By
OCinSite At-Large
on January 22, 2011 4:41 PM
Photo courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
By Andrew Bender | Laguna Beach Magazine, Oct./Nov. 2010
To explore Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, base yourself in Noosa, one of Oz’s ritziest towns (visitnoosa.com.au). Just one block inland from the broad beach of the buff, bronzed and beauteous, Hastings Street is a trove of resort, soiree and surfwear boutiques, star-studded jewelry shops and art galleries.
Grab a table by the boardwalk at Bistro C, and kick back over a mango daiquiri as the waves crash, noshing on egg-fried calamari with chili aioli or bountiful seafood spaghetti. Across town, Ricky’s hosts some of Australia’s prettiest sunsets, over the Noosa River. Out-of-towners come here to decompress, as my bartender explained, “You can always tell who’s just arrived from Sydney or Melbourne.” The Ricky’s Fizz helps: Cointreau, vodka, cranberry and red grapefruit juices, lime and mint over ice. Feast on tapas like pork belly with chili caramel and pineapple herb salad, and fig and gorgonzola tart with caramelized onions.
Kangaroos: Check. Koalas: Check. Opera House, outback, Great Barrier Reef: all must-dos on a first trip to Australia. For my second trip I wanted a deeper dive. Australia is known for wine, of course, but who knew it had such a gourmet scene? My culinary journey through greater Sydney and the state of Queensland led me to sea pearls and sea planes, a Spirit House and a rainforest retreat—and dining experiences to last a lifetime. ...Read the full story.
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Quay West Resort & Spa
By Andrew Bender | Laguna Beach Magazine, Oct./Nov. 2010
Kangaroos: Check. Koalas: Check. Opera House, outback, Great Barrier Reef: all must-dos on a first trip to Australia. For my second trip I wanted a deeper dive. Australia is known for wine, of course, but who knew it had such a gourmet scene? My culinary journey through greater Sydney and the state of Queensland led me to sea pearls and sea planes, a Spirit House and a rainforest retreat—and dining experiences to last a lifetime. ...read full story.
Here is where I stayed and can unequivocally recommend to anyone embarking on such an adventure.
Sydney:
Hotel Shangri-La
Chinese-inspired geometric patterns and nubby silks fill this Hong Kong-based hotel. Book a room on the upper floors, where the Horizon Club offers breakfast, afternoon tea, snacks and unparalleled views from the Opera House to the Harbor Bridge (shangri-la.com).
Noosa:
Quay West Resort & Spa
This new resort a quick drive from Hastings Street boasts modernist apartments of white-on-white-on-white, looking onto a conservation sanctuary—quite dramatic when it rains (mirvachotels.com).
Queensland hinterlands:
O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
This historic resort welcomes day-trippers, but it’s worth staying over to go on staff-led night hikes to a glowworm forest or morning bird watching. In O’Reilly’s new two- or three-bedroom villas, watch shooting stars of the southern sky from your private hot tub (oreillys.com.au).
Look, no jet-lag!
Californians think nothing of jetting off to Europe for a week yet make a big deal of getting to Australia. Time to wake up! They’re about the same hours in transit from LAX, but in Europe, Californian body clocks want to sleep until mid-afternoon. In Oz, I was up and at ‘em, especially after the best airplane sleep of my life in business class on Qantas’ A380.
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OCinSite At-Large
on
Photo courtesy of Tourism NSW
By Andrew Bender | Laguna Beach Magazine, Oct./Nov. 2010
Kangaroos: Check. Koalas: Check. Opera House, outback, Great Barrier Reef: all must-dos on a first trip to Australia. For my second trip I wanted a deeper dive. Australia is known for wine, of course, but who knew it had such a gourmet scene? My culinary journey through greater Sydney and the state of Queensland led me to sea pearls and sea planes, a Spirit House and a rainforest retreat—and dining experiences to last a lifetime.
Destination Sydney
I’m always suspicious when visitors return from a destination with nothing but raves, but Sydney really is all they say. Mix the cosmopolitan, low-to-the-ground neighborhoods of London with the weather of Southern California and waterscapes as pretty as Vancouver’s or Hong Kong’s, and you’ve about got it.
