A Food Tour of Hartley

I’m not sure if visiting two establishments really counts as a food tour, but when you travel from Sydney to Hartley it feels like a tour. You get to travel over the Blue Mountains, where you can stop at lookouts to view the sandstone peaks. From the top of the mountains you wind steeply down Victoria Pass. This is the route that was taken by the explorers Blaxland, Lawson and Wentorth, and today it remains the main pass through the mountains. There are some interesting old stone bridges paralleling the modern road which are worth looking at, although these aren’t particularly well sign posted. When you get to the bottom of the pass you will reach Hartley, and this is where my mini food tour takes place.

Since Hartley is just down from Victoria Pass, it’s more of a valley in the mountains than part of the Western Plains. When you drive through Hartley there are two things to notice, apple orchards and galleries. Usually I hurtle through Hartley to some destination further West, but I have made a few stops in Hartley and that’s how I discovered the Talisman Gallery and Adam’s Shed.

The Talisman Gallery has been in Hartley for a while now. The art is metalwork, including mirrors, candelabras and statues. Some are finished shiny silver, and others have a shimmering black metallic sheen. My favourite piece at the gallery is the Goddess Mirror. I had one made for my 21st birthday and when I visit the gallery it still stands out as my favourite mirror. Unfortunately I don’t dare drill a hole in the wall while I’m renting, so it has to hang at my parents’ place.

The cafe is a newer addition to the Talisman Gallery that is very popular. It’s only open from Thursday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. We dropped in on a Friday night, and discovered that there were no tables available because of a big birthday party. We were disappointed not to be able to sit amongst the art, with the heat of the wood-fired oven, but we settled for take away.

We shared a roast pumpkin and goat’s cheese pizza. The pumpkin was beautifully soft and sweet, and went well with the tangy goats cheese. The swirl of olive tapenade was pretty, but didn’t have a noticeable flavour. Most of the pizza bases are made on the premises, but the gluten free ones are brought in to avoid contamination problems in the small space. I’ve been trying to choose which gluten free pizza bases I like best, and this was a thin one with a good texture.

Adam’s Shed is my other Hartley favourite. They sell local wines, cheeses, olives, honeys and preserves. There are wine tastings too. Out the back there’s a farm supply section that sells giant bags of animal feed and irrigation parts and all kinds of other mysterious things. I’m a tourist though, so I’m here for the food. I picked up a bottle of olives from Forbes, some marinated fetta from Mudgee and a dozen Hartley eggs. I couldn’t resist a giant tea towel chequered with cows either.

Whether you’re on your way West, or you’re looking for a nice day trip, Hartley is an excellent destination for foodies. I’ll certainly be stopping there again soon.

Talisman Gallery and Cafe
2360 Great Western Hwy
Little Hartley, NSW

Woodfired Pizza and Kebab

I’ve been becoming increasingly concerned that this blog is getting a little vegetarian. I thought I should try to restore the balance a bit…

That’s an iskender kebab from Woodfired Pizza and Kebab in Chatswood. It’s made up of cut up Lebanese bread, sliced tomatoes, yoghurt, tomato sauce, a bit of parsley, lots and lots of döner meat and the grease that flows out of it. The incurable carnivores out there can be reassured that the tomatoes and parsley really are the sum total of the vegetable matter contained in this meal.

Woodfired Pizza and Kebab does all the staples of Turkish fast food, with an accent on the explicitly mentioned pizzas and kebabs. Piglet – who is sadly restricted to the gluten-free – always chooses an option from their range of baked potatoes. Even though the potatoes are chosen for their guten-free properties, they are no poor relations to the rest of the menu. There’s a large selection of delicious (and optionally meaty) fillings and all the potatoes are topped off with melted cheese and cream – and served with salad, for those with any remaining vego sensibilities.

They have very delicious ayran, a sort of yoghurt drink. It’s definitely worth having ayran whenever the opportunity arises.

There’s a nice little sit-in eating area with tables and chairs decked out with Persian-patterned covers. In winter Piglet puts herself in the best spot, next to the outside wall of the woodfired pizza oven. She’ll often lean right up against the wall to soak in the warmth.

Since Woodfired Pizza and Kebab is essentially a take-away place with a sit-in area, the prices are quite reasonable.

