Friday 24 June 2011

El Torito

El Torito
146 Boundary St West End
3/5
El Torito has to have the honour of being the only Mexican place in town that isn’t fast food or rubbish; it does well in this regard and is all round a very good place to eat it’s also BYO including beer which is always a fantastic thing. It being the first Thursday in a while that I’ve had money to afford dinner meant that I had to go to dinner, so I called on some reliable friends for a meet at west end. It has been a few years since I last sat down at El Torito, last time I ate there the food was quite nice, but lacked a particular intangible that I can’t quite remember or determine. This time the stars lined up and the meal was fantastic.

The decor of El Torito is bright and energetic, it uses the long narrow space it has for a dining room effectively, it’s not a romantic dim private place it is an exciting, fun place with plenty of noise. The bright warm coloured walls covered in sombreros and pictures of Amerindians gives the place an electric feeling, that the food is bound to be exciting and generous. The service in El Torito is pretty regular, with the only way to be served being essentially demanding it; however they do get kudos from me for letting us stay for almost an hour after everyone else left.
Onto the most important of things, El Torito makes fantastic food; this place isn’t a suburban Tex-Mex place with 14 year olds in the kitchen, it’s a place that makes what tastes, feels and smells like genuine Mexican food (not being entirely melted cheese and oil). Our table had a few entrees and then a main each, the entrees all featured beans, which in hindsight was a genius decision considering they were all fantastic, the Beans Tostada has particularly stuck in my memory due to its great balance. Of the mains I only had the opportunity to try my own, which was a chorizo burrito and a friend’s which was the Tinga Poblana. Both of these dishes displayed an amazing level of balance and a great texture; however the lack of overwhelming defining flavours can make the meal feel boring to those uninterested in the combination of flavours.
 I would recommend El Torito to anyone especially to those who have negative views of Mexican restaurants due to the suburban monsters that ruin an entire cuisine for people.
El Torito is open for dinner most nights
Our entree’s cost $5-$10 and our mains cost ~$20 each.
El Torito is fully BYO with Corkage costing $2 per head
El Torito is Vegetarian Friendly.

El Torito on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Sono

Sono
Level 1 Tattersall’s building Cnr Queen & Edward
4/5
Tuna Sashimi
Sono is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Brisbane, which is also why it is one of the most expensive. With the triple threat of great food, exceptional service and amazing atmosphere, this restaurant almost gets the penultimate rating, and pretty much the only thing preventing that is personal preference. Much of my praise for Sakura on the south side of Brisbane has been equalled or bettered by Sono, which should be expected considering the price. Irrespective of the price Sono is one of the better places in town to have Japanese food with many benefits over the other restaurants Brisbane has to offer.


Two things Sono has in spades, Atmosphere and service. The atmosphere of the place is incredible, with a dining setup similar to many a place in Japan. Low set tables, cushions and the obligatory removal of shoes, grant the place an incredibly Japanese feel, if it weren’t for the loud words of English speakers you wouldn't think you were in Brisbane. The pine presence and predominance of square shapes gives the place a serene tranquil feeling. The perfection of presentation just adds miles to this pleasant dining experience. This is followed with the exceptional service with girls in kimonos hovering around at a sufficient distance for it not to be awkward and at the table at every moment you needed or wanted something; a dirty plate had never seen such an enemy.

Wagyu Tataki
The most important of all things is food though, and Sono excelled at it too, with all the dishes I consumed being of a very high quality. Beginning with the Wagyu Tataki that already had the exceptional qualities of Tataki. Even without the red bean sauce that added much to the flavour and created a truly fantastic experience. The Wagyu had a crisp outside with the soft and meaty inside with the mix of ever so slightly citrus giving life to the palate that recently had been continuously bored with basic food. Following this and a flask of fantastic sake was the tuna sashimi, which while fantastic was equal to the sashimi I had consumed at Sakura all that time ago, the only difference being the cuts of sashimi at Sono were thicker creating a different feeling. Lastly the main of the evening, being the Shabu-Shabu a dish I have eaten at several restaurants now and fantastic at all the restaurants I have eaten it the only disappointment being the lack of flavour held by the broth, however the quality and pleasantness of the dish continued to make my dining experience by far a very enjoyable one.

Shabu Shabu Ingredients
I would return to Sono if only for the atmosphere, let alone the fantastic food and drink, the only real complaint I could have is the price makes things add up quickly with a dinner for three with drinks costing 250 dollars on this night. However regardless of the expense I would recommend Sono in Brisbane city to anyone with deep pockets and a desire to feel like they are in Japan.

The price of our Shabu-shabu was $43 pp with the tuna sashimi costing $20 and the Wagyu Tataki being $18
Many drinks are available with draft Sapporo being $9.5 a mug, Shochu being $8 and upwards and sake being approx $20 and up for a 180 ml half flask
There are vegetarian options at Sono
Sono has a Website at http://www.sonorestaurant.com.au



Sono (Tattersall's Building) on Urbanspoon

Monday 6 June 2011

06/06/2011 Update

Hey sorry guys I haven’t been posting much for a few months my international trip took it out of me (“It” being money). So I haven’t been to dinner much and not to new places. But I have been eating fast food and stuff so I’ll take a moment to fill in some of the places I’ve been eating lately.

MOS Burger

Sunnybank Plaza

This new store in a new country for the Japanese burger chain, is actually quite good, I ate MOS burger while in Japan and thought it was disgusting. However the two MOS burgers I have eaten over at Sunnybank have been great messy pleasure, the glassware for dine-ins is a great touch and the whole thing feels bright and enjoyable, just a warning though do not take the burger out of the wrapper or you will need a new shirt. I’ve made the pilgrimage to Sunnybank twice; it’s actually not that far.

AJ’s Noodle House

Charlotte St Cbd

I’ve known about this one for a while but haven’t been there before recently due to the fact that both Kadoya and Madtongsan are about 5 metres away. The main problem this place has is that everyone else has caught on and knows they make a cheap Pho meaning if you want to eat there you have to be first or at an unusual time of day, the food is good for about $8, but you’ll probably still see me round the corner at Kadoya or Madtongsan.

Flying Fish

Indooroopilly

My local fish and chip shop of recently, this place became a favourite when I decided I was sick of tipplers and the rush to get there before it closed. While I haven’t eaten any fish in the dozen or so times I’ve been there I have eaten a lot of hamburgers which for a fish and chip shop have been good, the prices are really quite good too with a hamburger meal (a serve of chips and a can of coke) being $8.50. The fact that they are open till 8-9 each night is great as is the obvious family run vibe of the place. Feels like a classic Australian fish and chip shop.


I’ll be going to dinner either later this week or at some point next week, if you would like to come email me at coolbrisbannia@gmail.com or rsvp to the facebook event