Yummy, Yummy in My Tummy!

I ate a few things in Sydney that are worth taking a moment to discuss.  Twice I went to an Italian joint called Pane e Vino Trattoria.  It is located on the Strand in Croydon, a suburb in Sydney's Inner West district where I stayed. I didn't see anything like this in the Whitsundays, and I've seen it few times in Melbourne, but Sydney is full of "strands". I gathered from my experiences that a strand is basically a thoroughfare with shops and sometimes restaurants. A quick internet search basically confirmed this, although it originated as the term for the bank along a river. "Strand" could be used in a general sense or as a proper noun.  Sydney was full of ally-type roads between buildings that are pedestrian malls full of shops.  Sometimes it took the form of the first floor or lower level of an entire city block and people used them to cut through popular areas.  Pane E Vino was located on The Strand (aka main street) in Croydon. In Croydon, it was a small series of shops, some open regularly and some seemingly never open, that took up about two city blocks. I walked up and down The Strand every day to get from my Airbnb to the Metro. 

I initially stopped at Pane e Vino my second night in Sydney. Italian sounded good, but in Australia I've been presented with a LOT of Asian food options.  I've been avoiding them like crazy because after I leave Australia I'm going to be faced with a lot of Asian food. I was generally really good about making food at home and packing a lunch when I went out while visiting Sydney, but I did treat myself.  I am sooooo thankful I found Pane e Vino. It was AMAZING! I learned that Croydon is a bit of a weird melting pot in that it doesn't have a big mix of multiple ethnicities and races, but it is dominated by Chinese and Italian immigrants. My sense was that they were very "old world" is that most were speaking the native tongue.  I couldn't get a sense of how much there was interaction between the two groups, but it's not like I saw a Chinese-Italian fusion restaurant.  When I stumbled into Pane e Vino I really lucked out because it was all food made by actual Italians.

Both nights I visited I sat outside. The first night it was a little chilly and I knew I was in for a treat when I they left fleece blankets at each table so that you could stay warm while enjoying the ambience.

I had a really hard time picking out what to eat and I heard my mother's voice in my head when looking at the menu and considering getting spaghetti - "I'm not going out to eat and spending $15 on something I can make for $0.25 at home." As an adult, the sentiment now resonates with me even if I didn't really get it as a kid.  That being said, I decided to go with spaghetti bufalina. Let's be real, it was the idea of buffalo mozzarella that won me over. The be mild about it, I did NOT regret this decision. It was amazing and 100% hit the spot.

Something that really made the night was getting this bottle of red wine too. It was a perfect pairing! Although, I probably would have thought that about any bottle of wine if I'm being completely honest.  I wasn't going to get it, but when the waitress told me that I could take the remainder of what I didn't drink home with me I was sold. 

I forgot to take a good picture of it because I was just enjoying myself, but after a few bites I realized I really wanted some bread with my spaghetti because I clearly wasn't getting enough carbs. They didn't offer some basic Italian bread and butter, but they did offer some garlic bread that was TO DIE FOR.

Look at the actual garlic pieces on this toasted bread! My Pavlovian response has kicked in and I'm drooling as I write this.

A few days later I returned and took advantage of their pizza offerings.  I went with the gorgonzola pizza. Oh yeah. It had fior di latte mozzarella, gorgonzola dolce, baby spinach, and proscuitto. It wasn't exactly what I expected at first, but it was also amazing and completely hit the spot. You'll also notice that the same bottle of wine appears in this photo. No, I didn't drink two bottles of wine in less than a week on my own.  On my first visit I noticed that people were carrying in their own bottles. So, for my second visit I took what I had left with me. They had no problem with me drinking it with my meal.  I wasn't even charged a corking fee of any sort!

For desert on the second night I decided to get some ice cream from the small grocery just down the street.  I had lots of options, but I selected this Maxi Bon bar.  I'm a HUGE fan and - spoiler alert - I have had several at the Australian Open in Melbourne. I'll leave you with these ridiculous videos of me enjoying my first one after my pizza and a glass of wine. LOL