We've already seen two new venues open their doors at The Lawns of the Lobby, but in a couple of weeks, there will be a third. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue And until the announcement last week, it was a venue that many Canberrans didn't even know was coming - even though it's the location of former icon The Lobby and sister cafe Porkbarrel.
Dave Young out the front of Ballyhoo ahead of its opening in August and, inset, the wood grill and pizza oven are the driving force behind the Ballyhoo menu. Pictures by Gary Ramage, supplied "It feels like the best-kept secret, right?" said Dave Young, the man behind the soon-to-be-opened Ballyhoo . "People would try to peer in behind the blinds and have no idea what was going on behind them.
"I'm not from Canberra. I'm not too familiar with The Lobby or Porkbarrel. Everybody talks about it.
"But I think part of why I was interested is that there is a bit of history behind this, and that's really interesting to be part of that, to be part of an icon reemerging. "There's a bit of that going on, so it's really good to be, at least at the start of that, and help mold it into something." For Young, Ballyhoo is the latest step in his culinary career, after closing his hatted restaurant Temporada earlier this year.
While Ballyhoo's neighbours Koto and Rosa's operate at the fine dining and casual outdoor bar levels respectively, the new addition sits firmly in the middle, with a menu ready to deliver great food and drinks. And the centrepiece driving the menu? The wood-fire grill and oven that is set to be the driving force behind the food offering, particularly the front end of the menu. "What we're going to be doing inside the restaurant here is all our bread is going to be woodfired bread, which is essentially a pizza dough but we're just going to cook it and let it puff up," Young said.
"A lot of the starters and snacks are going to try and make the bread the centrepiece of the start of the menu. Lots of things that will be great with this beautiful puffed bread, like anchovies or taramosalata, or some other dips and a few other bits and pieces that you want to tear the bread off, and dive into everything that's in front of you." A win for bread lovers, plus, the scent wafting through the National Triangle is sure to bring in a few stragglers wondering what is making the delightful smell of the Ironbark fire.
But it's not just the starters that are getting the fire treatment. A large portion will be created using the woodfire grill - a style of cooking Young is excited to get back to after having to swap it out for a gas option a while ago. "It really imparts flavour like no other and it's really hard to get past that," he said.
"Fire is like catnip for chefs. You start a fire, and there's something really sort of primal about it - you're going back thousands of years. "Once you've used a wood grill, it's hard to go back to a gas grill.
It's not as satisfying that way. "And there's a lot of skill to it, and it's challenging because you're always working with something that's got to maintain the right heat. Gas grills are easy - you just turn them on and that's fine.
This, you have to regulate what's happening. It's going to be a lot of fun." Ballyhoo will be releasing limited seating before the official launch in September.
The "first look" experience gives eager diners the exclusive opportunity to be among the first to dine, from August 20, with the restaurant open for dinner six days a week, for the first four weeks. Share Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Email Copy Amy Martin Canberra Times lifestyle reporter As the lifestyle reporter, I love finding out what makes people tick and giving insight into the different ways that you can enjoy the city we live in. Email: amy.
[email protected] As the lifestyle reporter, I love finding out what makes people tick and giving insight into the different ways that you can enjoy the city we live in.
Email: [email protected].
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