Jamie's Italian opens in Canberra

Jamie's Italian has opened in Canberra this week, Australia's third in the roll-out of Jamie's Italian restaurants in countries currently including Turkey, Russia, Ireland, Singapore and Dubai as well as the UK.

Jamie's Italian Canberra. Photo:Ken Martin

On Bunda Street beneath the Canberra Centre, Jamie's Italian is a sizeable space filled with beckoning banquettes, pink chairs and wood finishes beneath a giant central chandelier.  It's dark when we arrive and the tones are warm and welcoming, the buzz palpable. Sitting inside you can talk even with the music playing while the outdoor dining area offers a great space to sit and watch the world go by. There are staff aplenty and dishes including the signature 'planks'  being delivered to tables of customers out to experience the Jamie factor.

Jamie's Italian Canberra. Photo: Ken Martin.

The all day/night menu (11.30am-11.30pm) aims to please anyone anytime, including kids, with dishes that are high on flavour and carefully sourced, quality local produce. Often deceptively simple – a beautifully balanced dish of baked sustainable cod ($28.50) with spring vegetable stew, pancetta,  Roman fried artichokes, crostini and lemony yoghurt dressing is an example – there's nothing ordinary about the Jamie's menu. It's a world of sparkling flavours and mix of textures with a wide range of dishes to keep you coming back for more.


Jamie's Italian
125 Bunda Street
Civic, ACT 2600

(Canberra Centre, under the Dendy Cinema)
http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/australia/canberra

Loving the Mull of Kintyre ...

Exhibitions at AGNSW: Art for a new world

To see at the Art Gallery of New South Wales:http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

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Sydney moderns, art for a new world

Roy de Maistre Rythmic composition in yellow green minor

Over 180 works by Australia’s most iconic artists, exploring the making of a modern city.

From humble beginnings to a thriving metropolis, Sydney in the 1920s and 30s was in the midst of great change. By the early 20s its population had grown to one million and its urban environment was being transformed by exciting new structures, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge.Like the changing city, artists in Sydney were forging new paths. As the city grew in confidence as a modern destination, so too did adventurous artists keen to explore innovative ways of using colour, light and abstraction in their interpretation of the new world around them.

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Blue Cockatoo Traveller: App update 'Stratford & West Midlands: As You Like...

Blue Cockatoo Traveller: App update 'Stratford & West Midlands: As You Like...: Updated my West Midlands app and looking at new places to eat for the next round ... Dormy House has all-day dining at The Potting Shed so ...

App update 'Stratford & West Midlands: As You Like It'

Updated my West Midlands app and looking at new places to eat for the next round ... Dormy House has all-day dining at The Potting Shed so I am heading there next...

Great Days Out on the A49 – Stokesay Castle, Ludlow Food Centre, Church Stretton, Long Mynd

Stokesay Castle ©AP

Loving Stokesay Castle, near Craven Arms on the A49, in Shropshire, one of my favourite counties. Stokesay is a wonderfully preserved fortified manor near the Welsh border with a delightful timber-framed gatehouse .... beautiful. Adults £6.20,open 10-5pm daily until 3 November 2013, then weekends,10-4pm except Christmas and New Year. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle

Stokesay Castle Gatehouse ©AP

Stokesay Castle is near the luscious Ludlow Food Centre which now has a separate cafe and plant centre. Find it on the A49 between Hereford and Shrewsbury in the village of Bromfield. www.ludlowfoodcentre.co.uk


But that's not all..The lovely town of Church Stretton is 8.2 miles from Craven Arms on the A49, a gateway to the Long Mynd meaning "Long Mountain" or Mynydd Hir in Welsh. The Long Mynd is a heathland plateau between the Stiperstones range, the Stretton Hills and Wenlock Edge and has steep valleys and escarpments. Drove up the very narrow road (single track with passing places, probably not for the faint-hearted), for the reward of heather in bloom and wonderful views.

The Long Mynd above Church Stretton. ©AP

The Long Mynd. ©AP

Tour de France Tour Tracker app

Australians can follow the Tour de France on an app –
http://thetourtracker.com/apps/