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bmag June 22

Posted by Eat drink and be Kerry on June 28, 2010

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Where to find magic hands at Brisbane’s airport

In the busy world of an airport, it’s amazing to find a quiet corner where the hustle and bustle disappears. Even better if that comes with a pair of magic hands with probing fingers that take away your stress and strains. Read more at eatdrinkandbekerry.net Eat, drink and be Kerry has moved to a new site. Please drop in and say hello and while you are there, subscribe so you never miss a post.

Dine like a Roman at 1889 Enoteca

The top end of Logan Road at Woolloongabba never ceases to amaze me. It's cute, quirky, filled with great restaurants, interesting antique shops and one of a kind homewares. Parking is surprisingly easy to find on the street and will only cost you a few dollars for a couple of hours. I was there today for an Australian Society of Travel Writers Lunch which was hosted by Trafalgar Tours. We dined family style on one long table, serving ourselves from platters in the middle of the table. This was designed to echo Trafalgar's new Be My Guest tours. It seems the days when Trafalgar could be called just a bus tour travel company are gone. They still have the buses, but now they are taking us inside people's homes to dine, cook and meet the locals. It's all about family run properties and working farms, including dining with Beatrice de Montferrier and her daughter Alexandra in the warmth of their 17th-century farm on regional produce. Or hearing stories fr

A night of firsts at Urbane

It was a night of firsts - my first duck tongue and my first lamb sweetbreads. I've always avoided offal, scarred by an unfortunate experience as a child when my mother tried to make me eat liver, but as Ubane owner Andrew Buchanan said, best to try it first cooked by a great chef - so I did. Seated at a long table we were there to experience the new Urbane menu under Alejandro Cancino. He looks like he's just out of short pants, but this chef has a list of restaurants and awards on his resume that demand attention. Passionate about fine dining, Argentinian-born Alejandro has spent the last 10 years working with some of the best chefs in the world, naming the great chef and innovator Andoni Luis Aduriz at Mugaritz in Spain, Luca Fantin at Bulgari Tokyo and Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in England as his mentors. In Australia, he calls Dan Hunter at the Royal Mail in Victoria his local guide, having worked together at Mugaritz. Last April Alejan

The world's first onboard bionic bar

A robot arm walks into a bar, and the bartender says, “I’m out of a job”. No joke, on Royal Caribbean’s new Anthem of the Seas, a ship that redefines cool, the Bionic Bar breaks new ground. The two robotic bartenders can produce two drinks per minute from an endless selection of cocktails. Guests just log into the system via the ship’s iPad ordering system and their cocktail of choice goes up on the visual order list. There's also a few saucy one-liners and bar chat on the board, the sort of stuff that bartenders regularly exchange but it's usually hard to hear. The bartender robots are excellent at muddling, stirring, shaking and straining your creation. Once completed, the drink is ready for you to claim via your wristband. Your perfect cocktail just slides across the bar into your hand. There are 30 different spirits and 20 different mixers, so you are unlikely to be stuck for an option. There’s the occasional breakdown, and a bit of human error to contend

Smart, sexy and oh so French - Privé 249 at the Sofitel

It’s sleek, smart, seductive and surprisingly sexy! The Sofitel's new restaurant Privé 249 seats up to 52 guests in a room where ceiling windows frame magnificent city views, overlooking Brisbane Central Clock Tower and Anzac Square. The menu is French inspired Australian cuisine and the décor luxe with dramatic Italian chandeliers and giant candles. Black glass tabletops are set with white china and Italian titanium cutlery – a striking mix of gold and silver that costs $30 a piece, so don’t try to leave with any! The Sofitel’s French origins show strongly with Chef, Mathieu Astier and Restaurant Managers Francois Laran and Jerome Legal, all from France. “Privé 249 is inspired by one of our young, talented and very passionate Chefs, Mathieu Astier,” says General Manager Goran Aleksandrovski. Astier, (pictured) who has been cooking since he was 16, has worked with and been taught by some of the world's greatest kitchen maestros. Spending much of his life in Monte Carl

The Cliffs Cafe, Kangaroo Point

When the sun is shining and the sky is blue Brisbane just begs to be explored so we jumped into the car and headed straight for the best city view in Brisbane. Where did we find it? The Kangaroo Point cliffs and best of all there's a cafe there now so you can enjoy the view at leisure. We turned up at 9am on a Sunday morning and it was peak hour at the coffee. Hoping for a stroke of luck, I joined the ordering queue while K2 scoured the landscape for people who might be leaving. The tactic paid off and we found a table before I had to order but it was in the shade. Normally a shady table is a bonus in sunny Brisbane but this was a crispy winter morning and the sunshine was definitely the place to be. The views of the city and Brisbane River are really spectacular from here. It would be a great spot for Riverfire but you would need to find your place very early I think. It also would be the perfect place to take tourists and visitors as it showcases Brisbane'

Stokehouse, South Bank

Eagerly awaited, Stokehouse is now open at Brisbane's South Bank with a design that takes full advantage of it's stunning river position. Nestled almost under the Goodwill Bridge and just a spit from the water, Stokehouse has been designed by local architects Arkhefield and it shows.

Steamed, CBD

Dumpling fever has hit Brisbane's CBD with with opening of Steamed in the top end of Turbot Street. Look for it hidden under the Roma Street overpass, but best to walk there as you'll be lucky to find a street park close by. Owners David Schindler (pictured above) and Kevin Xu have borrowed Kevin's mother from her own kitchen in north China to help make up to 5000 dumplings a day for hungry hoards of office workers. They come in three types; Harbin- pork and chive, Lovabull – beef with various spices that lack English names, Zen - a vegetarian version named after Kevin's mother who is a zen Buddhist and Pork Clouds – light and fluffy pork buns. Steamed has a very Asian street food feel and that's no accident. The counter is crowded with bamboo baskets filled with delicious dumplings from which you are served. You can see the dumplings being made through cut outs into the kitchen so there's no doubt everything is extremely fresh. When I visited Dav

Why bother with a cheap steak?

Trying to save money by dining cheap and cheerful when it comes to steak is a recipe for disaster. The odds are against you when you select the random steak on the menu and expect to bite into something tender and flavoursome. Mostly you are going to be disappointed because finding the right beef and then cooking it to perfection is something that takes a lot of effort and practice. My next beef when it comes to steak (pun intended) is paying $40 to $50 for a meal when I have to stand in a line to order and then sit with a buzzer on my table so I can collect it when it ready. Yes, I’m looking at you pubs with steakhouses. Maybe you enjoy the relaxed ambience of the beer garden and live for the moment when you peel back the alfoil on that Idaho potato, but if for the same price I can dine with tablecloths and table service, I know where I would rather be. Moo Moo Restaurant Group owner, Steven Adams, and executive chef, Trent Robson One man who knows meat is Stev

50 Queensland restaurants that the critics love

Want to sit down to a Queensland restaurant meal that would put a smile on a food critics face? Here’s 50 that you should try. The critics have spoken and Queensland’s dining scene has been rated from top to toe. The Good Food Guide, The Australian, Delicious Magazine and Gourmet Traveller all have different opinions, their own rating systems and their favourites. There are many factors which combine in a restaurant experience and it is a real feat when a restaurant can consistently turn out meals that delight. My favourite dining experiences always seem to involve top local produce prepared with just enough technique to enhance the flavours and served in a memorable location. I’m thinking beachside or river views. Read the full list at eatdrinkandbekerry.net

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