QUICK BITES

There’s no shortage of goings on in our hospitality scene at the moment. From seafood dinners to a brunch uprising, Sally Coates has the latest

HAVE you ever heard of bycatch? Palm Beach eatery 8th Ave Terrace is centring a fivecourse degustation around the concept this Thursday. Owners Shannon Baier-Dry and Jordan Stubbs have been out on the trawler, taking in the experience and learning what they can. “Basically when prawn trawlers go out they inadvertently catch a lot of other species that they may not be contracted to sell on to their suppliers,” Shannon explains. “They do sell this bycatch each day at the docks in Main Beach and Tweed Heads, but unfortunately whatever they don’t sell goes to waste. It is our hope that by creating this event we will not only be serving the freshest seafood menu ever but also encouraging locals to visit the trawlers and buy direct.” Due to the nature of the event it’s impossible to prerelease chef Chris Harrington’s menu, but attendees can expect the likes of octopus, cuttlefish, mantis shrimp, spotted sand crab and “pick of the catch” king prawns, matched with popular local and imported wines. Tickets are $130 and seats are limited. For more information go to 8thaveterrace.com.au

What’s one cuisine you’d expect to be pretty hard to veganise? Italian! Eggs, butter and cheese are the foundation of what we know as Italian food, but our favourite brothers are changing that. Gemellini and the Carney brothers are launching Cucina Provera, a weekly night showcasing the simple vegetarian and vegan foods of Italy. Hailing from Abruzzo, Italy, the head chef has written a menu based on his region and what vegetarian means to them. The menu will change between vegetarian and vegan options and there will be vegan cheese for pizza. To kick things off, Gemellini will do one night a week for a month, starting tonight.

Southport’s newest addition Mr PP’s Deli and Rooftop Bar has wasted no time making improvements, already adding a covered side section to keep up with the high demand from “SoPo” and beyond. The new area adds more than 20 sheltered seats to the downstairs section to indulge in Mr PP’s range of cocktails, tap beers, deli bites and wood-fired pizzas. Burleigh vegan favourite Serabar also recently added an exterior shelter for extra seats.

It seems brunches are all the rage at the moment, with two favourites honing in on the boozy breakfast/lunch hybrid. Bazaar Interactive Marketplace launched their boozy brunch a couple of weeks ago, which incorporates the already bustling foodie paradise that is Bazaar with special tipple touches. Stations include a live crepe station with sweet and savoury options, DIY acai and poke bowls, white and regular fondue towers, breakfast pizzas and pretty much everything else you can imagine (macaroni and cheese for breakfast!). Further north, Vietnamese favourite Can Tho is holding its bottomless seafood brunch. The bottomless refers to the drinks, by the way. The menu consists of bug banh mi roll, shredded crab som tum, prawns dumpling, fried snapper fillet and tuna poke crispy wonton taco. Is this a sign that brunch is about to blow up on the Coast?

Excited for the Commonwealth Games? So is Lost Palms Brewing at Miami. To get punters in the spirit the GC’s newest brewery is holding its own mini Commonwealth Games — well, a table tennis tournament. Currently taking registrations, the tournament will be held on April 7, with the winner going home with four tickets to a table tennis finals session at the Games. Registrations will be taken at the bar, so maybe hit two birds with one stone and take advantage of their $2 tacos every Sunday throughout March and, of course, a couple of cold beers.