L'Academie

www.lacademie.com.au

For those not in the know, L'Academie is a training restaurant for students of the Shaftson School of Hospitality. The place is quite large, with a restaurant, cafe at the front, bar, and upstairs areas for functions. We went there as part of a large (65 people) group booking for L's graduating uni year.

Our experience at L'Academie was basically a lot more miss than hit. Sure, there was a lot working against them as we were a massive group of mostly tipsy students, and of course, the kitchen staff are not professional chefs, however this shouldn't really be an excuse for very average food.

Dinner bookings at L'Academie involve a three course meal, however for some reason there was a giant mixup and we recieved our mains before our entrees. We were seated at 7.30pm, and found there was not actually enough seats for our group, so that other patrons of the restaurant had to be moved around unfortunately, and a few other tables and chairs had to be found. There was quite a reasonable wait for each course.

The mains were as follows; Tasmanian rosemary lamb rump on sweet potato mash with tomato, bulgarian Fetta & mint salsa, Moroccan chicken supreme with new season blood orange sauce on warm couscous salad and finally Cold water slipper lobster with brown rice pilaf, braised leek and chive beurre blanc.

On paper, this sounded amazing, however we did not find it to be so.

Campos

Another Monday off, another Monday of L and I pondering on where to go out for brunch/lunch. This time, we decided to drive into the Valley in order to finally visit Campos coffee. I have had to drool over all their tweet updates on their everchanging menu for a while, and have been wanting to visit. Campos coffee is originally from Sydney, and started out 9 years ago, now expanding to Melbourne and obviously Brisbane. Their coffee beans are not only used in Campos cafes, many other cafes choose to use their beans. Campos in Fortitude Valley also has a cupping room and retail store.

We easily found a park on an unfortunately just tarred road nearby (picture me tiptoeing across the road because I didn't want to get tar on my new shoes). Finding Campos is a bit difficult as its not so obvious from the street front. Yes, it is actually down that unassuming laneway with the garbage bins out front, and this is unfortunately a little offputting.

Sono Portside

www.sonorestaurant.com.au

Think of the name Sono and you immediately think of what is widely known to be Brisbanes premier Japanese Restaurant. Sono at Portside was established in 2007 as a more modern accompaniment to its very traditional sister restaurant in Brisbane city. L and I have eaten at Sono in the city years ago for a special occasion (prior to this blog commencing) but had not yet had the privilege of eating at Sono Portside. Imagine our delight when we recieved an invitation to dine there recently.

The restaurant has lovely views overlooking the Brisbane river. Entering the main dining area, its both spacious and luxurious. We were lucky to be seated in one of the larger tables with a view at the window. 

La Vosh Deli - Anzac Square

Being from a Jewish family and also originally from Melbourne, L had not had a good bagel since moving to Queensland 5 years ago. We read on Miss Morags Morsels that LaVosh patisserie definitely had the best bagels in Brisbane, being authentically made (boiled first and then baked). The original Red Hill location was difficult for us to get to though, so when I heard the news that a new LaVosh deli had opened in the Anzac Square arcade food court, we wanted to go and have bagels immediately!

Bagels there are sold separately to take home, or come pre-prepared with meats and salads, or you can make your own combination up. There are also plenty of sweet goodies available as well, including macaroons and little petit fours. 

L had a smoked salmon poppyseed bagel with capers, cream cheese, onion and rocket, whilst mine had pastrami, rocket, tomato, cheese and a nice relish. 

Wagaya

www.wagaya.com.au

Wagaya is one of the latest Sydney restaurants that have chosen to open a new branch in Brisbane, resulting in much excitement being produced by L and I as a) its Japanese b) they have a super cool touch screen ordering system, thus eliminating the need for awkward conversation interrupting moments from waitstaff. Yes, I guess this means it can be a bit impersonal but the novelty of the touchscreen overcomes that. 

Wagaya is located on an upper level just off the Chinatown mall in Fortitude Valley. Heres a tip for you if you are going to complain about the parking situation in these surrounds, if you park in the Chinatown parking lot, its only $5 if you produce your parking ticket at Wagaya! 

Walking into the restaurant is very welcoming, and you are immediately taken to your private booth. The restaurant is larger than expected, with rows of booths and a back room with larger group function areas. 

Basically you are left to your own devices with the touchscreen menu, which is very simple to navigate, and there is always a "confirm order" button if you accidentally press on something you don't wish to order. There is a large selection of drinks; cocktails, umeshu, wine, sake and beer, as well as nonalcoholic cocktails and beverages.

Our Day At The Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show

Today we were fortunate to be able to attend the Good Food and Wine Show which is on at the Brisbane Convention Centre. There are still two more packed out days of fun and food to attend, so be sure to get yourself down there this weekend.

As soon as we arrived we made our way to the Celebrity Theatre box office and were able to grab tickets to the Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris of Masterchef fame's cooking demonstration. This is free but you must have a prebooked seat, which you can either get with your original entry ticket purchase or head to the box office as soon as you are there on the day. We left it all up to luck and were thankfully able to grab tickets to it and were seated right down the front in the second row, prime viewing position!