The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
Navigating and parking in the tiny Inner West streets is one of my least favourite things to do in Sydney, but an unavoidable experience if one wishes to drive to Erskineville’s Imperial Hotel’s weekly drag bingo night. While I could attempt to write about the activities and entertainment of the night, I fear that I would be underqualified to do so and must therefore refrain. I will tell you about the food instead, paid for by one of my senior colleagues.
My boss was pretty sad about these heirloom tomatoes with preserved lemon ($12). They are exactly as pictured – about one or maybe two tomatoes cut up into slices topped with little slivers of lemon. In their defence, they were extremely healthy.
The Parmigiano-reggiano ($10) also made my boss sad. It is also exactly as imagined. Also fit my macros so no complaints from me.
I thought that the Prawn pizza ($26) with san marzano tomato, garlic, chili and parsley was a bit light on flavour, but overall not bad. The ratio of prawn to pizza was quite reasonable though not above and beyond, and the flavours were enjoyable if a little mild for my taste.
The Salumi pizza ($26) with San marzano tomato, salami, ‘nduja, italian sausage, fior di latte was really good. I think I probably have a bit of bias for pizzas with salami or ‘nduja, as it’s rare for me to meet such a meaty and spicy pizza and not like it. Each bite of this pizza was an explosion of taste, owing to the good distribution of toppings throughout the pie. The italian sausage was moist and juicy, and the ‘nduja great for that extra kick of spice. This was a pizza done well.
This is a woodfired bread ($10) with extra virgin olive oil that I didn’t eat.
This is a margherita pizza ($18) that was on the wrong side of the table for me to eat. I could not reach it, but I was very happy with the salumi pizza right in front of me.
COMMENTS Some of the pizza was quite good, but I suspect it’s not their top attraction.
The first time I visited Frankie’s was on the 4th of July 2017. My friend and colleague, former NYC paramedic and all-round great guy CKM had told us that it was the best New York style pizza he’d ever had in Australia, and brought us along for a slice after a long day of running the annual convention for this large-ish student organisation that we were all a part of. I must admit that this was before I really got into eating food for the sake of eating food. My concept of a good pizza back in 2017 was probably a Domino’s pizza customised online to substitute salt and pepper for chicken, and olive oil for prawns, all ordered with a coupon to boot, and so I really didn’t appreciate my first run in with Frankie’s. I didn’t know or understand what to expect from “New York style pizza”, with its tasteful scarcity of toppings , and I also didn’t love being carded just to pick up a slice of pizza, or the process of ordering at a dual purpose food and beverage bar.
Fast forward five years and my partner and I found ourselves at Frankie’s (or rather in a queue outside Frankie’s) after a nice and wholesome day soaking in local culture at the Other Art Fair and the opening of the modern art portion of the Art Gallery of NSW (this unnecessary level of detail about our day has been added for the purpose of future juxtaposition). We spent about an hour in line, against my will, staying only because we found out that it would be their second last Sunday in business ever, and that they were in the middle of some debaucherous event that apparently happened every six weeks and would never ever happen again.
We eventually made our way to the front of the queue and were ushered inside, our IDs embarrassingly ready but unnecessary in our relative middle-age. The patronage of Frankie’s that night was clearly split between two categories – 95% big tiddy goth GFs, metalheads and sexual deviants, and 5% button up Asians there for a slice. As the only Asians in line during our hour outside it was nice to see a few more people who looked as out of place as us on the inside.
The ordering experience was much the same as in 2017, but probably worse because it was a really busy night. As somewhat of an introvert I’ve always hated ordering drinks at a bar, and this situation was somehow even worse as even though I had no interest in alcohol I still had to do the same fight of trying to make eye contact with one of two guys whilst there were like twenty other people around me at any given time trying to do the same. I don’t know what the best answer to this is, and perhaps this isn’t such a problem on a normal volume night, but perhaps webapp orders or a separate queue for food would’ve been the way.
Finally, after four paragraphs you could’ve safely skipped, comes the food review. We’ll start with the pepperoni ($7/slice), which as with all pizzas available by the slice at Frankie’s was $7 for a pretty decent angle (my visual protractor estimates maybe 75 degrees?) or $1 a slice between 4PM-6PM (kicking ourselves for not going in when we passed the place on our way to the Art Gallery rather than the way back, would’ve saved heaps of time on the queue too). This was honestly a pretty good slice. I’ve expanded my pizza sensibilities and serum LDL greatly since my initial visit to Frankie’s in 2017, and am glad to report that I can actually appreciate pizza that isn’t packed to the square centimetre with toppings now. This was a pretty standard slice of pepperoni pizza, but what wasn’t standard was the hot honey on top, which added a tinge of balanced sweetness to the saltiness and pepperoni spice that really rounded it all out nicely. Just great.
