The Catbird Seat Bistro - sitting on top with a great view

http://catbirdseatbistro.com.au/

A lot is going to be written about Chef James Culberg's new East Brisbane bistro, the Catbird Seat Bistro.  Mainly because it's really good, but also it's literary heritage screams out to be written and talked about.  A phrase coined out of the Great Depression, the catbird seat often is used to describe someone who is in an enviable position.  The phase gained notoriety in the 1940's after a short story by American novelist James Thurber, probably better known for his humorous short stories and cartoons.  The phrase peaked around the time of Peter Sellars classic film, the Battle of the Sexes, a film based on James Thurber's the Catbird Seat, but has largely faded to obscurity.

I usually keep my ear to the ground but I only found out about the Catbird Seat bistro once a twitter follower connected and asked if I'd checked it out (thanks Troy from Awickededge).  Jumping straight online to check out the menu, I wondered how I'd let that one slip by, the menu looked excellent, just the sort of food I really love.  I immediately made a mental note to get along as soon as the first opportunity presented itself, which happened to be the next available Saturday night with my usual dinner buddies, CI&TB.

You might have recognised the name of Catbird Seat Bistro owner and chef, James Culberg.  James has led some of Brisbane's coolest restaurants over the years, most notably Piaf (see post here) and Sardine Tin, which are no longer around. James was also responsible for some of the best meals around that I've eaten while in charge of The Survey Co (see post here) and Aquitine Brasserie (see post here), which are still going strong.  James as made the Catbird Seat Bistro a family affair by partnering with wife Erin, who's responsible for front of house.

The restaurant is located on Stanley Street East in a little strip of shops that is transforming, quite quickly, into an extension of the Logan Road 'Gabba food precinct.  We had arranged to meet CI&TB at the restaurant and arranged our trip to perfectly coincide with our reservation time.  We normally arrive before any of our usual dining companions, but for the second time in a row, were guzumped for the better seats by arriving second, so maybe not such perfect timing after all... There was plenty of off street parking nearby, but we did have a short walk along Stanley Street as we didn't know exactly where the restaurant was.

Breakfast Series - The Hutch Bistro

http://www.thehutchbistro.com.au/

It's increasingly difficult to find breakfast spots that I haven't tried close to home, so I've been casting my foodie net a little further of late.  It's not that I can't find cafes that I haven't been to before, but it's hard to find a cafe with a menu that appeals.  Some of them are too fancy and some of them don't really have enough options to make it interesting for me, and by interesting, I usually mean chorizo on the menu.

When looking online for a breakfast spot, I usually look for areas that I know or have lived in before, so I went searching for cafes in the half dozen or so suburbs I lived in previously.  We ended up finding a cafe in the Grange, which is one of the northern suburbs SC and I lived in for a whole six weeks!  Long story short, our awesome house at the Grange was sold out from underneath us and we had to find a new place to live - which resulted in finding an even more awesome house in Bardon.

I'd never heard of The Hutch Bistro before, but I was intrigued by the web site, which had proudly displayed a Dimmi badge noting that it was their 'neighbourhood gem' for 2013.  It was enough to entice me to look over the menu, which didn't have a heap of options, but did list chorizo as one of their 'extras'.  It was enough for me, so we jumped in the car and drove north.

Melbourne series - The European

http://www.theeuropean.com.au/

Melbourne is my second favourite city in Australia, right behind Brisbane, and I try to get down  at least once a year and twice if it's a good year.  There are a couple of reasons why Brisbane is my favourite city, mainly due to the weather and the fact that I moved away from a southern state because I hate those long and cold winters.  Another key reason is because Brisbane is improving as a food destination and while it's not in the league of Sydney and Melbourne yet, it's definitely getting there.  One key area of food that Brisbane kicks butt with is it's breakfast culture, which combined with the amazing climate, is second to none in the country.

I've tried quite a few breakfast spots over the years in Melbourne with mixed success, and mainly leaving me a little disappointed.  There is one breakfast spot that I go to every single time I am in Melbourne and it's my 'go to' place for breakfast when I am in the food capital of Australia.  The European in Spring Street produces the best breakfast in Melbourne in my opinion and I wouldn't miss a visit when in town.

We'd a pretty big day planned for our second day in Melbourne, which would start off at the European for a hearty breakfast.  As a bonus, the European is just a short walk to the Melbourne Museum and in her mind, SC's primary reason for visiting Melbourne in the first place, the James Bond exhibition.  I have to admit that while it was not front and centre in my mind so far in our planning, not that the big day had arrived, I was starting to get a little excited.  SC and I love James Bond and see every film the second it's out and will always watch a Bond movie on TV over anything else.  We've also got the entire book collection, which we also read a lot!  It's quite a thing between us, whenever we see a Bond reference, we will start to sing that famous song (check this out Bond).

Libertine bar and restaurant - Vietnamese fusion

http://www.libertine.net.au/

Sometimes you go to a restaurant and by the end of the meal you're just not sure about it.  You know the feeling, it's got a great reputation, it's in a great spot, everyone you are with is having a good time and enjoying the food, but it's just not doing it for you.  I experienced this feeling last year when going to Libertine for the first time.  It was with a group of workmates and was a chance to get together outside of work and have a nice meal, but by the end of the night I was a bit disappointed.

Fast forward a year and I decided I would give Libertine another go.  There had been some changes since my last visit and I was keen to see what the impact had been.  The biggest change was to the style of Libertine, which had always been a French Vietnamese fusion restaurant and has now moved to more generic EurAsian fusion style of cooking.  This is most likely from the influence of Kim Machin, formerly of Urbane and Spring, in his capacity as consultant to the well known restaurant.

