantic drama pairing the latter up with French actor Vincent Lindon (Titane) for the first time. Also a standout: Happening, winner of the 2021 Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, which adapts Annie Ernaux's autobiographical novel about the rights of women in France in the 60s. It just nabbed filmmaker Audrey Diwan a BAFTA nomination for Best Director, and follows a bright young student who gets pregnant, then sees her options — for her future, and regarding what to do about her situation — quickly dwindle. When AFFFF heads to Sydney's Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema and Hayden Orpheum Cremorne between Tuesday, March 1–Sunday, April 10 (including its encore sessions), the exceptional Petite Maman also sits at the very top of the fest's must-see list. The latest film from Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Céline Sciamma, it already made a few Australian festival appearances in 2021, and channels the director's trademark sensitivity and empathy into a sci-fi-skewing tale of mothers and daughters that's instantly among Sciamma's best. Other top picks include the latest film in the OSS 117 spy spoof series, OSS 117: From Africa With Love, once again starring The Artist Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin; François Ozon's Everything Went Fine, which sees the Summer of 85 filmmaker tackle the right to die with dignity; Paris, 13th District, a love story from A Prophet and Rust and Bone's Jacques Audiard; and Murder Party, a murder-mystery with big Cluedo vibes. Or, there's also Anaïs in Love, a rom-com about a woman having an affair with a married man but then falling for his wife; bipoic Authentik, about French hip-hop duo Suprême NTM; World War II drama Farewell, Mr Haffmann, as based on the play; and friendship drama The Braves, about two twentysomething women following their dreams to become theatre actors. Plus, AFFFF's retro program is also a cinephile's delight, showcasing the work of actor and filmmaker Alain Delon — including via Purple Noon, which adapts Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr Ripley.
The Argyle is done with being cooped up indoors just as much as you are. To welcome in the warm weather days, The Rocks' stalwart is launching another openair cinema season. Hosted in its cobblestone courtyard, the movie screenings will start on Wednesday, September 9 and run weekly until the end of November. As with all of the best outdoor cinemas, expect cult classics on the docket — this banger of a list includes (in order of screening in September) Pulp Fiction, Superbad, Austin Powers and The Hangover. On the October lineup, you'll find the likes of American Pie, Step Brothers and a yet-to-be-announced spooky flick on Wednesday, October 28 (just before Halloween). While you lounge in the courtyard's comfy deck chairs, the kitchen will serve up movie snacks like two-for-one woodfired pizzas for $30 and — instead of your typical popcorn accompaniment — the bar will sling frozen cocktails for $15. While the films will start at 7pm, you can head in early for $5 happy hour from 4pm. Book your table in for free here to secure a spot. Updated October 6, 2020.
Why hasn't Australia heard of the Topp Twins? We're famous for nabbing New Zealand talent and claiming them for our own (think Russell Crowe, Crowded House's Neil Finn and Jane Campion), so how these charming sisters, their humour and their musical activism haven't crossed the pond boggles the mind. Fortunately Leanne Pooley's delightful documentary has, bringing the remarkable story of Jools and Lynda Topp to Australia's belated attention.Structured around a self-styled This Is Your Life type evening, Jools and Lynda tell their tales and sing their songs to an audience of friends and family, many of whom are also interviewed. Learning about these lesbian, activist, yodeling farm girls is never dull, as their effusive energy and buoyant spirit captivates. Their music needn't even be to your taste to warm to their simple, funny songs and remark at just how much the pair has achieved. From gay rights, Maori Land Rights and nuclear disarmament, to (bravely!) storming a Springboks vs. All Blacks match to protest apartheid, these indefatigable Topps have managed to get their message heard while simultaneously establishing a place for themselves (and their alter egos) in Kiwi popular culture. However at least a few Aussies are already clued in to the Topps. They toured with Midnight Oil (as well as Billy Brag and Split Enz), John Clarke (another poached Kiwi) affectionately calls them "two very very naughty girls," while there is little doubt Kath & Kim were influenced by the twins' small screen antics.The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls is the essence of a great documentary; an entertaining, rewarding and informative look at the fascinating lives of these two women. And as they were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2008, so too do they deserve success on the silver screen in 2009. It is a true delight to spend 84 minutes in Topp company. https://youtube.com/watch?v=HtSDaOscM_I https://youtube.com/watch?v=sQ6XYYH0E9I
UPDATE: MARCH 31, 2020 — The Rio is currently offering bottled cocktails and food deliveries for locals. It's got a range of specialty cocktails for $20 each, longnecks of 'hipster draught' for $15, bottles of vino from $30 and Mediterranean-style dishes should you get hungry. Check out the full menu here and call 0406 219 355 to order. For decades, The Rio was the coolest spot in Summer Hill, doling out sweets and soft drinks to cinemagoers and late-night drifters. It fell out of fashion more recently, but owner George Poulos (known as 'The General' to locals), never deviated from the old-school formula and kept dishing up the finest milkshakes in town, always immaculately dressed in a suit and tie. His shop was a labour of love, and he literally worked in the store until the day he died. Now, everything old is new again and a new team including owner Tess Robens (Newtown's Corridor) has re-opened the gem of a site as a small bar, retaining the name and paying loving homage to the venue's past life. There are, of course, some milkshakes on the drinks list and a few nods to the Greek heritage of Poulos' shop with zucchini keftedes and mini spanikopita on the menu and a mural of Dionysus, the Greek god of winemaking, on one wall upstairs. Even the cocktail menu celebrates the retro humble milk bar menu, with a cloudy concoction called the Spider Aperitif ($18). Every milk bar worth its salt has (had?) a range of soda spiders on hand, and this modern twist combines lime, agave, vermouth and a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream, complete with a small silver spoon to ensure you can scoop up every last bit of sweetness. Other cocktails on the list place an emphasis on sourcing ingredients from Australian boutiques and applying slight twists to old classics. The Aussie Negroni ($18), for instance, brings together Melbourne gin from the Yarra Valley, Maidenii sweet vermouth from central Victoria and subs out Campari for the excellent, aromatic Applewood Red Økar from the Adelaide Hills. In combination, they make for the kind of cocktail you simultaneously want to devour and savour. The food list makes a good fist of modern bar food, with small plates like grilled flatbread with that ideal thin crust and three dips ($16). The flatbread also comes as part of sharing food platters ($36 for two people, $52 for four), which arrive on a plank piled appealingly with creamy blue cheese, cornichons, salami, prosciutto and crackers. The décor is fairly modern, with familiar touches from the Sydney small bar playbook, like exposed brick, scruffy floorboards, industrial bulb lights, hanging plants and the kind of cushioned grandma chairs. Some of the wonky charm of the original 1950s signage has been thankfully retained, including the hand-painted lettering spruiking cigarettes, chocolate and more on the street windows and awnings. It's a stylish reminder of the spirit of the old milk bar which lives on in this cosy yet contemporary reboot. Images: Katje Ford.
UPDATE, July 10, 2023: On Monday, July 10, KFC is serving up $1 Zinger crunch twisters — and original crunch twisters. And on Tuesday, July 11, the $1 Zinger burger special is back for one day only. Who doesn't love to gift themselves a little treat meal on the weekend? Think: a pizza, a couple of scoops of gelato or a fried chicken burger. Well, KFC is here to facilitate just that last one with its ever-popular Zinger burgers available for just $1 for two hours on Saturday, July 1. The promotion is part of the chicken chain's 11 Days of Christmas, which will see it serve up a different finger-licking deal for the first week and a half of July. Kicking things off is the Colonel's classic burger for just a buck. If you want to claim your dollar Zinger Burger, just head to the KFC app and place your order between 3–5pm on July 1. So, what's in store for the rest of the month? $1 Twisters, 30 nuggets for $10 and a Double Zinger Feast featuring two burgers, ten nuggets and sauce for just $12. To check out each day's deal, just hit up the KFC app. Plus, the fast food chain's Christmas in July merch is also making a comeback. The viral ugly Christmas sweater, a KFC Christmas t-shirt, a corduroy bucket hat, socks, fingerless gloves and the line of matching pet sweaters — they're all available to purchase. Head to the KFC website to place an order.
The 2014 Big Day Out lineup has been revealed, and it... sort of lived up to all those weeks of hype. Organisers spoke of their excitement at landing three "white whales", and the top of the ticket is pretty monumental. Pearl Jam is a classic choice for BDO headliner, Arcade Fire a welcome return visitor to the main stage, Blur a seriously impressive 'get' — and Snoop's good-natured, laaiiiiidbaaack style will be a nice counterpoint to the snarling grunge and indie-rock mania. And lucky Regine and that chick from The Lumineers — they'll have the backstage ladies loos virtually all to themselves! Here's the line-up in full: Pearl Jam Arcade Fire Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion Major Lazer Steve Angello Flume The Lumineers Tame Impala Dillon Francis Mac Miller Ghost Grouplove Flosstradamus Portugal. The Man Toro Y Moi DIIV The Naked And Famous Big Gigantic PEZ Mudhoney Cosmic Psychos Northlane The 1975 Loon Lake Kingswood Bo Ningen The Algorithm DZ Deathrays Peking Duk Ben Morris Rüfüs Gold Coast tickets are on sale on August 7; Sydney August 8; Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide on August 9 and Auckland on August 12 from the Big Day Out website.
