James Street Food & Wine Trail
Mark Thursday July 29 through to Sunday August 1 on your calendars, foodie pals – James Street Food & Wine Trail is back for 2021 and it’s bringing a whole load of drool-worthy goodness to the buzzing strip over four days. The epicurean extravaganza will start with its Trail Days events, which are individual outings featuring some killer culinary talent. On Thursday July 29, Alanna Sapwell will partner with Jocelyn’s Provisions and CRU Bar + Cellar for ‘Snacks & Facts’, a night of sustainable seafood eats and professional tips on choosing and consuming seafood the right way. On Friday July 30, soon-to-open leafy oasis The Green will host a Middle Eastern feast made using seasonal ingredients, with all dishes paired with matched wines. Over the weekend, Lobby Bar’s rooftop garden will be the site of two vinyasa flow yoga sessions, hosted by The Calile Hotel’s resident yogi Jess Wing at 8:00 am on Saturday and Sunday morning. On Sunday August 1, PJ McMillan and the Harveys Bar + Bistro team will present a long lunch featuring two or three courses of McMillan’s signature fare paired with a glass of Louis Roederer Brut Premier upon arrival and 2013 and 2014 vintages to match. Throughout the Trail Days period, CRU Bar + Cellar will serve a special range of off-menu items, while Mosconi will offer a secret lunch and dinner menu. Headlining the James Street Food and Wine Trail is, as always, Market Day, which takes place on Sunday August 1. This year the strip will be closed from Arthur Street to McLachlan Street as 28 of James Street’s restaurants and bars (including newcomers like sAme sAme, Biànca, SK Steak & Oyster, Essa and The Green) take to the laneways and side streets for a day of appetising alfresco atmosphere. The day will feature a host of pop-up restaurant stalls, five entertainment stages and even an area for kids to enjoy some seedling planting, face painting and craft activities.
Sasso Italiano
As the buildings that make up Woolloongabba’s living, dining and lifestyle hub South City Square inch closer to completion, drops of news pertaining to its culinary offering are starting to trickle outward. Launching at the precinct in the coming months is Sasso Italiano, a flashy 110-seat bar and neighbourhood trattoria from hospitality crew FnB Collective. Vincent Lombino and Jared Thibault are the brains behind the operation, which will boast an up-tempo, sassy and fiery spirit as well as an interior aesthetic designed by Collectivus inspired by 70s disco. Head chef Ian Curley will be overseeing Sasso’s open-plan kitchen, which will be equipped with a Marana Forni woodfired oven (with a deck wrought from Mount Vesuvius lava stone), charcuterie hangers and a top-notch grill – all of which will be put to good use producing dishes like taglioni al nero with cuttlefish, chilli and shaved bottarga, sizzling bistecca alla Fiorentina, creamy burrata with nettle oil, sliced artichokes and pine nuts, dry-aged hanger steak fritti with Italian potato, marrow butter and breadcrumbs, and an assortment of saucy pizzas. Jared is curating Sasso’s drinks menu, which will feature beers, organic and biodynamic wines, table wines available by the carafe, plus a range of aged spirits, vintage vermouths and Campari used to make a specialised negroni based on your birth year. Sasso will boast indoor and outdoor seating (its external spaces will be dog friendly), with a vibe to suit intimate rendezvous, animated group dinners, family-friendly outings and laid-back lunches. FnB Collective also has more in store for South City Square – keep your ears pricked for more!
Proof BBQ & Booze
Brisbane’s American-style barbecue scene is flourishing, with a host of low ’n’ slow crews carving out territory across the city. One of the biggest names in Brisbane barbecue, Windsor-based Proof BBQ & Booze, has announced it is making some moves outside the city limits, last week revealing that fans of its smoked meats will soon be able to follow their nose up the Great Dividing Range to Proof’s forthcoming Toowoomba expansion. Plans to open a Toowoomba-based outpost have been in the works for the past 18 months, with a location-scouting process filtering through potential sites before striking gold with a space on Duggan Street – formerly home to The Office Restaurant & Bar and, more recently, Volcanic Brewing. Proof BBQ & Booze’s Toowoomba home is shaping up to be much larger than its Brisbane-based sibling, with room for more than 200 seats and an upstairs function room, but the team is committed to ensuring the space boasts Proof’s quintessential moody honky-tonk aesthetic – complete with polished-concrete floors and plenty of timber. As for the food and drink, Proof’s entire menu of eats will be transported to the new location with a newly constructed smoker called Dolly, built by Boss Hog Smokers, responsible for cooking the by-the-pound meat selection including beef brisket and short rib, pulled pork, pork ribs, hot links and smoked chickens. Expect the bar to be loaded with a killer array of tipples too – think top-flight whiskies and beers, plus plenty more. Proof BBQ & Booze Toowoomba is targeting a late-August opening – stay tuned for more details!
Posadas Cantina
Eagleby’s neighbourhood food and entertainment hub Distillery Road Market is starting to grow more and more, with the likes of Sugar Creek Smokehouse and Kiwanda Cafe enticing locals ahead of the precinct’s official launch later this year. Another tenant has been locked in to open at Distillery Road Market, with Posadas Cantina set to launch in mid-August. Setting up shop within the hub’s casual outdoor dining space, this cantina and taqueria concept will utilise some of the best produce of the region across a menu of Mexican-inspired eats, while a container bar is expected to serve boozy classics and seasonal specials. We’ll have more on this one closer to its opening date, so be sure to check back soon!
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