The Sydney Traveler

Leichardt’s Norton Street Italian Festa is a highlight of Sydney’s cultural calendar, offering locals and tourists alike the chance to celebrate modern and traditional Italian fare.
This Sydney institution began twenty years ago. Then it showcased Italian food and coffee, but it’s grown to become much more than that. These days the emphasis is on two of life’s greatest pleasures: food and wine. If you love to indulge as much as I do, the classes, tasting sessions, and gourmet stalls will be right up your alley.
Food writer Joanna Savill and acclaimed chef Danny Russo will lead crowds in cooking classes designed …read more

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As a self confessed foodie, there’s one place I don’t hesitate to recommend at the moment. That’s Orange. This destination in country New South Wales has been doing some amazing things, producing some of the tastiest reds and most delicious fresh produce I’ve ever had.
Of course, we can’t all get to the country to experience them. So happily the country is coming to us this weekend! Taste Orange brings more than 30 food and wine stalls from the region to Bondi on Sunday.
There’ll also be cooking demonstrations and music to keep the crowds entertained, and children’s activities to keep the …read more

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For some time Melbourne has had one (just one!) thing over Sydney: wine bars. While we’ve been happy downing schooners at our local pub, the Melbournians have enjoyed these elegant rooms where wine can be enjoyed without food.
Now Sydney’s jumped on board with its first wine bar, MilleVini. The name, which means “a thousand wines” should be enough to excite any wine buff. In actual fact, the wine list is a bit smaller than that, but only just. The 400 bottled wines available should be enough to impress groups.
But things are a little bleak if you’re hoping for wine by …read more

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Image details: Gordon Ramsay Launches BBC Australian Good Food served by picapp.com

My legs are aching when I walk, and I’m utterly exhausted, but that’s what I get for spending the last two days in Sydney at the Good Food and Wine Show.
My husband and I are food and wine nuts. We arrive as the show starts, and don’t leave until it ends for the day. But if you hope to see everything, that’s the only way to do it. As it stands we had to skip a lot of wineries and we missed some of the food stands too. But …read more

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I’m counting down to one of my favourite Sydney events: the annual Good Food and Wine show. My husband and I have visited every year for the last three years. We tend to attend one day, but this year we’ve had to extend it to two. There’s just so much on!
Here are the things I’m most looking forward to:

The celebrity chefs. We have those prized tickets to Gordon Ramsey’s show, along with tickets to Matt Skinner and Tobie Puttock’s food and wine matching talk. We’re also hoping to snare some tickets on the day to see Tobie Puttock’s “Eately” lecture. …read more

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I have two big weaknesses: wine and cheese. So I was thrilled to find Sydney has a wonderful little spot designed to satisfy my two great loves. That hallowed place is the GPO Cheese and Wine Room.
Known as the “Temple of Cheese,” it’s recently been given a stylish new facelift. Intimate lighting sets a romantic mood, while the black marble floor and minimalist décor add an air of sophistication.
Unlike most nightspots, you don’t have to yell and scream over thumping music. The soft jazz sounds are the ideal backdrop for conversations with friends or that special someone.
But of course, the …read more

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Tomorrow marks the start of one of my favourite events, New South Wales Wine Week. What a marvelous concept, a week where we can indulge in our states wonderful wines without guilt.
To kick things off, Hyde Park will host the Good Living Cellar Door. With more than 100 premium wines from the state’s 14 wine regions, the event is the largest outdoor wine festival this city’s ever seen.
We all know wine on an empty stomach is a bad idea, so make sure you also indulge in the regional produce on offer.
Robber’s Dogs, Clayton Doley’s Organ Donors, and the Hipstones will …read more

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We all know the best wine in New South Wales comes from the Hunter Valley, but why go that far? The best drops in the valley are coming to the north shore next Sunday at the annual Hunter Uncorked event.
The festival runs from 11 am to 5 pm at The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach. It features delicacies from 16 of the region’s wineries and six Hunter restaurants. A mix of boutique wineries and household names will be on show.
If you prefer a beer, make sure you stop by the Blue Tongue Brewery stall. This is one of the best-kept local secrets, …read more

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I’ve been a little slow to update this weekend, as I spent most of it in the Hunter Valley. I saw Steely Dan play at Bimbadgen Estate, an experience that reminded me why I bother making the trip to the country to see shows.
After all, every artist that plays the Hunter Valley (or anywhere else in Australia for that matter) plays Sydney, so there must be some reason I bother driving all that way. As it so happens, there are several.
The choices are simple. In Sydney, the biggest musicians tend to play the soulless Entertainment Centre or ACER Arena. If we’re …read more

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Visiting a high school on a weekend probably sounds terrible to most people, especially if your teenage years were anything like mine. But hear me out. There’s actually a good reason to visit Newtown High on September 23. They’re hosting the yummiest festival around, Feastability.
Feastability will feature over 40 stalls showcasing the area’s eclectic international cuisine and finest drops. Newtown’s top restaurants, cafés, bakers, confectioners, and coffee makers will be there.
Of course you’ll need something to wash down all that food. Luckily local pubs, boutique brewers, and winemakers will be on hand.
But it’s not all about gluttony. The festival also …read more

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