Cult menu items
From Quay’s Snow Egg to Golden Century’s pipis in XO sauce, Sydney loves to love a cult dish. But what will we be eating again and again in 2019? By Maggie Scardifield
How many of Sydney’s most famously delicious dishes have you eaten?
If you love: Ricotta hotcakes at Bills Order the: Crab-curry jaffle at Lankan Filling Station ($16)
This elusive, labour-intensive toastie appears on Lankan Filling Station’s weekend brunch menu just once a month, so time your visit wisely (hint: after a crab-curry feast). Leftover crab is cooked then hand-picked for the jaffles, which are served with lime pickle and fragrant pol sambol. Add a mango lassi, and away you go. àLankan Filling Station, Ground Fl, 58 Riley St, East Sydney 2010. 02 8542 9936. lankanfillingstation.com.au.
If you love: Bánh mì at Marrickville Pork Roll
Order the: French dip at Continental Deli CBD ($26) & the muffuletta at A1 Canteen ($18)
Two Instagram-pleasing American sambos continue to vie for the city’s Best in Show: the New Orleans-style muffuletta at A1 Canteen, and the mighty French dip at the CBD outpost of Continental Deli. Whether you opt for A1’s packed ham, mortadella, salami, artichokes, olives and cheese mix, or Continental’s baguette of roasted Rangers Valley sirloin, Appenzeller cheese, mustard, onion and bowl of roasting juices, lunch is in good hands. àContinental CBD, 167 Phillip St, Sydney 2000. 02 9922 7347. continentaldelicatessen. com.au. àA1 Canteen, Ground Fl, 2-10 Kensington St, Chippendale 2008. 02 9280 3285. a1canteen.com.au.
If you love: Fish fingers with charred toast at Bodega
Order the: Parmesan toasts with Japanese Vegemite at Love Tilly Devine ($4 each)
This clever bar snack came about when chef Michael West made a salted seaweed purée, or ‘Japanese Vegemite’, to beef up some asparagus. “It made sense when the asparagus went out of season to put it on toast and cover it in cheese,” he says. The bread is Iggy’s, the cheese parmesan, and the combination killer. “They’re best eaten hot, butter dribbling down your chin.” àLove Tilly Devine, 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst 2010. 02 9326 9297. lovetillydevine.com.
If you love: Pretzel with whipped bottarga at 10 William Street Order the: Garlic bread at Don Peppino’s ($4)
There’s no baguette. No tin foil. No diagonal cut or rain of parsley. For the garlic bread at Don Peppino’s, a gigantic wheel of semi-
sourdough rolls is pulled apart and warmed in the bread oven before being injected with a caramelised garlic butter enriched by cloves and marjoram. The butter melts as it makes its way to your table, but melts hearts long after. àDon Peppino’s, 1 Oxford St, Paddington 2021. 02 9326 9302. donpeppinos.com.au.
If you love: Pig’s head macaroni at ACME Order the: Bucatini all’Amatriciana at Alberto’s Lounge ($24)
Dan Pepperell’s interpretation of the cucina vera during his time at 10 William Street spanned plenty of cult dishes (that pretzel! The sardine katsu sando!). And now, after three years in the kitchen at Restaurant Hubert, he’s back to his Italian(ish) ways at Alberto’s. Make a beeline for the Amatriciana. Bucatini, slick with rich red sauce, is the stage for fried chewy nubs of guanciale and pecorino Romano. àAlberto’s Lounge, 17-19 Alberta St, Sydney 2000. albertoslounge.com.
If you love: Meal prep services Order the: DIY line-caught fillet from Fish Butchery (market price)
“Blue-eye trevalla has a nice amount of fat just beneath the skin that carries flavour so well,” says Josh Niland, chef-owner of Saint Peter and Fish Butchery. Bonito, meanwhile, is “amazing raw, but even better off a barbecue with sweet-and-sour sauce.” These are but some of the tips you’ll take home after visiting Niland’s butchery, which specialises in sustainably caught Australian species (the same fish he uses at the restaurant). àFish Butchery, 388 Oxford St, Paddington 2021. 02 8068 0312. fishbutchery.com.au.
If you love: Gelato Messina Order the: Ice-cream sandwiches at Totti’s ($8)
Nothing says #endlesssummer like an icecream sandwich and litre of Negroni under
an olive tree. And that’s Totti’s to a tee, albeit with a prelude of woodfired bread, salumi and housemade pasta. For the finale, chefs Mike Eggert (Pinbone, Mr Liquor) and Khan Danis (Rockpool) do an old-school dessert with new-school sass: crisp, light wafers sandwich classic tricolour Neapolitan ice cream. àTotti’s, 283 Bondi Rd, Bondi 2026. 02 9114 7371. merivale.com/venues/tottis.
If you love: Pork and fennel sausage roll at Bourke Street Bakery Order the: Grilled-cheese toastie at Penny’s Cheese Shop ($14)
As well as wanting fresh L’Artisans and La Lunas for cheeseboards, Sydney wants its cheese melted inside (and outside) of sourdough, too. Four weekly changing cheeses go into Penny Lawson’s king of toasties: perhaps Swiss Appenzeller, raclette or Gruyère for oozy good-times, and always a sharp cheddar for extra bite. It doesn’t need it, but you can pimp yours with ham, onions or jalapeños. àPenny’s Cheese Shop, 4 Roslyn St, Potts Point 2011. 02 8591 4754. pennyscheeseshop.com.au.