The Grocer
The round-up: replenish your home bar with spirits from Southeast Queensland's best craft distilleries
Food & Drink

The round-up: replenish your home bar with spirits from Southeast Queensland’s best craft distilleries

11 Mar 2021

If the COVID lockdowns were good for one thing, it forced us to pay more attention to our home bar situation. With local watering holes shuttered for a lengthy stretch, many of us chose to support the independent craft spirit scene by stocking up on bottles for at-home consumption. Even though the bars are back open, we're still invested in making our cocktail cart as good as it can be. Southeast Queensland's boutique distilling industry is booming right now, with many small-batch operations putting the state on the map when it comes to craft sips. We've collated a list of top-notch distilleries from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, helping you fill any gaps in your collection or encourage you to replenish depleted stocks. more

Food News
Rita's Burgers brings big buns and good times to Cabarita
Food & Drink

Rita’s Burgers brings big buns and good times to Cabarita

04 Mar 2021

We like big burgers and we cannot lie. If you too are partial to wrapping your mitts around a big, beautiful burger and are powerless to resist the unmistakeable crunch of fried-chicken, do yourself a favour and make haste to Rita's Burgers in Cabarita. Nestled next door to Nectar Juice House and across from Fuel Bakehouse, Rita's is all about those soft buns, juicy patties and good times. more

Head south for top-notch salumi and sips at Honour Brunswick Heads
Food & Drink

Head south for top-notch salumi and sips at Honour Brunswick Heads

04 Mar 2021

About a year ago, a newcomer took up residence in a prime position in Brunswick Heads. On a bustling corner in town overlooking the river, Honour Espresso and Salumi Bar quickly became a crowd favourite, serving up top-notch coffee and eats all day. Its new wine and salumi evening menu is receiving rave reviews from locals and travellers alike, who can't get enough of the bistro's thoughtful fare. more

Bars
The perfect pair – QT Hotels and Four Pillars have made a gin baby
Food & Drink

The perfect pair – QT Hotels and Four Pillars have made a gin baby

04 Mar 2021

We love a good pairing – cookies and cream, rosé and sunsets, macaroni and cheese (okay, anything at all with cheese), and now you can add QT and Four Pillars to the list. The unexpected partnership brings together the world's most-loved gin (they even have the award to prove it) and the quirky hotel brand to make a beautiful gin baby and let us be the first to say, welcome to the world, little one. more

The Drop
The Drop with Olivia Evans – Mediterranean summer in an Australian glass
Food & Drink

The Drop with Olivia Evans – Mediterranean summer in an Australian glass

25 Feb 2021

Wine is a unique way to travel, particularly when you can’t. Grape varieties continue to be cultivated on Australian land, with rising interest in alternative strands that differ from the likes of your everyday pinot grigio. It makes for marvellous diversity and creative breadth for wine producers. For those of us who long to travel to regions out of reach, we can dream in our glass with produce that is both exotic and our own. more

Food News
Sip sake and feast on fine fare at Beun Modern Japanese in Mermaid Waters
Food & Drink

Sip sake and feast on fine fare at Beun Modern Japanese in Mermaid Waters

25 Feb 2021

Next door to a a 7-Eleven and a petrol station may not be the first location that springs to mind when you think of fine dining, but that's precisely what makes Beun Modern Japanese a little bit different from the norm. The quaint venue quietly opened its doors earlier this year and is dishing up an unexpected combination of tastes, techniques and flavours from around the world – a nod to chef Yusuke Ito's diverse culinary experience. more

Food News
Experience deliciously authentic Italian gelato at Coolangatta's new gelateria Ottimo
Food & Drink

Experience deliciously authentic Italian gelato at Coolangatta’s new gelateria Ottimo

24 Feb 2021

There are some locales that have an unspoken reputation – when you know, you know. Ottimo on Marine Parade in Coolangatta is one of those places. The sweet gelateria opened its doors in December 2020 next door to Xenia Bar & Restaurant and is dishing up amazingly authentic gelato, flaky croissants, delightful danishes and top-notch brews of the caffeinated kind. Italian for 'excellent', Ottimo is firmly establishing itself as a bonafide local gem and once you get a glimpse of the goods, you’ll see why. more

