WHEN Italian restaurants imposed themselves on the then bleak Australian
culinary landscape about 40 years ago, they were something of a novelty,
much like their Chinese counterparts.
Here was a serious deviation from the oft bland British meat-and-three-veg
regime. But with the Italian variation came much more than a novelty act.
There was oil and garlic and tomato - strange smells ... and lashings
of them ... and then some more oil, garlic and tomato and more strange
smells. And together with those alien things there was soul, music, passion,
a love of food as an event -all that was light years removed from the
perfunctory fuel stop that was the Anglo-Australian meal of the time.
Now in the year 2000, those early memories of Italian restaurants around
Melbourne in the 60s came flooding back when we walked into Al Fresco
Restaurant in Surfers Paradise last week. It had it all... colourful wall
murals, sensational aromas, packed tables, bustling waiters, scrawled
blackboard menus and Dean Martin telling us 'That's Amore'. And then the
pieca da resistanca - the owners Tony and Silvana Velardi - with that
classic Italo-Australian speak. You know wadda I say. Tony reading the
blackboard menu was pure poetry... at a million miles an hour! "First,
we hava the chilli octopus, thena the stuffeda musharooms anda the chicken
livers..." We are nota taking the mickey ata all. This was just a
delight and truly, if you blood-tested Tony and Silvana, there would be
grappa in their DNA.
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MAMA MIA!
What a meal. Tony and Silvana Velardi will treat you like
Italian aristocrats at Al Frescos.
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Now seriously, to this wonderful menu - after enjoying die moreish pizza
bread with tomato and herbs, as well as excellent, crispy brushett; with
a lavish amount of fresh, chopped tomatoes and herbs balancing on top,
we ordered an entree of chicken livers lightly braised in a red wine sauce
with onions and herbs, served on a bed of rice ($8.90) - delicious and
different. We also tried the chilli octopus ($11.50), fresh, leggy (not
baby for a change) octopus in a rich tomato-based sauce with shallots
and fresh herbs and just a dash of chilli to give it real pizzazz. Another
excellent dish in a style you see all too infrequently on the fashion-conscious
Coast.
Frankly, to us it is far better to see restaurants which stick to tried
and true home style recipes, really well prepared, such as Tony and Silvana
serve at Al Fresco, than to offer poor interpretations of what ii seen
to be the fashion of the time, as too many restaurants do. For the less
adventurous among us, Alfresco's regular menu offers less challenging
favourites, from 'spag bol1 to calamari to scallopine al funghi, as well
as a selection of admittedly better than average pizzas. But to really
get the Italian feel, then stay with the specials board which has just
what you would find in many a home in Italy.
For our mains, we opted for Linguine Vongole ($17.90) - flat pasta ribbons,
cooked al dente and tossed with good olive oil, garlic and a little finely
chopped chilli, surrounding fresh pippis, barely steamed, but lying open
to the world. This was classic Italian - simple . but wonderful and highlighting
only a small number of great flavours -and really that's all you need.
Again from the specials list, Osso Buco ($17.50) was a classic dish of
thick-sliced veal shanks braised in a rich tomato-based sauce with herbs
and shredded vegetables, served alongside tubular pasta. Sensibly, it
was not accompanied by lots of other vegetables which weren't needed,
and we enjoyed every bite.
While we tried to beg off desserts, Tony insisted we try his special
baked apple - baked with red wine and various liqueurs, which we suspect
would make it a little dangerous for the driver who may be a little close
to the limit! He also plied us with freshly roasted chestnuts - the smell
of which permeated the restaurant and brought flooding back memories of
street vendors selling these roasted treats from small braziers of the
streets of Italy and Greece - truly a trip down memory lane for people
who love to travel.
Al Fresco is the kind of place you could take anyone - from your aging
aunt to a visiting celebrity, and all can expect to be treated with the
same humour, charm and warmth - and to find something on the menus they
will enjoy, including the most fussy eater.
But take our recommendation and go with the specials - if you never travel
closer to Italy than the Gold Coast, you can feel like you've been there
if your dine a la blackboard at Al Fresco.
VERDICT
A fully blown garlic
and oil Italian blasta
from the pasta
AL FRESCO
2991 Gold Coast
Highway, Surfers
Paradise, phone
5538 0395.
OPEN
Dinner 7 nights from 5.30pm
SEATS
120 - two adjacent
shops, one smoking,
one non-smoking
MENU
Entrees $6.50-$18.90
Mains $12.00-$35.00
Desserts $4.50 - $8.50
LIQUOR
Fully licenced
and BYO wine
PARKING
Street
Review by ELAINE WILSON
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