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This blog may be hibernating for a few months.

TEdREVIEW Perth is going into hibernation for a while as I'm a bit far outside Perth to keep reviewing places.  I may change the name slightly and start adding a geolocation tag to each post, since I intend to be travelling and moving for quite a while now, being currently about 80km south of Perth in between Mandurah and Pinjarra along the banks of the Murray river.

When I do, I'll post a notification on the other blogs to redirect your attention to here.

The Prophet

The Prophet , in Vic Park, is small - way too small for such a large clientele as it has built up over the years.  Three times I've gone there in the last two weeks, and twice, it was touch and go if we'd get a table for two, the place was so busy.

The restaurant makes Lebanese and Middle Eastern food.  When you order, they supply you an entree that's unique to The Prophet. A basket of good flatbread, still warm, a bowl of whipped creamed garlic, and some pickled somethings.  I've heard it called pickled radish but even after having it three times, I'm not sure.  I am sure, however, that I'm hooked on it.  It's a strong flavour hit to start off the meal, and sometimes, the addition of a light touch of the garlic mousse adds an interesting lift to a bite or two of the mains.

There are no ordinary items on the menu.  Even the most basic things, such as the vegetarian cabbage rolls (oh yes - The Prophet has enough to keep a vegetarian satisfied too) are something of a taste sensation.  One of the few places serving kibbeh naiyeh I've found, too.  If you're adventurous, try it - it's a minced meat dish but it's served chilled and raw.  And (as if I need to add this) delicious.  It's the Middle East's answer to carpaccio, but tastier.

Some other notable points on the menu are:

The chicken livers.  If a Middle Eastern person feels peaked and unwell, they swear by liver as a tonic food that will lift their energy levels again - all I can say is that this dish lifted me, it's beautifully prepared and tastes exquisite.

Range of skewers, served either with salad for a single meal or stacked high on a plate for parties to share.

Kibbeh, the type you're more likely to be used to, with cracked wheat burghul shells, also available as a meal or as a platter.

Falafel - the BEST ever.  No argument from me about it.  Just the best.  And while we're on the entree dishes, try the tabouleh, the hommus dip and the babaganoush dip.  Oh yeah, and the house specialty, avocado dip.  Come to think of it, I could imagine a totally satisfying and mindblowing meal just of the bread and the dips.  Dips are attractively served garnished with good olive oil pools at the centre, sprinkled with herbs, and the flavours are consistently delicious.

Now what's left to this meal?  Ah yes - don't start without having a pot of Lebanese coffee, and don't leave until you've enjoyed a decadently beautiful sweet for dessert...

Ravioli al la Freo Style

The cabernet merlot was fruity, with overtones of garlic and basil. Ooops. Nope, not really. Just kidding. The garlic and basil tones came from a very nice bruschetta had as an entree shared between two because it's a large serve at two big slices of crusty Italian bread.

At Pizza Bella Roma opposite Gino's on the Freo cappucino strip, it's the whole atmosphere thing. Nice smells wafting around the whole ristorante, good service staff, great cooking, and workable wine list. Goundrey Cab Merlot has always been in my good books, and I'm pleased to report that it goes better with bruschetta than with ravioli. Even with a glass of water in between the food and the wine, the robust aftertastes of the garlic and herbs just goes with the slight sweetness of the Cab Merlot.

When asked which ravioli, I had just one word for the delightful waitress - "carne" - gimme meat. If I want spinach and ricotta I'll have the canneloni. Meanwhile, the bruschetta and drinks arrived pretty promptly and occupied us for a few very well spent minutes. Trish's pizza arrived very soon after that, and the pasta that I was hanging out for, arrived a few minutes after that.

The first bite was just - well, I'd say to die for but I'm still alive - was just perfect, is the best way to describe it. Sauce and pasta and filling. The way a meal was meant to be. Live to eat, don't just eat to live. Usually ravioli beef filling manages to taste a trifle medicinal, not sure why, except that when I make them it doesn't. And the chef at PBR makes them the way I do, tasting like they really are a carnivore's best friend, redolent of beef and cheese and tomato.

Another quick glass of water and that was when I discovered what the cab merlot goes best with. No regrets, but next time I have this kind of meal I think I'll have the merlot with the entree and find a nice Chianti to go with the ravioli.