For the second time in just a few months, one of Lady Bird's boyfriends has turned to illicit substances. For the second time in his four-movie filmmaking career, Peter Hedges explores a black sheep's holiday homecoming. Both of these statements require some unpacking, but they demonstrate just how well-worn much of Ben Is Back feels. As Timothée Chalamet did in Beautiful Boy, fellow Lady Bird co-star Lucas Hedges portrays a young man grappling with drug dependence and disappointing the devoted parent who just wants him to get clean. And as the elder Hedges did in 2003's Pieces of April, the writer-director charts the drama of an awkward family reunion. There's another layer of familiarity to Ben Is Back, too: Peter and Lucas Hedges are father and son. As well as the movie's similarities to other accounts of addiction and reconvening relatives, perhaps that's why it largely seems like the product of folks firmly in their comfort zones. The plot rides the usual emotional rollercoaster, ending exactly where everyone expects. With the film's tone, Peter Hedges tries to find a balance between sensitive and tense, and between heart-wrenching and sombre as well. Visually, the picture makes the most of grey hues and anguished close-ups, each adding to the recognisable mood. And although Lucas Hedges' performance is reliably raw and multifaceted, the impressive young actor never quite reaches the heights that he demonstrated in Manchester by the Sea and Boy Erased. Still, Ben Is Back has a spark to it, with Julia Roberts proving the picture's powerhouse package. Wearing the weight of a mother's unconditional love in every patient step and searching gaze, she plays suburban mum-of-four Holly Burns. Arriving home from Christmas Eve church choir practice with her excited pre-teen kids (Jakari Fraser and Mia Fowler), she suddenly shares their enthusiasm when she spies Ben (Lucas Hedges) standing on their snowy doorstep. Only high-schooler Ivy (Kathryn Newton) is wary — thanks to his complicated history, her older brother is supposed to be in rehab, as paid for by Holly's second husband Neal (Courtney B. Vance). But Ben promises that he's happy, healthy and has his habit in check, which Holly chooses to believe, imploring the rest of the family to follow suit. With reminders of his past mistakes littered around both his home and his hometown, Ben's pledge to his mother and Holly's faith in her son each prove hard to maintain. While there's little that's surprising about Ben Is Back's story (even when it endeavours to chart its own path into near-thriller territory), Roberts remains a source of continual astonishment. A much rarer presence on cinema screens of late than in her 90s heyday, she steps into her second doting mum part in as many movies, after 2017's Wonder. And yet, nothing about her performance paints by the numbers. Indeed, this is really her film, and it tells her character's tale. Holly has experienced a life tougher than her well-appointed two-storey house makes plain, although not as rough as the places that Ben's return takes her to — and Roberts makes that difficult clash evident without needing to explain it in words. Also present in Roberts' fine-tuned portrayal is a narrative that everyone knows, yet is scarcely given such nuance and attention. Ben Is Back tells of parental sacrifice, as evident in everyday choices rather than grand or tragic gestures. It's a story about the cost of caring — the toll a mother willingly pays when always offering a shoulder to cry on, lending a helping hand, trying to see the best in her children and endeavouring to do what's right for one kid when she has three others at home. Hedges' script attempts to thread this idea into a broader statement on suburban addiction, and, specifically, the destructive influence of prescription drugs. It's a noble quest, and one of the movie's more ambitious moves. Ultimately, however, Ben Is Back works best when it focuses on the quietly expressive Roberts, and lets her commanding work turn an intimate snapshot into a bigger story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQI_hkFKlHc
After introducing its cookie pies to the world last month, followed by serving up an OTT red velvet one, Gelato Messina is bringing the decadent dessert back for a third round with the OG chocolate chip flavour. Hang on, a cookie pie? Yes, it's a pie, but a pie made of cookie dough. And it serves two–six people — or just you. You bake it yourself, too, so you get to enjoy that oh-so-amazing smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through your kitchen. These pies are now available for preorder — so if you missed out last time, here's your chance to get yourself a piece of the pie. On its own, the indulgent choc chip pie will cost $20. But to sweeten the deal, the cult ice creamery has created a few bundle options, should you want some of its famed gelato atop it. For $28, you'll get the pie and a 500-millilitre tub, while with a one-litre tub or a 1.5-litre tub, it'll cost $34 and $39 respectively. The catch? You'll have to peel yourself off the couch and head to your local Messina store to get one. You can place your preorder now via Bopple, with pick up times available between Thursday, May 14 and Sunday, May 17. You can preorder a Messina cookie pie via Bopple to pick up from all NSW, Vic and Queensland Gelato Messina stores (except The Star) from May 14–17.
It truly is a 'wunder' how some exhibition titles have so nice a ring to them as well as so appropriately describe a collection of artworks. So it is with Wunder Pond, an exhibition of sometimes curiously small-scale, even Lilliputian, objets d'art, sculptures, models, and paintings by four contemporary artists from Sydney: David Capra, Charles Dennington, Hossein Ghaemi, and Matthew Timbers. It is perhaps because the majority of the Wunder Pond works are sculptural abstracts, petite and beneath our eye-level, that wandering amid and around them permits — indeed, seduces — one to lean-in, to probe, and to inquire: What's this then? And it is probably a condition of this 'curious' behaviour that viewers' faces will often betray their entrancement at what's before them. Like curator Sandra Di Palma says (she's also the keen-eyed curator at Somedays Gallery), the exhibition title cites the German word Wunderkammer, which denotes a “place where a collection of curiosities and rarities is exhibited.” One of the paradoxes of this usage, however, is that the exhibition sometimes introduces us to things with which we’re already kind of familiar — the rarity is thus the result of how these subjects are made uncanny in their isolation from their commonplaces, and by the sheer equivocality of these forms and visions as abstractions and as reappropriations. Particularly eerie is the array of objects so artfully configured in Dennington’s assemblages. In one work, a cartoonish and worm-like finger, dismembered, blood-red and engorged, sits, as if by chance, upon a porous bed of a jumbo caustic sponge, which is itself coated in a faded-out layer of maroon-red Ironlak. Elsewhere, a rubbery slice of Swiss cheese hangs out, surrealistically, with a corps of half-munched apples, their decaying skins somehow refulgent in bright blue, red and green gouache. Dennington’s works, as one of their titles suggests, are thus ‘Tiny Piles’ of our detrital everyday. They are odes to and models of the habitués of our trashcans — to eggshells and apple-cores, twigs and rubber — only that they're now remade and rearranged, tripped-out and beautified. Surely the water references in Dennington’s works (there are fish skeletons as well as sponges), in the mirrored surface upon which Hossein Ghami’s Wig spookily revolves (Wig is simply a clump of hair which rotates quizzically on a mirror, and is seemingly alive, a la Cousin Itt), as well as the plant life featured in Capra’s works (see Munchkhin Land), played some role in prompting Di Palma's use of the word ‘Pond’ in the exhibition’s title. And yet, as connected as these works are, individually, to decorative water-features (they're reflective, absorptive, and immersive), it is also in the somewhat capricious arrangement of the works around the gallery space that a kind of wading-pool effect materialises. In this space, one’s eyes can bob and plunge above and through a range of peculiarly permeable bays of meaning and matter. And up at eye level, Timbers’ Frankenthaleresque cloudscapes only give further conviction to the feeling that in entering the Tin Sheds we may indeed have entered into another, possibly aquatic, possibly even post-aquatic, wonder world. Image: Charles Dennington, Untitled', 2011. Image courtesy of Galerie Pom Pom
Of all the super powers one could wish for, the ability to create pizza out of thin air would be up there. But alas, our feeble bodies have not yet evolved to the point where we can naturally create hot slices at will, so we'll have to settle for Pizza Madre — which is a very excellent fall back. Italian for pizza mother, Pizza Madre is about as close as we're going to get to cozying up inside a pizza womb. The snug 35-seat eatery, is immediately inviting, radiating a pastel pink glow that spills out onto the corner of Marrickville's busy Victoria Road. Pizza Madre is brought to you by the culinary legends behind cafe and pasta mecca, Two Chaps, and is similarly characterised by effortless simplicity — a handful of dishes done to perfection. Sourced by produce king Shane Roberts, the vegetarian ingredients are seasonal and exceptionally fresh. The drinks menu is short and sweet — a well selection of small-batch wines, beers by the (very) local brewery Grifter, and an all-Australian Negroni. The food menu is equally as concise. Each week, there are five or six pizzas on offer, which are shuffled, altered and revised based on the availability of local produce. So if you've got a hankering for sampling a different pizza every week for a year, then this is the place for you. The team has gone for a stridently Australian approach to pizza making — using local wholegrain flour over the traditional tipo 00 in their Neapolitan-style sourdough bases. Though ever-changing, pizza flavours include combos like the warrigal greens with hazelnuts, fior di latte and a trifecta of cheese and the portobello mushroom with Jerusalem artichoke topped with generous dollops of smoked cauliflower hummus. Pizza purists may consider it sacrilegious to veer so drastically away from the classic pizza path, but rest assured, Pizza Madre is birthing some seriously tasty pizza bambinos. As the eatery is on the snug side and only open a few days a week, you should be prepared to queue, which means arriving before you're entirely starving. It's also worth mentioning that the layout lends itself best to groups of four or less so if you're one of the lucky few with more than three friends, endeavour to arrive early. Worst case scenario, if you're too hungry to wait, Pizza Madre offers all their pizza delights in takeaway form, so you can enjoy your pizza party at your casa on your own terms. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Pizza in Sydney for 2023
The laneways of Melbourne have been the unofficial training ground and creative home for Australian street art, in all its variety and forms. Over the years, as street art has changed and evolved, it has moved beyond the laneways and in with some unlikely bedfellows — galleries, governments and businesses. A recent example of this is the collaboration between one of Melbourne's most prominent and talented street artist, Drab, and product design company Buzz Products. Drab's street art has not only graced the walls of Melbourne's laneways but also been part of exhibtions and festivals in Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand. He also worked with locals kids in Woorabinda Queensland to paint murals as part of the Indigenous Hip Hop Project. However, this recent collaboration with Buzz Products has really expanded his artistic repertoire. Literally. The exterior of the Buzz Products has been transformed from a boring blank wall into Australia's largest paste up street art. Using 56 sheets of paper, 40 litres of glue and taking two days to complete, this piece of street of art is 27 metres long by 8 metres high. It gives the urban landscape a much needed lift, and the good residents of Abbotsford in Melbourne something to gawk at on their trainride home.
Amidst Sydney's ever-changing hospitality landscape, there's a collection of establishments that has stood the test of time. The independent venues that make up YCK Laneways, tucked away down alleyways and occupying unassuming corners around York, Clarence and Kent streets, have weathered economic fluctuations, shifting trends and a global pandemic to remain pillars of consistency in the Harbour City. Read on to be reminded of some of your ol' faithful CBD haunts — you may even discover a few places you (somehow) haven't tried yet.
