GSMS - Balmain Cafe #1

Although this is the second post of the Great Sydney Martini Search, and the first post was about the fourth bar, this post is about the first and second bars, which weren’t bars but cafes.

If you need me to repeat that, I will but I cannot promise it will make any more sense the second time it did the first time around.

The first two bars (cafes) that we visited were pretty much as soon as I got of a red eye flight, which should explain the puffy eye and airplane hair. My friend lives in this cute little neighbourhood called Balmain. It is surrounded by the Sydney harbour on three sides and overlooks the skyline, Harbour Bridge and the tops of the Opera House.

We were eager to get started on the Martini Search, so we headed out across the street to a little cafe, the name of which I do not recall.

We asked the host if we could get a couple martinis. He looked at his watch, looked at us and said, “Now?”

He face looked a bit confused. You could see his mind ticking over and then surrendered, “Sure, have a seat. I will make you some martinis!” Then he got really excited.

“What kind of martinis were you after?”

“The kind with vodka, dirty & three olives,” I said.

He looked confused again. “Not gin?”

I am going to make a sidenote here that I am not interested in starting that whole boring debate as to which is a more traditional martini, gin or vodka. The fact of the matter is that vodka is more commonly used in the US and gin is more commonly used in the UK & British Commonwealth countries.

I prefer vodka.

About 20 minutes later, the host came back with the martinis, looking as proud as a father showing off his newborn twins.

That is correct. You see in the picture before you, two glasses filled with ice, topped with a metal bowl (normally used for dips) with three skewered olives (un-pitted).

Bless him because he tried so hard and the results did make me laugh, his mind was ticking over on how to keep the martini as cold as possible and that was the result.

He gets an ‘A’ for effort.

The martini, however, gets an ‘F’.

The host was so proud of his creation that I didn’t have the heart to tell him it stunk. Out of politeness, I had to drink my entire martini and all of my friend’s martini.