I love them as much as Homer loves Duff.

Gosh has it been 2 weeks already? Sorry guys but the world of Feisty has been fairly hectic but what else is new?
Anyway, seeing as I spent the last 2 entries ripping the shit out of a couple of places, I thought I would enlighten you on my 3 favourite cafes in Perth at the moment (I am a self proclaimed cafe whore so I may find something new and awe inspiring tomorrow). But for now you can just humour me :)

1. Infinity Cafe in East Perth- I happen to live within stumbling distance so am very grateful that the coffee (Lavazza) is made by people who actually put some love into their work and the owner Johnny is so anal about his food that I pretty much love everything I eat there.
Have I mentioned before how much it irritates me that I can't eat breakfast at the time of day I want to eat it at? Well at Infinity they serve it from when they open until they close which is a win in my books.

Ah my perfect latte- not bitter, not too hot  and with a tree on it.

The big breakfast OF CHAMPIONS. Eggs, hash browns, sausages, mushrooms, eggs any way you want them and those beans. Sure they make your butt burp but those beans are homemade and are so worth the couple of hours of discomfort for others.

This is a toasted bagel with spinach, ricotta, poached eggs and bacon. Anyone who teams cheese with a bagel is winning in my opinion.

I've just shown you the breakfast food- Johnny is also a pastanazi so your lunch is going to be outstanding.

2. The Merchant in Mount Lawley- what a winner. The wine list is excellent and they have the best stuff that you can share with a friend (or not in my case). Just kidding I did share these fabulous mushrooms with wild rice and more ricotta. And that salad has candied walnuts in it.

The coffee is also very good and I love how you can sit inside, look around the store to see if anything takes your fancy or you can sit out the front and enjoy your wine and good company while watching dickheads break the 50kmp speed limit in their Ferraris.

3. Sayers in Leederville- all I can say is that if you haven't tried this cafe yet, well don't even talk to me! It would have to be my favourite breakfast place ever and yes I will break my no eating before 1pm rule to go there. The downside is that they do have specific times for brekky but the upside is is if you wait for lunch, it's just as good!

This is braised lamb, date chutney and buckwheat salad. You wouldn't think that the grilled orange has a place but when you eat it all together your mouth rejoices in the symphony of unusual combinations that Manu would say are "a marriage in heaven".

This is duck and pistachio tart with julienne salad. Now I believe that you don't make friends with salad but I will eat anything that is julienned. Only because I can't be arsed doing it myself. I try not to go near knives in general :)

Well there you have it! Do yourself a favour and try these places if you haven't already. And no there aren't any royalties here, otherwise I wouldn't have used profanity. Or would I?????

Pasta FAIL

As I have probably told you before, Wednesday night is pasta/family night. I teach a class in Freo and on the way home we try to find some tasty pastas and pizzas.
Apparently Il Caio is supposed to be a the "hidden gem" of the pasta world in Applecross but all I can say is wow, that was crap!
Before I tell you about the food I have to describe the family sitting at the table next to us because I believe that no matter where you are from, table manners are universal.
A middle aged lady was there with her daughter and two sons. I would say aged 8, 10 and 12 respectively. When we sat down I noticed that the little girl and younger boy were on a PS and the older boy seemed to be attached to his Samsung smartphone. There was no conversation with each other. They ordered pizza and pasta and when their meal came out it was too hot so they continued on with their devices. The mum had a bowl of veggies which she ate with her mouth open, and when the oldest child could finally eat his pasta, he did so by putting his mouth right down near his bowl and ripping the excess pasta off with his hand, all the while still scrolling through his phone with his other hand. At one point he wasn't concentrating on his eating and pasta went all over his phone which he then blamed on his mum because it was too hot. The little girl ate her pasta by shovelling it into her mouth with a fork and then cramming the rest in with her hand. Then a piece of cake came out for the middle son for his birthday and he picked the whole thing up on his fork  and ate it like that.
I didn't really expect dinner and a show but by golly I got one. I call it "Etiquette 101 and the disappearance of table manners" Unbelievable!!!
What can I say that is nice about the food.....
We ordered three dishes and I can happily say one of them was really good. It was half a free range chicken with sort of Portuguese spices and traditional spaghetti bolognaise. The chicken was beautifully cooked and the pasta was the way it should be. And it was great that for an extra $3 you could get a side pasta for many of the meals.

Most of our friends know how much my hubby loves pizza. When we have indulgence days it will always be his "go to" food of choice. This is one with prosciutto, mushrooms and olives. SPANISH olives- you know the ones that are cheap and have no flavour at all. For God's sake if you are going to claim to be authentic please don't scrimp, use kalamata olives because no good Italian pizza maker should use anything less!

And finally the worst dish of the day goes to this prawn pasta that claimed to have olive oil and chili. The problem was, the pasta wasn't drained properly so any olive oil, chili or taste got washed away into the "soup" at the bottom. This has got to be one of the most bland pastas I have eaten in forever (including food hall pasta).

I find it humorous when someone comes out and asks you how your meal was and the way their face changes when you tell them it was below average at best. Then they try to make excuses for it. All I can say is that if you are in Applecross and think that this is the best the area can offer, expand your horizons cos there are much better places just down the road and you shouldn't settle for average either....

No No NO!

I have been putting off writing this blog as it is about a disappointing dining experience but I guess they can't all be good can they?

We were in Leederville a couple of weeks ago and being Sunday afternoon (pigout day) I was notably starving as usual. What I seriously hate about Perth is that if you are in between "normal" mealtimes you can't get anything substantial. 3pm is obviously coffee and cake time to everyone else but my clock works differently so I wanted lunch.

As the Sayers lunch was well and truly over we went across the road to Duende as they were doing their paella thing with the big pan outside the restaurant and cool tunes pumping from a DJ dude. So far so good.

We went in and were told that paella and a few of the nibbly sides were the only thing on offer at that time so being part Spanish and a sucker for paella goodness I wanted to get some in me.

I asked for a cider at the bar and was handed the bottle. I don't do my cider from the bottle so asked for a glass with ice. Out comes a tiny tumbler. Obviously the bar guy doesn't drink cider so I asked for the biggest glass they have. It didn't help the taste one bit. Sometimes I wish I was a beer drinker cos it would be a whole bunch easier but that will happen when hell freezes over.

I have to tell you that I have been spoilt with amazing paella in my life. My sister makes the best one I have ever tried and I remember people coming over to her house when I was younger to get lessons on how to make it themselves it was THAT good. I wish Duende would employ her so they could learn what a decent one tastes like. The rice was gluggy, there was none of the crispy semiburnt crust on the bottom and all I could sense was heat but no flavour. There should be a balance of flavours from the seafood, the smoked paprika, the veggies and stock. Not a mess of mass produced whatever it was. And please, with so many staff on for the day they should come to our table to talk to us and not yell at us from behind the bar. 

I think Duende tries to hide behind their name which is obviously "in" right now but that doesn't and shouldn't ever make up for food that isn't up to scratch. It should be the best because they are who they are. Now where's my sis at? :p