Every film festival has its highlights, and its events that make each specific fest special. For the Melbourne International Film Festival, its Hear My Eyes gigs are one such standout. With movies such as Drive, Girlhood, Suspiria and Two Hands, MIFF has brought beloved and classic flicks back to the big screen, accompanied by a live — and all-new, completely original — score that's played while film lovers sit, watch and listen. It's as unique a movie-going experience as you can get, even if you've seen the feature in the spotlight countless times before — and for MIFF 2022, another exceptional film is getting the Hear My Eyes treatment. Get ready to revisit the role that made Eric Bana an international movie star, and to dive back into one of the most infamous crime tales in Australian history. In other words, get ready for Chopper. Twenty-two years after it first hit cinemas, the exceptional Andrew Dominik (This Much I Know to Be True)-directed flick will grace The Astor Theatre's big screen for one night only, on Wednesday, August 17, with sessions at 6.15pm and 9pm. It'll also pair its visuals with a brand-new original live score, as spearheaded by Mick Harvey, member of the Bad Seeds, and the musician who originally gave Chopper its soundtrack. As well as composing the new score, Harvey will be joined by supergroup Springtime — featuring Gareth Liddiard from Tropical Fuck Storm and The Drones, Jim White from Dirty Three and Chris Abrahams from The Necks — to play it live. That big-screen date with Uncle Chop Chop is all well, great and fantastic for Melburnians, with tickets on sale from 10am on Thursday, June 16 — but it's also excellent for Sydneysiders, too. Outside of MIFF, Hear My Eyes will bring its Chopper performance to the New South Wales capital, at City Recital Hall, at 6pm on Saturday, August 27. Tickets for the Sydney show go on sale at 9.30am on Thursday, June 16. Check out the trailer for Chopper below: HEAR MY EYES 2022: Wednesday, August 17 — 6.15pm and 9pm, The Astor Theatre as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival Saturday, August 27 — 6pm, City Recital Hall, Sydney Hear My Eyes' Chopper screenings with Springtime + Mick Harvey start touring the country in August. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the Melbourne International Film Festival and Hear My Eyes websites. The 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 4–Sunday, August 28 at a variety of venues around Melbourne and Victoria, and online. For further details, including the full program from Tuesday, July 12, visit the MIFF website.
With events across the country cancelled and postponed in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, the live music industry is being hit hard. According to Aussie website I Lost My Gig, the industry has had a lost income of about $340 million so far. To help some of those affected, some of the country's best musical talents have been coming together for a weekly two-day music festival and fundraising event series every weekend — that's all online. In past weeks, the festival has seen the likes of Julia Jacklin, Marlon Williams, Hermitude, Vera Blue, Asta and Stella Donnelly. So, order a disco ball and make a flower crown for your cat, because it's time to party in your apartment. This week's lineup is yet to be announced, but expect it to be announced on Isol-Aid's Instagram soon. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCKEmcRByKp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link While watching, viewers are encouraged to donate to a fundraiser set up by Support Act, which is raising money for musicians and music workers who've lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic and to help "keep our music industry alive". You can also support the individual artists by buying merch and music from their Bandcamp pages, as well as get your hands on some Isol-Aid merch. Isol-Aid runs from 12pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Tune in via isolaidfestival.com. Top image: Bec Taylor
Fulfill your daily meat, cheese and carb quota by swinging by Bar Luca and ordering one of their burger specials to go. We recommend taking your eating experience to the next level by adding burger 'hacks', which include everything from crunchy peanut butter to liquid cheese to a deep fried mozzarella patty. From Bar Luca it's a short, 10-minute stroll down the hill to Bennelong Lawn: the ideal place to spend the rest of the evening tucking into your glorious burgery creation and watching the sun go down over the harbour.
For more than 20 years, Redfern-based social enterprise Tribal Warriors has been hosting programs focused on health and wellbeing, family dynamics and employment opportunities to improve the lives of First Nations people. To help support these efforts, Tribal Warriors run tours and provide cultural performances for events. Its vessel, Mari Nawi or 'Big Canoe', regularly tours the harbour for one-off events, but you can enquire any time to join the Cultural Cruise. This informative journey provides insight into pre-colonial Indigenous coastal lifestyles as you pass harbour landmarks and learn their significance to the Gadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal people. It includes a stop at Be-lang-le-wool (Clark Island) and could feature surprise cultural performances. Images: Destination NSW
If eating your way through plenty of creative and tasty desserts is your current pandemic coping strategy, Gelato Messina has been more than willing to help over the past few months. This year alone, it has released cookie pies in choc chip, red velvet, choc-hazelnut, and peanut butter and jelly varieties; 40 of its best flavours; and full tubs of Iced VoVo gelato. Messina's own take on the classic Viennetta ice cream cake and a gelato based on Italy's famed cremino dessert. Oh, and it even whipped up a batch of sticky lamington-scroll hybrids as well. For Messina's next tastebud-tempter, it's doing what it has always done best: turning one of your favourite non-ice cream foods into gelato, then giving it a twist. This time around, that means a new take on its beloved cereal-inspired 'Just Like a Chocolate Milkshake' flavour. It still features Coco Pops, obviously, but this batch is all about white chocolate. Naturally, it's called 'Just Like a White Chocolate Milkshake'. It's made with Messina jersey milk and white chocolate Coco Pops, with the latter soaked in the former to get things rolling. From there, the cereal and milk are churned into fresh gelato, which is then layered with clusters of more white chocolate Coco Pops. As well as milk, cereal and white chocolate, you can expect to taste caramel and marshmallow notes, too. Messina's special desserts and flavours are always a limited affair, with this one on offer for a week from Tuesday, September 1. You can pick it up in-store or get it delivered via Deliveroo. [caption id="attachment_741473" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Katrina James[/caption] If you're in Melbourne, remember that you can only venture to shops within five kilometres of your house — and only once a day — to get essentials, including food. Gelato Messina's 'Just Like a White Chocolate Milkshake' flavour will be available for a week from Tuesday, September 1, in-store and via Deliveroo — keep an eye on the Messina website for further details.
When you want to make someone feel loved, a bunch of flowers can go a long way. Be it for a birthday, a grand romantic gesture or showing you're there when times are hard. Sending a bountiful bouquet of flowers can be a reminder of your affection, and what makes the process special for you is putting your trust in a florist to translate your emotions into something stunning. To help you track down the right person for the job, we've rounded up a bunch of Sydney's top florists who pour their passion for locally grown, seasonal blooms into every arrangement.
There are many ways to start – or jump start – attraction, from getting cosy in romantic bars to taking a weekend getaway. But, if you want your frisson backed up by science, then one of your best bets is to give your lover (or prospective lover) a serious fright. Why? Because it's said an adrenaline rush can increase feelings of attraction. Luckily, you don't have to go crawling through canyons or abseiling cliff faces to get your kicks, because there's plenty of them to be had at Luna Park this winter. Plus, if thrills really aren't your thing, loads of other romantic possibilities are on offer, including ice skating, watching dreamy light shows and cuddling over Baileys hot chocolate. Here are five ideas to get your started. Note that, on weekend nights, Luna Park stays open late – till 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays — and entry is free. So you can spend all your loose change on sideshows. [caption id="attachment_673818" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oliver Minnett[/caption] ICE SKATING There's an undeniable magic about ice skating, whether you and your date are making figures like Torvill and Dean or bumbling along like a couple of awkward penguins. Either way, you're never short of excuses for holding hands and giving one another a little help. Luna Park's pop-up ice skating rink was so popular in 2017, it's making a comeback this winter. It'll be open throughout the July school holidays – from Friday, July 6 to Monday, July 23 – and entry is included with a Twilight Saver, which gets you unlimited rides and ice skating after 6pm for only $35. HAVE A FAIRGROUND FEAST Go straight back to your childhood with a fairground-style feast. At Helter Skelter, a retro takeaway outlet, you'll be tucking into Hot Diggity Hot Dogs, Pluto Pups and American burgers, including the Easy Peasy Nice 'N' Cheese. Meanwhile, health-conscious dates are catered to with rotisserie chicken and salads, plus there's a bunch of vegetarian and gluten-free options. If you'd prefer to sit, head for the carousel-inspired Hungry Horse restaurant. Here, you'll find pizza, seafood and salads, as well as sticky pork ribs, buttermilk fried chicken and cheesy chicken loaded fries. DESSERT AT THE POP-UP FOOD HUT To help keep visitors warm through winter, Luna Park is hosting a pop-up food hut. This cosy little spot is right near the ice skating rink, so you can refuel after conquering some newfound skills. The menu is all about sweet, comforting snacks and piping hot drinks. To beat winter German-style, tuck into a pretzel layered with gooey caramel. Alternatively, head across to France, with a crepe, cooked before your eyes and covered in Nutella or Grand Marnier. Its perfect match is a hot chocolate infused with Baileys. GET LOST IN A LIGHT SHOW Vivid might be over, but Luna Park's Ferris Wheel installation is yet to be switched off. Titled Phantasos – after the spirit of surreal dreams – the five-minute display involves 3,000 LED lights, which continually change colour and pattern, soundtracked by hypnotic music. You're welcome to watch it for free from the ground or immerse yourself completely by jumping on the Ferris Wheel. Either way, Phantasos is definitely a mesmerising escape from the winter blues: and a dreamy way to spend time with your date. RIDE THE RIDES For a major adrenalin rush, go straight for the Hair Raiser, which lifts you 50 metres above the ground, before plummeting at a rate of 80 kilometres per hour. Then there's the Wild Mouse rollercoaster, a 61-second blitz of dips and drops and hairpin bends. Meanwhile, the old-school, hand-painted carousel – fitted with 1,640 lights and dazzling mirrors – travels at a slower pace. The same goes for the Ferris Wheel, which transports you to a height of 40 metres, taking in epic views of the Opera House, the Bridge and the Harbour. You can pay for each ride individually or grab the aforementioned Twilight Saver, letting you ride to your heart's content for just 35 bucks. To find out more about what's happening in Luna Park this winter, and to secure your Twilight Saver tickets, head to lunaparksydney.com.
