We have been longing for another taste of Australia. Our next trip down-under is still a few years off so we turned to New York City for an Australian fix at Eight Mile Creek.
Exotic, innovative, collision of cultures, serious, fun, gutsy, and truly modern are some of the words used to describe contemporary Australian "Mod Oz" cuisine. Based on elements that don't exist outside of it's home continent you have to wonder, can this amazing fare be created outside AU? Well if there is anywhere it can it would have to be New York.
There are now seven Australian restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The first and by many considered the best is Eight Mile Creek in Nolita.
We fell in love with just about everything Australian after a wonderful trip to visit our daughter who was attending university there this past Summer. With Nell back in the States and home to Montclair for the weekend, dinner at Eight Mile seemed like a great choice.
What became a perfect dinner started with a warm conversation with our waiter, sharing favorite places in Sydney his home town. Like most Australians we have met
he was warm, friendly and genuine.
The main restaurant is small, with a inviting a bar in front and several tables in back. A garden, open in warm months, accommodates more diners. Downstairs is another bar. The place feels all Australian, a country, culture and a state of mind and spirit.
Eight Mile proffers an rich list of Australian wines, beers and interesting cocktails. I started with a delicious white, Redbank Sauvignon Blanc, Long Paddock 2006.
"Pale straw in color with vibrant green, the lifted nose shows classical Sauvignon spice with underlying tropical fruit notes. Coupled with passion fruit and gooseberry these typical cool climate characters define The Long Paddock Sauvignon Blanc 2004. Ripe tropical fruits, which give the palate depth, are complemented by texture brought about by the stringent parcel selection prior to harvesting. The wine finishes with crisp acidity and lingering fruit." Winemaker
Our appetizers choices spanned the breadth of the focused but varied menu. They included:
Kanga Skewers with a mountain-berry ketchup. Tender, deliciously meaty, with a texture like skirt steak. The sauce was very appealing, we finished it all with our bread.
Rocket and beet salad with Macadamia nuts (a native of Australia I was surprised to discover) and fresh goat cheese. Tasty crisp greens, sumptuous beets, the best Macadamina nuts I have ever tasted, goat cheese was "to die for," declared Nell.
Oysters natural and in a preparation called Oysters Kilpatrick which distinctly added bacon and Worcestershire sauce to the fresh shellfish. Can I have another dozen?
Another delight was a prawn and crayfish cake with greens on a tomato couli. Unusual brilliant flavors, aromatic and pleasing at so many levels.
Distinct flavors is a signature element of Australian cuisine, "fusion" as a descriptive word does not apply well to Australian dishes. "Mod Oz" cooking draws from many influences, pan-asian, Mediterranean, European but flavors do not become a blend, but stand distinct, complimenting and contrasting like nothing else you have ever tasted. We savored every bite as we shared each delicious dish.
The entries that we devoured - slowly - were the crisp-baked Barramundi Fillet
with capsicum cous-cous, sweet chili pesto. Beautifully presented, extrodinary flavors.
A lemon myrtle grilled tuna steak, with soba noodles, Japanese seaweed, wasabi vinaigrette. Cooked to a perfect rare, the blend of textures soft noodles against crisp seaweed was tantalizing.
With the Tuna I drank a dynamite Shiraz Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz Billi Billi Creek.
Dark inky red, smokey, spicy aroma with hints of ripe cherry and tobacco. Lots of flavour - ripe red and black fruit, smoke, pepper and tobacco.
Billi Billi is made from grower’s fruit, specifically 80 to 100 year old bush vines, and some small selections of estate grown fruit. With a focus to fruit intensity over age ability and complexity, Billi Billi is produced with the drinker in mind – plush texture, fruity Shiraz ready to drink, representing great value for money and having hints of Langi style, making Billi Billi an excellent introduction to Mount Langi Ghiran wines.
The Wine Enthusiast: The 2003 Billi Billi Shiraz features slightly medicinal flavors of cherries and rhubarb accented by scorched chocolate notes and a hint of eucalyptus. The texture is creamy-smooth, while the finish lingers elegantly. It's a pleasant counterpoint to some of the heavyweight Shirazes from South Australia, at a bargain price. Score: 90. —Joe Czerwinski, December 15, 2006.
The Wine Spectator: Fresh, peppery and appealing for its juicy plum and raspberry fruit, finishing with harmony and a thin veil of fine tannins. Drink now through 2009. Score: 88. —Harvey Steiman, September 30, 2006.
Lastly we enjoyed the honey glazed roast organic chicken withwok-style Asian
vegetables, mountain-berry jus. Another great example of a classic dish Australian style. Deep flavorful meat and sauce, bok choy and other Asian vegetable that we could not quite recognize, but delicous.
And the barbecued artichoke, this was exotic and gratifying, covered with chick peas and edamame and a light roasted tomato sauce, on a layer of greens and infused olive oil. Amazing flavorful simple, healthy.
Both wines can be found at: http://www.greenwoodlakewines.com/
Eight Mile Creek
240 Mulberry St.
New York, NY
212-431-4635
Things to do, places to see, with food and booze
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