Tony Tomatoes

Tony Tomatoes is a place I've driven past constantly since it opened but never really thought to visit. 

Sicilian olives 

Guizy woozy $9

Cranberry juice, blood orange, lime, soda

I decided to lay off the alcohol tonight and opted for a mocktail. Great combination of fresh flavours, however it was a touch sweet for my personal preferences.

Radicchio Arancini $8.50 (2)

Red radicchio, red onion & smoked scarmorza cheese risotto balls

Nothing spectacular here. Good flavours and textures, we loved the crunchy outer layer!

Italian fish & chips $14.50

Fried squid & zucchini

Perfect for nibbling on while we waited for our pizza. Zucchini is one of my favourite vegetables so I couldn't complain about this one! The thin, crispy batter surrounding everything gave just the right amount of crunch and it was perfectly seasoned.

Contadino pizza $24.90

Mozzarella, mushroom quartet, truffle paste, fresh prosciutto, fresh basil

The only major thing we struggled with here was how the prosciutto was placed on the pizza! Apart from that, the base was thin and crispy, just how I like it and the combination of flavours was difficult to fault. Although, something fresh to cut through all the salty flavours would have been welcome.

Not bad for a first impression, although there wasn't anything that made me add it to the top of my list of places to revisit. I noticed a steady stream of customers coming in for take away pizzas, so it must be popular for lazy nights in. 

 

Base Bar

A BIG happy birthday to the beautiful Michelle and Camella who treated our group of friends out to dinner at Base Bar to celebrate their 19th! This was my second visit to Base and I was very impressed the first time so I couldn't wait to come back, especially since they had changed the menu. 

Margherita $15

Roma tomato, garlic, oregano, bocconcini & torn basil

Barossa meats $21

Tomato base, bacon, shaved ham, salami and mushroom

A firm favourite amongst the group, particularly for those who like eating mushrooms.

Bianca $12

Mozzarella, parmesan, rosemary, garlic, sea salt and olive oil

This was like eating garlic bread with cheese on top. Seriously addictive!

Prosciutto $22

Salami, prosciutto and kalamata olives

All the wood fired pizzas were just how I like my pizzas - simple toppings on a thin and crispy base. Delicious!

Free range chicken breast sliders

Provolone cheese, salad greens and garlic aioli served with fries

[Back] Pulled pork sliders

House slaw and chipotle aioli served with fries

[Front] Vegetarian sliders

House made veggie pattie with salad leaves and a cucumber mint yoghurt served with fries

Of the 3 slider options on the menu, I tried the pulled pork and was unfortunately quite disappointed. The pork was quite dry, tough and lacking in flavour. Thank goodness for the house slaw and aioli which stopped it from being bland. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the other sliders!

The chips. Oh. My. Goodness. I probably could have eaten an entire mini deep fryer basket-full! They were piping hot with a thin but crispy outer skin and soft, doughy innards. Also perfectly salted! Great on their own but I think they would've tasted amazing with a bit of aioli.

Base Bar continues to impress, and is the perfect destination for dinner on a warm summer evening with a really relaxed atmosphere. I would definitely recommend it for the great food and cocktails, which I didn't have this time round but really enjoyed the first time I visited. 

Just a few pictures from my first visit - 

The spread

 Kiwi Caprioska and Cosmopolitan

A great option for dining in small groups of around 6-8 people (we had 12 and had to have two tables pushed together!). They don't take bookings so it's better to get there a little earlier to ensure you get a table. Service this time was a little too casual and rushed, but we weren't too fussed - we were too busy enjoying each other's company!

Once again, happy birthday to C & M and thank you for dinner! 

Cafe Pellegrini Pizzeria

Hi everyone,
I hope you've all had a weekend as lovely as mine!

On Sunday, the girls and I spent the afternoon out in celebration of the baby of the group Eileen's 17th birthday! Eileen treated us all to a quick lunch of pizzas at Pellegrini Cafe before seeing Star Trek Into Darkness.