The margherita ($7) was fine, though not really to the level of top quality Neapolitan margheritas I’ve had. Understanding that there’s a small component of luck of the draw when you order a single slice of pizza rather than entire pie, I just think there could’ve been more than the edge wilt of a basil leaf on a slice of this size. It was also a very tepid slice, which was a bit sad given the relatively high turnover rate of their oven, and things could’ve just been a bit better overall. The temperature and lack of leaf of this pizza did highlight the dough, which was not my favourite dough, but also not bad. I think this is really due to a difference in New York style doughs compared to the Neapolitan doughs that I prefer, with this dough having the characteristic higher strength, but sadly also being a bit more textured at the point of chew.
The sausage pizza ($7) with roasted fennel was hot out of the oven, and great in every capacity. There was lots of cheese, lots of flavour, and actually having it to order meant that the base was also yummier and less of a hard board than in the margherita. The fact that customers do have to occasionally wait at the bar for their less popular pizzas to be cooked means that anyone else ordering drinks or food doesn’t get that up-front real estate in front of the bartender. It’s all really the same problem.
The anchovies pizza ($7) was initially forgotten by our bartender, though this was quickly remedied when reminded. It was a delicious slice that was full of flavour, delicious bursting cherry tomatoes, and anchovies that were not too salty and just present enough to impart a great sense of umami. It’s a shame my partner did not want any of it.
I think that all in all the food was pretty good. $7 a slice is a reasonable price to pay for the huge slices of pizza on offer, and though $1 a slice is even better, it is clearly more of a loss leader than anything else. There are a lot of things that I think could’ve made Frankie’s a better restaurant but would’ve have probably come at the cost of making it a worse bar, and therefore worse overall for the 95% of patrons who were there not only to eat a slice but also to get pissed and watch a guy get holes drilled into his forearms with a power tool on stage, have gigantic hooks placed within them, and then use those hooks and the power of pulley physics to suspend his wife up off the stage via a set of pre-installed subcutaneous hooks on her chest wall. In exchange for posting these photos the performers High Tea Suspensions (instagram) did ask for a shoutout so that you too may watch in horror at their next show or even take part, if you wish. Medically I cannot condone that.
That slight digression aside, I should’ve become a highly paid efficiency consultant because I have a bunch of things to suggest to improve the food side of the business. These would’ve mostly included separation of the food and beverage businesses, possibly a separate queue for entry to the premises for pizza-only patrons, a separate ordering system be it a POS specifically for food, or an online web-app or ticketed ordering system, or even a window for takeaway pizza orders so that truly time poor nerds could bypass the rock and roll interior could be bypassed entirely. We did think a couple of times during our hour in the queue whether or not it would be better to just UberEats the pizza to Frankie’s own front door (a pick-up option was not available), but ultimately we enjoyed spectating the debauchery from a safe distance – though not a safe enough distance to not get COVID for the first time, breaking my miraculous two year clean streak.
The fact that Frankie’s has now closed forever (as of yesterday) in its current location to make way for the new Sydney Metro (so that home ownership in the inner-West may become an even more inaccessible dream than it already is) doesn’t particularly scare me. I think that Frankie’s parents at Swillhouse group (known for Hubert, amongst other venues) are probably deep-pocketed enough to revive any commercially successful venue in a different location. If Frankie’s doesn’t rise up from the ashes, it won’t be because of the Metro.
We spent an hour on a Friday afternoon at Hillbilly Cider’s cellar door and restaurant in the Blue Mountains.
They are a local producer of apple ciders, though not a brand I have seen or taken note of in any liquor store. On display on site are these large metal vats, that may or may not be used for the processing or storage of cider.
Also on display are these wooden barrels, which are confirmed to contain the cider poured diretly into glasses for patrons to drink.