I arrived nonstop in Sydney aboard Qantas’ A380, bounding with energy to return to one of my favorite places and boosted even further when I opened my curtains at the Shangri-La Hotel to view the Opera House gleaming off the harbor in the morning sun.
The hotel is adjacent to the Rocks, Sydney’s first neighborhood and worth a ramble through its cobblestone streets and intimate, pub-filled alleys. The Rocks Discovery Museum is like an architectural dig through history, and Friday farmers markets are a great way to meet locals.
Just beyond is Circular Quay, where ferries chug in and out all day. It almost doesn’t matter where the boat takes you; the ride is a show, particularly as you circle just past Jørn Utzon’s world famous Opera House and the Harbour Bridge which lords over the inlets to the west.
So of course I had to make my arrival dinner at Quay (quay.com.au), directly across Circular Quay from the Opera House—position yourself correctly, and you can stare at this landmark all night. Quay’s location would make it a tourist trap anywhere else, but fortunately, the fertile mind of Chef Peter Gilmore makes each dish unique; Quay was just named number 27 on San Pellegrino’s list of the world’s 50 best restaurants.
Quay Squid
Sea pearls arrived first, like candy-colored seafood truffles. An egg white and octopus pearl was pinhead-sized balls of egg white, pressed around smoked eel brandade and sliced octopus. The mud crab pearl combines the crabmeat with yuzu (Japanese citrus), enrobed in tapioca beads and topped with silver leaf.
Another signature dish, confit of pig belly, boasts an outer layer of pork crackled like a candy crust, while the inner layer was braised for seven hours in olive oil, star anise and cinnamon. At the arrival of duck confit with kabu turnips, winter melon and hasuimo (Japanese green taro shoot) in duck stock, I took a moment to thank my Creator for the sense of smell, and the universe for the good fortune that brought me to this place.
The next day was a journey: a taxi ride across Sydney, takeoff by seaplane from a glistening inlet and touchdown on the idyllic Hawkesbury River. The flight took only 20 minutes, but modern Sydney’s quickly forgotten amid nature’s eternal art: cliffs striated charcoal, terracotta and desert sand, reflecting on the rippling waters below. The time zone on my mobile phone actually reset to Siberia.
The plane docked at Berowra Waters Inn (berowrawatersinn.com), Chef Dietmar Sawyere’s culinary playground. The restaurant’s inaccessibility means that Sydneysiders linger for hours over lunch; not difficult with cooking this creative.
Berowra Waters Inn
I’d love to think that the term “food porn” has jumped the shark, but here it made sense; just about every table had someone taking photos of Sawyere’s photogenic creations. The orange of the salmon on a tortilla, topped with Oscietra and salmon caviar, guacamole and tiny sprigs of dill and cilantro sensuously offset the seaplane anchored outside and the gentle zzh, zzh, zzh of wakes pulsing against the boulders underfoot.
Berowra Waters Inn fare
Although the menu changes every few days, one regular dish is ultra-creamy chilled Vichyssoise topped with Alice-in-Wonderland-sized mini-croutons, alongside beignets of Hawkesbury oysters fried prodigiously light and served in the shell over a slaw of gently stewed yellow leeks. Aubergine (Australian for eggplant) ravioli usually means the eggplant’s on the inside, but here it’s also on the outside where the pasta would be, in thin strips, seared and sharing the bowl with bocconcini, basil, lemon and an olive oil sorbet.
A plate of petit fours was the perfect dessert: miniature bricks of mango jelly, white chocolate and lemon macaroons, walnut tartlet and a dense and moody chocolate ganache. It all made the sea plane ride back thrilling, and dinner superfluous.
Shopping up an Appetite
I spent the next day walking off those meals with a retail workout. Amid the towering headquarters of banks and multinationals reigns the neo-Romanesque Queen Victoria Building (qvb.com.au). Built in 1898, the QVB boasts international brands (Swarovski, Ralph Lauren, Bally, Camper, et cetera) alongside specialty shops like the spit-shined Elite Military Miniatures and Little Voice, outfitting the littlest angels with the fanciful and the adorable, the floral and the woodland.