Located on O'Connell Street, right across the street from the Picadilly cinemas

 The man (left) behind the counter saw me with my big camera and offered to pose for a photo with the man making the pizzas! How sweet is that? I told them I'd have a blog post up with their photo in it, so hello if you're reading this :)

The 6 of us were tossing up between ordering two 12" pizzas and three 9" pizzas when Eileen very smartly suggested we order three 9" pizzas to allow room for popcorn later. This also meant we'd be able to sample another pizza and that there would be enough for each of us to try one slice from each pizza. Perfect!

9" Gourmet Mediterranean

Marinated lamb, fresh tomato, onion, herbs, capsicum, cheese and tzatziki

 $19

I prefer my pizzas simple with minimal toppings but I still liked this. The tzatziki had a nice flavour, not too overpowered by garlic, but texture was a bit too thick for my liking. I guess that's required so that it doesn't go everywhere on the pizza. Also, the lamb wasn't tough which I was afraid of encountering. Not something I'd order again, but I would recommend it for people who want to try something new. 

9" Italiana

Fresh tomato, prosciutto, bocconcini cheese, baby spinach 

$15

My favourite! Very simple and absolutely delicious. It brought together two things which I love eating: baby spinach and bocconcini! I loved the fresh tomato on a really thin and crispy base. The prosciutto was not too salty and went very nicely with everything else on the pizza. Definitely one I would recommend trying if you're like me and love simplicity on a pizza!

9" BBQ Chicken

Tomato cheese, pineapple and chicken with bbq sauce

$15

Nothing too special here. It had the thin crispy base which gets it into my good books, but it wasn't really memorable. I honestly can't even remember what it tastes like right now, apart from the fact that I liked how the BBQ sauce wasn't too rich and thick.

I think this is a place worth visiting for their pizzas. I've heard that they also do takeaway, which would be a good option for those who live in the area! The service is great - all the staff are so lovely and friendly, and the food didn't take long at all to come out after we ordered. The staff even made a point of asking about the birthday girl, which was very nice of them. 

After lunch, we went straight across the street to what we were all looking forward to: Benedict Cumberbatch and his incredibly attractive voice and face on the big screen STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS!

We all took a photo in this cute cut out promoting the sequel to Monsters Inc! I remember seeing it when I was a little girl 12 years ago (I know, I don't believe it either)

So, I'm a Star Trek newbie. I made sure I did a little bit of reading the night before, taking care not to spoil anything for myself! I've never properly watched anything Star Trek related (unless you count Sheldon's Star Trek references on the Big Bang Theory). This movie has converted me and I plan on having a bit of a marathon to educate myself after my mid year exams! 

It was incredible. The film was visually stunning - the special effects were awesome and made it all seem so real! I especially loved the first scene because the colours were so bright and vivid. One of my favourite elements was the soundtrack. Having played certain musical instruments for the past 12 years, I've always had a keen ear and appreciation for music everywhere, particularly in films. (On a side note, one of my favourite film soundtracks is the Pirates of the Caribbean) The soundtrack for this film was so amazing. It was a major contributor to successfully building intensity in a lot of the scenes. 

Also, I think the choice of actors and actresses was spot on. Benedict Cumberbatch was BRILLIANT! My love for him started when my friends got me interested in Sherlock, a BBC show (which is amazing by the way - go watch it if you haven't!). I must admit, the main reason we have all been dying to see this is because he has a main role in it! I'm sure every time he appeared on the screen, we all swooned a little. He looks mighty fine in black. I also loved Zachary Quinto as Spock. I can't pass a judgement basing on character as I've never watched Leonard Nimoy in the role, but I still think Zachary Quinto did a great job! I've been a fan of him ever since Heroes and I thought he suited the antagonist role very well. It was great to see him in a different sort of role. Of course, it is impossible to love Chris Pine - I think he brought great energy to the role and made it his own. I also loved Simon Pegg, bringing his comedic side to the role of Scotty which added a little something extra to the film. I'm sure the rest of the cinema-goers would agree with me as we were all giggling at the little things he did! Another actor I liked was Anton Yelchin - he was just so cute in his role. 

I highly recommend seeing this film, even if you're not a Star Trek fan! 

Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, EILEEN!