From prosciutto-wrapped spatchcock to slow-cooked lamb shanks on a rainy weekend, most kitchen-loving folk among us are like pigs in the proverbial when it comes to good meat. But finding the best cut, and a fair and decent source that considers animal welfare as vital as profit margins, is like finding a vegetarian on Masterchef — far from impossible, of course, but often predictably disappointing. That's why here at Concrete Playground we've devised a list of eight of the best, from south to north to practically on the shores of Bondi Beach itself. Feast your eyes on these respectable merchants and get cookin', good lookin'. Feather and Bone Feather and Bone make it their business to know what 'free range' means and supply some of our city's greatest dining destinations with only the happiest animals that once lived. In fact, these guys' mission is to "open up the line of sight between the farm and the consumer" so to ensure every step of the raise-slaughter-eat process is as respectful as their attitude toward a truly decent dish. Available for home delivery or pick up from the Marrickville basecamp, all produce is as free from chemicals and hormones as it was from cages and pens. Order pick up Tues 12pm-5pm, Wed 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 8:30am-12:30pm; Unit 8, 10-14 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville; 02 9818 2717; www.featherandbone.com.au Sam the Butcher Sam the Butcher knows organic, and this award-winning butcher understands a healthy animal means more than just great taste and flavour. Organic means saving energy, preventing soil erosion and promoting biodiversity, to list just a few socioeconomic benefits, and this passion for sustainability draws in a continual stream of happy customers. That or it's Sam's eclectic selection of fresh game, including rabbit, wild boar, ‘roo, venison and croc. Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-4pm, Sun 8am-3pm; 129 Bondi Road, Bondi; 02 9389 1420; www.samthebutcher.com.au Hudson Meats This Sydney chain should be proud of its Surry Hills, Cammeray, Lane Cove and Mosman locations that all follow the same taste for an inviting aesthetic and produce-to-plate philosophy. Offering a fine choice that includes Tasmanian Cape Grim beef to Barossa chickens and Byron Bay pork, Hudson Meats is serious about quality. Quality and community that is; it's formed strong relationships by serving up grub to all the schools around its stores, like Crown Street Public and KH John J Caroll Pre-School. Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm; 410 Crown Street, Surry Hills; 450-476 Miller Street, Cammeray; 24-28 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove; 900 Military Road, Mosman; www.hudsonmeats.com.au/home Victor Churchill 'Luxury' and 'butchers' aren't two words that often go hand in hand, but this luxury butchers — known and loved by many in Woollahra and beyond — makes the nomenclature as tasty a pair as duck fat and, well, anything. Established in 1876, Victor Churchill has grown from horse-and-cart family business to boutique institution with a cutting-edge interior design, brand-new mobile app from a social-media-savvy marketing team and meat more desired than this season's must-haves from inside its Queen Street neighbours. Check out the red-velvet-roped queue come Christmas if you need a little extra convincing. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 9am-5pm; 132 Queen Street, Woollahra; www.victorchurchill.com The Artisan Butcher Many believe Potts Point, aptly in cohorts with Sydney’s very own branding, is indeed like a village inside a city. The Artisan Butcher on Macleay, then, is suited to this miniature foodie community. It offers not only a range of goods from Aussie favourites to French fungis and Italian salamis but supplies an undoubtedly passionate serving of knowledge, advice and desire to share it all with the natives. Whether you're looking for something specific or just fancy a steak for dinner tonight, the Artisan can and will help you out. Mon-Fri 8am-7pm, Sat 8am-4:30pm, Sun 10am-4pm; 4-50 Macleay Street, Potts Point; 02 9331 2245; http://theartisanbutcher.com Bresnahan’s Butchers & Fine Foods Frequented by hungry bellies nearby, afar and even owned by fellow butchers, Bresnahan's is a south Sydney fave that prides itself on knowing its clientele and knowing what said clientele want. Not only does this friendly local butchers stock for cafes, restaurants and meat raffles you'd actually want to take home, it offers award-winning sausages to throw on the barbie, or thick or thin, specially made low-salt alternative sangas for those suffering from Meniere's disease. Going the extra mile or what? Mon-Fri 7.30am to 7pm, Saturday 7am to 5pm, Sun 8am to 4pm; 42 Morts Road, Mortdale; 02 9570 8188; www.bresnahans.com.au Eilat at Hadassa You'd be hard pressed to find a Jewish Sydneysider that doesn't have time for this Bondi kosher butcher. Don't be fooled by its modest shopfront; Eilat is a tidy little business down on O'Brien Street that's been serving up worthy produce conforming with kashrut dietary law for over 31 years. They also deliver to most surrounding suburbs and offer cooked specials if your mother-in-law's popping over for a last-minute surprise visit. 17 O'Brien Street, Bondi; 02 9365 4904 La Macelleria La Macelleria, meaning 'the butcher' in Italian, has everyone from Bondi hipsters to camera-toting Japanese tourists through its doorways. But this yellow-and-black beachside beacon signals more than just a meat-lover's bounty ahead; it's also a rotisserie and salumeria, meaning a supplier of other traditional foods such as cheeses, eggs, pastas and ready-to-go roast potatoes cooked alongside great big cloves of garlic. Let's just say, you won't be kissing anyone soon after a visit, but whatever you purchased will probably make up for it. Mon-Sun 10am-8pm; Cnr Curlewis and Gould Streets, Bondi; 02 9300 6388; www.italianbutcherbondi.com Top image: Victor Churchill by Paul Gosney.
Musicals don't get much bigger than Les Misérables. That's been evident on the stage for more than four decades. When the production has been adapted for the screen, too, it's also been clear. In Australia, next comes Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular, which is putting on a show set in 19th-century France from April 2025 in the Harbour City. Do you hear the people sing? Audiences in Sydney will when the production gets the music of the people, plus the songs of angry men, echoing. From Wednesday, April 30–Sunday, May 1, a stacked cast and a 65-plus-piece orchestra is bringing Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular to life at ICC Theatre, with the format heading Down Under after playing the UK and across Europe. What makes this an arena spectacular, other than the venues that it's playing (including in Melbourne and Brisbane, too)? The production isn't just taking the stage iteration of Les Misérables as is to sizeable sites — as a concert, it has been specifically created and designed for such locations. Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular was born to celebrate a hefty milestone for the song-filled theatre take on Victor Hugo's famous 1862 novel: the London production of Les Misérables reaching its 40th year in 2025. Yes, it's West End's longest-running musical. But the arena spectacular's origins hail back earlier, to not long after Les Mis debuted on the stage in 1980 — and also have ties to Australia. In Australia, Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular stars Tony-winner Alfie Boe and British talent Killian Donnelly sharing the role of Jean Valjean, with Michael Ball — who featured in the original London 1985 production — plus Bradley Jaden doing the same with Javert. Marina Prior plays Madame Thénardier, as part of an international cast that also includes Little Britain's Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine, Jac Yarrow as Marius and Beatrice Penny-Touré as Cosette. Images: Danny Kaan.
To live in the US right now must be to live with a constant question: am I in a Nathan Fielder show? There are more pressing queries troubling America, but viewers of the Canadian comedian's The Rehearsal can be forgiven for wondering if he or his disciples are lurking over their shoulder. In this brilliant HBO doco-comedy, studying ordinary folks is a key part of the premise — as much as rehearsing life, the promise that's right there in the series' name. One goes with the other; how do you prepare for every outcome that might occur in a tricky IRL situation if you don't also examine the people who play into it, and their traits? Forget simulation theory, which has caused plenty to wonder if life is a computer program (especially after The Matrix franchise's popularity; see also: documentary A Glitch in the Matrix). Instead, The Rehearsal gives rise to Fielder theory. That needs both unpacking and working up to, but never quite knowing if anything could be one of Fielder's scenarios is a side effect of watching. Early in The Rehearsal's first episode — with season one available to stream in full via Binge in Australia now, and via Neon in New Zealand from Saturday, August 27 — Fielder meets Kor Skeete. A Jeopardy!-watching, trivia-loving New Yorker, he has an issue he's seeking help with, answering an ad asking "is there something you're avoiding?". Skeete has been lying to his bar trivia team about his educational history, claiming he has a master's degree, and wants assistance in coming clean. His biggest worry: how his pal Tricia might react, and if it'll end their friendship. That's The Rehearsal's opening problem-of-the-week setup, because Fielder is a problem solver — or that's the persona he portrays in his on-screen guise. Puppet master; a Wizard of Oz-type impresario; investigator of the human condition; Willy Wonka, which Skeete calls him: they all fit as well. Before he assists Skeete, Fielder asks if he's ever seen his past work. Skeete says no, despite saying television is his favourite trivia subject — and his response to what Fielder explains next will likely mirror anyone who comes to this with the same fresh eyes. First, some background: until now, Fielder was best known for Nathan for You, in which he helped companies and people using his business school studies. Fielder played a version of himself, and the result is a reality comedy. It's something that has to be seen to be truly believed and understood, and it's both genius and absurd. In The Rehearsal, Fielder is back as himself using his skills to help others. He's also starring in/writing/directing a reality comedy, this time letting his subjects rehearse big moments. Skeete wants to bare all to a pal, Angela is keen to explore parenthood and Pat is trying to resolve a family feud over an inheritance, for instance. The show's crew even build elaborate sets, recreating the spots where these pivotal incidents will take place, such as the bar where Skeete will meet Tricia. Fielder hires actors to assist, too. And, adding yet another layer, Fielder also steps through the same routine himself, including rehearsing his initial encounter with Skeete with an actor. So when he's asking Skeete if he's seen his work, he's already done so in a replica of Skeete's apartment, with someone else playing the man he's now talking to — and he's cycled through every possible reaction. If you've ever thought life was a big performance, and every single thing about interacting with others — and even just being yourself — involves playing a role, you'll find much to think about in this gripping, funny, often unsettling, quickly addictive series. There's reality TV, and then there's the way that the deadpan Fielder plays with and probes reality. While both can induce cringing, nothing compares to this. But in a true Fielder touch, rehearsals like Skeete's are rehearsals themselves. You could call the first season a rehearsal for the already-greenlit second season of The Rehearsal, but Fielder also uses his time with Skeete and Pat as trial runs for the big trial run that runs through five of the season's six episodes. That parental pondering? It's too big a social experiment to conduct in just one chapter, and there's too much to it for Fielder to simply orchestrate the whole experience. The Rehearsal's faux family scenario comes courtesy of Angela, who wants to give motherhood a test. Her biological clock is ticking, so she's keen to see if she should pursue being a mum. Staunchly Christian and conservative, she'd want to be married. She also only sees herself living the homesteader life and being self-sufficient in the country. Fielder sets her up in a farmhouse in rural Oregon. To condense 18 years of parenthood down into mere weeks, he has Angela's fake child age in three-year increments, jumping from a baby to a toddler and so on. And to make the process seamless, he hires a lineup of child actors to play the part, swapping them out in shifts as required by labour laws. Later, after a failed attempt to locate a co-parent, he steps in himself. At its entry level, seeing the extremes that Fielder and his crew go to in arranging each rehearsal is mesmerising (a hefty HBO budget assists). So is spying the detail on display, the flowcharts plotting out every potential response, and the rehearsals behind each rehearsal — and watching how the show's subjects react. But it swiftly becomes apparent that The Rehearsal isn't even primarily about the people Fielder is helping and interacting with, including actors he puts through his own acting school (dubbed 'The Fielder Method') and a child who takes the pretend parenthood situation to heart. Fielder's series is always concerned with human nature, how it can be constructed and interpreted, and the role that screens play in telling and manipulating stories; however, it's also about Fielder himself, and the way everyone interacts with the world. Fielder is an awkward presence, but also both candid and calming (has unease ever been this easy?). He's frank about not really feeling emotions the way he thinks he should, and that others don't respond to him the way he'd like. ("I'm not good at meeting people for the first time. I've been told my personality can make people uncomfortable," he offers early on, like a self-aware Larry David who's intrigued to do better.) He's pulling his own strings, in what he himself describes as "puzzles of my own devising" — and he's determined to test his own assumptions, the character he plays as himself, and the way that others see him. He unpacks reality TV in the process, especially by laying bare the process. He tests and probes social conventions, questioning what's real and what we happily manufacture. He makes viewers query what they do themselves, and why, along with him. The Rehearsal is all of that and more, and unfurling its layers, games and insights is one of 2022's finest television experiences. Check out the trailer for The Rehearsal below: The Rehearsal streams via Binge in Australia now, and via Neon in New Zealand from Saturday, August 27. Images: courtesy of HBO.
