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Good vibes only conversations with people from all over about their ‘go to’ places for a drink or food.
The focus isn’t on what is fanciest or most impressive. It’s on what people genuinely enjoy and so go back for more.
Have a listen and try out the places if you can.
Jaz will also create bonus episodes to share positive food and drink experiences as she adventures through life. Don’t expect a formal review. Just descriptions of cool places with yummy food and drinks.
Jaz (00:00):
Hey there. Welcome to 'My mate in...' Today I am catching up with my mate in Durrick Country, known as Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. Welcome, Erica.
Erica (00:09):
Thanks, Jaz. It's good to be here.
Jaz (00:12):
Today, I believe we're gonna have a chat about two different places, which is Eeciting. We're get a two-for [two for one]. Which one are we gonna start with?
Erica (00:20):
Oh, let's start with Ates. So Ates is, uh, our favorite restaurant in Blackheath. At the moment, they're only doing dinners. We tend to go there, uh, sort of for more special occasions, I guess, but they're not super fancy. The food is amazing and at a great price, so yeah, for what you get, um, it's pretty good value.
Jaz (00:43):
Okay, nice. And what do you get? What kind of food is it?
Erica (00:46):
It's like, uh, I guess you'd call it modern Australian Middle Eastern.
Jaz (00:51):
Ah,
Erica (00:52):
Yeah. Yeah. So they, they have this amazing wood fired, um, pizza oven, and so they cook a lot of, you know, slow cooked meats. And my partner Martin raves about the wood-fired bread sourdough.
Jaz (01:06):
Ah-Huh? .
Erica (01:07):
Yeah. He reckons it's the best bread he's ever eaten. So
Jaz (01:12):
That's quite a claim.
Erica (01:14):
I know, I know, I know. And a lot of our friends are foodies too, and they, they, they just die for the bread, but unfortunately I can't eat the bread, so .
Jaz (01:23):
Okay. So what do you like when you go there?
Erica (01:26):
Everything on the menu. I, it is just, yeah, it . I can't say I've ever been disappointed with a dish. We often get the banquet. In Covid, like when we were coming outta Covid, they restricted their menu and they were only doing a banquet. And they're great because, um, you know, I've got celiac disease that can't have gluten and they're really aware of that. And most things on the menu, uh, are gluten-free anyway, yet we tend to always get the banquet now because it's just always been fantastic and we get to try things that we maybe wouldn't necessarily pick. I think the favorite thing on my, on the menu is it's a side and it's a, uh, uh, roast pumpkin dish with yogurt.
Jaz (02:13):
Ooh.
Erica (02:14):
Yeah. So it's, it's roasted in the woodfire oven. It's just the most gorgeous flavors. Yeah.
Jaz (02:21):
Is it kind of sweet and, or is it spicy? What's it like?
Erica (02:24):
It's, I'm pretty sure it's cummin that it's cooked.
Jaz (02:28):
Oh,
Erica (02:29):
...spice they use, yeah. From memory. So it's not, it's not super spicy and, you know, you get the sweetness of the pumpkin as it kind of caramelizes when it roasts and Yeah. And they've got, like, they, so the, yeah, they've got the yogurt served with it, but they've also got another kind of sauce like green oil. I'm not sure what it is, but it, I can't remember now, but it's, it's seriously yummy. .
Jaz (02:59):
And what's the atmosphere when you're deciding to go with friends? Like what kind of evening are you going for? What's the atmosphere of this kind of outing?
Erica (03:08):
It's pretty casual, actually. Like, it's, it's comfortable and, um, and chatty and fun. So it's not a stuffy kind of restaurant, which is nice. Yeah. And the staff are always great. Uh, so that's the other nice thing about it. The service is always really good.
Jaz (03:25):
Right. Like consistent but also friendly.
Erica (03:28):
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And, you know, they play a bit of music and, um, pretty relaxed.
Jaz (03:34):
Awesome.
Erica (03:35):
It's comfortable.
Jaz (03:36):
Is there anything else that pops into, into your mind about it before we, um, switch focus and talk about the cafe that you had in mind?
Erica (03:43):
Yeah, they have a really great selection of local wines, so,
Jaz (03:46):
Ah, that's cool.
Erica (03:48):
They kind of focus on local produce and, and local wines, which is, which is great. And they do good cocktails too.
Jaz (03:57):
Oh, very cool. What is the local wine like? Like what kind? Would it just be a range of different varieties or is there a variety of wine from this region that's like, or you have to have the, the Riesling,
Erica (04:10):
They've got a few different wines from, from around the region. Yeah. Yep.
Jaz (04:16):
Okay. Nice.
Erica (04:17):
So some are a bit more close, close to home. 'cause we have a couple of wineries in the Megalong Valley, which is oh, about 15 minutes from me.
Jaz (04:27):
Oh, wow. Nice and close.
Erica (04:28):
Yeah, where I'm in Blackheath. But then we've got a lot of wineries, like as you head out towards, um, Orange out West, um, and , ah, area.
Jaz (04:38):
Yeah, of course Orange is like cool climate wine. Nice.
Erica (04:43):
Yeah.
Jaz (04:43):
Oh, that's awesome. And cocktails, who doesn't love a good cocktail, right? Yeah. Out with people for a nice good food, good conversation. Cocktails win.
Erica (04:54):
Yeah. Yeah. .
Jaz (04:56):
. Okay. So that's more our, you know, specific occasion. It's not a every week kind of a thing. Um, the other one we were gonna talk about is a cafe. So tell me about that one.
Erica (05:07):
Yeah, so Sanguinary, and now, now that's, that's a word I always, um, struggled to pronounce, but anyway, um, yeah, so Sanguinary Espresso, and they've named it that because, you know, coffee is blood, you know, we can't live without it.
