The Weekend Edition x Gerard’s Pop-Up Brunch
You know The Pop-Up Hotel. You’ve seen our Pop-Up Picnic. Now, The Weekend Edition is hosting its first-ever Pop-Up Brunch! Gerard’s Bistro is bringing back brunch for one weekend only for this year’s James Street Food & Wine Trail, and we felt that was something to celebrate. Together with our good friends at Gerard’s, we’re hosting an intimate cocktail brunch banquet on Saturday July 28. In the cosy surrounds of Gerard’s new private dining space (expertly styled by our pals at west elm), guests will be a treated to a Middle Eastern morning feast, including dishes never before served at Gerard’s created exclusively for our brunch by chef Ben Williamson. Dishes such as spiced ground beef with warm hummus and warm chickpea and yoghurt fatteh with crisp flatbread and burnt butter will be served alongside Middle Eastern mimosas, Lebanese coffee and Arabian iced tea. west elm will also be giving away gift vouchers and lucky door prizes to guests. This is one brunch date you won’t want to miss. Tickets are limited – head to our Event Guide for full details, and be alert later today to find out how you can win a seat at the table!

Craft Wine Store Coorparoo
Coorparoo’s growth continues. Red Hill’s renowned Craft Wine Store is soon to gain a sibling venue, set to open late July/early August on Old Cleveland Road next to Coles. Owners Tony and Tanya Harper have just begun working on the fit-out, which will be quite different to its Red Hill counterpart. That’s about all that will be different, however – much like Red Hill, Craft Wine Store Coorparoo will offer a selection of craft beers, artisan spirits, biodynamic and hands-off wines, showcasing small producers and Queensland makers, and the two stores will share the same knowledgable staff. Tony and Tanya’s aim is to offer the suburb a selection that it doesn’t currently have access to, working to fine-tune the range to locals with as little cross over with nearby stores as possible. Craft Wine Store Coorparoo will run weekly tastings, and plans are in motion to use the rear carpark area for events and larger tastings incorporating food trucks, music and more.

Australia’s Top Restaurant Awards 2018
Last night saw the country’s hospitality best gather in Sydney for the annual Australia’s Top Restaurant Awards presented by the Australian Financial Review. Uniquely, the top 100 restaurants for these awards are selected by Australia’s top chefs and restaurateurs, chosen from a list of 500 complied by The Financial Review’s editors and critics. Victoria’s Brae took out the number-one spot, followed by the likes of Ester, Saint Peter, Attica, Embla and Fleet in the top ten. This year, one in five restaurants were new to the list, including South Brisbane’s Gauge at number 47 and Burleigh Heads’ Rick Shores at number 98. Gerard’s Bistro took the top honour for the state at number 40, with Wasabi Restaurant and Bar in Noosa Heads rounding out the Queensland inclusions at number 51. You can work your way through the full list via The Financial Review’s website.

Brisbane Festival
After drip-feeding us tantalising morsels to get us hyped for its annual celebration, Brisbane Festival has finally dropped its gargantuan 2018 program. Nearly 600 performances across 70 shows have been crammed into the bill, which has been divided into three acts, one for each of the festival’s three weeks. From September 8–29, Brisbane Festival will showcase eight premiere works, two major music spectaculars at the Brisbane Riverstage, numerous shows at festival hubs Treasury Brisbane Arcadia, The Courier-Mail Spiegeltent, The Tivoli and Kelvin Grove’s Theatre Republic, as well as nightly river show #CelebrateBrisbane River of Light. The program is too immense to succinctly round-up here, so head to the Event Guide to find out all the juicy details.

Holy Shiitake Pitch Night winners
On Tuesday June 26, 18 hopeful Brisbane hospitality entrepreneurs pitched their culinary vision to a team of panellists at the shark-tank style Holy Shiitake Pitch Night. Hosted by hospitality equipment funder Silver Chef in collaboration with Wandering Cooks, the Holy Shiitake series saw a selection of budding businesses pitch and compete to win a share in $50,000 funding to help bring their hospitality dreams to life. The top prize went to the self-described flavour pimps from Mongrel, who are currently working on their first bricks-and-mortar dog-friendly bar and kitchen in Milton. The trio shared in the $50,000 winnings with artisan granola bakers Bask & Co, almond-milk makers Genki Milk Co, and organic herb and superfood providores Zandi Organics. Get the full details on The Weekend Edition this week!

If you’ve heard something that’s worth mentioning in The Weekend Edition’s Pavement Whispers, email [email protected].