Fast Eddy's, Cannington Carousel

No more is it an average feed. Right now, the quality of meals seems to be excellent. Don't know if this is Perth-wide or just the Carousel FE's, but it's got me back for a second visit in a week, up from one or two a year.

I can only speak for the burger-burger or the steak, but they have both been excellent. It may help that there seems to be a new cook there, who seems to understand the kinds of meals FE's specialise in, he appears to have the grilled food down to an artform.

For some reason, when I have a burger at Fast Eddy's I have to have hot chocolate too. On a coolish evening, the combination just screams comfort food.

Anyway - this is just a heads-up for a good feed after a night out at the La Prem or whatever you fancy - go to FE Carousel, it's worth it.

Review: No longer Sizzling...

Just my 20c worth (but these days costing me 30c, see later on) on the state of - aw hell I was going to say "dining out" but it's not appropriate - the state of eating - stuff - out, in my neighbourhood.

That platter of fresh mushrooms was found at Sizzlers Riverton's salad bar. At dinner. Tonight. I'll tell you about them in the closing paragraph...

I've been going off Sizlers for a long time now. Four years ago it was still an affordable $25 per person for a steak with all the trimmings, salads, and dessert. It's what they do, right?

In my case, the fatal attraction was always the "megabacon greaseburger" - or the Mega Bacon Beef Burger as Sizzlers unimaginatively (and slightly inaccurately) called it. But over the years my favourite cholesterol and fat bait has changed, mirroring a change in Sizzlers too.

I noticed that the bacon bits that I loved to sprinkle on my salad changed from what was recogniseable as bacon to something that looks liced diced polony and tastes like it too. Soups went from tasty to babyfood.

The other bacon, the six or eight rashers that once adorned the burger in crispy promise of indigestion for hours to come, well - a few years ago, around the same time as all the other degradations, they started being half soggy and half charcoal strips of something sugary and salty and somehow reduced in number to only a few strips...

The burger patty itself was no longer cooked evenly, suddenly almost untouched grey mince crossed by jet black bars of bitter coal-like nuclear hell.

You know, now I think about it the quality at Sizzlers went to hell in a handbasket about the same time they stopped handing out those ridiculous mint pellets.

All this neglect and food abuse comes at an increased price, of course - I figure the same meal that used to cost me $22 a few years ago now costs me $32, almost 50% increase in price in two years, wish I could make that much money investing.

Oh and those "fresh mushrooms" in the picture above, look at the picture again - they are raw not cooked, and the dark spots are liquefying decomposing mushroom, something I've noticed them serving on a regular basis for the last year at least now. Well I know what I won't be doing again for a year or three....

Zanzi Newsletter

ZANZI PIZZA BAR

A BIG WELCOME TO OUR NEW ZANZI NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS. THANKS FOR JOINING THE CLUB. KEEP WATCHING FOR UPDATES AND PIZZA SPECIALS AND TO ALL OUR OTHER MEMBERS, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON OUR TEAM AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN VERY SOON IN THE PIZZERIA.

WE OFFER FREE DELIVERY FOR ALL ORDERS OVER $20. SO IF YOU ARE COMFY AND COSY AT HOME, WE WILL BRING THE PIZZAS TO YOU.

YOU MAY FIND IT INTERESTING TO KNOW THAT ALL OUR PIZZAS ARE COOKED FOR 7 MINUTES IN THE OVEN AT 270°C. IF YOU HAVE A LOOK AT YOUR OWN OVEN, YOU WILL FIND IT ONLY GOES TO 250°C. THAT'S WHY, WHEN YOU WANT A YUMMY PIZZA, YOU MUST HAVE A ZANZI PIZZA.

IT'S SCHOOL HOLIDAYS TIME AGAIN ... AND WE HAVE A SPECIAL FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

1 LARGE ZANZI GOURMET PIZZA (Including Chicken and Seafood)
1 LARGE ZANZI BASIC PIZZA
1.25 lt DRINK
$20.00

AND
FOR AN EXTRA $5.00 HAVE YOUR CHOICE OF A DESSERT PIZZA:
MOMBASSA MUD OR ELLI-FANT

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Zanzi Pizza Bar