A weekend feels so much longer when you escape the concrete — even just for a day. Scientists say that time spent in nature works much the same way as dog years — an hour in the bush is worth seven in the city (or something like that). So it's really in the interest of your longevity to spend as much time in the sticks as possible. Sure it feels like a bit of a trek in itself to organise, but you'd be surprised how quickly you can get out of the hustle-and-bustle of the city. Get your fresh air fix by staying overnight in a sweet little cabin in Lane Cove, and then spending the next day exploring the stunning national park by foot, bike and rowboat.
If you're a martini fan, then a dirty martini is probably one of the finest things in your life. It boasts everything that makes a martini great, such as gin, vermouth and an olive for garnish, but also adds a splash of olive brine. It's also easy to drink more than one of, which is where Moya's Juniper Lounge comes in with its new monthly gathering. Amass with your fellow dirty martini lovers at the Dirty Martini Club, where the martinis are dirty — obviously — as well as dirt cheap. The drink in the spotlight will set you back just $10, and entry is free. Dirty Martini Club kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday, November 14, then keeps on sipping on Wednesday, December 12 and into 2019. Each night will feature a different jazz vocalist, with Gregg Arthur doing the crooning first up. Oh, and because dirty martinis are all about olives, these ones will be brined in sherry vermouth and drowned in Tanqueray London Gin.
Want to surprise mum this Mother's Day? And does she love sweet treats? How about a spot of gin in her tea? Well, that's exactly what this boozy take on a celebratory high tea is offering up. Unexpected Guest Distillery is teaming up with local favourite Bourke Street Bakery to curate a new take on high tea to spoil all the ladies of the hour. Hosted at its flagship distillery in Marrickville, the high tea will take place from 12pm on Sunday, May 12. At this unconventional high tea, expect to find teas that have been transformed into gin cocktails, which are then served in vibrant teapots. As for bites, you'll be able to pair your sips with baked goods from the Bourke Street Bakery crew — both sweet and savoury — instead of the classic finger sandwiches and macarons. Take your pick from three types of sliders, including shredded chicken paired with perinaise sauce and cabbage slaw, along with three variations of flaky pastries, with the indulgent chocolate ganache tart leading the lineup. For $79, you'll receive a welcome drink, three cocktails, three sliders and three baked treats. Bookings start from 12pm and can be made at the website.
There is a yin-and-yang equilibrium to food trends — as our penchant for green smoothies and raw vegan treats grows, a corresponding demand for finger-lickin' fried chicken emerges. It's all about balance. And providing the wings-and-drumsticks side to that balance are places like Belle's Hot Chicken. Belle's set up its first-ever home in Melbourne back in 2014, and has since taken poultry fans by storm, including nestling into Tramsheds. Get stuck into chicken drumsticks ($14–21), tenders ($14–21) and wings ($12–19) — and relinquish yourself to the chickeny goodness. Or, if you're feeling particularly extra, max out with the Classic Hits Menu, which offers up bits and pieces from across the Belles menu as well as a schooner of the chicken shop's own draught beer and a boozy nightcap for $45 per person. Spicy chicken sandwiches — as well as a mushroom version for any vegetarians you bring along — are on offer for $14.50, topped with lettuce, onion, cheese and special sauce. Plus, there's a whole heap of delectable sides ranging from crinkle-cut potatoes ($8), sour pickles with ranch ($9) and a basket of chicken-salted fries topped with gravy ($11) Belles also has a killer lineup of funky natural wines and ice-cold beers — both of which do a great job of cutting through the rich chicken and refreshing your palate. And, home delivery is available via all the usual online services — remember that next time you're hungover. You'll find Belle's Hot Chicken Tramsheds in our list of the best fried chicken in Sydney. Check out the full list here. Updated March 31, 2023. Appears in: The Best Fried Chicken in Sydney for 2023
UPDATE: Thursday May 6, 2021 — New COVID-19 restrictions have been announced. We'll keep you updated on this event as the situation changes. For the latest information, visit NSW Health. More than ever, we're looking for opportunities to immerse ourselves in another universe for a few hours. Luckily, that's exactly what you can do this summer when the hit Frozen the Musical premieres in Sydney. The stage production, based on the legendary 2013 Disney animated film, opened on Broadway in 2018 and proceeded to break box office records. After a US tour in 2019, the production is expanding to international markets with Sydney as its first stop this summer. Why was our city the lucky chosen destination? Perhaps the producers took the advice of everyone's favourite snowman Olaf when he sang "the hot and the cold are both so intense. Put 'em together, it just makes sense." If the cultural phenomenon has somehow passed you by until now, Frozen was inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Snow Queen, and it tells the story of Princesses Anna and Elsa. At the latter's coronation to become Queen, she accidentally reveals her magical powers to control and create ice and snow and inflicts an eternal winter on her kingdom, Arendelle. She flees to the North Mountain and, while singing the iconic ballad 'Let it Go', builds herself an ice castle in which to hide. Anna sets out to find her sister, proving the bonds of sisterhood can overcome all obstacles. The musical adaptation brings the beloved story to life before your eyes with opulent costumes, stunning sets and awe-inspiring special effects. All of your favourite tunes from the film will be performed — including 'For the First Time in Forever' and 'Love Is an Open Door' — plus 12 new songs as the stage production expands upon the film's narrative. The Sydney production has an all-Australian cast, led by Jemma Rix (Wicked) as Elsa, Courtney Monsma (Aladdin, Six) as Anna and Matt Lee (Mary Poppins) as the lovable Olaf. As we live in uncertain times, there are flexible ticket options available, which might suit those planning to travel to Sydney especially for the show. The Capitol Theatre also has a COVID-19 safety plan in place, in accordance with NSW Health. Frozen the Musical is running from Tuesday, December 1, 2020 to Sunday, May 23, 2021. Tickets start at $49.50 and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Images: Frozen the Musical, Original Broadway Cast, Deen van Meer, courtesy of Destination NSW.
