Restaurant Criticism

David Dale - A Pierced Heart

David Dale voices his opinions on 2BL . He is the ex-editor of The Bulletin from whence he packed his bags after a disagreement about the ugliness of some Australians.

His new forum, which also uses the talents of Michael Dowe , is becoming more influential than the Sydney restaurant old guard would like to admit.

He is the only Sydney food celeb to think that price is paramount: “I have seen it go from the insane foodie period of the early eighties with everyone running around talking about this new restaurant or dish - the period of great self indulgence and of fascination in food IF it was trendy - through to now where value is placed on a place being relatively cheap, Asian and probably noisy BUT with the illusion of it being a bargain and of being somehow a legitimate experience ... the fad now is to say that you have discovered a cheap restaurant that isn't a slop-house. There has always been Chinese and Italian cheap places but now its - ah, the great thing is that this place serves char-grilled octopus, polenta and the entrees are $6.00 and the main courses $10.00 - the successful places are relatively cheap and have a Californian Asian flavour.

June 1991