Towards the end of the week my phone usually starts to beep and beep and beep. Its a network of 48 colleagues on a contact list who have lost interest in working and develped an interest, in some cases compelling, in drinking. I ignore it and put my phone on silent knowing that one of my Friday evening jobs will be to delete 48 e-mails.
But I have to be careful, somewhere in there will be an e-mail from my butcher with the weekend specials. Not just any specials either, Allan has his own farm and his meat is spectacularly good. Aged for a long time, it is simply the best butchery on the upper north shore.
Last weeks special - boned legs of new season lamb $25 each.
Allan is banned from the MLA because he makes too much sense - that means he has to talk to his customers and he does it with aplombe. He is the heart and soul, liver, kidneys, tongue and cheeks of this place.
Allan gets "Love a Chat" to woman the BBQ out the front. She is the star of the show. Told Keeno and I the other day that she had taken her labradoodle to the vet only to learn that he was mostly Lab - but no doodle. She reckons the pet shop saw her coming, she wondered why he didn't look look like the others - they just snuck in a bitsa and hoped no one would notice. Too late now she concedes, he's part of the family. The whole time shes been chatting with Keeno I've been eating BBQ pork, Morroccan Snags, Sang Choy Bow snags, and whatever else she's got going on the hot plate and sampling all the different sauces. Its like a free lunch.
Bangalow Pork, snags etc.. its all fantastic. I once bought a whole pig for the spit and drove it down to the farm stowed right next to Chloe (our dog) who went absolutely nuts the whole trip.You can get goat here but if your not quick Allan will tell you its name before he tells you how to cook it. (Slowly, very very very slowly)
But really its the beef, standing rib roast, scotch fillet, sirloin on the bone, rump, and T bones. It is a joy knowing the cattle is grass fed and farmed by the guy talking to you, if you can break away from Love a Chat that is. read more