What to eat at your local?

Pub grub, they reckon that it is better than ever. Unlike the times that I spent in London, where pubs are essentially the centre of all social events or just somewhere you go straight after work. So there isn't a need for great food and nice decor in London although it doesn't hurt of course.

In Adelaide where the population is much smaller, pubs are fighting for their share of the market. There is always somewhere new with the latest big screen tvs, nice outdoor furniture in the beer gardens and gourmet menus. All manner of new renovations paid for by gambling machines within the facilities or more accurately, lonely and addicted pensioners.

I don't have as much time for pubs as I would like these days but when I do visit one, my choice of pubs is purely based on the beers they stock. Food definitely plays second fiddle. The pubs that I have had repeatedly meals at include The Edinburgh Hotel, Crown and Sceptre, Queen's Head, The Lion, The Oriental and of course the Handolf Inn. These are some of the pubs that I believe have decent foods, however that judgement is based purely on the fact that I only order traditional pub fares. That is either a steak or fish and chips. Nothing wrong with that at all. After all one cannot survive on jamon and foie gras alone.

I recently visited the Hyde Inn on King Willam Road for the second time. I enjoyed both meals that I had there. There isn't too much you can get wrong with a sirloin steak or a whiting with chips. Unfortunately my companion for the evening chose to have a duck dish with orange sauce of some sort.

It is fair to say that the Hyde has bitten off far more than it can chew. I sampled some of that dish. The duck was overcooked by about 3 minutes and the sauce had been diluted by the liquids from the overcooked duck. It was also served with huge chunks of potatoes which was undercooked. At that stage of the evening, I was still in a positive mood because my meal wasn't a complete disaster. So we made the mistake of ordering deserts.

Creme brulee is a dish that most people would have had and enjoyed some stage in their dining experience. It was the only time in my living memory that I did not finish my desert. The less said the better about that episode the better. So shame on you The Hyde Inn.

The service was great, we also learnt not to go anywhere near that hole again. So the moral of the story is, stick to something simple when eating at a pub. There aren't many chefs willing to work at a pub and the word head chef is thrown around way too loosely. Obviously some people still don't taste their own food first before sending it out.

Duck is something difficult to get right in my experience so Chloe, great job. Ming's Palace can also do it well on a good night. As for great deserts and sweets, hats off to Auge, Assaggio Restaurante, Stamps and Au Matin Calme. Always look forward to what they have to offer there and I guess that is the best compliment I can offer.