Accompanied by an elderly relative who likes eating out, we needed somewhere new on a wet spring day in the nation's capital. We decided we'd try out The Italian Place, tucked away in a back street near the busy part of the Braddon restaurant and coffee precinct. We hadn't been back for a while but it turned out to be a wise move – a view obviously shared by plenty of others.
The small precinct in Braddon in the heart of Canberra where the Italian Place is located is becoming quite attractive – or at least it will be once the roadworks are finished. We popped in for a quick lunch during the week. Luckily we booked because as we ate, people kept on turning up until the whole place was full. Co-owner, Tony Lo Terzo, is a long-term institution on the Canberra restaurant scene and he knows his stuff. His neighbouring deli and mini-supermarket is also terrific – try the negronis, especially in summer sitting out on the footpath. To be exact his Mort Street mini-empire comprises The Italian Place Enoteca, Providore and Bottega – three bundles of goodness in one.
Duck breast with cauliflower puree, radishes and sour cherries
We ordered a couple of specials and I was impressed by a duck liver paté to start, followed by an exceptional duck breast with cauliflower puree and sour cherries, asparagus, spinach, watercress and radishes – oh, and a glass of local Lerida Estate rosé. Sometimes with duck it can be so rare that you feel that if you closed your eyes it might walk off the plate, but this was moist and tender while still cooked through – thoroughly enjoyable.
When I mentioned this someone who is now living in Melbourne commented that they always made a point of visiting this restaurant whenever they come to Canberra. I can see why.
See also
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‘The awkward relationship between Tasmania and the island to the North
is not the only clumsy relationship between islands in this part of the
world. The history of the ties between the island to the North and the
islands of the Pacific is even more troubled’,
The island to the North – the islands to the North East.
‘tableland’ on Facebook – life on the land and at the table
‘Life on the land and at the table, the companion Facebook site to this
blog, for brief and topical snippets and vignettes about land to table –
the daily routine of living in the high country, on the edge of the
vast Pacific, just up from Sydney, just down from Mount Kosciuszko’,
'tableland' on Facebook.
Food and culture in the neighbourhood – culinary love letter from the South Pacific ‘Our
near neighbours in the vast Pacific are often overlooked by Australia
in its slavish focus on America, Britain and Europe. Yet this is our own
backyard. The lack of knowledge has ranged across many aspects of the
culture and history of the Pacific, including its culinary traditions.
Yet, behind the scenes over more than a decade, a culinary revolution
has been underway. This is the story of New Zealand chef, Robert Oliver,
his fascination with the traditional food of the Pacific Islands, and
an internationally award-winning cookbook, described as a ‘culinary love
letter from a smattering of islands in the South Pacific’, which has
developed a life of its own’,
Food and culture in the neighbourhood – culinary love letter from the South Pacific.
The Asian food century begins in Sydney ‘Almost
ten years ago much fuss was made of the rapidly looming Asian Century,
full of challenge and promise. I was working in the Department of Prime
Minister and Cabinet at the time as Director of the National Cultural
Policy Task Force. The discussion White Paper on Australia in the Asian
Century being developed at the same time seemed part of a similar big
picture approach to Australia's future. Today it seems even more
relevant than in those times of more strategic governments. In Sydney
you get a much sharper sense of the Asian Century – and its culinary
reflection, the Asian food century’,
The Asian food century begins in Sydney.
Returning to the city while the coast is clear – Raku serves up Japanese seafood with style
‘While
I was in the city recently I noticed that Raku restaurant was open.
It’s an old favourite and we’d looked at takeaway from there in the
midst of the first lockdown, when everyone was ordering from their
favourite locals to help keep them afloat. However, we hadn’t been to
the restaurant since the pandemic struck. Since we needed to grab some
lunch, we thought why not go there and support one of our local
businesses while the coast is clear since the hospitality sector has
been the only one to be harder hit by the pandemic shutdown than the
creative sector. A stream of Japanese dishes seemed a suitable way to
enjoy the charm of a local restaurant that serves up seafood with
style’,
Returning to the city while the coast is clear – Raku serves up Japanese seafood with style.
In search of wild mushrooms
‘Growing up in the Central
Highlands of Tasmania, foraging for wild mushrooms was a regular part of
life. Now living in Canberra, a landscape markedly similar to where I
grew up, mushrooms have an altogether more deadly reputation. However,
it all comes down to specialist knowledge about the subject, as I
discovered on a chilly evening with one of Canberra’s mushrooming
experts’, In search of wild mushrooms.
The Asian food century begins in Sydney
‘Almost ten years
ago much fuss was made of the rapidly looming Asian Century, full of
challenge and promise. I was working in the Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet at the time as Director of the National Cultural Policy
Task Force. The discussion White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century
being developed at the same time seemed part of a similar big picture
approach to Australia's future. Today it seems even more relevant than
in those times of more strategic governments. In Sydney you get a much
sharper sense of the Asian Century – and its culinary reflection, the
Asian food century’, The Asian food century begins in Sydney.