Solo Sydney emcees Phatchance and Coptic Soldier have supported heavyweight acts like Method Man & Redman, DJ Premier and The Beat Nuts, and are playing their final free show at Oxford Art Factory this week. Chance Waters aka Phatchance released Inkstains in 2009, was a featured artist on Triple J Unearthed, and drops insights that other artists would stumble over. His catchy, lover-not-a-fighter lyrics are supported by well-layered harmonies and epic instrumentation. Luke Girgris aka Coptic Soldier launched his street release The Past Three Years Diary in 2009, teamed up with soul vocalist Miriam Waks to release The Sound of Wings in 2010, and has a sense of poetics to make Henry Lawson weep. His beats are beautifully textured and his social commentary is both searingly honest and endearingly self critical. Catch them at the Oxford alongside Charlie Mayfair and Sydney local Atlas B Salvensen. Image: Phatchance
Clever, creative, quirky, capricious and prolific are some of the words I would use to describe Rufus Wainwright, the American-Canadian Singer songwriter, who will be performing with his band at the Sydney Opera House as part of his Australian Tour. His new album, Out of the Game, which was made in collaboration with the famed producer Mark Ronson, is purported to be his most accessible work yet. Nevertheless, that unmistakeable 'Rufus' edge is still there; the delicately-crafted songs laden with rich emotion and a touch of eccentricity always palpable. The last few years have seen Rufus move away from popular music to pursue other creative endeavours, including his opera 'Prima Donna' and his Grammy-nominated rendition of Judy Garland's famous Carnegie Hall concert. I can confirm that the latter was particularly spectacular, after having been treated to an excerpt from the show (in full drag) the last time he performed in concert here in Sydney. He is great showman who paints pictures with music and words to describe the absurdity of life. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mIF6f3tFxBw
Since 2020, fans of cowboy-themed ice cream have had two options: lick your way through a classic ol' Bubble O'Bill on a stick as you've always done, saving the bubblegum nose for last (of course), or tuck into a Bubble O'Bill tub. That's all well, good and tasty, but frozen desserts can't keep a lasso over the fictional, confectionery-based Old West figure — because Bubble O'Bill Easter eggs are now a sweet treat that truly exists. Set to hit the shelves at Woolworths on Wednesday, March 16, the 160-gram chocolate eggs aren't shaped like their namesake, however. They're regular old egg-shaped, but with swirls of strawberry marbling, pieces of caramel and chewy berry pieces mixed into the Chocolatier Australia chocolate. Love the gumball part of Bubble O'Bills? Of course you do. And they're still included in the Easter egg version, with five found inside once you crack open all that chocolate. Turning a beloved Streets ice cream into an Easter egg isn't just the domain of Bubble O'Bill, either. Returning to both Woolies and Coles this year is the Golden Gaytime Easter egg, which sports the same toffee flavour as the frosty dessert and comes coated in Golden Gaytime crumbs. And, it's available now. Yes, Easter is still more than a month away — hitting on Sunday, April 17 in 2022 — but that just means you've got plenty of time to stock up, or to mark the occasion for weeks in advance. Being an adult means eating Bubble O'Bill and Golden Gaytime Easter eggs whenever you like. Find Bubble O'Bill Easter eggs at Woolworths stores from Wednesday, March 16, costing $10 each. Golden Gaytime Easter eggs are available at both Woolies and Coles now.
Break out the martinis and prepare for a shaken but not stirred Boxing Day — Bond, James Bond, is coming to your lounge room. On Wednesday, December 26, Stan will become home to all 24 official films in the espionage franchise, which means one massive movie marathon is on the cards. Sean Connery smouldering his way through everything from Dr. No to Diamonds Are Forever, Roger Moore stepping into 007's shoes between Live and Let Die and A View to A Kill, Timothy Dalton's two-film run in The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill — they're all included. So is Pierce Brosnan's stint as the secret agent between GoldenEye and Die Another Day, and Daniel Craig's four contributions to date since Casino Royale. Aussie actor George Lazenby's one-movie appearance as Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also on the bill. A 25th movie, Never Say Never Again, will also hit Stan on the same date. Made in 1983, it stars Connery as the suave spy. But, because it was made by a different company from the rest of the Bond movies, it's not considered part of the official franchise. If you're particularly keen to rove your eyes over every single detail — and every villain, Bond girl, gadget and opening credits sequence too — Stan is streaming the flicks in 4K. And even if you're not wowed by revisiting the franchise in an impressive resolution, this marks the first time the entire franchise has made its way to an Aussie streaming platform. Find the Bond franchise on Stan from Wednesday, December 26,.
As if Hamlet didn’t have enough to deal with under his dead father’s duress, he’s back for a second round. Actually, that should be match. American playwright David Davalos transports Denmark’s troubled prince to Germany, October 1517. Having spent the summer in Poland, studying under an unknown yet radical astronomer by the name of Copernicus (yes, the Copernicus), he returns to Wittenberg University, stricken by a crisis of faith: to believe or not to believe? His usually ace tennis skills are as unreliable as his Shakespearean mother’s fidelity and he’s utterly undecided as to which major he should take. To complicate matters, two legendary academics are vying for his commitment. One is theology professor Martin Luther, frustrated, constipated and on the verge of inadvertently inspiring the Protestant Reformation. The other is philosopher Dr Faustus, heretic, hedonist, psychoanalyst, part-time pub musician and desperate, deluded lover of the non-committal Helen. Yes, it’s a crazy world. Dubbed as the ‘story-behind-the-stories’ of Hamlet, Marlowe’s Dr Faustus and the Protestant Reformation, Wittenberg is the kind of literary mash-up that Tom Stoppard fans would adore. Davalos dives into the most tormenting of spiritual and philosophical questions, yet his sense of the absurd is such that we’re never more than a moment away from a ridiculous plot twist, witty textual reference or underhanded wordplay. (During Hamlet’s encounter with Laertes in a Wittenberg-versus-Paris tennis match, the judge calls, “An out! A very palpable out!”). Benjamin Brockman’s set and lighting design embraces the play’s wordy world. Strings of pages ripped from referenced texts hang from the ceiling, like a papery forest. Dr Faustus keeps his father’s skull visible on a shelf — a reference to Hamlet’s famous graveyard scene. Four empty window frames fill the back wall. Simple effects — revolving lights that spin the pages into silver-tipped chaos and silhouetting during soliloquies — highlight moments of heightened psychological agony. Under Richard Hilliar’s direction, the Brevity Theatre cast tackles Wittenberg with brio. It’s a tough script, demanding complex diction and on-the-mark timing. David Woodland delivers a charismatic and rebellious take on Faustus, while Nick Curnow is a commanding yet deeply perturbed Luther. Hilliar makes the most of the contrast. Their exchanges — whether comical or filled with ire — are edgy and real. As the distressed Hamlet, Alexander Butt is suitably bewildered and angst-ridden. Lana Kershaw turns her multifaceted hand to three different roles — a sassy, flirtatious barmaid; an aptly tranquil Virgin Mary; and a much-desired yet immovable Helen. As the newly formed Brevity Theatre's second production (their first, Fully Committed, played at last year's Fringe Festival), Wittenberg is further evidence that Sydney would do well to roll out the red carpet in celebration of the company’s arrival. Having set out with the mission of “producing theatre told in a sharp and simple way”, they’re doing a fine job of achieving their intention.
What would the global culinary scene of the last 20 years be without René Redzepi? Whether or not you've had the good fortune to dine at Noma since 2003 — including at its pop-ups in Sydney, Kyoto, Tokyo and Tulum — the mind behind the three-Michelin-starred Copenhagen eatery has helped shape the restaurant industry in the 21st century. For more than half of that time, the Danish kitchen wiz has also been cooking up a television docuseries that asks similar questions, but about the ingredients that we consume. What would the world be without chilli? What is the impact of our appetite for tuna? How has salt helped shape our history? Bananas, pigs, rice, coffee, corn: in Apple TV+'s Omnivore, they're all also in the spotlight. It was over a decade ago, when Noma was firmly established as a sensation — it's been voted the planet's best by The World's 50 Best Restaurants five times, from 2010–12, and also in 2014 and 2021 — that Redzepi came up with the idea for the series that debuts on streaming on Friday, July 19, 2024. As happens with renowned chefs, TV offers were coming his way, but never for the type of project that'd see him happily spend time away from his celebrated fine-diner. Taking inspiration from natural history documentaries, especially David Attenborough-fronted greats such as Planet Earth, gave rise to a show that treats the nutritional staples that fuel humanity with the same care and reverence. [caption id="attachment_966274" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Ditte Isager[/caption] With Redzepi leading the way within the series and Australian ex-Noma Chief Operating Officer Ben Liebmann an executive producer — the latter alongside Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown alum Matt Goulding — Omnivore's first season whittles down its key ingredients to the eight mentioned above. "It was a giant process," Redzepi advises Concrete Playground in an interview with both him and Liebmann. More than 120 choices were under consideration, but that's one of the program's delicate balancing acts. Another is in the buffet of stories and details that it dishes up about each type of food, telling viewers the origins and history of every ingredient, stepping through the impact and importance at both a mass and a personal level, unpacking the relationship between the item in question and the climate, and recognising that none of it exists in a vacuum without having ripples around the planet. Just like off-screen, of course, Redzepi knows how to create a winning recipe. As it travels the globe, pairing meticulous footage of each ingredient's life cycle with portraits of folks whose existence revolves around them, this isn't a talking heads-led show. It observes. It appreciates. Redzepi is also heard more than he's seen. It's his second television project in as many months, however, as everyone who watches The Bear — so, everyone — will know. Given how long that Omnivore has been simmering, that timing is purely coincidental. Also, even being in The Bear briefly took some convincing. "It's a nice to have, not a need to have, for me," he shares. "I only did it because they really asked me to. I know them very well. We've known them long before The Bear was a thing, and they were in Copenhagen and they shot all these scenes, and they said 'hey, can we please have you there?'," Redzepi tells us. "And I wasn't going to be in the show. I said 'I don't know how to act. Don't ask me this.' But then they they thought it would be a great idea, and I did it. And then many people mentioned it, even though I just look at the guy for a second. I guess it's a good thing for Omnivore that that happened, and perhaps they were right in saying 'no, no, you should be briefly in there." [caption id="attachment_966275" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Ditte Isager[/caption] 2024 isn't just a big year for Redzepi in the TV realm. Before 2025 hits, he'll bid farewell to Noma 2.0 — the restaurant's guise since 2017, after it reemerged following its closure in 2016 — and say hello Noma 3.0, a test kitchen and food laboratory in its latest reinvention. Working on Omnivore has helped cement the new direction for Noma, Redzepi explains in our chat. He also credits Liebmann, whose stint at Noma from 2015–22 sits alongside working on television franchises such as MasterChef, Grand Designs and Idol, with to ensuring that it came to fruition. Ahead of Omnivore dropping its first season in full, ready for a binge that'll make you hungry for chilli, tuna, salt, bananas, bacon, rice, coffee and corn — perhaps not all at once — we spoke with Redzepi and Liebmann about