I must have actually done alright with my first DC (note the new abbreviation!) blog because here I am being allowed back for a second round! (Or the mayor is just lazy…) Either way here I am typing away on the notebook again, so please go and amuse yourself elsewhere if you didn't like January's edition - KW is all over it again!
If there were a physical paper list of this dinner club it would have had one of those big red RESTRICTED ACCESS stamps plonked down on it because unfortunately, for the first time in DC history (I think), the numbers had to be capped. This meant a rather exclusive nature to the invites.
After the January event went off without a hitch (serious injuries have been patched up after the incident-riddled beach cricket match) I was charged with organising instalment #2 in 2012. I didn't exactly need to be pushed into this, and I decided that we were going back to Western Europe for a long overdue Spanish feast to see out summer (and well done Melbourne for rolling with me and putting on a sweltering 30-something degree day). But unfortunately due to the small and intimate nature of such restaurants, which means pre-bookings and cancellation fees, large numbers were never going to be feasible. Therefore I made the executive decision to cap numbers at 10, inviting only the dedicated souls who ventured to Edithvale for the January chapter on a first-in-best-dressed nature (sorry if you are reading this as a previous DCer and didn't score an invite, don't hold it against me!)
Having said this, upon reading the guest list below, you will notice a #11 'intruder' - although technically I suppose he could argue he was present at the beach that night anyway:
1. T Hillyer
2. R King
3. L Read
4. K Wilson
5. S Haughey
6. V Dennis
7. J Coleman
8. E Haynes
9. K Williams
10. M Read
11. H King
Anyway… Ole! We were off to Portello Rosso in the heart of the CBD to sample some food from the country that gave us matadors, Salvador Dali, crazy festivals, Rafa, and stupidly catchy music on tourist buses (in-joke).
We walked into a beautiful space and were seated on a high table right in front of the bar/kitchen area, meaning we could see each course (and there were many as Portello is a tapas/jamon bar) being plated up before it was brought out to us. After initial ordering of sangrias (and ginger beers for non-drinkers/mums/Feb Fasters) we we treated to some amazing dishes including tortillas with shaved manchego, beef and blue cheese croquettas, pork, mint and rice meatballs in an amazing sauce, crispy skinned pork belly, grilled king prawns, patatas bravas and last but not least - CHURROS CON CHOCOLATE! Share plates are always fun as everyone can pass their judgement on the same thing, not to mention the situation of the 5 minute stare at the final item on the plate before the awkward 'does anyone want the last one?' query (Which is shit really - you can't say yes can you, clearly they want it if they have to ask?! People need to learn to use the "look, there's a distraction" line...)
We loved Portello's staff who did a great job despite our best attempts to throw them off with food allergies, plate smashing and a bit of general rowdiness - they were fantastic (and that made their photo-bombing behind the bar ok).
With Baby King making his DC debut at only 2 weeks old - stunning commitment really, and quite ironic given he was announced to the world at the same event 6 months prior! - this made for loads of fun an many an inappropriate baby poo/fart/boob joke. While was passed around the table more than the olive oil, he didn't seem to mind too much and was on his best behaviour for 99% of the night. However it soon became clear that he was, as E Haynes observed, certainly R King's son. At no time more than when passed on to V Dennis, who had a stunning maxi dress on that shall we say, allowed a fairly decent V-cut. Harrison clearly being hungry… well… let's just cut to the chase - went for more than a couple of boob grabs!
Thanks for a great night everyone - and thanks to the mayor for allowing me to share a couple of my favourite cuisines with the crew. I am now officially handballing DC months March and April over to V Dennis (as Shelley said, in true V Dennis style, probably do not expect invite until day prior to event) - who knows where we will end up?? Shit's about to get interesting!!
KW out xx
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