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La Tratt – Fairfield

Tuesday, 6 Jul 10

More than 20 years ago, a tall, lanky, studious boy with a love of guitar and photography, met a short, loud, fiery girl with a big family. A few years later, once the boy had finished university and the girl had realised she couldn’t live without him, they fell in love, were married and had a cute little baby girl – that would be me (guess who I take after)! And in a post that’s about 3 months late, they celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary at a beautiful restaurant in a rather incongruous location, Fairfield RSL. And like love, and marriage, what a wondrous occasion it was.

First of all, I have to say I was very impressed by La Tratt, and especially by the service. Every waiter or waitress who walked past our table greeted us with a smile, and wished my parents a happy anniversary. They were unfailingly polite, friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was sophisticated and warm. And the food…well, in short, an absolute gem in the South-West.

Warm sourdough and olive bread was brought out as we perused the menu, dipping the crusty bread into a tangy olive oil and munching on marinated olives. Curiously La Tratt references its menu, attributing dishes to certain cookbooks and chefs (predominantly, the Silver Spoon). As a uni student, it is a familiar process (if painful) but I had never seen it done by a restaurant – it was nice and informative to know where they got their inspiration from, and I may have to source a few of those cookbooks for myself.

Pate’ di anatra – 14.90 (The Silver Spoon)
Duck liver pate’ with agro dolce onions, and sour dough

Dad’s entree, and indeed, his entire meal, was stunning. While some might gag at the thought, I’ve been brought up with pork liver pate sandwiches since primary school and so did not blink an eye at the quenelle of liver. But what pate…! Silky, almost mousse like in consistency, it was by far the best pate I’ve had the pleasure of tasting, melting away as soon as it hit the heat of the tongue. We regretted not leaving behind some of the earlier bread so as to savour the pate for longer.

Pan Bruciati Capesante – 18.90 (The Silver Spoon)
Pan seared sea scallops with parsnip puree, Yarra Valley salmon roe and lemon pressed olive oil

Mum’s entree was also a winner – sweet scallops, sudden bursts of sea-scented roe, and a creamy puree.

Pancia di maiale – 15.90 (The Silver Spoon)
Twice cooked crispy skin pork belly with poached pear, braised red cabbage and vincotto glaze

The pork belly was a pleasing contrast of melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and crispy crackling. I don’t remember poached pear, but the acidity of the red cabbage cuts through the fattiness of the pork belly well.

Zupp a di muscoli – 14.50 (Made in Italy Food and Store ∙ Giorgio Locatelli)
Spicy tomato and mussel soup with basil and Italian bread

I was nursing a cold (possibly the same one that I had when I made last post’s minestrone soup, this is how long ago it was), and so I thought a soup would be nice and warming and this certainly managed to clear my head. I thought it was perhaps a bit too spicy though, at least for my taste, though my parents both thought it was fine.

Filleto di angus con funghi trifolati – 34.90 (Made in Italy Food and Store ∙ Giorgio Locatelli)
Darling Downs black angus fillet with wild mushroom trifolati, potato rosti and veal demi glaze

Cooked a perfect medium-rare, with a lovely savoury sauce, I think Dad made the best choices of the night. He only could criticise the rosti which had gone a little soggy, but was enamoured with the mushrooms.

Agnello brasato con lenticchie – 26.00 (Made in Italy Food and Store ∙ Giorgio Locatelli)
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My memory is hazy, but I remember meat that fell apart at the slightest touch of the fork and a creamy Persian fetta which ignited my family’s love of the cheese. A dish made for winter.

Rucola, pera E gorgonzola 9.90
Salad of wild rocket, pear and gorgonzola with hazelnut dressing

This is my first experience with gorgonzola, and I’m not sure I was very thrilled by it. I think it is a bit too strong for me, though dad ate it with relish. I did love the combination of nutty hazelnut, sweet pear and bitter rocket though – Yum!

Risotto ai funghi e asparagi – 16.90 (entree size) – Made in Italy Food and Store ∙ Giorgio Locatelli
Porcini mushroom risotto with asparagus and white truffle oil

I have been recently enamoured with mushrooms, particularly as the weather has gotten cooler. The risotto was rich and comforting, that slight toothiness that marks a perfectly al-dente dish.

Bolognaise pasta fazz oletto – 14.90 (entree-size) – The Silver Spoon
Silk handkerchief pasta with traditional pork and veal ragu

I’ve never encountered this form of pasta before, although I suppose it loosely approximates a free-form lasagna. The pasta was indeed silky, and my sister enjoyed it very much.

The mains came with vegetables. I was particularly happy with the extra asparagus to eat with my risotto.

You can tell how dedicated the staff are when they enquire, at booking, whether there is a special occasion, and make a note to add those special touches to your evening. We had the dessert platter on the recommendation of one of the waitresses, who commented that it was her favourite dish. From memory, there was a rose and vanilla pannacotta, with the acidity of rhubarb to prevent it from being overwhelmingly sweet,  a chocolate fondant with apple, and a praline semifreddo served with marscapone cream. I could be wrong. But I remember loving the semifreddo and the fondant in combination, the nuttiness blending well with the melted chocolate centre.

Dad also had a affogato, with both espresso and liquor poured over vanilla bean icecream. Unfortunately, I had volunteered to drive, so I didn’t get to taste it once the liquor had been poured over, but I did get to be a hand model!

Like so. Love the purple nails. Pouring skills…well, not so good. xD

I think it was  a testament to the chef that we barely left a morsel on any plate that came out of the kitchen (except for the praline there – as the dessert person of the family, I let down the team, but in my defence, I was still sick). We left La Tratt exceptionally full and happy. The meal was satisfying both in body and mentally, service was immaculate and the surroundings both comfortable and classy. I think we will definitely be back.

Fairfield RSL
14 Anzac Avenue
Fairfield, NSW 2165
(02) 9727 5000

Speaking of anniversaries, TheWayItCrumbles turns 2 tomorrow, as I was reminded by Helen’s post of all the foodbloggers in Sydney. Not only that, this post is TWIC’s 100th post! (Yes, that number looks sort of pitiful compared to the period of time – but think of it as about 1 post every week on average…? ^__^;;;) Hopefully it has been as fun for you as it has for me! TWIC is likely to be updated less frequently than it was when it first started out, but with fingers crossed and a new camera to play with, hopefully it has also improved, and will continue improving over time. Thanks for the support!

Posted at 4:22 pm in Crumbs, Eating Out | Respond?

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