what gets them excited about new projects beyond Noma, the original idea for the series, taking inspiration from Planet Earth, coming up with the right recipe for the show, picking which foods to focus on and Noma's future. Always wanted to know Redzepi's can't-live-without ingredient, too? We discussed that as well. On What Gets Redzepi and Liebmann Excited About New Projects Beyond Noma René: "I think when you get to be part of something groundbreaking, which I think Omnivore is. Being a part of a groundbreaking project with a network that believes in you, working with some of the best people on a project on a subject that I genuinely believe in, that also teaches me so much about a world that I've been in for the past 30 years — that is inspiring. And that really gets me excited when the scope is so amazing, like with Omnivore. That really does inspire me to do something like this." Ben: "I think I've heard René talk about over the years, just that simple idea of stepping outside of one's comfort zone. An opportunity, in this instance, in terms of using media and storytelling to perhaps reach a broader audience, a broader community, than we would otherwise be able to in person — about sharing knowledge, sharing hope, sharing inspiration. And with a series like this, hopefully creating a conversation and potentially hopefully creating a movement around it. I think that's still that power of media and, in this instance, what makes the project so exciting." On What Inspired Omnivore a Decade Ago — and the Original Vision René: "I can't remember if it's like 11–12 years ago or whatever, but it's a while back, and it was at a time when Noma was getting to be known around the world. We had rocket fuel on, and when that happens, you very quickly get offered TV. And I was. I was supposed to be judges in competition shows or travel. I think there was a show called Fire and Ice, and I had to travel around Scandinavia with a celebrity and teach them how to cook and stuff, and show them where to eat. And I guess it was never enticing enough for me to step out of my work. I was also very happy doing that. But it did make me think 'iIf I was ever to do this, what would I do?'. And that's when Omnivore started as a seed: a show that would have the same respect, dedication, care and sophistication towards what we eat as you would see in the great nature documentaries like Planet Earth. If we can show a beetle with so much attention and care, why can't we do that with rice? And thus inspiring people to be more inspired about what they eat and how they eat, and make them more curious about this wonderful world of food — make them hopefully realise that food is the most amazing thing on earth, besides basic nutrition. It's who we are. It's what made us. It was always the genesis of the idea. And when Ben came aboard, that's when we finally could put the pieces together. Because if I would have run it, it would never have happened because I would have tried to run it like you built a menu. It's like 'okay, we have this idea, in seven months it should be on camera, right? It should be on TV?'. That's how I would have thought about it." Ben: "I think from my side, when René originally shared the concept for it, it for me was just so intriguing. It was such a simple but yet powerful idea. And I think what intrigued me was that it had not been done before, which was in itself a very Noma thing of trying to do things that hadn't been done before. Certainly standing on the shoulders of giants in terms of programs that had inspired us in the years before, but trying to elevate, let's call it, food media. Although in some ways this isn't food media. It's this extraordinary kind of combination of food and natural history, but I think it was that amazing challenge and opportunity to try to create something. And then to build a team, an amazing team, from René and Matt, our partners at Fifth Season and obviously in Apple, somebody who believed in this idea and wanted to help it, help us realise that, was where it all began." On the Excitement, Challenges and Daunting Feeling That Comes with Taking Inspiration From David Attenborough, But with Food René: "By no means are we comparing ourselves to his productions at all. We're just inspired by him and his productions. And yes, it is super daunting. I mean, it's the first time for me. I've never done anything like this. When we do menus at Noma, I've reached a point now where when we set it up, the finals tasting, the entire team is there, the test kitchen team is there, and I think to myself 'we nailed it. I know guests will like this'. I know where on the menu they'll be surprised and be like 'oh, my god, I can't believe this'. You get a sense of that and a feel for that, and it's been a while since I had this feeling that 'okay, I have no clue if people are going to like this'. We are putting it out into the world — there might be 50 people that watch it, you being one of them, and we have no clue if people are going to like it and accept it and be inspired. They might hate it. No, they won't." Ben: "It'll certainly start a conversation. It's interesting you ask about that. I mean, 20–30 years ago, somebody also asked that question of — and we're using the old vernacular here, it was prime-time television — but would audiences sit and watch the migration of the dolphin or the mating of the polar bear on prime-time television? Because there had been nothing like that before. And it showed that audiences are looking for things that inspire them and give them hope and make them think, and start conversations. We're certainly not comparing ourselves to the Planet Earths, but we certainly took inspiration from those. Again, it was that thought of 'could we create this catalyst or this movement around food, and just give people the tools and the information to maybe have them think a little more about where their food comes from, and the impact that it has on culture and community and the planet', etcetera." On Balancing Each Ingredient's History, Impact, Influence, Relationship to the Climate and More René: "It's super hard. That was actually a challenge from the beginning to set the focus right, and to tell eight different stories that somehow still have the ethos and our beliefs in it that food is amazing and everything and the most important thing. But at the same time, to say it with different tonalities and different energies — it was really, really hard. And then also not to step into the realm of over-explaining — let the people that are actually being filmed explain, let the visuals talk, not step into the camera saying 'hey, we're going to show you this' and have 15 talking heads explaining everything — but, in that sense, being a little more adventurous. It is always a challenge to do that when you talk about food, the environment, where things come from, where they belong. It's a delicate balance always, without a shadow of doubt. And we threaded very carefully and hopefully we didn't do anything wrong, but I feel like we've really taken great care and attention to actually thread it carefully, and showcase our ideas and the places on earth with a lot of respect and care. Then ultimately, of course, we want to do that without it all telling the viewer what to do or how to do it. That it's an inspiration for people, that we respect you no matter what you choose to do. We all want the same thing: happiness and a good life. We have very different ways, each of us individually, to actually get there, but we believe in a lot of things when it comes to food — and we want to inspire you to try to see some of that, and see if you can grab some of it and implement it in your daily life. On Choosing the First Season's Eight Ingredients René: "It was a giant process of choosing these eight ingredients. We probably boiled it down from 120 or something like that, and I think we have at least season two also well-researched — of course, we don't know if we're doing season two yet, it depends on if people like season one. The process was long and it was hard. We had to do a lot of research before we actually chose. And then, of course, it's between me and Matt and all the other stakeholders in the show. Ben was heavily involved in that, but there was also other people here at the restaurant, like Devin, that works on the show as well from Noma. We had Fifth Season, the producers at Apple, everyone had an opinion actually. It was like the UN Peace Corps. And we made it happen and we ultimately ended up choosing eight ingredients that — we could have chosen eight world-altering staples, put wheat in there and the potato and so on and so forth, but we felt it would be a little too one note to have too much of that in there. We needed something that was also just about love, like the chilli story is for instance. So it was a long process. It takes a lot of research. And then once you have that, you also have a framework for each of the ingredients to actually start from, that you can explain to the director and to everyone that's involved, and then they go do their thing." On Omnivore Arriving Just as Redzepi Is Preparing to Say Goodbye to Noma 2.0 René: Actually, Omnivore has helped crystallise so many of the thoughts for the new Noma 3.0. When we go into that, we have a desire that we'd spend our team, our network, our 21 years of expertise, all the labs we have, to actually broaden our approach and work with new collaborators, start new projects that impact food in a bigger way than just cooking every night for 50 people. And in that sense, figuring out how to focus, how to bring the scope, how to have a larger scope, Omnivore helped crystallise a lot of the projects that we're going to initiate in Noma 3.0. I feel like I should also say that in Noma 3.0, we will still pop up as a restaurant now and then. When the body of work is ready and we need someone to test it on, then we'll come back and work so hard every minute to be the best of the best of the best. But Omnivore has helped crystalise some of the projects, which actually has been an amazing thing for that reason. And surprising, I would also say, that an added bonus was all that we've learned, all the meaning that we saw and all the interesting people you get to encounter, that they help guide you towards your next path. It's fantastic." On Redzepi and Liebmann's All-Time Favourite Ingredients, If They Could Only Choose One René: "Ben Liebmann, it's easy for me. You will let me know what you think, Ben." Ben: "Well, given that it's 7am here and I'm already on my second cup of coffee, it's probably coffee for me." René: "I was sure is was going to be coffee for you. For me, it's without a doubt chocolate. I cannot live without chocolate. That's for real. There's a little chocolate store in Mexico City called La Rifa. It's the best chocolate for me that exists, and I eat a block of that every day. I just can't be without chocolate." Omnivore streams via Apple TV+ from Friday, July 19, 2024.
Sydneysiders are about to get another taste of Morgan McGlone's Nashville-style cooking, as new Haymarket food street Steam Mill Lane prepares to welcome the sixth national outpost of Belles Hot Chicken. The city's third Belles follows a slightly different script to the others, with the group's signature menu of fiery chook and natural wines rounded out with a few exclusive extras. That would be the debut of Belles' own wine range, Little Darling, which sees the group collaborate with minimal intervention champions Rob Burley (Unkel Wines) and Barney Flanders (Côtier Wines). The new lineup features a skin contact blend of sauvignon blanc and riesling sourced from the Mornington Peninsula, and a blend of malbec, vermentino and shiraz made on grapes from Gippsland and Heathcote. But the fun doesn't stop there. To celebrate its newest digs and this foray into the wine game, Belles is also launching a series of bottomless boozy brunches at all three of its Sydney venues, from 11.30am every Saturday and Sunday. Pay just $50 and you'll sit down to a decadent two-hour feast, featuring that famed chicken and crisp waffles, alongside unlimited cocktail jugs and bloody marys. The latter sees Belles team up with the crew at Sydney's own Westmont Pickles to create the ultimate AM combo of pickle brine, fresh-pressed tomato juice and cayenne pepper. Other sips include The Southern Charm, made on sweet tea with a hit of Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon, and a lemonade, tea and Tromba concoction dubbed The Arnaldo. All of that is likely to see you rolling out the door — but if you can squeeze it in, the regular Belles menu of mains and sides will also be on offer. Belles Hot Chicken will open at 7 Steam Mill Lane, Darling Square, Haymarket on April 17. Bottomless brunch will run each Saturday and Sunday from 11.30am at Darling Quarter, Tramsheds and Barangaroo. For more info, visit belleshotchicken.com.au.
