French Food Safari Part 4: La Grande Bouffe, Rozelle.


As if there wasn’t already enough food on safari, we had a lunch stop too.  It’s just a short walk down from The Essential Ingredient and is called La Grande Bouffe, 758 Darling Street, Rozelle, tel: (02) 9818 4333.

La Grande Bouffe translates into ‘a great meal’, from what Marie told us.  I’ve tried to google to make sure I got it right but all I could come up with in my search was a reference to a film which involved the main characters gathering to eat themselves to death.  Possibly not too far from what I did on safari….

It’s a cosy restaurant that was still buzzing with a late lunch crowd on a weekday.  One thing we have in Sydney over part of France such as Paris is space.  There were tables set up on the sidewalk with throw rugs thoughtfully provided.

A sensibly sized portion of baguette and champagne to begin with.

Our first course was a twice baked leek souffle topped with brown onions.  Sigh, I am still remembering it’s warm, cheesy goodness.  A nice contrast to the sweet pastries we had for breakfast.

Another thing we have over France is a good range of coffees.  These are the restaurant’s blends of choice.

The main was rolled lamb shoulder with beetroot puree.  Another hit with me.  I don’t tend to order lamb when going out and this dish makes me think that it’s time to mend my ways.  Lamb is a wonderful winter meat.

I am told that the secret to plating meat cooked this way was revealed on MasterChef and involved glad wrap.

I must return again soon.  There were many things on the menu I’d love to try.

I think the red machine pictured above has something to do with the coffee.  Don’t quote me on that.  I forgot to ask about what it does.

Well fed, rested and watered, the intrepid safari-ists made their way back out to an Inner West Sydney street ready to explore our next stop.

La Grande Bouffe on Urbanspoon

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