Woodfired Pizza and Kebab
325 Penshurt St
North Willoughby

Ratings (out of 5 snorts)

Price	5 snorts
Taste	4 snorts
Service	3 snorts
Atmosphere	4 snorts

Chatswood Village Courtyard Cafe

Chatswood Village Courtyard Cafe is tucked away in a little commercial complex on Neridah Street. The signs outside lured me in, “Pizza, Pasta, Salads, Gluten Free” they read. I love the opportunity to eat gluten free pizza and this is one of the better ones I’ve had. The thin base really achieves a balanced texture without being soggy in the middle or as hard as a Sao. I think the pizza bases beat Twelve in Newtown, but the atmosphere suits a different occasion. The Courtyard Cafe is a great place to chill out and read the paper or watch the TV in the corner.

There are lots of pizza toppings to choose from. This time we had the Mykonos with prosciutto, fetta, olives and tomato. It’s smothered in stretchy mozzarella.

When I got out my camera the owner was quite excited that his pizza warranted a photo. When I explained I had a food blog he asked for my business card! I had to explain that it’s only a hobby.

The guy is really charming, he even topped up our milkshakes from the blender when we’d drunk the first part. He explained that the gluten free pizza bases are made fresh for each order. This is in contrast to the normal bases which are ok if they’re made a day ahead.

They do gluten free pasta too and they’re starting to offer some gluten free cakes. This place isn’t only popular with coeliacs though. The nearby coaching colleges bring in children being rewarded by their parents for their diligence. One girl ordering a pizza was even skipping. If only I was that happy when I’ve finished work for the day!

So if you need a reward for your diligence I’d recommend the Courtyard Cafe. It’s a great place to relax in a low key environment and the food’s great.

Chatswood Village Courtyard Cafe
47 Neridah Street
Chatswood
NSW 2067

Twelve

Walking past a new restaurant in Newtown I stopped to sticky beak at the menu. Gluten free pizza caught my eye, and our little group decided we’d have to try it. Twelve is a nice restaurant and we were pleased that we’d changed our clothes after our visit to the rock climbing gym. It wouldn’t have done to arrive in shorts. We were all flexing our hands and wondering if we could hold a fork after our climbing efforts. I was a raw beginner and the others were back after a break, so hopefully we will get stronger. I was so ravenous I nearly forgot to take photos, so I must thank the friend who reminded me before it was too late.

The menu has a selection of gourmet pizzas in addition to a selection of other mains. The pizzas are $16 and serve one. If you’re as hungry as I was you can eat the lot, but if your a more delicate eater you can take home the last couple of slices. There is a good range of vegetarian options. I was describing them over the phone to our latecomer and there were so many she had difficulty deciding. In the end she chose the pumpkin pizza. It had pumpkin, fetta and spinach and was very cheesy.

Another pizza eater chose the Italian sausage option which looked very tomatoey compared to the other pizzas.

I went vegetarian with the Mediterranean, I couldn’t resist the haloumi. In addition there was zucchini, capsicum and olives. I got a couple of non-coeliacs to taste my gluten free crust for comparison. It was a little drier and not as well risen as the normal base, but on the whole it was a winner. Most of the time a normal person would not choose a gluten free pizza for two reasons, taste and price. At Twelve neither of these is a problem. I even found a friend who said she would be willing to have a gluten free pizza and share flavours with me next time. There is no surcharge for the gluten free pizza and it performs well in the taste department too. It isn’t indistinguishable from the normal pizza, but it is comparable.

Only one person in our party tried something other than pizza. The decision was made with difficulty. It was between the brioche crusted barramundi and the roast duck pasta. In the end the duck won since it was on the specials board and probably isn’t available all the time. It had a dark sauce with mushrooms, duck and green olives. I could smell its rich fragrance from across the table.

On the whole I’d recommend Restaurant Twelve if you’re after a classier experience in Newtown. It would even be suitable for a romantic dinner, in fact there were several couples there to prove it.

Ratings (out of 5 snorts)

Price	3 snorts
Taste	4 snorts
Service	4 snorts
Atmosphere	4 snorts

Restaurant Twelve
222 King St
Newtown