If you've always been curious to peek behind the curtain in artist's studios, now is your chance to explore creative spaces at the EDGE Creative Trails Midjuburi. This free two-day festival hosted by the Inner West Council, takes place across 28 artist studios, independent galleries and artist-run initiatives on Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13, from 11am until 4pm. Meet local artists and makers, see works in progress, watch art demonstrations, participate in workshops and join artist talks. You can even buy art created by talented local artists at studio prices at locations in Sydenham, Tempe, St Peters, Marrickville and Dulwich Hill. Some highlights include the 'August Artist Talks' at Airspace Studio where artists will candidly share their creative processes, a ceramic tableware hand-building demonstration at Smith Street Studios and upcycling fabrics with Shibori dyeing at Monster Mouse Studios. For a full list of all the happenings check out the website. Attendees can follow the self-guided map — available on the Inner West Council's website — or book a tour. These tours will guide you along the artist's trail. You can walk, cycle, or bus between spaces or capture your time with a photographic tour. Spaces on these tours are limited, but if you miss out you can guide yourself to the next destination via QR codes hidden at the locations taking part in Creative Trails. EDGE Creative Trails Midjuburi is taking place across the Inner West at select studios, independent galleries and artist-run initiatives from 12–13 August from 11am until 4pm. Find out more information — including a map of the locations — about this free event on the website. Images: Shane Rozario
Margaret and David, our favourite and most cantankerous movie-reviewing duo, are bidding us farewell after 28 years of flawless onscreen banter. If you don't know what you're going to do without your weekly serving of Margaret's exasperated 'Oh David' sighs and choking laughs, or David's folded hands and shaking head, then you are going to want to get down to Golden Age Cinema to mark the occasion as it deserves. Golden Age, the Surry Hills king of cult cinema screenings, is opening its doors to all Margaret&David-ophiles (first in best dressed) for a free live airing of the final episode ever of At the Movies. On offer will be cameo cocktails 'The Margaret' and 'The David'. So to ease the grieving process, come along and raise a glass of your favourite to the pair, or two glasses if you truly can't choose, and say goodbye to Australia's incomparable platonic power couple. Photo credit: ABC
For those in the Shire looking to get out and about in the crisp winter air, Cronulla's popular waterfront market is returning in June. The two-day affair comes from the team behind the market at Watsons Bay and it will bring all of the market stalls, food trucks and entertainment you need to break out of your seasonal slump. Taking place at Don Lucas Reserve, the market will feature over 150 stalls. If you're heading down for a bite to eat, you'll find food stalls from popular Sydney businesses such as Brooklyn Boys Bagels and Thicc Cookies. As with any good market, there will be a range of stalls selling handmade goods from designers, brands and producers like The Peony Press, Isekai Studio, Foxytrot and Bowerbird Jewels. Live music will soundtrack the weekend and the kids will be thrilled by family-friendly activities and games. Market organiser Madelienne Anderson stresses the importance of local markets and their role in supporting small businesses. "Small business is the lifeblood of the Australian community and at our markets, hundreds of small businesspeople, makers and creators come together to offer the community a wide variety of exceptional goods," Anderson says. The markets will be open 10am–3pm on both Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30.
Hej! Spring has arrived, the sun is out and colourful dresses complete with Swedish clogs have started to reappear on the streets. There’s no better time to head over to Sydney’s unofficial Swedish enclave, the relaxed beachside 'burb of Manly. This trendy north-shore hub has an enviable collection of Nordic design stores, and amongst the mix you’ll find Fika Swedish Kitchen. The breezy, chic cafe was founded by expats whose wistful thoughts of home resulted in the brainwave of bringing the best of Swedish culture to the heart of Manly. It channels a Scandinavian summerhouse vibe and seems staffed entirely by attractive blondes like something from a Swedish travel brochure. The sunshine streams into the neatly curated space, illuminating the modern whitewash interior, rendered concrete benchtop and simple artwork. The minimalism is balanced with homely touches of wooden furnishings, scattered cushions, pops of vibrant yellow and decorative jars of Swedish sweets. Fika translates as ‘taking a break for coffee and a bite to eat', and with that welcoming attitude and the open pavement dining, it buzzes with laidback Manly locals over the warmer months. We decide to take a time out from our Marimekko homeware shopping, and dabble in some Swedish fare — but first we crack open a Rekorderlig cider while we peruse the lunch menu casually scrawled across the back wall. The obvious crowd-pleaser is the Swedish meatballs with potato mash, gravy and lingonberry jam ($18), comfortingly served up on canteen-style enamel plates. If you miss the lunch hours, open sandwiches are available throughout the afternoon. Try the gravlax cured salmon skagen, a lavish open sandwich heaped with mashed egg and håvmästar sauce. If you are feeling a little indecisive there is always the smörgåstårta, a sandwich as complicated as its name is to pronounce. It's a three-layer stack of smashed egg, prawn skagen, gravlax, meatball, ham and Jarlsberg ($15). Our table quickly became a smorgasbord, which literally translates to ‘sandwich table’. There was so much sandwich on our table that there was hardly any table. Not for long though. There were only a few crumbs left on our plates to remind us of what once was. Now, everyone knows that hanging out in Manly is like being on holiday, and on holiday one always has room for dessert. With such an endearing name, it was impossible to go past Grandma Elly’s Apple Pie ($8) — the just-out-the-oven golden goodness served with a hearty dollop of vanilla whip made me momentarily wish I were related to Grandma Elly. For an authentic brew, try the refillable Swedish coffee ($2), which is perfect coupled with a cinnamon bun ($5) from the freshly baked batch sitting enticingly on the counter. After you tear into this traditional pastry, you’ll be tempted to order a few as souvenirs to take on the trip home. With such sincere fare, simple Scandi design and the happy chatter of Swedish expats enjoying a taste of home, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that you aren’t actually in Stockholm.
As fans of a certain fictional cat-like Japanese character should already know, Hello Kitty Land is a real place that exists in Tokyo, and it's probably a bucket-list destination for your next Japan trip. But Sydneysiders don't need to hop on a plane to celebrate the bow-wearing, feline-resembling animated favourite for the next three months, with Darling Square hosting a huge Hello Kitty-themed street festival. Running now until Friday, April 29, this Hello Kitty fest is actually a Hello Kitty Town — so expect the precinct to be positively purring with all things Hello Kitty. Created in partnership with Sanrio, the Japanese company behind the super-popular character, the set up includes exhibitions, inflatable installations and Hello Kitty-themed food and drinks. Who doesn't want to eat a sandwich shaped like the perpetual third-grade student, or drink Hello Kitty rose mocktails? On the art side of the setup, Hello Kitty Town is home to Australia's largest Sanrio art exhibitions, spanning pieces from top graphic designers, illustrators and street artists such as UK cartoonist, writer and illustrator Gemma Correll, Berlin-based artist and illustrator DXTR, Melbourne large-scale mural painter Justine McAllister, and Aussie artist Travis Price, who is the featured artist for the festival — with their wares all displayed in an outdoor gallery. And, there's also a five-metre Hello Kitty inflatable that, yes, is as adorable as it sounds. Food- and drink-wise, the menu currently includes Ume Burger's Bad Badtz-Maru cheeseburger and white peach soda, plus Toastie Smith five limited-edition toasties that all come with Hello Kitty ham bows. Or, you can nab themed teas from Bubble Nini Tea, or dishes such as the Lazy Egg Burger at Auvers Cafe. There'll be more additions to the program — and to the menu — announced over the event's three-month run, tempting you to indulge your Hello Kitty love multiple times. That starts with Lunar New Year lion dances on Saturday, February 5–Sunday, February 6 February at 1pm and 7pm. Obviously, Hello Kitty merchandise is on sale, because a festival like this wouldn't be complete without it. And, also to the surprise of no-one, this is firmly a family-friendly affair. No one ever really outgrows Hello Kitty, though, do they? Hello Kitty Town is taking over Darling Square, 35 Tumbalong Boulevard, Haymarket, until Friday, April 29. For more information, head to the festival's website.
Founded by Emma Nguyen in 2011, I Love Pho has a special focus on bringing an authentic Vietnamese experience to Sydney. Decked out with a bamboo-themed interior, the dining room captures the essence of the frantic hustle and bustle of Vietnamese street dining. The service here is classy and casual, and it's the kind of place you'll be returning to again and again after discovering it, whether that's once a year or once a week. As the name suggests, the oft mispronounced but easy-to-consume Vietnamese noodle soup is the star of the show at this Crows Nest spot. Following a traditional recipe from Hanoi, and cooked for 24 hours, this steaming broth is available in several different flavours including vegetable, pork chop, wagyu beef and chicken breast. The chicken broth pho is slow-simmered with a hint of zesty ginger and fresh lime leaves, and the mixed seafood option is especially exciting. There's even a totally vegan pho with tofu, mixed veg and lotus root noodle soup. Outside of pho, the menu boasts some incredible traditional Vietnamese dishes. Standouts include a vegan curry topped with roasted peanuts, spicy pork belly served with steamed Chinese broccoli, and a truly spectacular roast duck salad. The wine lost at I Love Pho has all the standards from shiraz to pinot noir and pinot gris to chardonnay, while the beer list is international with the classic Vietnamese Hanoi Beer included. For northsiders, heading here is an easy call — and for everyone else, it's definitely worth crossing the bridge for.
From humble food truck beginnings, Melbourne Greek doughnut-slinger Lukumades opened its first bricks-and-mortar spot in West Melbourne in 2017. Now, it's brought its chewy on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside dessert to Sydney. The Lukumades Sydney outpost is located in DUO Central Park — the plant-covered skyscraper opposite the eyesore that is UTS Tower — and dishing up a modern spin on traditional Greek loukoumades. Cult favourites such as the Oreo Balls smothered in white chocolate and served with a scoop of cookies and cream gelato — and the White Nutella Balls topped with salted caramel sauce and crushed biscuits — will be on the menu, as well as more traditional doughnuts dusted with icing sugar or dipped in honey and cinnamon. To drink, Lukumades' specially roasted blend of coffee by Sydney-based William De Nass roasters is available, as well as milkshakes, traditional Greek soft drinks and tsikoudia — a Greek grape-based spirit. Lukumades is not just expanding to Sydney, either. As well as Perth and a second store in Melbourne, the brand has its sights set globally — thanks to its recent franchising — with stores in the United States and Cyprus anticipated to open by the end of the year.
