Wine, Food, and More Wine (Tasmania: Day 5)

Tasmania is famous for a lot of things, and food and wine are most certainly at the top of the list.  Both Matt and I were really looking forward to all the opportunities we'd have to sample the world-renowned foods and wines.  We had already been very impressed with our meals in Hobart in particular, and the best was yet to come.

At this point, I'd like to mention that despite the fact that eating and drinking was a major component of the trip - and I think I might venture to use the word gluttony to describe some of our meals - we were so active otherwise with hiking, kayaking, and diving, that we managed to escape Tasmania having only gained about a pound or so.  That was a nice surprise.

Launceston and the Tamar Valley are known to have some of the best vineyards in Tasmania.  We planned to see at least one, and there were an overwhelming number of vineyards to choose from.  Ultimately we chose the Josef Chromy vineyard for two reasons: 1) the restaurant was open (Tuesdays seem to be popular days for vineyard restaurants to be closed), and 2) we had gotten to sample their sauvignon blanc in Hobart while at dinner at Catch and had been extremely pleased.

The drive from Cradle Mountain to the vineyard was relatively uneventful.  We were both so exhausted from the 8 hour hike the day before that we couldn't bring ourselves to embark on other journeys into Mole Creek and Mount Jerusalem National Parks, both of which were along the way.  After a couple hours on the road we took the turn to the Josef Chromy vineyard and settled down for a late lunch and wine tasting.

We chose a sample platter that included four appetizers and four wine tastings as well as a cheese plate and an additional glass of the sauvignon blanc. The food was absolutely incredible and the wines were paired perfectly.  The sampling platter included oysters on the half shell (with lemon) paired with their riesling, brie with raspberry compote paired with the gewurztraminer, a vegetable frittata paired with the chardonnay, and roasted lamb paired with the pinot noir.  One of the things we loved about our experience there was the chance to try new varieties of wine - neither of us would have normally chosen those wines and it was nice to branch out a little.

We stuck around for a little while to explore the gorgeous garden around the restaurant and then headed into Launceston.  I chose another bartel (hotel above a bar) for our accommodation, which proved to be a nice and affordable option.  We cleaned up and wandered through town towards Cataract Gorge, a gorge that's literally in the middle of the city.  On our way there we stopped into Stillwater, one of the most reputable restaurants in Tasmania, for a drink and sushi appetizer.  We hadn't yet made dinner plans for later so we scanned their menu, ultimately deciding it was just too pricey.  We walked around the gorge for a half hour or so and then headed back to the bartel to change for dinner.

Neither of us were very hungry at the moment, so we had trouble coming up with a dinner plan.  But since we had enjoyed our sushi appetizer at Stillwater earlier, we thought maybe we'd try the sushi restaurant downtown.  It was too far to walk (and we were still feeling lazy from the Cradle Mountain hike), so we took the car, parked in the middle of town, and went hunting for the sushi restaurant. We did eventually find it, but it turned out to be one of those sketchy places with a conveyor belt and NO ONE was there.  We both got a bad feeling and opted to look for an alternative.  Unfortunately, it was getting late (well, 7:30, which is late for dinner in Australia) and restaurants were closing.  The only place that was still open was this place called The Northern Club.  We walked inside to find a disappointingly empty bar, but they were still serving food so we were thrilled.  We were also thrilled to find out it was what we called "Ganga Night," because all entrees were $10 off.  Just a few moments later one of the waitstaff asked us if we'd like to take a seat in the dining room.  She led us through a small hallway and further into one of the coziest restaurants we've been to.  We sat down at our table, glowing with happiness.  It was Heaven on Earth!

The meal proved to be even more incredible than the ambiance.  We began with an appetizer of chips (fries) and a feta and tomato salad.  Divine!  Our meals took awhile to cook but it was well worth the wait.  Matt had chosen the roasted lamb and potatoes and thought he was going to die of happiness.  I had chosen the seafood linguini, which was made with the most delectable olive oil I have ever tasted.  We had already stuffed ourselves but were not about to miss an opportunity to sample the chocolate platter for dessert.  Not unexpectedly, the dessert was incredible and we practically licked the plate clean.  We couldn't believe how good the food was, and we couldn't stop raving to the staff about how impressed we were.  Really, it was one of the best meals we've ever had, and that it was a random find it made it even better. Stuffed silly and a little tipsy, we ventured back to the bartel for very good night's sleep.