Bar Cleveland

I've been staying near the intersection of Cleveland and Bourke and naturally I've become and avid customer of Bar Cleveland. This bar has a pretty mellow crowd, some slot machines, a nice outdoor seating area and some great food. I find that dropping by here and ordering a pint of Vale or Coopers and then hitting the slots is a nice way to wind my night down. Of the food I've tried here I'd say the Wagyu burger is the best thing they've got going and pretty much melts in your mouth. If you're just looking for a snack the Calamari is only 12 bucks and is a decent enough portion to hold you over before your next meal.

Bar Cleveland from street

Harts Pub

Since during my last visit to Harts Pub I wasn't in favor of ordering off the holiday menu, I decided to go back in last night and try out one of their burgers. I ordered myself The Surprise burger and a paddle of beer, including Butcher Porter, Red Truck Lager, Boxer Red Ale and another porter I cant remember. I felt the porters were both a bit too bitter when drank side by side with the reds, the Boxer was almost like carbonated grapefruit juice, and the Red Truck had a wholesome balance of malt and cream. After the sampler was all finished I ordered a glass of the Red Truck to go with the burger. My burger came out bigger then I'd imagined,  it was listed as 300 grams and it turned out that 300 grams is a lot of burger. I took a couple bites out of this, which in itself was a difficult task, however it was worth the effort to taste the rare meat with custom barbecue sauce and bacon all in one bite. After the first few bites it was impossible to bite in more without getting barbecue sauce all over my face, so I gave into cutting this thing up and ate it with a fork.

these bar goers were suspicious of my behavior

Bronte to Bondi

Yesterday I took a cab ride over to Bronte Beach in search of a scenic walk. Along the east side of Sydney there are multiple trails going up and down the coast, this one is about 1 mile and goes from Bronte Beach to Bondi  Beach. The weather was cool and the wind was overwhelming  which is reflected in the size of the waves in these pictures. During the walk the wind got strong enough to knock you over, at several points along the way people on the path were leaning against the wind in order to keep their footing.

Bangladesh Rally and Kangaroo

Today I was feeling adventurous and got off the train some place I didn't recognize called Martin Place. I came to realize that this is pretty much right in the middle of CBD where I've been many times. However today was a special event, in celebration of St Patrick's Day a Bangladeshi war crimes rally was happening. I stayed around for a little while the guy on the mike ranted about rising up and avenging our fathers killers. I asked the Bengals around me several times if there was any free beer and each time they would react differently; either giving me a new pamphlet or speaking some gibberish or even just walking away. I could see that they were avoiding answering my questions so I chose to go find more rational people.

Judgement Bar & Bistro

Walking through Darlighurst the other day, I happened into the Judgement Bar & Bistro for a bight to eat. This place is kind-of hidden, in order to get in you need to go into courthouse hotel and find an unmarked staircase to the second floor. The layout is simple and the atmosphere is unexciting, however they are a bit separated from the insanity of central Darlinghurst, and serve beer and burgers! I had them throw some egg and bacon on my burger, and got some calamari to go along with. I didn't realize it when I ordered but I guess it was a steak burger and it was a nice balance with the egg and tar tar sauce that came on it, the calamari isn't anything special, but it rarely is. All in all I'd say this is a nice place to stop for a burger when in Darlinghurst.

Judgment bar from outside

Beresford Hotel

The other night I investigated the bar at the Beresford Hotel near Darlinghurst. The establishment is 2 stories, offers indoor and outdoor seating and has a cool balcony on the second story. They are also are set up for bands to perform on stage. I spend slot of my night out on the balcony talking with people, eventually it got so filled up that they refused to let anyone onto the balcony until someone else exited in order to meet the maximum occupancy requirements. After several beers, I ordered a burger and some calamari from the bar and gave up on trying to get back out to the balcony. The burger was pretty average, but at least it was only 10 bucks, the calamari was the same price and probably wasn't quite as good of a value.

Beresford from outside

Baccomatto Osteria

Walking through Darlinghurst the other day I passed a little restaurant with a bar inside called Baccomatto Osteria. I hadn't noticed this place before as it's kind of hidden east of Crown street. Inside I found a great selection of wines and beers all from Italy and ordered myself a Menabrea beer to go along with a squid dish. The beer was a nice change and the Italian's running the place made enjoyable conversation, but when my dish came out disappointment set in. The meal only had a couple of peaces of squid, scattered between some rock looking spongy bread things. I have no idea what this spongy shit was but I'm sure it had zero nutritional value. I won't go back to this place unless I fee like drinking some Italian alcohol.

Baccomatto from the street

Cowbell 808

This morning I found myself in a state of confusion and derangement. Between washing my clothes with a peace of paper in the load and almost cutting my arm off while trying to smack a cockroach in my kitchen sink, nothing seamed to be working out for me. So I did what I always do in these situations, I walked toward the bar. On the way my stomach churned as my body ached for food and I felt I might not make it to the bar, so I stopped half way at a cafe called Cowbell 808. Normally this place is too crowded for me to feel comfortable in, but it was late enough in the day at this point that the energy had leveled off. I ordered myself the Bacon and Egg Sambo for 10 bucks. This sandwich wont get you stuffed, but it's just the right type of plate if you need something easy on your stomach after a night of heavy drinking. My only complaint about this place would be the chairs outside which couldn't have been less comfortable.

