When we have a free Friday night one of our favourite ways to spend it is to meet at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre after work for a couple of hours of free live jazz. It’s a fantastic set up. Fairy lights weave their way up the trees; the lawn is covered in picnic blankets, chairs and tables; the placing is buzzing with people catching up, laughing, waving to arriving friends; all centred around a stage of brilliant performers…
Sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the atmosphere, for us this is really about winding down after the working week and chilling out to the sounds of cool jazz.
When we’ve had our fill of the live music it’s time to fill our bellies, and we wander down Melbourne Street to the wonderful tapas and wine range at Era (South Brisbane).
Era has been around since late 2006. Before that the owners ran another great Brisbane restaurant, Circa.
The tapas selection is mouth-watering. Our favourites: lamb pastilla with minted yoghurt, goat cheese and pancetta parcel with fig, goujons of flathead with tartare sauce, manchego cheese and herb croquettes, and tomato tart with rocket and parmesan. Plus, there are plenty of others to choose from and the menu changes regularly.
The balance in each dish is perfect. Take, for example, the lamb pastilla. It is savoury with just a hint of sweet; the filling is soft but the filo pastry on the outside is golden with a bit of crunch; and the lamb has beautiful spices complemented by the cool, creamy minted yoghurt.
All of these delights are beautifully presented in reasonable portions on a platter to share. And it feels positively decadent tucking in to such wonderful food with a good bottle of white or red wine.