A few blocks away, as ornate but more intimate, the Strand Arcade (strandarcade.com.au) concentrates on local designers and a more contemporary flair, like the chunky, colorful resin jewelry of Dinosaur Designs.
I also took a short cab ride to the trendy Surry Hills neighborhood, where narrow streets and low-slung buildings house some of the most interesting art in the southern hemisphere. Collect, Object Gallery’s retail store, (object.com.au) showcases up-and-coming Australian artists and designers: indigenous beads and baskets, bowls made from macadamia nut husks (both eco-friendly and artistic); prints of Australian motifs on linen. “It’s like a lolly shop for adults,” manager Kylie Johnson told me, and you can pick up a map to other nearby galleries.
Queen Victoria Building
Dinner that evening was at Rockpool Bar & Grill (rockpool.com.au) back in the Central Business District. It’s the newest restaurant from Neil Perry, Australia’s best-known chef. White-jacketed, black-tied servers scurry beneath three-story green marble columns and an Art Deco rotunda a la Ayn Rand, illuminated by a chandelier of 2,682 Riedel wine glasses. The 30-page bar menu begins with house rules (“Gentlemen, don’t approach ladies; and if you are so lucky to have one approach you, endear her as you would your mother.”). Another leather-bound booklet explains the restaurant’s Australian hormone- and antibiotic-free beef—more on that in a moment.
Rockpool Earl Carter Steak
First, though, a plate of “raw tastes of the sea,” from buttery to bracing: blue fin tuna with wasabi and shiso; crudo of ocean trout, yellowfin tuna and kingfish with fresh ginger, coriander and finger lime; and tuna tartare with Moroccan eggplant, cumin mayonnaise and harissa. Spanner crab with roast cherry tomatoes and (very) spicy prawn oil beautifully offset semolina noodles rough cut like strands of rope.
When rib eye on the bone arrived, aged 78 days, I got all giddy playing with the mustards, harissa, béarnaise—and more traditional horseradish cream and barbecue sauce—that the server offered. Sides of charcoal-oven roasted pumpkin and sweet potato roasted were topped with garlic yogurt and burnt butter, and a tomato basil salad was friendly and familiar.
Culinary Queensland
The next morning I bid a fond farewell to Sydney for the 90-minute flight to Brisbane, capital of Queensland, Australia’s “Sunshine State” on the continent’s northeast coast. Southern Queensland lives for the outdoors. The old-growth trees, climbing vines and young wallabies on a hike through Mary Cairncross Rainforest Park made sure that I knew I wasn’t in Sydney anymore. I spent the evening at Noosa Beach, one of Australia’s most famous and most chichi seaside communities (see sidebar).
About 20 minutes’ drive from Noosa, I stepped through a brick-red wooden gate carved with climbing golden vines, and into Spirit House (spirithouse.com.au). If I hadn’t just passed the tall grasses surrounding Australia’s largest ginger plantation, I would have guessed I was in a noble villa in the Thai countryside where stone ewers brimmed with orchids around a pond.
Spirit House
Spirit House is one of Australia’s leading Thai restaurants and offers expert Thai cooking classes. It was a hoot to be the only Yank among the 20-or-so Glorias and Kerryns in little black dresses—and rugby shirted Alastairs and Graemes. We donned our aprons and took turns stirring a relish of prawns and soybeans simmered in coconut cream; grinding chilies, coriander, cumin, cloves, star anise and cassia bark for Chiang Mai-style pork curry; and stuffing pork, sticky rice, garlic, coriander root, green chilies and shredded kaffir lime leaves into sausages. “You look like a typical Australian,” the friendly instructor, Katrina Ryan, told me as I grilled our “snags” on the barbie.
Spirit House fare.
I’m not sure which I liked better, making our creations or eating them alongside my new Australian mates—a kickboxing equipment seller, engineers, a mum and daughter on a girls’ day out—and washing down our creations with Aussie Sauvignon Blanc.
