I was just telling Bowb, over an aol chat that I may need to not go downstairs until it is time to leave home for the Observatory Hotel; where we will converge for an afternoon tea of delights. The reason for the self imposed detention being a few treats I procured from Pasticceria Papa yesterday were sitting downstairs in the Burgundy coloured box, just tempting anyone who dared pass them.

Yesterday, The Boy and I had spent the afternoon back in my old neighbourhood flat hunting; going through different doors thinking whether or not our second-hand sofas purchased from ebay will fit nicely in a new living space for they have been in the garage since delivery and are just waiting to be revealed from under the protective plastic. We finally saw a place we liked; a 2-bedder in that old style they call art deco, squares as windows, detailed ceiling and a glass front door. Talking through the pro’s and con’s of the place we decided caffeine and gelato to be worthy contenders on the discussion panel.

A five minute drive to Haberfield saw us traipsing through the doors of Pasticceria Papa. Hordes of Gourmet Safari people walking in and out; treats in one hand a box of festive panettone in the other. Families with their kids deciding on savoury or sweet for a late lunch. One kid said to another; “My mum says I can have gelato for lunch, as long as I pick the fruit ones and not the cream”. And then I saw the pistachio green. The Boy quick off the mark put dibs in for the cookies cream; and so it was “Two scoops please; pistachio and cookies & cream”. The other kid asked; “is pistachio a fruit?”

At the sweets counter, mandorlas in all shapes, sizes and flavours. Almond is featured prominently, also in the cakes; one or two layer. There was a cherry and almond tart with my name on it. Cloaked heavily with confectioners sugar it was more almond than cherry and was eagerly devoured by The Boy after we shared the gelato; creamy, sweet and cool. It was the greenest pistachio ever, with real slivers of nut right through. Saada; shall I say even nuttier than the Pompei treat we had last Sunday?

Before leaving I decided to wander back to the counters and see what other delights I had missed. On the far left is the baine-marie with various hot savouries; pizza and arancini logged into the memory bank for next time. I went back to the sweet counter, where the freshly baked ciabatta is also on display. The right side of the store looks like it is going through pre-emptive festive planning with the walls closing in with as many varieties of panettone possible. Lemoncella, Cappuccino, Rose, Strawberry, Orange, Espresso, and the plain and fruity.

When it came to selecting take-away, one for later and one for my sister; I asked the salesgirl which she preferred; the vanilla, the chocolate or the ricotta cannoli. She said she didn’t really like custard; and preferred the ricotta; but then corrected herself and said the chocolate is really good too. She liked chocolate more than ricotta. I nodded, knowing just what conundrum it might be: chocolate custard vs. ricotta when you don’t like custard but prefer ricotta. In the end it was chocolate for me, and ricotta for next time. There was also a jam almond shortbread placed next to the cannoli just in case.

So this morning; after deciding that it would be a good idea may be wander down for a glass of cold water I eyed the box. And surprise; the salesgirl had in fact replaced my order with hers. A ricotta cannoli which was all blistered from the deep fryer; stuffed with sweet ricotta of which I have only had a teaspoon sample of. And just in case; the jam shortbread. A second breakfast to join the bowl of Cheerios; like raspberry jam on toast; sweet, buttery and crumbly - this is my favourite after the pistachio gelato.

Pasticceria Papa
145 Ramsey Street
Haberfield
P: (02) 9798 6894

This is what I wrote back on November 2nd, and had left it as draft to come back to; but never did. I publish it now, because it was a funny day; the 1st of November a kind of limbo birthday waiting to happen. The Boy was in study mode already and I had not planned any celebrations for another week, as it a known thing among those born under the star of scorpio that the month of November is birthday month!

Cafe Barzu located on Norton Street in Leichardt, also known as Little Italy is a casual drop in kind of establishment. Described as a brasserie which serves modern Italian food with an Australian flair; the food is uncomplicated and simple. Just what you need when you and your significant other has had one of those days when time seems to be on an acid trip going real slow, then super fast and when every carspot has taken, when you are famished and can’t decide what to eat.

We were relieved to have found a car park only meters from Cafe Barzu, and even more so when we were greeted by the lovely waitress, who seated us in the perfect spot; where the lunch rush hour sun seemed to take a sigh of relief and invited his cool friend air to have a drink on the colourful tiles of Barzu.I had ordered the linguini marinara, however when a similar plate of linguini sans a fresh mix of seafood arrived at our table I just dived in as it was way past lunch time and The Boy had just been advised by phone that one of his uni tests had been rescheduled to start in two hour. Before diving in with much gusto, our waitress kindly ground some black pepper on my pasta and his rib eye; and we clincked glasses to a good year ahead.

The pasta was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had for a while. Light yet rich from the combination of butter and white wine in the sauce. The prawns were fresh and the spinach wilting perfectly under the peppers and al dente pasta. The Boy was happy with his steak; medium rare and the vegetables cooked perfectly. I managed to convince one of the carrots on his plate to migrate to mine; and it was both soft and crunchy seasoned well along with a light film of butter (for good measure).

I have only ever had a coffee and sweet treat at Cafe Barzu, so was well pleased to have lunch at one of the white cloaked tables. It is a great spot to sit and just be; there is a grand copper and gold espresso machine in the centre of the bar, the ceiling high with an upstairs and a breezy outdoors. The kitchen is positioned as if on night watch; where the chefs observe the diners from above. Most of all the service was fabulous; atttentive without being intrusive.

Because our meal was cut short by an impending engineering exam we made the compromise of dessert afterwards somewhere in Broadway. This for me meant dessert at The Bourke Street Bakery; where I was once again tempted by the pecan and golden syrup tart.

Oh! and The Boy; he did really well in his exam :)

Cafe Barzu
121 Norton Street
Leichardt
P: (02) 9550 0144

If I were to show you a picture to sum up my week (and a bit); then it would be this: A picture of porky bits, purchased on the way from work to a freelance gig because hunger is one of those things which is not patient. I wish it was patient enough for the 2 hour meeting to finish in time to make the last call at the Thai place on the corner, but no. A wise choice would have been to use the two dollars in my coin purse with the two dollars I slotted into the snack machine located on a suburban train platform to buy one of the juicy looking mangoes at the fruit market. Its just that with a portfolio in one hand, a sidebag in the other and trotting ’bout in heels from point A to point Z eating a mango on the go doesn’t work well with me; a person who suffers from frontal spillage on a regular basis.

It would have been a wise choice because the hunger remained due to the porky bits trashed in the bin right next to the vending machine; uneaten sans one ‘bit’. It was a matter of intrigue, otherwise the tomato & basil pretzels would have been first choice. So as a warning; make sure your transit snacks are packed tight in your bag so as to avoid possible porky bit situations. Amazing how many guzzles of water were needed to get rid of the putrid porky taste.

Last night I redeemed myself by making a meal of olive tapenade style chicken cacciatore with penne, as well a cinnamon & blackberry slice for dessert. Oh, how my tastebuds forgave me; so much so that I broke my new years resolution and went in for the seconds; just as the socceroo’s won the game on replay.