We opted for a flight of four 150mL ciders to sample between the two of us. I’ve always been incredibly cautious about driving after having alcohol so my partner kindly agreed to drink less and drive on the way back to Sydney. We had the Hillbilly Scrumpy Cloudy Apple (ABV 6%), Hillbilly Crushed Apple (ABV 4.5%), Hillbilly Sweet Julie Apple (ABV 3.5%) and the Hillbilly Pear (ABV 4.5%) with some parallax error trickery that meant that we received slightly more than 600mL for our $18 investment. While I normally like a drier cider, I found that our sweetest choice, the Hillbilly Pear, was the most easily consumed, while the drier ones – still not bad – were not quite as appealing.
Hillbilly’s wood fired pizza oven is its second claim to fame in the local area, and they really do churn out high quality pizzas in good time.
This Pepperoni Pizza ($23) was rock solid. The base and crust were thin but chewy, cooked perfectly with the avoidance of any charring. The Neapolitan sauce and mixture of fior di latte and mozzarella made for a nice and mild base, and the pepperoni was sprinkled on with expert percision and reasonable generosity. It was all quite good. I don’t know why the pizza is shaped as it is.
The Sweet Julie Apple Calzone ($23), dubbed by one reviewer on Google as “a revelation” was also pretty good. It seems to be Hillbilly’s take on the hot apple pie, a staple among rest stops and little stores within a 5km radius. The filling of sweet caramelised acinnamonised apples was maybe just a little too sweet for my liking, but the pastry just as good as the base of the pepperoni pizza. I was grateful for the whipped cream which helped to temper down the sweetness of the apple filling.
OVERALL FEELINGS I enjoyed the pizza, and after years of my friend GGL sending our group chat pictures of flights of alcoholic beverages I was finally able to return the favour. Hillbilly Cider Shed is also a great example of COVID-safe dining, with the choice between a huge outdoor dining area with picnic tables, a large gazebo like structure, and a verandah to sit on for those rainy days.
Mint & Aoshiso is a Korean/Japanese-fusion cafe and pizzeria, set in Sydney Olympic Park’s high-rise residential district, surrounded by 5, 30, and 60 minute street parking spots. We visited on a quiet morning in February 2021, patting ourselves on our backs for having found a coveted 1 hour parking spot. Our meal that day was served no less than 39 minutes after our receipt was printed reflecting payment made for our order, just as I had left in dismay to move my car. Despite this, I will review the food served in an objective fashion.
This yakiniku beef pizza ($24), part of Mint & Aoshisho’s specialty fusion pizza range, was quite the disappointment. Though being differentiated from Korean BBQ marinated pizza offerings on their menu, I would characterise the taste of the sauces and meats on this pizza as more Korean BBQ than Japanese BBQ in flavour. Though allegedly woodfired, the base on this pizza was too moist and bready, and considering that $24 is enough to get very good pizzas from very good pizza restaurants anywhere in Sydney, I can’t anti-recommend this particular pizza enough.
The first thing you should know about these Takoyaki Chips ($9) is that there is absolutely no Tako, nor is there any Yaki. Lacking any actual octopus, these chips are merely inspired by takoyaki – essentially normal potato chips that have been loaded with bonito flakes, mayonnaise, and a sweet okonomoyaki sauce. We ate these chips out of hunger and sadness at our wait. I would not order these again, even if I somehow found myself stranded in Olympic Park in a thunderstorm.
The Smoked Chicken Poke ($22) was the last to come, and the best of the lot. It was served under cling wrap which when removed released a small amount of smoke. The chicken was very tender and along with the rice, edamame and cabbage had a strong smoke flavour. Whilst I wasn’t the biggest fan of the smoke flavour and worry sometimes about the health implications, each component of this poke bowl was otherwise delicious.
A microdose of freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice did not make up for the experience.
A large latte, at $4.30, was sharply priced.
VERDICT The smoked chicken bowl was the one good thing that we had at Mint & Aoshiso, and unfortunately in this case I don’t think one good thing makes up for the rest of the visit.
Mint & Aoshisho Shop 2/1 Brushbox St, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127 0452 438 807
Night time meals at work are essentially limited to two options – Jimmy’s Kebab, and Soprano’s Pizza. Seeing as Jimmy’s Kebab is quite bad, Soprano’s Pizza is one of the better choices for a Halal-friendly meal. Their pizzas are generally not bad, even good, but essentially the same as other kebab shop pizza fare. We’ve had pizza from them a few times now, and each time we have been graced by consistent quality, and the odd free bottle of soft drink or garlic bread.
A cactus in the desert.
Soprano’s Gourmet Pizza Pasta & Kebab 2/22-24 Oak St, Rosehill NSW 2142 (02) 9633 1717
