Vanessa: The birthday celebration of one of my besties brought us to the Food Society and as first timers we were instantly impressed by the look and feel of the establishment. Nestled in the quiet back streets of Darlinghurst, the Food Society boasts an ambience that is inviting and warm with just a dash of kitsch that sparks your interest as you step through the door.
We were directed to our tucked away table in the corner by our friendly waiter who must have read our minds as it was the perfect position for a girlie evening of food, wine and chit chat.
We settled in and motioned to the cocktail list to get the evening underway. Whilst the cocktail list isn’t extensive it features a good mix of traditional and some with a twist. I instantly gravitated to the watermelon caprioska with watermelon liquor and a watermelon iceblock (You can never have too much!). My friend chose the espresso and walnut martini which ,although light on the walnut flavour, was an exceptional choice!
We perused the menu, which features eastern european dishes that are designed for sharing.
For appetizers we chose the signature dish of fried cauliflower with paprika, parsley, watercress and reduced red wine vinegar, which was delicious and I would thoroughly recommend it. Even though cauliflower is certainly not my vegetable of choice, the sweetness of the red wine vinegar accompanied by the crisp texture made it a very tasty dish.
Along with the cauliflower we also sampled the ‘Suberec’ , fried pastry filled with pumpkin, sheep’s milk cheese and sage – a great alternative to serve of bread..as suggested by our waiter!
Feeling fairly contented already after the generiously sized appetizers, our main dishes arrived and instantly I felt we had over ordered (a trap I often fall into!)
The two main dishes were large in portion size..not that this is a fault as we were told the meals were designed for sharing..but perhaps we had ordered too much for two.
We sampled the Crispy skin pork belly which was succulent with perfectly crunchy crackling that sat atop shaved cabbage, fresh cherries, chervil and white vinegar. The cabbage was not to my liking as i’m not a massive fan of mixing cherries with savory, but it did not deter or detract from the flavor of the pork belly.
The second main dish we sampled was the Broken salad of wine poached chicken with lightly pickled cucumber, spiced onion and soft boiled egg. The chicken itself was well cooked but I felt the accompanying elements on the plate were slightly disjointed.
Feeling full and content we sadly skipped dessert on this occasion although we will be sure to return to sample the ‘Snickerdoodle sundae’ a chocolate and walnut brownie, housemade salted peanut ice cream, dark chocolate mousse, butterscotch sauce and hazelnut praline. I eyed it when we first viewed the menu, if only we had a few more people with us to justify the portion sizes!
Overall, I would recommend a visit to the Food Society with a few friends (and/or a big appetite) to take advantage of the well-priced, generous serves and sample a variety of dishes. The wait staff also deserve a shout out for their service, attentiveness and charisma!
Enjoy!
Vanessa Iacomino
V.B.A
