Attica

What a meal, what an absolutely fabulous meal we had at Attica last night. The first time I ate here the Thai influence was very strong and I was not particularly impressed. At a subsequent visit, perhaps two and a half years ago there was a move towards contemporary Australian with attribution to Alain Passard and an impressive menu but I was still not very impressed. Now Chef Ben Skewry has moved to a degustation menu of his own making that includes a measure of tastes, texture and theatre that I found profoundly satisfying. After an unusual offering from the chef of kingfish, cheese and herbs on thin potato which had been manipulated to come out crisp without being fried

we came to the tasting menu which follows. Each dish was quite complicated and no way could a meal like this be reproduced at home without collossal effort. The menu descriptions don't include all the ingredients which are detailed as the dishes are served so I'll simply post the menu and photo's with an occassional comment
Mushrooms, chestnut, casa mandaio canestrato
Smoked trout broth, crackling, basil seed, fresh smokeThe pic did not capture the smoke that rose from the dish as the dome under which it was served was liftedRed and white radish, yellowfin tuna, hand picked mud crab, grapefruit tarragon
John Dory, celery heart, seaweed broth, toasted leekThe 'simplest' offering of the night. A delicate preparation
Twice cooked Glenloth pigeon breast, Jerusalem artichoke, fresh peanuts, coffee, crispy saltbush No photo, Despite being twice cooked it was still very rare. Then came an addition, not on the menu, of a brick of shredded legmeat and breast surrounded by baby vegetables - another hit Slow cooked free range pork, confit turnips, house made black pudding, apple- cooked at 62 degrees for about 20 minutes Terrior This is a word we are going to hear a lot more of in the next few years. "Terroir" is a French term that literally translates as terrain but has come to mean the way foods and wine express the soil, climate, culture and tradition of a region.
Full of surprises. Smoky and crunchy, great texturesSauterne custard with apple bits and pieces Whilst there is an a la carte menu I would strongly recommend the full degustation menu ($110 or $185 with matched wines)
Wines are reasonaby priced with an adequate list
Score 17.5/20