I didn't even know we had an Australia Day to celebrate, but it's a good thing we did. Although the coldest night of the year started with me sitting on Nick's stoop waiting for someone to find me (the double whammy: no phone number and broken door buzzer!) I very quickly got a tummy warming meat pie and some yummy sweets. I also learned a lot about the commonwealth and convicts!
Meat pies, according to Nick (all information here will be according to him!) are quintessentially Australian and consumed often at sporting events - in the American hot dog variety of popularity. They are a little like chicken-pot pie, and should be consumed smothered with tomato sauce or ketchup. Typically they are filled with beef, but he got a variety from the East Village Tuck Shop for us to taste - lamb, chili con carne, and one really curried chicken pie.
Then suddenly, there was a "vanilla slice" in front of me - blobby custard between layers of crispy thin dough and with a sweeeet vanilla glaze on top. Even though the sugar was already making the room spin, I could not resist the ever popular Australian Tim Tam - two layers of chocolate cookie with gooey cream in the middle and glaze all around. There is a special way to eat a Tim Tam, apparently, which involves biting off both ends, dipping it in tea and sucking the cream out. Sounds like a marvelous idea.
After consuming all of the above, along with an Australian Shiraz-Cabernet, champagne and beer, we played a rousing game of Cranium. After all the Australian comestibles, I don't think our craniums were functioning at top form, because it collectively took a while to figure out the rules. Um, I still don't know. A few notable "star performer" charades: Lena's "tongue and groove", Sal's "energizer bunny", and Erin's amazing talent for humming and drawing with her eyes closed!
Hurray for Australia!!
Tuck Shop
68 E 1st St
New York, NY
212-979-5200
www.tuckshopnyc.com
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