For my last lunch in Oz, I journeyed a couple hours across Queensland to another rainforest, Mt. Tamborine. I wasn’t on my honeymoon, but I felt like it anyway amid the lush gardens at Songbirds Rainforest Retreat (songbirds.com.au). Buddha statues populate rambling, leafy gardens and lawns, some in plain sight, many others hidden in nooks and crannies, all conspiring to offer inner peace. The indoor-outdoor dining room is awash with plush white cushions and nubby red-tone silks, over rattan chairs.
Songbirds Rainforest Retreat
Lunch here was an affair to remember. After tender rabbit topped with potato parsnip puree, with nameko musroooms and jus of date and thyme, a palate-cleanser of popcorn granita sounded like a joke ... until I tasted it: ice crystals made from a reduction of popcorn, complete with butter and salt. Poached white Pyrenees lamb fillet arrived nestled in pistachio mousse, ratatouille salsa, whipped aubergine (eggplant), king oyster mushrooms and cloves of stewed garlic.
Songbirds Cheesecake
For dessert, a fig and date Katafi pastry was an explosion of texture (the shell, like spun noodles, has a prodigious crunch, with the fruit pastes inside) and flavors like rose, tarragon and sherry, just like a wedding bouquet.
After lunch, I went for a walk in the rainforest, stopped to commune with a Buddha and made a wish to return.
Now that your appetite for the land down-under is whetted, click on the link to read about ‘Where to Stay While Down-Under.’
Click on this link to get the skinny on ‘How Best to Explore Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.’ A hint: base yourself in Noosa.
By
on January 12, 2011 11:55 AM
A twilight view of the Santa Ynez Valley from the perspective of Gainey Vineyards.
In the late 18th century, Father Junipero Serra planted grapevine cuttings from Mexico into the fertile soil of Santa Barbara County, sowing the first vineyard among the region’s breathtaking valleys and mountains.
The Ojai Valley
More than two centuries later, the county now boasts upwards of 100 wineries, producing vintages that rival that of Napa Valley, its famous neighbor to the north. But despite the impressive accolades awarded to its varietals, Santa Barbara wine country retains its mellow and unpretentious appeal.
The ease and charm of the region lends itself to a relaxing getaway just a few hours from Laguna Beach. And fall is the perfect time to relish the region’s harvest season, which is several weeks later than usual thanks to this summer’s cooler weather. So drive up the coast for chance to sip and savor the unparalleled tastes of the region just north of Santa Barbara.
Sip
In the past 25 years, the region has experienced a wine renaissance, gaining prominence for its remarkable pinot noir and chardonnay, and additional fame as the location where the 2004 movie “Sideways” was filmed. Directed by Alexander Payne, the Academy Award-wining film told the story of two middle-aged men visiting the region for a weeklong wine tasting.
“The movie ‘Sideways’ shined a spotlight on the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley that will hopefully never fade,” says Shawnda Marmorstein, who owns Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Cafe (2879 Grand Ave., Los Olivos; 805-688-7265; losolivoscafe.com) with her husband Sam. A wine tasting bar, the Wine Merchant was prominently featured in the film, which accurately captures the sensibility of the regions, Shawnda says.
Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant
“Although the characters depicted were unlike anyone I know, the down-to-earth and unassuming nature of our tourist industry was accurately captured,” she says. “And, of course, the abundant beauty that surrounds us here in wine country … made me think, ‘Wow, I live there!’ ”
One of the bountiful farmers markets to be found in and around Los Olivos.
As the showcase for an award-winning selection of wines from the California’s central coast, the Wine Merchant is the perfect spot for an introduction to the bounty of the region. Its selection of wine pairs well with the seasonal local cuisine served at the café.
Table for two at Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant.
“We like to think of ourselves as an approachable place to explore wine and experience local flavors at their best,” Shawnda says.