In a corner with a cake (or two) – the hidden attraction of local hangouts
‘Tucked away in a corner at the Ainslie shops where it’s easy to miss
entirely – in the heart of the suburb know as the Red Centre for it’s
exceptionally high Labor vote – is an unexpected delight. The location
has hosted a series of less than successful ventures but this most
recent has been an unqualified success. Who would have thought that a
cafe hailing from Brittany could attract such a crowd. The secret of
success is that it focuses on what it does and it does it well. You can
park yourself inside the small venue or outside if the weather is fine
and pick from some unexpected sweet pastries, throw down the odd glass
of French wine or eat buckwheat pancakes or baguettes. The cafe also
runs to daily specials that can be very unexpected. Long may it reign
over us – Rule Brittany rather than Rule Britannia’,
In a corner with a cake (or two) – the hidden attraction of local hangouts.
We all scream for icecream – cooling down in a cold climate with Frugii
‘I realise I may have just become a statistic. I have a suspicion that I
have eaten more sorbet, gelato and icecream since local Canberra
icecream outlet Frugii opened in Canberra’s Braddon perimeter than I
have eaten in my whole previous life. Tucked away in hipster heaven, it
keeps churning out flavours, in an ever changing smorgasbord of
coldness’,
We all scream for icecream – cooling down in a cold climate with Frugii.
A bustling Friday night in hipster heaven
‘On a bustling Friday night in hipster heaven, I popped into my
favourite Canberra restaurant, Italian and Sons, planning for little
more than a quick bite to eat. I managed to get my favourite spot – when
I’m not settled comfortably in Bacaro, the adjoining bar out the back,
that is – sitting in the window, watching the action on the street. I
headed straight for a real blast from my Adelaide past, part of my
earliest discovery of Italian cuisine – saltimbocca. Then I beat a path
down Lonsdale Street to Frugii, Canberra’s own dessert laboratory. What
is happening to this city? It’s getting cooler by the minute and it’s
not just the icecream or the approach of winter’,
A bustling Friday night in hipster heaven.
Peas in a pod – food takes off
‘Pod Food is in the heart of the slightly ramshackle gardening and
nursery hub of Canberra, Pialligo , adjacent to the burgeoning exercise
in urban growth called Canberra Airport. It was always the place you
went to get large pots and even larger apples. Pod Food was always good
enough – but now it is something a whole lot more impressive. On a rainy
Friday I entered through their marvellous cottage garden entrance way
to sit on the covered and contained outside deck. The entrance to Pod
Food, formerly part of an operating nursery, is the sort of garden I
eventually want to have. It felt highly suitable sitting at the entrance
to the Australian high country as the rain came down, drinking the fine
product of another high region on the opposite side of the world’,
Peas in a pod – food takes off.
Vitello Tonnato for a life well lived in hipster heaven
‘It had been quite a week and I had been crushed by too many encounters
with the crazy world of Centrelink as I fulfilled my long list of aged
care responsibilities. I needed cheering up so last night ate out at the
venerable Italian and Sons, the very first of the many funky venues
which now enliven Braddon. My attention was drawn to the rare appearance
of vitello tonnato. My imagination had been captured decades ago when I
was a young boy by seeing the recipe for the dish in Margaret Fulton’s
classic cookbook. I finally tried it in a tiny restaurant in Florence,
during my first visit overseas, after a stint at the massive Frankfurt
Book Fair in 1989. This most recent one was the best I have ever eaten
outside my own home – well, perhaps the best anywhere. This is a
favourite place, probably my most favourite in Canberra. Coming here
always makes me feel happy and what more can you ask?’,
Vitello Tonnato for a life well lived in hipster heaven.
Eating out in a cold, funky city – Canberra comes of age in the Asian Century
‘On a day and night which was bitterly cold – as cold as Canberra has
been this year, with the hint of snow clouds overhead – I was reminded
why I live here. As we wandered along after a full day of cultural
institutions and design events, looking for somewhere to eat we
impetuously popped into Restaurant Eightysix and even more impetuously
were able to get a table. I had forgotten reading somewhere that famed
long-former Adelaide chef, Christine Manfield was here for the month,
cooking up an Asian-inspired menu. How much better could it get?’,
Eating out in a cold, funky city – Canberra comes of age in the Asian Century.
Smoking for broke beside the Molongolo
‘Where the market gardens that supplied Canberra as far back as the
1820s used to be a small fortune has been spent turning 86 acres
overlooking the Eastern end of Lake Burley Griffin into a superb
regional restaurant, Pialligo Estate Farmhouse Restaurant. It made for a
tremendous birthday lunch in a spacious airy and light space, full of
exciting food treated well. I couldn’t take my eyes off the copper
guttering and downpipes. I thought all the loose copper in the world had
already been stolen but clearly it’s still available. It’s quite clear
that even though work is still being finalised, when it is finished it
will be a spectacular addition to the nation’s capital and the region’,
Smoking for broke beside the Molongolo.
Provenance - knowing where good things come from
‘It took me only five years but I finally found my way to Provenance,
the legendary regional restaurant established by chef Michael Ryan in
Beechworth in 2010. Provenance is widely considered one of the best
restaurants in regional Victoria, in a tiny state that contains many
good regional restaurants. I had been meaning to eat there since it was
established and given how regularly we travel to Beechworth and its
surrounds I was amazed I hadn’t been earlier. It took some time but it
was worth it’,
Provenance - knowing where good things come from.