Happy 30th, Snookums

Happy 30th birthday to my best friend…

Friday night was the first part of the celebration, with friends gathering at Una’s for copious amounts of beer and deep-fried camembert. After spending most of Saturday in recovery mode, we went out last night for the dignified portion of the festivities with dinner at Oscillate Wildly. I’d been eager to get a table there ever since Augustus Gloop’s favorable review, so I made the booking nearly a month in advance. (It was one of the last available though, so call early if you plan to go!) We were not disappointed. Snookums started with the “charcuterie” (cold cut platter) with chorizo, prosciutto, duck paté, and duck terrine. I had the “boudin blanc,” which was a skinless “sausage” made from minced prawn and snapper mousse, served with white bean cassoulet. Both entrees were excellent in completely different ways; the boudin blanc was soft, mild, and subtle, but I nevertheless kept stealing bites of the terrine with its hint of fennel and pepper. We’d brought red wine so we went with red meat for the mains: fillet of beef for Rodd, and a “chartreuse” of lamb for me. The beef was a great piece of meat cooked perfectly, and my lamb (cooked for eight hours, shredded, and packed into a terrine lined with eggplant) was moist and savoury. For dessert, Snookums had the cheese board while I couldn’t resist the chocolate creme brulee with salty caramel popcorn. Overall I’d say Oscillate Wildly definitely lives up to the hype. Nothing was too inventive or “cheffy”; this was simply good food cooked well for shockingly little money (only $50/head for three courses). It’s probably the best feed we’ve ever had in Newtown.