Next morning I got up early to see Lilli off at the airport. As
in more civilized countries one doesn't have to be flying to get
to the gates, I breakfasted with her (hot chocolate for me) and
then when her flight came due abandoned her to her fate and used
the free wi-fi for a while.

Back to the bus stop and to meet Glen for a jaunt back into town
and lunch with Leonore Scott (also a former member of the echo).
She had a fistful of coupons, and while walking down Rundle Mall
we chose one for 20% of the food bill at the cheekily named
Schnithouse, which specializes in sort of pan-European fried grub
and beer.

Glen had the only schnitzel among us - he ordered the "totally
vegged" one, and the unobvious question came up, what kind of meat
would he like - chicken, eggplant, pork (+2) barramundi (+2) or
beef (+3). He went with the purist choice, a veggie totally vegged
- it was excellent in every way, the large eggplant slice done
crispy outside and melting inside, the tomato, onion, peppers,
and mushroom topping surprisingly delicious.

Leonore's seafood basket was enormous to the point that I wondered
if they'd given her the $25 dinner portion - carefully fried fresh
barra (terrific), squid (I didn't get to taste, because she hoarded
it all for herself), and prawns (previously frozen but good). The
chips were truly superb. When the bill came, it was charged at the
$10 lunch rate, whether the portion was that or not.

Blue swimmer crab and prawn risotto in a rose sauce is a strange
dish for a schnitzel house, but as one notes, I frequently went
for seafood on this trip. This was pretty good risotto in that
Australian weirdness, which is essentially boiled down cream with
tomato puree or sauce stirred in. Some shreds of very nice crab
to lend verisimilitude and a lot of disappointingly mushy prawns.
It must have been a kilo serving; half went back for the household.

Leonore had the house Sauvignon Blanc, undistinguished in every
way; Glen's red was The Footbolt Shiraz, which, as it cost a buck
more than the house stuff, had been open a while and had begun to
oxidize a bit. I had a Little Creatures Bright Ale, very floral,
which wasn't really to my taste.

As it was early, we repaired to Leonore's new place for afternoon
tea. which was Golden Oak medium red wine, somewhat nasty, and
Eaglehawk Shiraz 17 (a Wolf Blass budget product), okay.

=

Thursday was the day Kevin could get away from his grueling
schedule of physical therapists and social workers, so that meant
the unveiling of the Ray Ward Gateway Cellar Special Shiraz 1999.
The previous year's had been a bigger wine and would have lasted
better, but one gets what one can. Taking Lilli's place was the
equally charming Leonore, whom Kevin tolerates well despite his
general misanthropy (and especially misogyny, the B word being
his favorite opprobrious epithet for men and women alike).

In addition to the spag Bol, which I'd made to go with the wine
and which was very flavorsome, fairly delicious, and somewhat
underfatted, I made middle-eastern style kofte with a bit of
cumin and a little heat, and Szechwan-style beef with carrots
with minimal heat. For those who needed greens, I braised cabbage
and onions with tomato, the green beans not looking very good at
the market. I liked it all pretty well (if I didn't, who would?)
and thought the menu a good match with the Ray Ward, which showed
a bit doddery and overage though very drinkable, the remains of a
fine wine. There had been a bit of anxiety when the cork crumbled
rather than being drawn out in civilized fashion, which led Kevin
to disquisit on the sourcing of that material and how Ray should
not have cheaped out on this vital ingredient.

Leonore brought her famous chocolate cake, which she defied us to
identify the secret ingredient (it was beets) and which was moist
and chocolatey and went well with the Bird in Hand sparkling Pinot
Noir 2018 (Adelaide Hills); this despite its label was a paleish
wine with a lot of Muscat in it.

After the lady had made her escape, Glen pulled out another cask
of I think De Bortoli this time to have Kevin finish off, or to
finish off Kevin.
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