Jaz (05:26):
Oh. Like, like, oh, what it, what would it have been originally? Oh, my brain's broken, but like, um, yeah, like sangria the, the root word around blood. Sanguinary. Oh, this is cool.
Erica (05:39):
Yeah. Um, yeah, so they've got a bit of a red and black thing going on, which I, I like, you know, .
Jaz (05:46):
Mm-Hmm. .
Erica (05:47):
Um, they play great music and, and it's run by, um, yeah, like an awesome couple. And they're just, they just do really great coffee. Um, and they've sort of started it off. It's pretty, um, new, I, I don't even think it's been a year since it's been open, but it's in a great spot in Blackheath and, and it has this really nice outdoor area, so you can sit outside and you can take your dogs, so...
Jaz (06:14):
Aww, yes! . And if people don't have dogs, good place to dog watch.
Erica (06:20):
Yes, totally
Jaz (06:21):
. Um, you, when you say it's got great music, paint a picture for me. What's the music like?
Erica (06:28):
Oh wow. It can range from sixties rock through to... What were they playing the other day that Martin said? Um, some, some people weren't too happy with, it was something a bit heavier. Uh, I can't think off the top of my head, but, you know, they might play something like Queens of the Stone Age or, you know, it, it will vary greatly. And you know, I've sat there and I've been listening to Prince and then, you know, it might be, as I said, Queens of Stone Age, but then it might be The Cure, and then it might, yeah. So a whole range of stuff. And it's always music that I like, so
Jaz (07:05):
I'm getting the sense that like, like their music, they appreciate music. It's not like they just have a Spotify playlist that's like 'Cafe Playlist' and they just have it on, like they're, it's it's setting a mood and it, they're mixing it up.
Erica (07:18):
Yeah. Yep. Yeah, that's right.
Jaz (07:20):
Oh, nice.
Erica (07:21):
Yeah, so that's fun. Um, and like that always makes a good cafe for me, um, is the music that gets played. Um, we did have a, before they opened, we had a coffee, a cafe called Anonymous, and they, they were the same. They played great music that was the local favorite. At Sanguinary they're not, um, doing loads of food yet. They're still getting, finding their feet. So they're, they've got a small range of food. That's going to change. So they're planning for more.
Jaz (07:51):
Yeah, starting with solid coffee and, and a selection and then scaling from there.
Erica (07:57):
Yeah.
Jaz (07:57):
So that, I mean, the assumption that I make when you say that is it's probably pastries and cakes and like little takeaway things. Is that what it is? Or do they have, you know, like brunch foods you would sit down and eat?
Erica (08:08):
Yeah, they've got some sit down stuff too, but it's more basic, more sandwiches and things. Yeah. And to be honest, I haven't eaten there a lot yet because of that type of selection of food. There's not a lot I can eat, but yeah, I'm looking forward to when they're rolling out some more food.
Jaz (08:24):
Very cool. What's your go-to coffee when you go there?
Erica (08:28):
Double shot espresso? Yeah.
Jaz (08:30):
Okay. Oh, you're, you're a serious coffee drinker.
Erica (08:34):
Yep. Bit of a coffee snob. . I'm very fussy about my coffee.
Jaz (08:39):
I learned to trust your, um, taste in coffee as well. I think we caught up in Sydney one time and do you remember where you took me? That's not far from Central Station.
Erica (08:49):
Yeah. Um, I don't remember the name of it.
Jaz (08:51):
It was a cool, like, I, I'm in North Melbourne, so this is a, like a compliment. It was a cool hipster place in a little lane. Um, you know, like serious coffee. It was really good. I forget what it was called, but I, I trust your coffee taste. Yeah.
Erica (09:08):
Yeah. It's, um, it's funny 'cause that whole area around where I work and I guess for people listening, I work in the center of Sydney, close to Central Station. That whole area's changed enormously since Covid. So that would've been pre-covid, I think that we did that.
Jaz (09:24):
It was, yeah.
Erica (09:25):
Yeah.
Jaz (09:25):
So less cafes and things.
Erica (09:27):
Yeah, a lot of the cafes ended up closing down because...
Jaz (09:31):
Oh, bummer.
Erica (09:31):
Yeah. That whole area is pretty heavily reliant on people coming into the city and students in particular. Uh, so yeah, there just wasn't enough patronage and we lost a lot of really great cafes.
Jaz (09:45):
That sucks.
Erica (09:46):
Mm-Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, it does. But there's new stuff popping up, so we'll start to come back in.
Jaz (09:53):
But now we know there's a couple of, at least a couple of really nice spots, uh, near you in Blackheath. So how long a drive from Sydney is it to get to Blackheath?
Erica (10:03):
If the traffic's good from the center of Sydney, it'll take you about an hour and three quarters.
Jaz (10:08):
Yeah. That's a nice day trip.
Erica (10:11):
Yeah. Yeah. It's easy.
Jaz (10:13):
Hmm. Lovely.
Erica (10:14):
Yeah.
Jaz (10:15):
Uh, so with, uh, rounding out, um, Sanguinary, any extra stuff that you wanna shout out about? What's cool about it?
Erica (10:23):
Um, yeah, it's right next to my yoga studio,
Jaz (10:27):
Nice! Coffee before or after yoga?
Erica (10:31):
Um, after,
Jaz (10:32):
So it's reinforcement? .
Erica (10:35):
That's right. . That's a great studio to check out too if anybody's in, um, Blackheath and into yoga.
Jaz (10:43):
Lovely. Well, I, I appreciate the chat. It's been really fun. Both these places sound awesome and I like balancing a conversation with, you know, two really different styles of places for people to try. So thanks for sharing your local expertise with me.
Erica (10:58):
That's okay. You're welcome. It was fun.