Sherry Season at Anada, Fitzroy

What did the word sherry mean to me just over a week ago? Sickly. Sweet. Syrupy. Probably not a cool drink. Old people like it. Old people drink it after dinner.

What did the word Anada mean to me just over a week ago? Love it. Amazing Spanish food. Evokes memories of Spanish holidays gone by. Feed me, feed me.

Well, last Wednesday night, when I was lucky enough to sit on a tiny media table with some other lovely foodies for Anada’s special ‘Sherry Season’ dinner for Sherry Week, my opinion on one of the above radically changed. Would you like to guess which it was?

Anada is still incredible. On my third visit, I still adored the food just as much as I did the very first time I visited two years ago. But hey, something I learnt last week- SHERRY IS COOL. It is not at all for old people to drink after dinner. It is something that I will now happily order at a bar, and will definitely ensure I get something similar to the divine sherries tasted from a range of regions in Spain.

 We began our sherry and Spanish food matched journey with an incredible little morsel called ‘Tortilla de camaron’, a crispy, crunchy tapas treat not at all dissimilar to a prawn cracker. As with all great foods, they have a story behind why they were created; as a way to cover the top of your booze (sherry perhaps) to keep the flies away. These were an absolutely perfect bar snack, something I know if allowed, I would accidentally devour a whole bowl of. Do not let these near me when I am intoxicated, ever! This was matched with a La Goya, ‘En Rama’ Manzanilla Magnum sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda. We started off dry with the sherries, and these were probably what I found the easiest to drink seeing as I prefer dry white wine to sweet.

Next was the gorgeous eel brandade cigar, a very fancy looking pastry and the sea urchin montadito- more Spanish bar food that is just oh so easy to eat, especially when washed down with some Fino sherries from the Jerez region.

This was followed by my absolute favourite Spanish morsel, croquettes. These are my ultimate comfort food- if I am having a bad day. bring me a plate of these babies and I am happy. These ‘bunuelo de bacalao’, made with salt cod, were no exception to that rule. The gorgeous ‘calcote with romesco’, seared spring onions in a sweet tomato sauce was also great, but it was the ‘morcilla’ or blood sausage that impressed me the most having never tried it before and finding it surprisingly delicious. These tasty tapas were paired with Sanchez Romae Amontillado from Jerez, and a 35 year old version of the same sherry, and it was eye opening to see how much a drink could change in 35 years, though not surprising considering it is older than me!

  
Our main of Palo Cortado braised venison accompanied by beetroot ensalada was also comforting, rich and delicious, though different to the tapas I normally associate with Spanish cuisine. This was a heavy, winter dish with tender, gamey venison paired so well with the sweetness of the beetroot. These were matched with some Cayetano del Pino Almacesnista Palo Cortado sherries from Jerez aged both 15 years and 35 years.

 At this point we were given a choice to either move onto dessert or add in a cheese course, and of course we said yes to cheese. Seriously, what kind of fruit loop would ever say no to Manchego? This took me back to Barcelona so fast- the way food can evoke memories is one of my favourite things about eating. At this point we started moving towards some of the heavier, thicker sherries that are more like the ones I have encountered in the past.

 We ended on a delicious note with a pistachio cake with white chocolate and beetroot ganache with liquorice powder, the perfect cake paired with sweet sherry as it was almost savoury flavours.

Would I drink sherry again? Yes, absolutely. Would I order it at a bar? Yes, absolutely. Will I remember exactly what regions and types of sherry I liked the most on the spot? Probably not. But, luckily I will be able to bring up this blog post on my phone to remind myself and hope I can make a bartenders day by ordering something slightly different.

Would I recommend Anada? Every day. Now, someone bring me some croquettes, stat.

Thank you to Anada for letting me be a part of your #SherryWeek event.

Have a delicious weekend!

Foodie Melbourne

YOMG alllllllllllllllllllll the burgers!

A few weeks I finally got around to visiting YOMG in Glen Waverley after drooling all over their Instagram page for months now. It is a bit of a trip for me to travel out that way so I was happy to hear that Collective Curators was having their bloggers lunch there so I could attend. The CC girls called it a ‘Cheat Day’ but for me most days I am lucky enough to consume amazing food in some way so I went and pretended eating a burger and frozen yogurt was something really unusual for me but we all knew it wasn’t!

I loved the variety at YOMG. There was sooo much to choose from- fat beefy burgers and fried chicken burgers and pulled pork and some absolutely divine sounding vego options like a potato stack burger or a garlic pulled mushroom burger. I decided to keep it relatively simple but to add my own special twist to it- I went for the Yo My with cheese, and added pickles and a potato cake, just to make it extra ‘cheaty’ and lets face it, potato cakes were made to be in burgers (the same shape, duh!).

I was impressed with the burger. It was huge (great value) filled with a juicy beef patty, fresh ingredients, a crunchy potato cake and crisp pickles. The bun itself was also quality, something that is important to me- a soft brioche style bun but not as sweet as brioche.

We shared a few different types of fries amongst us. If you are a chip-lover, this is your kinda hangout as they dump all different kinds of yummies on top of hot, seasoned potato pieces. Choices range from feta and rosemary (my heart still belongs to Jimmy Grants or the Greek Food truck on this combo), Shang fry (pulled pork on chips- how can that ever be wrong?), Nacho (nacho good for your waist but pretty delicious) and American style. Honestly though, along with a burger and a shake, the chips were a bit too much for me and I prefer a burger with a smaller serve of simple fries so that the burger is always the main event.

And that leads me to the shake… Wow. I think a simple menu description will be enough- Salted Peanut Butter Caramel. Yep. I know. Some flavours were just made to dance with each other in a plastic cup with some frozen yogurt and sucked through a straw. I am normally not a shake kinda gal but give me anything with salted caramel and peanut butter and you will have me cooing like a baby.

I have to say after this feed I couldn’t even look at food for the rest of the day. Whether you are looking for a cheat day or a regular feed, I think even the biggest burger connoisseurs would find something that would tickle their fancy and if burgers aren’t your thing, plenty of dessert options too. It will definitely have you YOMG’ing!

Hoping you are having a delicious week,

Foodie Melbourne