Matthew Michaelis
When you come across people with vision and experience you tend to see it straight away. When it comes to restaurants though, you don’t always meet the people behind the food you’re eating, but you soon get a sense of what they might be trying to accomplish.
The results of experience and vision, and often the lack of these attributes, soon reveal themselves on your plate and in the hands of those delivering it.
If you happen to have eaten in the Park Street Pasta Bar in Brunswick Heads, you’ll see that years of service and understanding are present and accounted for.
The menu has good and interesting pasta dishes made from organic flours and fresh local produce. It may have ‘Pasta Bar’ in its title, but don’t be discouraged if you’re after something more than Italian cuisine.
There’s fusion in an interesting and sexy mix finding its way through the specials. Entrees that may be wasabi oysters, or perhaps Asian styled pulled pork, are blackboarded weekly specials.
I’ve eaten here breakfast, lunch and dinner and the fare is consistently good and carefully brought to plate. Their Italian is impeccable (not just their grasp of the language) and made on the premises.
Maki and Michael Dackiw are the owners here. They met in Milan where Maki owned and operated her restaurant La Pesa Trattoria. This is now their third eatery so you can assume this wife and husband team are no amateurs. Michael was the maitre de table and sommelier in La Pesa but is now head chef at Park. Maki is up front here as she was in Milan.
This place is very much al fresco. Inside seating and an outside wooden promontory for sun. A decor that’s as tasteful as any boutique eatery could be. Fresh garnish hangs on a rustic wall across from wooden boards groaning with ‘cronuts’ (a handmade organic donut/croissant cross originating in New York).
The cronuts here are so popular I was told, that people are phoning ahead from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to reserve their share. Try breakfast with organic corn fritters or Possum Creek free-range eggs; or burnt butter organic ricotta pancakes with a banana and date butter.
Dinner or lunch just happens here – try a handmade organic seasonal vegetable lasagne or a vegetarian Pasto Trofie (pesto made with fresh green beans and in-house semi-dried roasted tomatoes). Vegans – look away now!
A weekly ‘protein’ special with dishes such as slow-cooked beef cheek, celeriac puree, sautéed spinach and Jerusalem artichokes may catch your eye.
You’re not hungry when you book a restaurant in advance so it may be comforting to know that, in this restaurant, professionals are arranging your meal out. It takes some restaurateurs years to realise that the customer pays the bills.
For the operators, the tables are their living. For the diner, I get the feeling that receiving professional service and good food will be a walk in the Park.
Park Street Pasta Bar
BYO, Sun–Wed 7am–4pm; Thurs–Sat 7am–9pm ish.
3 Park Street Brunswick Heads, phone 6685 0265.
www.parkstpastabar.com.au
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