Da Mario - Rosebery

I was catching up with a colleague after work today and she took me to a relatively new pizza joint in Rosebery. The brother to Pizza Mario, 'da Mario' is a open bistro-type restaurant serving pizzas and pastas, opened near Kitchen by Mike. We rocked up around 6.30pm and there were just a few table left in their no bookings dinner policy place.

We ordered a pizza each. My friend ordered a margherita pizza with prosciutto and rocket whereas I got the capricciosa (pizza with tomato, mozzarella, mushroom, artichoke, olives and ham). I wanted to add anchovies to my pizza but this was disallowed. They only do truely traditional pizzas - nothing extra, nothing subtracted. Even without my anchovies, both pizzas were really tasty and flavoursome. The base, however, probably wasn't my preferred. It was thin where the topping was - but slightly too soggy. The outer crust ring was a bit too doughy for my preference, but it was soft and bread-like, which my friend seemed to love. I guess that in general, it was a pretty tasty pizza ;)

margherita con ruchetta e crudo

capricciosa

Although we were both stuffed already, we couldn't pass the dessert which my friend recommended - the panna cotta with crushed pineapple and biscotti. The panna cotta was really smooth and creamy. It had the right amount of sweetness and matched with the pineapple really really well. On top of that, the biscotti bits added the right amount of crunch and almond flavour.

Panna Cotta

 All up, it was a pretty good meal. We both left clutching our stomachs, quite satisfied.

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40

Da Mario
36 Morley Avenue
Rosebery, NSW 2018
Tel: (02) 9669 2242

El Jannah - Blacktown

Our favourite charcoal chicken shop has opened out in Blacktown recently and this was fantastic news as a few of my friends live out that area and we could pop by for a feed. Just as popular as it's other joints in Granville and Punchbowl, its a good thing that this El Jannah spans across 3 shop fronts - meaning that there's a lot of seating (but probably not ample seating given it's crowd volume).

I've ordered my usual favourites here several time - quarter chicken with the pickle and bread condiments. I also ask for lettuce most times. And of course -the chips. The chicken here is as good as Granville. Tasty and charcoally... but as everyone knows - it's really actually the amazing garlic sauce that makes this AWEOME. The chips, unfortunately, are not as uniformly golden brown as the ones in Granville... guess quality control on the oil or the deep frying person isn't as strict out here.

my chicken meal

quarter chicken, pickles, garlic sauce

regular chips

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 29/40

El Jannah - Blacktown
44-48 Flushcombe Road
Blacktown
NSW 2148
Tel: (02) 8814 9485