Alchemy - A new season and a new round of goodness

http://www.alchemyrestaurant.com.au/

Whether by accident or by design, it seems as if seven is a lucky number for one of Brisbane’s most enduring and acclaimed restaurants.  Alchemy Restaurant’s Brad and Angelica Jolly have been weaving their magic at their riverside fine dining establishment for seven years.  To celebrate the changing of the season, Head Chef Brad Jolly has put together an astounding new menu, which I was fortunate enough to be invited along to sample.  And what better way to celebrate seven years, than with a seven-course degustation?

Brad Jolly has been one of Brisbane’s most influential chefs for many years and incorporates his philosophy for exceptional service with the highest quality produce into everything he does.  It’s a philosophy that has been refined throughout his career, working alongside culinary giants such as  the original superstar chef, Marco Pierre White, Eric Chavot and new king of the kitchen Jamie Oliver.  It’s this search for perfection that has made his French inspired Modern Australian restaurant one of my favorite restaurants to dine in our fair city.

There are a few restaurants in Brisbane that I consider old favourites and Alchemy has been right up the top of that list for a long time.  What I've loved about Alchemy is the level of consistency that Brad and the team have been able to produce over the years.  There have been many nights where I've come home from a long day from work, taken one look as SC and we've marched across the road for a nice stress relieving meal. There have also been those important work dates or even more important lunch meetings where I've needed to impress and Alchemy has always been there, on my side.

The Eatery - Hotel dining at the Fourpoints by Sheraton

The Eatery

I've mentioned in my blog before that I love wandering about Brisbane and watching all of the new developments take shape.  There had been a really, really big hole in the ground in Mary Street that was vacant for a long time and had a few development, most notably Vision, fail due to the Global Financial Crisis.  The site next to that big hole has been developed and over the last 18 months, I've been avidly watching the new building take shape wondering what who the tenants would be.  As it turns out, it wasn't a commercial or residential building, but a much needed boutique hotel, Fourpoints by Sheraton.

As you'd expect in a Sheraton Hotel, a couple of new restaurants opened up and I was invited along to check out the main dining area, aptly called The Eatery.  Many of the better hotels in Brisbane now have restaurants that have seafood buffets and The Eatery is no exception but I opted to get along mid week and check out The Eatery's a la carte dining options.  Executive Chef Desmond Carneiro is the man in charge of the kitchen at The Eatery and has brought a wealth of experience to the new venture having worked in the prestigious Sheraton on the Park in Sydney.  

Walking out of the elevator to the dining area, we were confronted by a very modern and clean looking restaurant that had overtures of an informal cafe, which I think was the result of the highly colourful chairs.  Any other similarities are quickly dispelled once the contemporary open style kitchen and pink cherry blossom wallpaper came into view.  

The menu for the night was a cut down version of the full a la carte offering with the option of getting two courses for $40 or a full three courses for $50.  

Casual Dining - Blackbird Bar

http://www.blackbirdbrisbane.com.au/

Right idea, at the right place at the right time.  How else can you explain Blackbirds meteoric rise to the top of the Brisbane dining scene?  I guess if you add a super star Aussie chef who perfected his trade in some of the best restaurants in the world and a really smart pricing strategy, it actually turns out to be a pretty good recipe for success. 

I'd been to the main dining room at Blackbird a few times (see post here) and fell in love with the place straight away.  Funny thing, I wasn't the only person and it seems as if Blackbird is the place that's on everyone's lips at the moment.  I'm not sure how many restaurants around Brisbane there are where it can be almost impossible to get a last minute reservation.....  on a Tuesday night!  There wouldn't be many.

Blackbird is more than a restaurant, much more, and I was recently invited to come along and check out the other half of the establishment, which is the seriously cool looking bar area.  Now most of you know that I'm not a big drinker and you're probably wondering why I'd go to and checkout Blackbird bar?  Well, wonder no longer, I was actually there to check out the @Jake_Nicolson bar menu, which I'd heard was also pretty spectacular.  SC on the other hand was more excited about the cocktail menu, so we both had something to look forward to.

The Euro - a faultless meal

http://www.theeuro.com.au/

We'd left it until the last moment before deciding that we wanted to hit one of Brisbane's best restaurants on a Saturday night.  I'm not sure if you've ever tried to book into on of the city's best restaurants at 2:30pm on a Saturday, but it can be a bit hit and miss (mostly miss).  We really wanted to have a meal that would be faultless, so that meant that there was only a handful of restaurants where we could be absolutely certain that we'd have a perfect dinner.  Sure, we could have tried some of our usual haunts, but we also wanted to go somewhere where we'd not been before.

We actually decided that it was impossible to find an amazing restaurant that we'd not eaten at, at least once, so we agreed that we should go to one that we'd not been to together before.  The Euro in Mary Street is just such a restaurant and I'd tried to get a seat the previous weekend at around the same time, without luck, but being the eternal optimist, had another crack.  A quick call to book a table was successful, albeit for a 6pm sitting with a promise of being out by 8pm, something that we were happy to guarantee.

I'd last been to The Euro for a work function in 2012 and at the very beginning of my food blogging journey and had been mightily impressed (see post here).  At the time The Euro had recently acquired a new head chef, and co-owner Alejandro Cancino, who was still finding his feet in Brisbane.  In the sixteen months since my last visit to The Euro, Alejandro has woven his magic in the kitchen and elevated the restaurant to one of the top in the country.  The Euro is currently 66th on the 2014 Gourmet Traveller list of top 100 restaurants, which is a pretty impressive feat - even more so when you consider big fine dining brother Urbane is number 12 on the same list.  More impressive when you consider The Euro also has a Brisbane Times chefs hat and a Gourmet Traveller star.