Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Dip

The number of good eating joints in Sydney is increasing. Especially places that serve American style food. One day you may ask me this question: "Raff, is there a dope canteen located within a bar/club in Sydney?” I will reply by saying, "Yes there is! It’s called The Dip!



The Dip is located inside the cozy and chill-out Goodgod Small Club on Liverpool Street. Expect the joint to have low light ambiance as it is a bar/club. I loved the music in the background during my recent visit especially the random Japanese songs!

Food at The Dip is Andrew Levins' Aussie take on classic American style comfort food.


The damn skippy ($12) - grilled kangaroo & macadamia burger with beetroot, dill mayo and rocket on a grilled bun.
Pulled pork nachos ($15)
Southern smoke
The southern smoke ($12) is a 12-hour smoked pulled pork sandwich with barbecue beans, spicy barbecue sauce and apple & cabbage slaw. The barbecue beans and spicy barbecue sauce adds character to the sandwich. The apple & cabbage slaw serves as an equalizer.


Fries
The fries ($6) are thick cut steak fries. It is one of my favourite items in the menu! This fries are nicely seasoned and cooked to perfect crisp, accompanied by an addictive chipotle mayo.


Lev's Dawg
One of the best hot dogs I've had in Sydney is Lev's dawg ($12). It is smoked kosher hot dog with chipotle mayo, fresh tomato salsa, grilled yellow peppers and American mustard on a steamed bun. Need I say more?


Cookie's n cream
The cookies n cream ($10) is awesome in so many levels! It is salted caramel ice cream (to be replaced with peanut butter ice cream as of next week) between two chocolate molasses cookies with hot chocolate fudge.

I will certainly return to this joint for more excellent comfort food! The food at The Dip was very yummy for my tummy!

The Dip
Goodgod Small Club
55 Liverpool St
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9283 8792
Thedip.com.au
                                                         
Opening hours:
Wednesday and Thursday 5pm – 11pm
Friday 5pm – Midnight
Saturdday 6pm - Midnight

The Dip @ Goodgod Small Club on Urbanspoon

Monday, October 17, 2011

Criniti's Darling Harbour

Ever had a craving for traditional Neapolitan pizza? If you live in Sydney, you don’t have to travel as far as Naples, Italy. Simply head out to Haberfield or Darling Harbour. So why Darling Harbour? It is now home to a branch of Criniti’s restaurant, where Mrs. Ramen Raff and I fed our craving of pizza and ribs.





Criniti’s at Darling Harbour is located inside the Harbourside Shopping Centre. The restaurant combines both a modern and vintage décor. They have an extensive menu, which consists of authentic Italian cuisine and some modern Australian dishes.

Americana pizza (traditional)



As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the places you go to for a fix of traditional Neapolitan pizza. We ordered the Americana pizza ($24.90). It had pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and oregano. A good traditional woodfired pizza base in my opinion is one that has a thin crust that folds (crispy and tender).  This is the type of pizza base that Criniti’s offers. It is one of my favourite pizzas in Sydney.

Full rack pork ribs with crispy chips



The giant pork ribs ($43.90) were one of the best I’ve had. Thanks to my friend Naruto Neil for recommending this dish. It was basted with their homemade barbeque sauce, which was tangy, slightly smokey and sweet.  It was so succulent and tender that it fell off the bones. The chips that accompanied the ribs were perfectly cooked to crisp.



Criniti’s also has a wide range of pasta, seafood and meat dishes waiting to be devoured. I will definitely go back and try their other dishes because our dinner at Criniti’s was very yummy for my tummy.  How’s yours?

Criniti’s Darling Harbour
Shop 461, 2-10 Darling Drive, Harbourside Shopping Centre
Darling Harbour NSW 2000
1300 274 648
Opening Hours:
Mon-Wed 11:30am-10:30pm;
Thu-Fri 11:30am-11:30pm;
Sat 9:30am-11:30pm,
Sun 9:30am-10:30pm
Criniti’s Ristorante Darling Harbour on Urbanspoon