Canvas writer Greg Fleming reviews Dizengoff in Ponsonby, and proves it's an oldie but a goodie:
"It's one of the few places on the Ponsonby strip to not only survive but thrive (Prego and SPQR also take a bow). Its Jewish-inspired menu - no don't come here if you want a bacon-heavy brunch - like its decor - rarely changes, but that's a good thing when it features moreish classics like the chicken salad ($15.90) - on the menu for 22 years - and my own go-to: mushrooms on toast served with pesto and toasted sourdough ($16.50)."
"The cooking team is led by Kyle Street, formerly of Depot, and the kitchen vibe is busy and chatty. It's a beautiful thing to hear your order called out to a group of chefs who immediately begin working on its creation. Meanwhile, the floor staff are wheeling around yum cha-style trolleys which you can pick tiny plates from."
"In a restaurant long noted for peerless service, details jarred: tap water slopped unbidden into a glass half-full of $10-a-bottle sparkling; a wine list, declined once, delivered for a second time; they got one side dish wrong (and the one they delivered was of blanched greens so plain as to seem raw); we had to ask for a dessert menu after a 20-minute wait (although that is, admittedly, better than the industry standard, which is to menace you with it before the main-course dishes have been cleared)."
The "godfather" of fusion cuisine, Peter Gordon knows different potatoes need different treatment. He shares his best roast potato recipe with Bite:
"Floury spuds, great for mash, chips, baking and roasting, include agria, laura, ilam hardy and red rascal. As to how best to roast a spud - peel and cut your potatoes into large chunks. Boil in generous amounts of fairly heavily salted water until you can almost poke a knife through. Drain and leave in the colander for 5 minutes, then place back in the saucepan and put the lid on."
Celebrity chef Annabel Langbein shares her best asparagus recipes with Canvas:
"Of the fleeting and ephemeral tastes that nature brings to our tables, asparagus is the king. Long known as the harbinger of spring, asparagus pushes its sweet, fat stalks through the earth as the soil warms and the daylight hours start to stretch out. This is the moment we have waited for."
Ima Cuisine's recipe for Three-Rice Salad with Lentils and Roasted Vegetables. Picture / Callum Thomas
Viva talk to Yael Shochat from Ima Cuisine about her first cookbook, a combination of Mediterranean, North African, European and Middle Eastern dishes.
Two New York nutritionists have come up with an equation for finding the best breakfasts to help you keep trim:
"In what may be surprising to many, they recommend that about half the breakfast (between 44 per cent and 55 per cent to be precise) should be made up of carbohydrates - while avoiding sugary or processed foods, such as white bread."
New studies show wraps are high in salt and artificial perservatives, with some brands having three times the limit of sodium - before fillings are even added.
A 10-day series of delicious food and wine experiences kicks off today. There are 80 events to choose from, including a seafood feast with Al Brown and a Craggy Range garden party.
