Holding the Reins of the Runaway Extrovert 2013: Day 33 - Out with the guys

Waz was back in town for the weekend so we gathered together the usual suspects - Waz, Peter, Ian, Fahmi, Steve and I - and headed out for drinks at Bench (wine and olives - yum!) and dinner at a new place called Oldtown in Newtown (we had wanted to go to Matee but they were full up alas) which featured the MOST delicious Italian restaurant food I have ever tasted (and I am not a fan of Italian food generally).

We had an awesomely good night - fantastic food, wonderful service (they were so friendly) and a relaxed catch up vibe.

Swimming Pretty in the Glass-Half-Full 2012: Day 340 - Happy birthday Bridget

Joint birthday celebrations with my beautiful friend Bridget in Newtown - drinks first at Bench wine bar then dinner at Matee. We talked about all sorts of stuff - Christian faith and the obvious non-need for churchianity, relationships, and my coming out and her trip to Guatemala.

I gave her Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore as a gift which she loved.

A wonderful night blighted only by a migraine which struck 1/3 way into dinner. (I threw down some painkillers and soldiered on.)

Swimming Pretty in the Glass-Half-Full 2012: Day 301 -

Two things today! Yes two things worthy of being immortalised in a blog ...

Firstly we tried a new cafe - Peas way down Mitchell road - OK not way down but almost at the end of it - and the food was delicious! Truly, utterly YUM. I had a French beef burger with brie, mushrooms, and sour cream and it was so flavourful, as was the raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake that followed it.

Will we be back? As sure as night follows day which follows night ... you get the picture.

Then a brief break in the afternoon - hello nap! Hello Andrew - before going out to Bench Wine Bar in Newtown for Warren's birthday where I got to see Jason and Melinda, and Warren and Leith, friends of Waz's I hadn't seen since the San Francisco trip in October 2009.

We talked lots, drank cocktails, Warren spilt an Long Island Tea down one of the legs of my jeans (fun! No, not really) and then adjourned to Matee across the road for their fabulous Turkish food, more wine,  and a fabulous Black Forest Gateau that we had to wait in line to purchase earlier in the day at Haberfield. Yes we waited in line at Papa's an amazing cake shop that is VERY popular!

The line to get into the cake shop including the woman directly in front who was waiting across the road with us for the walk signal, heard us talking getting a cake and bolted once the car cleared to beat us into the line. Hilarious and pathetic all at once.

Waz's present

Fahmi and my gorgeous guy

Ian and Waz 1

Ian and Waz 2

Ian and Waz 3

Steve and I

Melinda and Leith

Leith and Warren

The gorgeous Warren and Leith

Gay candles much? LOL

Ian's Gluten-free version

Cut the cake Waz!

Melinda and Jason

Swimming Pretty in the Glass-Half-Full 2012: Day 133 -

A fabulous Saturday night out (after spending the day at home, while Steve worked on his tax, mopping floors, reading and napping) with Peter, Fahmi and my gorgeous guy.

First stop, a curiously near-empty funky, brightly-coloured Bench, a micro bar on King Street for cocktails, and honey-coated macadamias and olives before dinner...

... at Smash Sausage Kitchen where I had reserved a table. It turned out to be a funky red 1970s table which was so much fun. It was a little cold with a vent dumping cold air onto me but as always service was a joy - the owner, a fellow gay boy, was delighted to see us twice within the week and was wonderfully warm and friendly, as he always is - the food was delicious (I tried the chicken, cheese & spinach sausage with sweet potato mash - so YUM!; the sticky date pudding - yes twice in two nights was divinely sweet), and we had a wonderful time catching up.

I love these kinds of nights out with friends.

Hands Full of Glitter and Tofu : 2011 Day 267 (Saturday 24 September) - I Love Me a Sausage in my Mouth

Quite the foodie day really!

We had a very late brunch, called Lunch by normal folks at Post Cafe in Marrickville Cafe and the food was DIVINE DARLING DIVINE! Seriously yummy lime and dill beer batter on barramundi fillets with the most perfect chips, and my gorgeous guy's brioche stack with thick slices of haloumi cheese was impressive too. I could have just sat on our stools at the window side tables all day and waited for dinner....

....BUT dinner was out somewhere else entirely! After a badly needed nap (and some bookcase shopping), my gorgeous guy, Fahmi and I went to Bench Wine Bar on King Street, one of the new micro bars that are sprouting all over Sydney town, for pre-dinner drinks with Warren, Ian and Stephen. The service and ambience were top notch and I could have happily stayed there all night......

Fahmi and Stephen seated in front of the funky POP! culture mural

Sausages YUM, Mash YUM, mushy peas YUM!!!

Ian, Warren (hiding behind Ian), Fahmi, Stephen and my gorgeous guy

BUT we had dinner reservations across the road at Smash Sausage Kitchen, a gourmet sausage place with all sorts of cool flavours, fantastic warm friendly service, great wine and the yummiest apple crumble I have had in ages. It came to about $45 per person but that was great value considering we had all entrees, mains, 2 bottles of wine, and dessert..... plus a ton of fun catching up with each other!

....and yes we made all sorts of innuendo-laden comments about sausages....like we could let that opportunity slip by!