Food News
Enjoy a taste of the outback with meat delivery service Horizon Grazing
Food & Drink

Enjoy a taste of the outback with meat delivery service Horizon Grazing

23 Feb 2021

The scorching midday heat, the smell of bug spray mixed with sizzling snags filling the air and a grumbling tummy getting louder as the minutes tick by – a Saturday arvo barbecue is an undeniable part of the quintessential summer experience. If you’re keen to pick up the tongs one coming weekend, we suggest ordering your next bevy of barbecue bites from Horizon Grazing – a paddock-to-plate experience that’s delivering ethically raised meat straight to your door. more

Food News
Macca's is giving us a taste of New Zealand with its new Cookie Time McFlurry
Food & Drink

Macca’s is giving us a taste of New Zealand with its new Cookie Time McFlurry

22 Feb 2021

When it comes to sweet treats, our Kiwi friends sure know what's up. Plenty of New Zealand's cult-status confections have made their way to our shores, from Whittaker's Peanut Slabs and Cadbury Perky Nanas to Pascall Pineapple Lumps and of course, Cookie Time. In a tastebud-tantalising twist of events, McDonald's is taking your favourite baked beauty, mashing it up and pouring it over its universally adored soft serve to create a new ice-cream flavour – the Cookie Time McFlurry. more

The round-up: where to get your marg on this National Margarita Day
Food & Drink

The round-up: where to get your marg on this National Margarita Day

18 Feb 2021

Nothing says 'party' like a national day dedicated to a drink, and this Monday 22 February is National Margarita Day – a whole day of celebration in honour of the tequila-based tipple. To commemorate the occasion, we've rounded up some of the coast's best margaritas for you. National Margarita Day may fall on a Monday, but we've done the hard work early so you can enjoy a marg (or a few) this weekend – unless you fancy a sickie from work. So go ahead, read on, and drink up! more

cafe
Sip coffee and eat crumpets at the dreamy new-look Next Door Espresso in Tweed Heads
Food & Drink

Sip coffee and eat crumpets at the dreamy new-look Next Door Espresso in Tweed Heads

18 Feb 2021

If you've travelled along Dry Dock Road in Tweed Heads, chances are you caught a glimpse of Next Door Espresso's crisp-white facade (or the gigantic letters perched on the roof that spell out the sweetest word in the English language – COFFEE) and thought to yourself, 'one day, I will stop'. Friends, do yourself a favour and make today that day because the quaint cafe has undergone a seriously incredible transformation straight out of your Pinterest dreams. The stunning new space overlooking Terranora Creek is the perfect setting for beautiful breakfasts and caffeinated catch-ups.  more

Food News
Tickled pink – there's a rosé festival coming to the coast so sign us the heck up
Food & Drink

Tickled pink – there’s a rosé festival coming to the coast so sign us the heck up

12 Feb 2021

Sipping a glass of chilled rosé in the sunshine is undoubtedly one of our favourite ways to spend an afternoon. If you too are partial to a cheeky glass (bottle) of pretty plonk, go ahead and clear your calendar for Saturday May 1 (and while you're at it, may as well pencil in a fried-chicken-and-Netflix binge for the following day) because colour us happy – there's a rosé festival coming our way. The inaugural Rosé Coast Gold Coast will take over Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach for one glorious day of day-drinking and perfect pairings. more

Food News
Party of five – Cluccboi adds Sugarboi, Dragonboi, Deliboi and Fryboi to the family
Food & Drink

Party of five – Cluccboi adds Sugarboi, Dragonboi, Deliboi and Fryboi to the family

11 Feb 2021

It's hard to believe that once upon a time, delivery options were limited to pizza or your local Chinese restaurant. Thankfully, things have changed, and these days, your options are limited only by your imagination and proximity to delivery partners. If you happen to reside in or around the Southport area and are a fan of the finger-lickin' chicken from Cluccboi, get excited because owners (and chief Cluccbois) Stephen Kakoniktis and Chris Withers have expanded the family to five. Allow us to introduce you to the new bois on the block ... more