Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Spanglish manglish



Comer er Ortiga .... Eat at Ortiga ...

Early 2010 a Spanish restaurant opened in Brisbane, located beside a traffic light at a T junction. With a nice looking tapas bar on top and a modern restaurant down below.


Coming up along the street one could get a sneak inside the kitchen from the outside window. I was one of them, I used to pass this restaurant every fortnight... getting stuck at the traffic light, I used to stare inside observing how the chefs prepare for their dinner service... wondering what it would be like to cook in a kitchen like that, so shiny, so modern so... Peeepppp!!! getting horned at and snapped back to reality.

The chances of me cooking there is probably pretty slim , but I thought it may be easier to eat there... Yoshi's birthday came and I thought it would be a great place to take her...so the booking was made and we arrived. We waited in the bar for a while and got ushered to our seats downstairs. The menu had a nice variety of tapas but we knew what we wanted, we wanted the lamb shoulder...slow cooked... and fried at the end for a crispy texture.


Whilst waiting we got some croquettes (deep fried creamy mash potatoes); a few bites later the lamb shoulder came. POW! the waiter arrives and placed the big pile of meat on the table... craves it with the littlest of energy; as it was so tender it the meat almost falls off the bone from gravity. Served with baked potatoes and lemon curd... this was one awesome piece of lamb... crispy on the outside, soft tender and yet still so juicy.






At the end of the meal, we both couldn't walk; my arteries was full of lamb after that night ... but definitely worth it. What a meal...

Where:446 Brunswick St. Fortitute Valley QLD

What was your latest food adventure?

14 comments:

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Happy birthday Yoshi. We love lamb and your meal looked fantastic. What a great restaurant. We enjoy celebrating birthdays in our favorite restaurants too. After all, who wants to cook on their birthday. Looks like you picked a real winner Ron.
Sam

Barbara said...

Must have been fun to discover this restaurant while stopped at a traffic light AND then have it turn out to be so good.
Looks marvelous and a wonderful way to celebrate Yoshi's birthday!

Adrian in Food Rehab) said...

The lamb looks incredible and yes, definitely tender!

Tiff @ Love, Sweat, and Beers said...

Cool place. The hubby refuses to eat lamb unless it has been slow cooked.

Kitchen Belleicious said...

That meal and lamb looked amazing! Wow, I wish I could have had your leftovers! Thanks for visiting the other day and so glad you did so I could find your blog. Will visit regularly and now a follower!

muppy said...

I've never eaten lamb with lemon curd! Sounds kinda weird ;) I do however sometimes cook a hunk of lamb in the slowcooker and it is incredible. Btw I smiled when you said you got distracted at the traffic lights!

Swathi said...

Looks like awesome meal, Sometimes certain incidents happens for good. thanks for stopping at my blog, you have nice space too.

CHECKS AND SPOTS said...

Looks like a super delicious meal!

Our last eating adventure was actually tonight when we headed out for dumplings...mmm!

Joanne said...

If there's one food I definitely don't eat enough of, it's Spanish food! Looks like a great meal!

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

Wow. I have never been a fan of lamb, but the way you describe it? I am now! You have a way with words!

chow and chatter said...

fun place and funny that you would stop at the traffic light and stare love it when we can watch the chefs cook

Fresh Local and Best said...

This looks like a great birthday celebration. I love croquettes and the lamb looks amazing.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A lovely place! Lamb is so delicious. What a great meal.

It seems you had a wonderful time celbrating your birthday.

Cheers,

Rosa

Viv said...

that lamb shoulder looks pretty awesome...love your description...falling off from gravity lol.
good to know there are lots of yummy places in brisbane!