To visit where the wine is made, enjoy a leisurely country drive following the Santa Ynez Wine Trail, a cluster of wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley. You can’t visit all 15 in a day, but don’t miss these highlights:
• A family-run vineyard, Sunstone Winery & Vineyards (125 Refugio Rd., Santa Ynez; 805-688-9463; sunstonewinery.com) is the largest organic vineyard estate. All 77 acres of its sun-dappled property, planted with Rhône and Bordeaux varietals, meets California Certified Organic Farmer standards. Taste the terroir of the vineyard in the tasting room, which—along with a courtyard and gardens—resemble a Provencal countryside. Bring a lunch here, and you’ll feel like your picnicking in the south of France.
Sunstone Vineyards & Winery.
• A short distance from Sunstone, Kalyra Winery (343 N. Refugio Rd., Santa Ynez; 805-693-886; kalyrawinery.com) is literally a world away. Owned by Australian-born Mike Brown, the winery’s name is aborigine for “a wild and pleasant place.” The winery offers two labels—Kalyra, produced from grapes sourced in and around Santa Barbara County, and M. Brown, produced from selected vineyards in Australia. The winery has also developed a cult following for its dessert wines.
• Gainey Vineyards (3950 E. Hwy. 246, Santa Ynez; 805-688-0558; gaineyvineyard.com) produces wines on 85 acres of vineyards, which the Gainey family has owned since 1962. The tasting room boasts a shop and demonstration vineyard just outside, and the winery hosts short wine tours that conclude with a tasting in the barrel room. An extensive picnic area that looks out on the surrounding mountains is known for its summer concerts.
Gainey Vineyard
• Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard (1500 Alamo Pintado Rd., Solvang; 805-688-3032; buttonwoodwinery.com) is a friendly place reflecting the lifestyle of owner Betty Williams, who has sustainably managed the property since the 1960s. Guests are encouraged to sip wine in the garden, says Sherrill Duggan O’Neill, the vineyard’s sales and marketing manager: “Through thoughtful landscaping, Betty Williams has created visual treats for our guests who come to picnic or just sit, relax or contemplate nature.” In addition to its award-winning wines, Buttonwood produces a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Buttonwood Farm Winery
• The tasting room is reason enough to visit Rideau Vineyard (1562 Alamo Pintado Rd., Solvang; 805-688-0717; rideauvineyard.com). An extensive entryway of English gardens and lawns leads to the room, which is a refurbished country landmark known as the Alamo Pintado Adobe that was originally built in 1884. Specializing in Rhône varietal wines, Rideau is highly regarded for its production of high-end quality wines.
In the midst of all this bounty is the picturesque town of Solvang, a charming place with Danish-style architecture that houses innumerable possibilities for shopping, eating and pampering. It may be the perfect spot to dance to Danish folk music and sample Danish pastries, but Solvang is more than just windmills. The town boasts several wine tasting rooms within walking distance, from Lions Peak Vineyards Tasting Room (1659 Copenhagen Dr., Solvang; 805-693-5466; lionspeakwine.com) to Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards (1645 Copenhagen Dr., Solvang; 805-686-9336; llwine.com). At the center of town, Tastes of the Valleys (1656 Mission Dr., Solvang; 805-688-7111; tastesofthevalleys.com) invites guests to taste wine in the cellar of a historic building.
From wineries in Santa Ynez to tasting rooms in Solvang, the Santa Ynez Valley is an oenophile’s sanctum.
Savor
But what to pair with the all that wine? Luckily, the same land that produces award-winning vintage also offers top-shelf restaurants.
Let’s start in the center of Ojai at Azu Mediterranean Restaurant and Tapas Bar (457 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai; 805-640-7987; azuojai.com), where executive chef and owner Laurel Moore whips up “California Spanish” cuisine based on her travels in Spain.
“In traveling around Spain, I couldn’t help but feel how similar the climate and terrain were to Ojai and Southern California. I felt the lifestyle and way of eating was perfect for this area,” Laurel says. “Now…I adapt our local produce to the tastes that are Spanish, but are also decidedly Californian.”
