Guiseppe Arnaldo and Sons

We took Fouzia to GAS at the casino for a quick bowl of pasta the other week. That doesn't sound particularly extravagant until you see the place. The restaurant is part of the southbank complex in Melbourne and is an enormous space. I'm sure I saw Fouzia with her camera - so maybe there will be a photo to follow. If not, well imagine a long dark room which is painted black with a variety of spaces. Like a stage with a number of sets. There is a large glass cupboard which looks like it came from an anatomy museum, a tall scarlet meat slicing machine that also has the look of modern macabre and a ceiling high set of shelves with a cutting stand in front for the generous portions of bread. There are seats in front of the long window at the front (the windows are smokey - you can see out, but not in) which you can grab if you get there early, a long high table with bar stools for slightly more communal eating and a square eating area or two angled in between the back wall and the kitchen. There are simple Moroccan tiles cutting a swathe across the floor and up the walls to demarcate the different areas in the eatery and also in the bar. A fabulous experience in itself. And then there is the food.

Here's the menu (which comes as your paper place mat)...

http://www.idrb.com/giuseppe_main_flash.html

This was maybe our fourth or fifth trip to GAS. Our eating experiences there have ranged from the sophisticated to the brave. The raw scallops with olive oil, cress, capers and a touch of truffle. Oregano and lemon dusted prawns with aioli. Some extremely classy salami. A very very tender steak. The old school tripe in a tomatoey sauce - it beat us both with it's richness. A sausage stuffed pigs trotter - it looked very much like a pigs trotter and it beat me too. We kept things simple this time though, no offal, no feet.



You can see my calamari fritti with courgette and mint - lightly crumbed and quickly fried. Perhaps we didn't need the rosemary potatoes on the side, but they were also good. Craig had a risotto with marrow (that's bone marrow) with saffron and pork sausage - which he said was a little full on which is quite something from a trotter eating toughie. And this is Fouzia's flathead with tomato, basil and olive oil. Simply lovely.



The highlight of course was Craig tucking in to a chilli from the olive bowl, chewing momentarily, spitting the whole thing out and then the succession of pained expressions until the burning heat lessened. Not so tough now, eh?