Inside Cowbell 808

Cronulla Visit

On the train back from Bondi Junction in my previous post, I saw some advertisements for a beach town called Cronulla. This lead eventually to some googling later that night where I discovered that the train route that goes to and from Bondi Junction from Central also goes south of Sydney to to Cronulla. I decided on this day that I'd hop on the train and see about this place.

chick with a nice chair on the train

Icebergs + Bondi Hotel

On Saturday we had cyclone in Sydney and I decided that maybe Bondi would be worth visiting. I chose to make the trip over via the train to Bondi Junction and then grab a cab from there over to the beach. The ride over was mainly filled with people trying to get to kings cross, because I guess that's the default for most Sydneyans on Saturday night. After I got to The Junction the cab took about 5 minutes to get me over to the beach. The first place I wanted to hit was Icebergs, as the ocean view had been nice last time. This time it was stormy enough that from the walkway you could watch waves crash against the side of the pool area.

Thirroul

I woke up yesterday morning with an urge to see something new in Sydney. I decided visiting the fish market would be worth my time, however it was too far to walk and I wasn't going to pay a cab. Some internet research indicated that a form of public transportation called "light rail" could deliver me to this location for a cheap 5 dollars, so I decide to skip lunch and get to the train station. After I made the walk down to central station and purchased my ticket, I asked the help desk where I could find the boarding area for this light rail thing. The answer I got was vague and difficult to understand through the Japanese accent, however I traced what little I could understand and ended up on the opposite side of the station at a bus stop headed for Thirroul. I didn't think light rail would be a bus, but there's been a lot of track-work lately and so buses have been filling in the gaps, I also didn't recognize the location, but that made sense because the line that stopped at the fish market also went to some place I didn't recognize. When the bus showed up 10 minutes later, I boarded with a great sense of accomplishment.

Raquel's Spanish Kitchen

Last night MR. T and I ended up around Darlinghurst looking for something to eat. While waking down Oxford street we fond a Spanish place called Raquel's Spanish Kitchen. We decided to order the tapas platter and some Sangria to go along with. It was kind-of a long wait but eventually the dishes started coming out of the kitchen. The chorizo was the best, spiced mushrooms were a surprise, croquettes were croquettey and by the time the chicken came out we were both full. The whole meal + sangria + salad + bread was 80 bucks,  had we not gotten a pitcher of sangria and the bread this would have only been 50 bucks to feed two people. That's what you should do when you eat here.

Raquel's from street

4 Pines Brewing Company

This weekend was another rainy one, despite the rain I managed to get back to Manly. My goal on this day was to try out 4 Pines Brewing Company which TNA recommended. After arriving on the fairy I found my way across the street and up the stairs into the venue, which is like a 50 yard walk from the ferry. It was packed inside and I was forced to steal a seat sandwiched between two couples. I went right ahead with the beer sampler to get a taste of the whole menu and ordered some pork belly to go along with. Of the beer I tried, the Irish Stout was the best, and Hefeweizen stood out out as my second favorite.

4 Pines from outside

Rainy Day at Manly

It was a rainy day which otherwise would have been spent on my computer or at the local bar, however I decided I would venture out anyway and take the ferry ride over to Manly. The place was pretty dead when I got there and my options for food were slim. The only thing opened that looked slightly appealing was this hole in the wall sea food restaurant inappropriately named Watervue. I got the calamari plus fish combo and this filled me up, nothing too special about this place really, well they at least serve beer.

Home Cafe (Thai Food)

 Mr T and I took another venture into Sydney CBD on Friday to visit Chinatown. After the terrible experience with the Korean place, we figured it would be difficult to hit another place that was as bad. What we found finally zeroed in on after an hour walking around was a thai place called Home Cafe This place interested me because it was a coffee shop/thai restaurant filling a two story spot on the corner.
 

second story

Pictures of Sydney Haurbor

 I've had these pics sitting around for a while, some taken from the Ferry from Manly, Others from the edge of Circular Quay. Anyway here they are in case anyone is interested.

Wentworth Falls (Blue Mountains)

I was lucky enough to get a Saturday off from work and decided to catch the train up to the Blue Mountains this weekend. I was disappointed to find that there was almost nothing in the town of Wentworth Falls, I couldn't even find a place to pound a couple beers before my hike. What I did find was a burger at a local cafe which I figured would give me enough energy to survive the journey. The trail down to the waterfall area is named after Charles Darwin, a British tourist who I guess hiked this area on vacation. He was the only famous guy who visited Australia so they name everything after him. I located the start of the Darwin Trail right off the main road on the edge of a small park and started my walk.

start of  Darwin Trail

Seoul - Ria (Korean Food)

Having read a lot of great things about china town on kittymilk,  Mr T and I walked down to see what it was all about. After getting to CBD we pealed our eyelids to find the most interesting place, not a hole in the wall and not a 5 star diner but something in-between. After a bit we came across this Korean place called Seoul Ria on the corner of George and Goldburn, we took the elevator up and after looking around decided this would do.

Seoul Ria from outside

Visiters

During the peak of summer here the heat bumps up with extra humidity. This leaves a good opportunity for more visitors to join me inside my match-boxed size studio apartment. Unfortunately for them there is only room for one in this apartment so I take measures to kill these visitors. At this point it's become routine to commit my daily murder, and when I don't get to I feel terribly empty inside.

Non La Vietnamese

Non La is located in Surry Hills, near the corner of Moore Park. Ordering at this place was kind-of an ordeal, the waiter didn't like what we ordered and chose other things for us, I tried reversing this however trying to negotiate with this chick who barely spoke English was exhausting and I finally gave in. What we ended up with was beef rolls which we were required to roll on our own, lemongrass chicken and a fried squid dish. The serving size was gigantic, we probably could have gotten away with splitting a single dish and appetizer. Other then the pain of ordering here, this place was worth trying.

Non La from across the street