Start out with the delightfully fresh grilled Caprese artichoke stuffed with tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil, or opt for the dates stuffed with chorizo and wrapped in bacon. For an entrée, indulge in the seafood paella—a succulent combination of shrimp, calamari, scallops and Spanish sausage, mixed with saffron ride, artichoke and peas. Follow it up with some fresh homemade gelato. While the flavors change seasonally, you can be sure to find unique tastes, such as mango chili lime and blood orange dark chocolate.
Head across town to The Ranch House (S. Lomita Ave., Ojai; 805-0646-2360; theranchhouse.com), an eatery famed for its lush gardens and original award-winning cuisine. Actor Paul Newman famously said, “Cuisine is cuisine, but the Ranch House is original.” When there, try the grilled diver scallops, grilled and served on lightly curried sweet corn sauce with dry vermouth. Iron Chef Cat Cora featured the dish on the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.”
Alisal Lake
For a change of pace, head up the road to Deer Lodge Restaurant (2261 Maricopa Hwy., Ojai; 805-646-4256; ojaideerlodge.net). Open since 1932, this restaurant serves up almost every kind of meat. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the game plate, a selection that could include venison, wild boar, frog legs, kangaroo, alligator, antelope or rabbit. Watch the free-roaming horses, listen to live music or dance on Ojai’s largest dance floor.
Drive around Los Padres National Forest to Los Olivos, where Brothers’ Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern (2350 Railway Ave., Los Olivos; 805-688-4820; matteistavern.com) is a mainstay. Brothers Jeff and Nichols characterize their food as “brother’s cuisine” because it is based on their combined culinary backgrounds. “It stems way back to our upbringing and living in Iowa with gardens around us,” Jeff says. Items on the tempting menu include grilled prime filet with caramelized onion potato gratin and roasted chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese.
Before you leave, grab your cowboy hat and head to Maverick Saloon (3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez; 805-686-4785; mavericksaloon.org), where musicians like Pat Green and Dierks Bentley have graced the stage. While there, grab a burger at the saloon’s Hayloft Grill, home of “the best burger in the valley.”
Stay
Known for its relaxed pace and easy hospitality, Santa Barbara wine country is used to playing host to visitors. And several venues go above and beyond to offer a singular experience.
Ojai Valley. | Photo courtesy Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
To visit Santa Barbara wine country in style, stay at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa (905 Country Club Rd., Ojai; 805-646-1111; ojairesort.com), a five-diamond resort that is both a golf getaway and a rejuvenating spa retreat. Play a round on the 18-hole green, which has hosted seven PGA tournaments, then soothe your muscles with a treatment at Spa Ojai. Laguna artists will love the hacienda-style Cottage & Apothecary, where classes ranging from mixed media, painting on glass, silverpoint drawing, and silk scarf painting are taught.
Express your artistic side during your stay at Ojai Valley Inn.
For a fitness and wellness getaway, head to the Oaks at Ojai (122 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai; 800-753-6257; oaksspa.com)—a destination health spa once known as the original fat farm of the late 1970s. Now it brands itself as “stress-free place that still focuses on healthy weight loss and wellness.” Engage in a variety of fitness classes and activities, relax with a wide array of relaxing spa treatments, and consume a well-rounded 1,000-calorie-a-day food plan.
For an escape into nature, the Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort (1054 Alisal Rd., Solvang; 805-688-6411; alisal.com) is the perfect hideaway for individuals and families. The resort’s unspoiled open spaces maintain the “romance and majesty of the Old West.” Go horseback riding on 50 miles of trails that weave through oak and sycamore trees along scenic canyons and valleys.
If you wanted to be treated like royalty, stay at Hadsten House Inn & Spa (1450 Mission Dr., Solvang; 805-688-3210; hadstenhouse.com).
Hadsten House
Hadsten House jacuzzi tub offers a getaway within a getaway.
A stay at this pleasant hotel includes a daily complimentary wine and cheese reception, as well as tastings at up to 18 wineries and tasting rooms. The thoughtful touches—right down to complimentary spa gifts at turn down—are what make this one of the most popular places to stay in Solvang.
