Sun-soaked Eats At Revamped Grind

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday December 5, 2001

Jenny Tarran

DARBY St, Cooks Hill, has a new eatery.

Grind is a cafe, coffee house, juice bar and al a carte restaurant rolled into one.

Owned by Alastair Evans, from the successful Hunter St cafe The Last Drop, with Lane Withers, Jessie Gerner and Vanessa Mervin, the cafe has been an overwhelming success since it opened in the old Emilio's building.

But gone is the dark interior of the old Italian eatery.

The owners have opened up the interior, knocked out the front wall and put in folding doors and the light from the street has flooded the downstairs area which they also repainted.

Upstairs has also had a facelift and next year the rear courtyard area will be revamped and open to the public.

While the coffee is important, Grind has an emphasis on fresh produce.

When you walk to the counter you will find baskets of fresh fruits, just ready to be juiced for a range of smoothies, frappes and fresh fruit juice combinations.

The food is also important, with chef Jessie formerly from Carrolls on King, so the food is a definite step up from the usual cafe fare.

The food ranges from simple snacks and platters to share to full al a carte but at cheaper prices than charged in a restaurant.

The large blackboard menus change daily as Jessie insists on using only the freshest ingredients.

`Really we've put the fun back into going to the cafe,' Alastair said.

And fun it is. With the sun-soaked interior, large tables and the buzz of conversation and music in the air, the cafe is relaxed and has an atmosphere and feel to it rarely found in Newcastle.

It is a slice of Sydney or Melbourne, without the high prices.

Grind is open from 9am until late from Wednesday to Sunday. After Christmas the cafe will start opening seven days a week.

The upstairs area is also available for functions. For bookings telephone 4929-4710.

Bumper buffet

EAT Street is the newest eatery at the Phoenix Club and on Christmas Day it will host a huge buffet lunch.

There will be plenty of dishes, including fresh oysters, prawns, grilled salmon, roast turkey, pork, beef and lamb, along with ham off the bone.

As well as those Christmas favourites, there will be plenty of European and Asian dishes on offer and for dessert you can tuck into tiramisu, caramel tarts, ricotta and pear slices, mud cake, Russian baked cheesecake, apple strudel and traditional puddings and brandy custard.

The Christmas buffet lunch is $50 for adults, $20 for children from 5 to 12 years and children four and under are free.

Bookings are essential at Phoenix Club. Silly season

TONIC Cafe, in Bolton St, Newcastle, is also getting into the silly season and has organised a range of set menus from $35 a person.

Chef James Heads has menus to suit all tastes and budgets and small and large groups can be catered for.

For further information and bookings telephone 4929-2358.

Lan's reopened

LAN'S on Darby St, Cooks Hill, is now reopened for business.

After a fire in the kitchen on Melbourne cup Day, the Vietnamese restaurant closed down with extensive damage to the kitchen and upstairs areas.

While the work was done Vietnamese food lovers went hungry.

But now the work is complete and Lan's reopened last Wednesday night with full eat-in and take-away menus operating.

Lan's is open for dinner from Tuesday to Sundays. To book, phone 4929-1565. Sunset tastings

WITH the onset of the holiday season, Reg Drayton Wines Pty Ltd has launched Saturday sunset wine tastings and barbecues at its pretty cellar door on the corner of McDonalds and Pokolbin Mountain roads, Pokolbin.

Proprietors Robyn Drayton and Craig Armstrong began the series on October 27 and further functions are scheduled for December 15, January 26, February 23 and March 23.

The program begins at 6pm with a vineyard tour conducted by Craig, after which there will be bubbly on the veranda and a tasting of Reg Drayton wines conducted by Robyn.

After that Craig and Robyn will preside over a country-style barbecue dinner, topped off with a port tasting.

Cost of the evening is $40 a head and bookings can be made and further details obtained by telephoning 4998-7523 or e-mailing mail@regdraytonwines.com.au.

© 2001 Newcastle Herald

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