7 Macquarie Place, Sydney NSW 2000
https://www.instagram.com/marysnewtown/
https://www.instagram.com/marysunderground/
Vegan burger game changer
From first impressions it’s looking like one great step forward for vegan burgers in Sydney at the new Mary’s Underground. I was very impressed with Chicken Burger 'Vegan Option' with Fries ($18). After unwrapping, it visually brought back memories of their famous chicken burger. Clever use of the cauliflower that's been spiced up and deep fried for some pleasant crunch factor. Comes in a pillow soft bun that molds easily around the ingredients but manages to hold its structure well. Fantastic melty cheese which I wouldn't be able to pick it being vegan. Apparently sourced from Greece. Sauce is tasty good and there’s lettuce and a slice of tomato hidden inside. A very enjoyable and tasty eat and would happily order again. Fries are crispy and well-salted. A win for the vegans and great work by the guys who are famous for their burgers and fried.
Also tried the Mary's Burger ‘Vegan Option’ with Fries ($18) by luck as it came out accidentally instead of my chicken burger. It’s their own vegan pattie creation instead of resorting to one of the existing processed ones on the market. They achieved a nice grill crust with a rich and meaty texture making it quite filling for a vegan pattie and visually looked like a meat pattie. I liked how it's using real ingredients rather than processed ingredients. Bun was pillow soft bun but struggled a little under the heaviness and sauciness of the contents so best to eat this one in a timely manner. Good melty cheese and tasty special sauce. Fries tried with the bottled chilli sauce on the table which gives a good hit for the tastebuds. I reckon they could even sell these vegan patties retail for cooking at home, that's my hope anyway.
Service is friendly and the outdoor seating is a lovely spot to sit on a nice day. Inside is dark and moody and toilets are located downstairs in the dungeon level. Drinks are available including ‘The Fucktini’ with ‘Ketel One, Kahlua, Coffee & Fuck’. Sounds like a good Friday drink for after work to celebrate TGIF.
G08, 38-52 Waterloo St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://markandvinnys.com
https://www.instagram.com/markandvinnys/
Spaghetti & Spritz Bar
Thanks to Pendulum Communications for the invite to a menu tasting. But first it's refreshments of The Pash Me Spritz - Vermouth bianco, passionfruit, prosecco, soda ($18)
and the classic Florence Spritz - Aperol, Prosecco, Fever Tree Soda ($16). Both enjoyed and there's plenty of other Spritz variations on the menu to tempt. Starters consisted of a few of vegan dishes. Cece - Chickpea hummus, farro, schiacciata ($14) was tasty and easy to share and the Caprese - Soy mozzarella, heirloom tomato, basil, lemon vinaigrette ($18) could probably fool a few like myself with its soy-based cheese. The Fiori di Zucca - Zucchini flower, smoked almond curd, romesco ($15, 2 pieces) had an excellent crispy batter and was one of my favourite dishes of the day. Back to something meaty was the Polpette - Adrian’s meat balls, slow cooked tomato sugo ($18, 3 pieces) that was good but comes at a price of $6 a meat ball so probably best not to expect to fill up on this dish alone.
Pushing the flavour boundary for a vegan pasta is the Charcoal Bucatini - Smoked mushroom pancetta, vegan egg yolk, plant based parmesan ($26). I enjoyed the richness and clever vegan egg yolk although it might take me a while to get used to the mild gritty texture of the charcoal in this dish. The Blue Spirulina Tagliatelle - Blue swimmer crab, bottarga, pangrattato ($34) had gutsy crab and bottarga flavour with plenty of garlic added for good measure. The eye-catching greenish blue colour is probably setting itself up to be one of their signature instagrammable dishes. Back to another vegan pasta the Zucchini Linguini (The Impasta) - Chickpea ragu, cherry tomato, slow cooked tomato sugo ($22) is gluten free and retains a pleasant crunch from the zucchini and crispy pop from some deep fried chick peas. Hard to go past the Vegan No-tella Ravioli - Cacao nibs, raspberry, coconut ice-cream ($18) for dessert. A flakier pastry is the only thing that could improve this for me. I didn't realise Nutella wasn't vegan so this housemade No-tella hits the spot as a vegan friendly substitute. Mark Filippelli, Vince Pizzinga and chef Adrian Januloski have certainly created quite a unique menu for Sydney diners and I like how there's a good selection of both vegan and non-vegan dishes which I think will suit a wider audience.
23-29 Addison Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
https://www.matineecoffee.com/
https://www.instagram.com/matineecoffee/
Marrickville's new retro diner
Where else in Sydney can you get a Chocolate Hemp Brownie aka Space Cake — legally? Charles Cameron, formerly of Brewtown Newtown has done a fine job with creating this contemporary looking version of a retro diner in Marrickville. Love the fitout, high ceiling and plenty of natural light matched with some down-to-earth friendly service. Arriving just after 3 meant the kitchen had already closed so I'll definitely have to return to try the menu.
From the display of housemade goodies the generous slice of Dark Chocolate Cherry Vegan Cake ($7) was very yummy and managed to satisfy both my brother and I for an afternoon tea fix. If I wasn't told it was vegan I would have never of guessed it. Cappuccino ($4) was nice using a custom house blend by Collective Roasting Solutions which was supposed to reference the flavours of a Neapolitan ice-cream. This probably would have come down to suggestive thinking for my untuned palate. The Chai Masala will definitely be on my wishlist for next time as I'm always on the lookout for a good one in Sydney and that French Toast with chocolate hazelnut brioche and orange buttermilk ricotta is calling my name to enjoy its calories.