As I have already mentioned, Libertine is in a great spot and is located at the Barracks in Petrie Terrace which is the old Police Barracks that was redeveloped into a cinema and dining hub in 2008.  There are a heap of great restaurants and cafes there with one of my favourite Spanish Restaurants, Peasant, being located in the same building.  It's pretty close to the CBD, so you can walk there fairly quickly or, if you choose, drive and and park in the complex.  The night that SC and I decided to visit Libertine was an unusually cold and rainy night, so driving was the obvious option. 

Moda - Spanish excellence in Edward Street

http://www.modarestaurant.com.au/

Tucked away at the end of Edward Street in the 'Paris' end of Brisbane is one of Brisbane's most enigmatic restaurants, Moda.  There are so many elements of Moda that are just done differently to most other Restaurants in town.  To start off, almost the entire dining area is part of a courtyard that, while not open to the elements, gives off the feeling of being purely an outside dining experience.  When in Moda, you get the feeling that you are dining in the countryside somewhere, with a large hedgerow enclosing the restaurant.  This is perfect given Moda's proximity to the botanical gardens.

Another element that adds to Moda's mystery is how it became Moda.  Head Chef Javier Codina had one of the most successful and long standing business partnerships with Gianni Greghini in what was at the time one of Brisbane's most celebrated restaurants Gianni's.  Then at the hight of Gianni's popularity they decided to part ways and do their own thing.  In what turned out to be a blessing in disguise, this allowed the creation of Moda and unleashed the Catalonian within to unveil one of Brisbane's best Spanish restaurants, Moda.

Casual Dining - Alimentari on Adelaide

http://www.alimentarionadelaide.com.au/

I am always on the search for a great lunch spot in the CBD.  There are many food courts in the CBD, but that's not the type of lunch spot I'm talking about.  There are quite a few cafes too, if you know where to look, but they're not what I am referring to either.  What I really look out for is a good mid priced restaurant that is both casual and accessible, with good food and a good atmosphere.  These are a little harder to find in hubbub of the CBD.  I can think of only a handful or two that fit into this category.

Thankfully, there is a place just around the corner from my work that meets my criteria for a relatively inexpensive restaurant with good food and a great atmosphere.  Alimentari on Adelaide has been around since May 2011 and opened to much fanfare which included the then State Treasurer Andrew Fraser and a couple of hundred Brisbanes corporate glitterati.  Alimentari looked a little different back then with a large part of the restaurant dedicated to a bit of a CBD deli, which was quite exciting for a CBD resident like me!

Unfortunately the deli part of Alimentari didn't last too long and soon gave way to extra seats, the restaurant was just getting too popular with the breakfast and lunch time crowd in the CBD.  I must say that I walk past Alimentari every single morning on the way to work and have most of my informal work meetings there, so I am very well acquainted with the venue as a casual coffee and breakfast spot, but I was keen to try it out as a lunch spot, so I bit the bullet and arranged a lunch catch up with a work buddy MJ.

Bacchus - decadent and indulgent

http://www.bacchusrestaurant.com.au/

Towards the end of 2012, Brisbane was a hive of activity with a number of new restaurants opening.  I always get excited about new restaurants, but one in particular caught my eye.  It was something completely different from anything seen in Brisbane so far and opened with much fanfare with Matt Preston presiding over the official launch party.  Bacchus is the new Restaurant over at the Rydges in Southbank and is a something of a departure from the usual Hotel / Restaurant combination.

The name Bacchus gives a hint into the mindset and approach that has been taken with this establishment.  Bacchus is the Greek God of wine and indulgence and you only have to walk through the entrance to see that this has been the inspiration for the design of the restaurant.  Crafted by native Los Angeles designer Tracy Beckman, there is clear linkages to the glamorous aspects of 'Tinsel Town'.  Located on the podium level of the Rydges, Bacchus seamlessly integrates the poolside and restaurant to create a harmonious dining & nightlife experience.

Adelaide Trip - Georges on Waymouth

http://www.georgesonwaymouth.com.au/

The problem with travelling to a new city for only a few days is the limited amount of time you have to check out all of the great places you want to go.  In my case, this was as many great restaurants that Adelaide had to offer as possible.  I was only going to be in Adelaide for a couple of days (details about why here) and I had already burned both dinners on Celsius and Press, so I only had breakfasts available to me now.

There are so many ways to find out where to eat when visiting a new city nowadays and I hit just about all of them, top 10 breakfast lists, urbanspoon, AGFG and of course chatting to some local bloggers over twitter.  After considering all of the advise given I decided that Georges on Waymouth would be my first breakfast target.

Georges on Waymouth has been serving the people of Adelaide for just under 10 years and is every bit the European style restaurant.  The owners George & Coula Kasimatis have the aim of serving fresh seasonal produce and to provide impeccable service.  Their approach seems to be working as Georges has won several Restaurant & Catering awards and holds two Chefs Hats form the Australian Good Food Gude.

The Survey Co. - Laneway dining

http://www.surveyco.com.au/

There is no easy way to say this, so I will just come straight out with it.....  Brisbane has laneway envy! We look to the southern states and their glorious laneways filled with cool restaurants and bars and wonder 'why not here?'.

Thankfully over the last year or so there has been a move to establish a laneway culture in Brisbane and Fortitude Valley.  We now have Wynn Lane and Burnett Lane and a city council that is determined to establish a laneway culture, which is fantastic.  It was to Burnett Lane that SC and I made our way with the intent of visiting The Survey Co, one of a number of ventures that has opened up in the once seedy Street that runs parallel to Queen Street.

I love the name - The Survey Co - it really fits with the feel of Burnett Lane with a very industrial feel to it.  The restaurant name harks back to the street's namesake, Charles Burnett, who was a surveyor and explorer.  Burnett established a surveying company in 1844, which is where the name The Survey Co comes from.