It’s so refreshing to find an ordinary, non-vegetarian restaurant that has used a bit of imagination to create a dish for vegetarians (risotto and pasta seem to be the easy way out for so many places). One such establishment is Eltons Brasserie in Mudgee where I had the pleasure of dining last night.
Having eaten a fairly substantial late lunch not long before, I only had room for one dish, so didn’t have a chance to sample the veg. entree option “Hand made Spaghettini with Blue Cheese, Walnuts, Herbs and Cream” but I was delighted with the “Woodfired Eggplant Stuffed with Cous Cous, Walnuts, Sultanas, Roast Pear and a Spiced Yoghurt Dressing” main. Upon passing on my compliments the wait-person I was informed that people come from Sydney to eat the dish, the staff have tried taking it off the menu to replace it with something else but riots have almost resulted so they have had to put it back (I suggested that maybe if they’re bored and want to come up with something else they could add it as well as, not instead of!)
Perhaps it was the method of cooking the eggplant, maybe it was the combination of the filling ingredients, but whatever it was, it sure worked for me.
As is the case in many (all?) of the Mudgee eateries, there is a range of local wine available.
Wandering past again today I noticed a sign on the window saying the business is for sale. Let’s hope any new owners will maintain the dish on the menu.
Good to know it’s open on a Sunday too!
As mentioned I ate a hearty lunch, at Outside the Square (facebook). I started with one of my all-time favourites, Eggs Florentine (there’s something about hollandaise sauce and English spinach), and went on to treat myself to a dessert of one of the all-day breakfast items, Buttermilk Pancakes, served with a berry compote and agave syrup. The cafe uses organic ingredients where possible, including some bottled juices – I had the beetroot, apple and carrot, and though I didn’t try the coffee there were fair trade posters on the wall.
The atmosphere is bright and friendly and it’s open seven days, though not for dinner, closing at 5pm every day but Sunday, when it closes at 4.
The cafe’s facebook page says “we do a range of delicious meals for breakfast and lunch, cakes baked fresh daily, and great coffee. We have a range of fair trade handicrafts. As a business we strive to be environmentally responsible and to support fair trade. We have an interest in supporting the local community and in raising awareness about issues that affect our local and global community.”
Fast forward to dessert, Sunday night, after the Eltons Brasseries main.
My companion and I were staying at the Cobb and Co Court Boutique Hotel (found on wotif) and decided to try their Wineglass Restaurant desserts back in the room after our meal out (there little choice vegetarian-wise on the hotel restaurant menu, and I didn’t fancy risotto). We were not disappointed. I have just checked their website however and it is quite out of date, both in content and price, but suffice it to say that they were absolutely divine, in taste and appearance. The coffee was great too, earlier that evening, but it seems to depend a lot on who is making it – the friendly barista who made my macchiato knew exactly how to do it, whereas the one I had for breakfast this morning was nowhere nearly as good.
Our stay in Mudgee was short, but we squeezed in a lot of eating, culminating in lunch at Sajo’s which, like Eltons, has given new life to a building that once housed a chemist and druggist. Again, not many veg. options in the “lighter” section of the menu so my lunch choice was a bit of a repeat of breakfast but with haloumi instead of eggs – mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and haloumi on some rather tough and not very interesting bread.
Before lunch it was great to be able to visit the new Botobolar shop, which opened in town on the June 2011 long weekend. It stocks local and local organic produce as well as, of course, Botobolar wines. I came away with three different sorts of organic pasta (durum, spelt and besan and buckwheat) and two bottles of wine, after a wide-ranging discussion with Botobolar owner Trina covering topics such as the carbon tax, wind energy, locust plagues, organic versus local taking into account food miles and genetic manipulation.
And now we’re In Oberon. A bit of a contrast, especially in regard to food options…
