Thursday 19th March 2009: how about a break from a "school night" routine, with dinner at The Moon Café in Northbridge, followed by jazz and drinks at The Ellington?
The décor: dark, moody, quirky and laid-back. Its unpretentious-ness made me feel young and 20-something again, and I wished I was sporting less Gucci and more Converse. Still, wearing alot of black helped me blend right in.
The service: prompt and cheerful. I couldn't place our waitress' accent but was reluctant to ask, it was just delightful in its mystery. A young friend wistfully accounted how only backpackers seem to score jobs there, so we've conspired that she should dye her hair darker and only speak her second language (Spanish) in an effort to get on the staff list!
The cocktails: their pina colada really hits the spot, and so does their really fun peach schnapps and gin thing. Someone please go back and tell me what it's called...
The food: the menu was somewhat predictable. Although the burger selection was interesting and reputably good, our table ended up with nachos (argh, you're out of jalapeños?), the calamari (hot lil' popcorn morsels of fun with skinny chips and a tasty aioli), and two pastas. Hubby surprised me by ordering the vegetarian option, with lovely roast veggies and olive oil; I had fettuccine with Gorgonzola, thyme and pumpkin.
Thyme is my 'herb of the month', I love pumpkin, and have I mentioned what I think of cheese? But somehow, thrown together that night, the dish was flat. I added salt, ate half and then swapped for the roast veggies. But, my cocktail and stolen mouthfuls of calamari more than made up for my disappointment.
The cocktail list menu was quite intriguing, but unfortunately we couldn't stay to sample them all or enjoy the rousing jazz band (free, yippee!) in the back room. We'll be back for the jazz and I shall ponder this sudden disinterest in cheese.
The group dragged me away from the cocktail list and we wandered over to The Ellington to see the Don Gomes Trio, which turned out to be plus one saxophonist. We missed the introductions, I think Paul Pooley and Chris Tarr played; on top of scoring low marks for musician facial recognition, my glasses are two prescriptions back (new glasses eta 10 days huzzah).
I work with the lovely and creative Mrs Gomes, so I was quite excited to finally see Don in action. The sound lobby added a sense of underground, we were duly stamped and ushered through. The cozy room was unpretentious and looked like alot of effort had gone into the acoustics. I suppose you shouldn't really be arriving halfway through a set, but if you do come early to catch the next act (on nights when multiple bands are scheduled), this means you're trying to occupy the same space as punters lining up at the bar or obscuring the views of jazz fans crowded up the back. IMHO the standing room up the back would've been served better with a single, fixed dry bar and stools. We wandered upstairs and slouched on the banquettes (next to the slot light feature beautifully aligned with the hint of timber beam above) over Mount Gay rum and dry (extra lime in mine). A few more friends joined us, one had tapas from the bar (toasted Turkish bread with rosemary oil and smoked capsicum hummus, served with prosciutto, all consumed with relish), and I really look forward to menu additions of dessert.
I miss the Side-On Cafe (Annandale, Sydney). I don't know if has reopened since we returned to live in Perth; I won't Google it, I like the idea that someone bought it after its closure as a late surprise. They had the loveliest dessert menu...sticky date pudding and chocolate cake while listening to Elana Stone? Yes please!
I digress. The back lit acoustic panels made me grumpy but the shiny copper bar tops were a good material choice. The baton lights in the girls' loos were an unpleasant shock but I have to remember I don't go out just to look at finishes! There was a good selection both bars and the prices were pleasantly fair; we liked the fireplace room and the fact that the first floor transmission of the ground floor performance is in stereo.
Sorry, I did it again. Mr Gomes and friends put on a great show. He makes jazz piano look easy and effortless! One seriously considers volunteering to garden for Mrs G if it means one can linger outside their lounge room window listening to the practice sessions at home! When first introduced, I mused to myself that Don looks like he's sharing a musical, cosmic joke with his Maker; maybe he lets the rest of us in on it every so often, for example, when he played "Just One of Those Things" that night. We really enjoy it when musicians look like they love what they do!
Overall: good night out...hooray for The Ellington, it's been a long time coming! Come on Perth, support your local Jazz musos!
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