Sunday, September 4, 2011

Hemingway's, Manly


Happy Father's Day to all Dad's and we hope everyone enjoyed the family festivities.  However, if you're in the same boat as Cheesecake Boy and I, where we don't celebrate Father's Day, we hope you made the best of the gorgeous weather and had a lovely day.  Being the lame couple that we are, instead of celebrating Father's Day, Cheesecake Boy and I celebrate a made up day which we call "Other Half Day", so to make the most of this occasion of spending time together, we decided to head down to Manly Beach and do the walk to Shelly Beach.  We woke up a lot later than expected this morning, so first things first, we had to settle the hungry tummies before our stroll.  The quest to feed ourselves led us to Hemingway's for lunch.


Once we were seated, a bottle of water in a Hendrick Gin bottle was presented to us.  I loved the dark manliness of this bottle, I'm sure Hemingway would of approved.


The menu was presented in old story books, and between 12pm to 4pm the menu consisted of a small selection of sandwiches and sides.  However, we still have to mull about which sandwiches to pick between the two of us, as they all looked good.  The pondering was not an issue at all, as I was feeling right at home with all my ipod favourites being played on the sound system, much to Cheesecake Boy's amusement, as our musical taste tends to differ considerably at times.


As we're waiting for our meals, the drinks arrived and Cheesecake Boy's cappuccino came out first.  When Cheesecake Boy first ordered his drink the waiter nicely inquired if he wanted a double shot, which we thought was a nice touch.  Cheesecake Boy thought this was definitely one of the better coffees he's had from a lot of averages cups lately, but not the best.

Cappuccino

My usual order of English breakfast tea with a slice of lemon, came in an adorable red teapot.  Don't worry it wasn't filled up to the brim, so pouring was still very manageable with one hand.

English breakfast tea with lemon

My 'pork' sandwich came first and was served on sourdough with pulled pork, apple chutney, and coleslaw, with a side of salt and vinegar crisps.  This was one of the better pulled pork sandwiches I have tried, as it had the perfect ratio of tender pulled pork, beautifully sweet apple chutney and wonderfully creamy but crunchy coleslaw.  All the flavours of the sandwich nicely complemented each other, and I liked the how the pickle on the side balanced out the sweetness of my sandwich.

Pork, $10

Cheesecake Boy 'beef' sandwich was made up of roasted beef, rocket, horseradish and caramelised onion on pumpkin sourdough.  It's a classic combination, with an unusual addition of tasty pumpkin sourdough, but it works.  This sandwich was right up Cheesecake Boy's alley, as he enjoyed his generous hit of horseradish, and they didn't skimp on the roasted beef either.

Beef, $10

We ordered a side of hand cut chips with tomato and date sauce, as we had no idea the sandwiches came with crisps.  Disappointment set in, as we realised that the chips were not crunchy at all, and were rather limp.  It was a shame, as I really liked the rich depth of flavour of the tomato and date sauce.

Chips, $8

Cheesecake Boy and I both love a good sandwich and Hemingway's definitely hit the spot.  We found the sandwiches excellent value for the quality in these quirky, but relaxed settings opposite the beach.  We'd happily return for another sandwich lunch, but we'd rather go back and try the playful dinner menu of chip degustations, chicken nuggets and ice cream sundaes.  One of these days, we'll get around to it.


Just to prove that we didn't get lazy after our lunch, we really did walk over to Shelly Beach.  I haven't been to Shelly Beach since my primary school years.  Some memories definitely sprang to mind as we walked passed the first rock pool that I ever swam in on the way.

Shelly Beach

On the way back to Manly Beach, Cheesecake Boy found this lizard that ended up posing for us and then everyone wanted to take a photo of this smiling lizard.


Anyway, regardless of how you spent your day.  Cheesecake Boy and I hope you enjoyed your day and the glorious weather as much as we did. 


Munching and walking away, Dumpling Girl.


Hemingway's
48 North Steyne
Manly NSW 2095
Ph: (02) 9976 3030
http://www.hemingwaysmanly.com.au/_.html

Hemingway’s Manly on Urbanspoon

16 comments:

Von said...

Ngawww :) Happy Other Half day then! :D I love the menus!! And how the sandwiches are served with salt and vinegar chips!

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

That lizard scares me!

I love the concept at this place and what a lovely way to visit Manly.

Squeak said...

Really want to visit this place soon....sounds fantastic.

john@heneedsfood said...

Other half day - I love it! Pity about the stale chips. How gorgeous is Shelly Beach, I learned how to scuba dive there!

sugarpuffi said...

love the gin bottle! so vintage looking

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello Von, Thanks :D. I love all the quirky touches too.

Hey Joey, hehe trust me if that lizard was at my place I would have been screaming, and it has happened. I absolutely freaked when my dog once gave me a huge lizard when I assumed it was a stick.

Hi Squeak, we really enjoyed lunch, it was nice and unassuming.

Lol, thanks John. We saw some scuba divers there too yesterday. Lovely spot Shelly Beach, was the place where I discovered that my skin was not immune to sunburn after all :)

Hiya sugarpuffi, I loved the bottle too, it has so much character.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

We love it at Hemingways! The dinner menu is quite different from the lunch menu and I'd definitely recommend going back and trying it :)

Nic@diningwithastud said...

That chip degustation sounds interesting :) Happy Other Half Day!! :)

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Lorraine, they seem vastly different, so will try to head back soon :)

Hello Nic, just wish it was available at lunch too. Aww, thank you :D

JasmyneTea said...

A bit odd that they have a chip degustation, but the chips you had sucked! Oh well, their chip chef musn't have been working :P Happy Other-Half Day!

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Jasmyne, I'm hoping it was a one off :D Thank you hope you enjoyed your day too.

Keely aka The Richest Girl in Bondi said...

What a quaint spot (shame about your soggy chips). I think it's so lovely that though you don't celebrate Father's Day it's not a waste - Other Half day is a wonderful idea. Maybe I should pick a date to celebrate 'Other Half Day'? (That isn't Feb 14).

Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said...

The husband and I spent the day with our mothers at yumcha! It was beautiful weather though, and would've been great to spend at Manly.

Funnily enough when I last walked past Hemmingway's, I was eyeing that beef sandwich on the menu =p

Did you pop round to Zumbo's afterwards?

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Keely, I guess we are hopeless romantics :)

Hello mademoiselle delicieuse, lol Cheesecake Boy wanted the pastrami but he knew I couldn't decide between pork and beef so he chose the beef, he demolished it anyway.

We were trying to be good, too many sweets for us lately. Not even Ben and Jerry's was being considered :)

henry said...

hehehe I love the design of thise place. from the font to the hemingway graphic....

sandwiches look the goods too. will have to try it someday.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello Henry, the place is definitely different in a good way. The sandwiches were lovely.