Goat learning

Image courtesy of KerryJ
It was the phrase “annual goat barbeque” that made me set aside any latent antipathy for Cafe in the House. In the past, thanks to a gristly chicken lunch of unusual awfulness, I’ve taken potshots at CitH and, despite Janet Jeffs glowing rep at the Ginger Room, avoided eating there.

The lure of BBQ goat, at a very reasonable $15 per person, called for a temporary ceasefire. Besides, even if the food wasn’t to my taste, it would be worth attending just to be able to drop the phrase “annual goat barbeque” into casual conversation i.e. “Sorry I didn’t get back to you, I’ve been flat out studying for my third masters and buying a new Audi!” - “Hmmm? Didn’t really notice Norberta - I was too busy attending the annual goat BBQ, don’t you know”.

To give Janet her due, she was front and centre at the barbie when we arrived at the OPH courtyard just after 12. There was the usual queuing for tickets, drinks, then food, and finally I was seated in a sunny spot, alone with my goat.

The meat was served in two ways; straight from the grill and with a tomato-laced sauce, both dishes offering up large pieces of tasty meat with generous chunks of fat attached. A couple of salads (quick check for obligatory pieces of uncooked capsicum, yep big tick) and a fresh bread roll made up the reinforcements.


SNAP... distracted by the raw capsicum, I managed to launch the head of my recyclable fork in a gentle arc over the table with my initial attempt to saw off said fat from meat. Disposable cutlery teamed with small, cornstarch plates and robust chunks of goat meat don’t work comfortably together.

With this in mind here a few hints to make your future annual goat barbies enjoyable:

First rule of Goat Barbeque
BYO steak knife.

Second rule of Goat Barbeque
A white hair in your food doesn’t mean your server is blonde (but your goat probably was).

Third rule of Goat Barbeque
Buy bottles not glasses. Choice of wine was between an appropriately local duo: Clonakilla sem sauv blanc and Collector Marked Tree shiraz. Bottles were $35 each, glasses $10 so the bottle mark-up was wearable but by the glass... ouch.

Forth rule of Goat Barbeque
Be punctual, by 1pm it was stumps as far as food was concerned.

Otherwise it was a simple, delicious introduction to a meat that deserves more attention if you're looking for an alternative to beef-lamb-chicken-pork. The Canberra annual goat barbeque is held during the first weekend in April by Ginger Catering.

Tags:
Canberra, Goat Barbeque,food, cuisine,restaurants .

Parkes sanger search (or portrait of a sub mission)

Late last week work took me to Old Parliament House. I was there for longer than planned and by 12:30 it was time to address an ongoing Canberra challenge - where do you score a reasonable sandwich and a cold beer for lunch in Parkes?

Cafe in the House was out - I’ve eaten there once before but wasn’t in the mood for bits of gristle held together by brown wallpaper glue posing as a roast meat and gravy roll.

There’s no air conditioning at the relatively new Pork Barrel and with the mercury hovering around 40 degrees, climate control was critical. As was a beer, so Questacon missed the cut despite their very tasty hamburgers and steak sandwiches.

Against my better judgment I checked out Bookplate at the NLA but, as usual after 12pm, the sandwiches had sold out (and despite having a enclosed space at the back of the room sometimes referred to as a kitchen, there’s no chance of getting one freshly made).

The solution came via the unexpected agency of John Howard. Before voters eventually confirmed he had become the electoral equivalent of ratsak, the rodent flung close to $88 million up against the wall to construct the National Portrait Gallery.

The gallery itself has a slightly whacked, almost municipal feel - as though the town clerk and the local eco-friendly architect (you know the one, the bloke with the ear ring who’s really into energy efficiency) re-designed the Dalby School of Arts hall over a long counter lunch at the Imperial.

The silver lining is the gallery’s Portrait Cafe (admittedly not the most original of names), which was well stocked with ham and salad sangers along with a handful of bottled ales, even at the ridiculously late hour of 1pm. At this point, unencumbered by entries in the SMH Good Food Guide or Miettas the caff seems happy enough to provide good practical service to hungry patrons. Let’s hope it continues.

Tags:
Canberra, cafes, National Portrait Gallery, food, cuisine.