Short Stack and Sides

Clare over at eat stuff had an atrocious bowl of soup recently. Or didn't have it, as the case may be. And generally round here, I don't eat out much, so when I do, I expect it to be better than home-cooked or at least reasonable. Today the Figster, Plumbaby and I headed out for a walk and lunch at a local restaurant which came well-recommended by friends - good food, decent prices, child-friendly.

I tossed up whether to order from their breakfast or lunch menu and ended up going for a mix - corn and capsicum fritters with bacon and tomato relish (breakfast) and a green salad and herb bread from the sides selection on the lunch menu.

I am a bit of a corn fritter afficiando and was really looking forward to these. But what arrived on my plate bore no resemblance to my expectations. They were limp, flabby and flaccid. Three pikelets with mingy bits of corn and capsicum mixed through occasionally (and I mean occasionally). On the upside, the bacon was excellently crispy and the relish delicious but the main man let them all down.

My side salad, however, was great. As was the herb and garlic bread. You know when you look at a menu and get the feeling you should order just sides? I should have gone with that feeling. Such was my disdain, that I left two of the alleged fritters on the plate, to be carried back to the chef, who would hopefully go out and look at Sydney Food (Zarah Maria's a fan of these). Bill's aren't bad, but my mother's are the best. With a fritter, I believe that it should be almost all fresh vegetables and herbs, with maybe an egg and a dash of flour to hold it all together, but the overall sensation should be of corn, spring onions and coriander. Not milk, flour and more milk. Pah!