|
|
|
The New Spanish Grill at the Mildura Grand
|
|
|
Restaurant
|
Mildura
|
Credit Cards:
All major cards
Reviewed By
Sue Dyson and Roger McShane
|
Address:
Corner of Seventh and Langtree Streets (entry off Langtree Street)
Mildura, Victoria
Country:
Australia
|
If you only have one night in Mildura you should definitely eat at Stefano's where you'll have a memorable dining experience. If you have more time then there are other options, most of them created by the unstoppable Stefano de Pieri. One is the New Spanish Grill. The fire source is mallee root coals, a renowned source of firewood and by Victorian outback standards, quite a local product.The menu is small, featuring several cuts of steak from two different sources. Some are from cows that have been grazed on mallee scrub and then fattened with grain. The others are grain fed. If there's two of you, try one of each and sample the difference. We enjoyed the beef that had had its time in the mallee - not quite as melt in the mouth but heaps of flavour. There's also at least one grilled chicken and one grilled fish dish. One of the best things, though, is the whole back page of the menu is devoted to describing the how the two types of beef have been treated and the butchers from where they are sourced. Pride in the sources of his produce shone through in De Pieri's A Gondola on the Murray cooking series on ABC television and you see it here too. It makes you become more involved in what you eating, educates you and reminds you of the respect we owe our great producers. Like many steak houses, The New Spanish Grill has a salad bar from which you can select your own salad. What makes this one different from most is that it only contains a couple of simple, fresh and delicious salads. It's a benchmark that those who create groaning tables by opening tins of beans, beetroot and the like and smothering them with sugar-sweet commercial dressings could well emulate. We had a lovely salad of cherry tomatoes and another of avocado and greens. Just right with a beautifully-cooked, juicy piece of steak.There's a good selection of wine. We can highly recommend the 2001 Veritas Bull's Blood. Made by Rolf Binder, this dense, rich wine is a blend of shiraz and mataro (mouvedre) pressings and was perfect with the read meat.The New Spanish Grill is open for lunch Monday to Friday and dinner Monday to Saturday. If you don't have time to eat, the bar itself, with its sleek and comfortable leather chairs and banquettes, is also worth a visit. There's a good range of wines by the glass although surprising little to eat - the Spanish in the name had prepared us for tapas but that wasn't to be.Mildura Grand Hotel
|
|
|