Jimmy's Place, Dickson image by ulterior epicure via Flickr Canberra's not known for its busy late night dining scene, a fact that's pained anyone's who's ever stumbled home from post-work drinks at 10pm and realised they haven't actually had dinner. There were four of us cruising back from a Brumbies rugby game on the weekend, our enthusiasm for a late dinner growing as quickly as the number of dispiriting "closed" signs on restaurant doors. But the lights were on at Jimmy's Place and there were even a couple of people waiting for takeaway. A hopeful inquiry was met with a flurry of menus and a table for four. Hot tea appeared and the kitchen quickly produced a succession of plates piled with roast duck, silky steamed tofu and leafy greens. It was more than enough for four hungry rugby fans who hadn't eaten since lunchtime and were still a bit high after photo ops with the players. For a late night in Canberra, it was a pretty decent meal and, for our vegetarian friends, a much happier alternative to a drive-through burger or greasy pizza from a cart outside a nightclub. The kitchen at Jimmy's Place closes at 11pm on Friday and Saturday, the latest I've seen in Canberra. It serves standard Asian dishes, from shark's fin soup to fried noodles, with plenty of greens and tofu for vegetarians. Food is decent but not outstanding and service is speedy. Other restaurants in Canberra where you can get dinner after 9pm: Parlour Wine Room 16 Kendall La, New Acton Serves tapas and desserts until 12 midnight, when the kitchen goes to a very limited, four-dish menu. But it's such a popular nightspot and bar that dashing out for a quick meal in your polar fleece isn't possible. Portia's Place 11 Kennedy St, Kingston A bit hit and miss but the much-loved Kingston hangout does open until 10pm. Portia fed us happily at 9.45pm every other night for a week last year, when we were moving house by hand. Tongue & Groove Cnr Bunda and Genge St, Civic It's crammed with party-goers on the weekend but slip past the velvet rope to the restaurant section and you can often get a table or a big chesterfield sofa. It won't be quiet and there might be laser disco lights, but pizzas and mains are served until 10pm.
Like Christmas Quartz
Banging through the door after work one evening, I tossed my keys into their bowl and relinquished my bag onto a dining chair. TK was cooking something, I could smell heat and garlic but he was being unusually quiet. Off with the shoes, padding into the little kitchen – nothing. He wasn't there.
Then I discovered the cookie tray on the dining table, heaped with treasure trove – rough crystals speckled through all bright green and ruby. The pile gave off a brilliant, tasty aroma, like someone cooking a chilli dish softly in the next room. From the bedroom, TK emerged with a particularly delighted look on his face. “What's this?” I asked, sniffing suspiciously. He rubbed his hands together. “Chilli garlic salt. Isn't it great?”  It turned out to be a pretty simple mix of rock salt, green and red chillies and garlic, all blended together and spread out to dry. But it took a couple of days to dry, that delicious smell of chilli and garlic fooling everyone who walked through the door into thinking there was a meal prepping. Finally TK scraped the mix into a blender and ground it into a fine – perhaps too fine – salt. It gives flavour with a good kick of warmth, if you use it carefully. Simex got a bit carried away and sprinkled a big spoonful onto fresh potato chips, leaving the boys a little choked up. But it's so tasty I sometimes sneak a (tiny) fingertipful if I see the jar on the counter, relishing the garlicky heat and the memory of ruby and green crystals, like Christmas quartz. E.U. Cafe This weekend we accidentally went to dinner at the E.U. Cafe. We planned to go out to dinner with Al and Simex and try a new restaurant. Our first pick, the Austrian restaurant Vienna, had closed since we added it to our list of places to try. And I only found out after listening three times to their garbled answering machine while trying to make a booking (“... and finally, please note Vienna restaurant has been closed for two months”). Our second choice, Ethiopian comfort food specialists Fekerte's, was closed for renovations all week. And the third choice, Iori, had already been visited by Al and Simex. So I randomly booked at E.U. Cafe, which has a very solid rep for good pan-European food but which I didn't think the guys would really be interested in. And it was a corker! TK's interest was piqued while we were still walking toward the restaurant, when he spotted their outdoor sign with “Waffle Wednesday” printed on it. Inside was a tapas list so appealing the guys couldn't decide which to order. “Stuff the mains, let's just get everything on the tapas menu,” TK eventually announced. So we (mostly) did. Plate after plate filled our cramped little table. Golden arancini with prawn risotto and corn salsa ($10). A dish of sauteed mushrooms with garlic and chili ($8). Tarts of caramelised onion on puff pastry with anchovies ($8). Seared prawns with sweet smoky chorizo ($10). Melting squares of unctuous pork belly ($8). Hungarian-style meatballs with tomato and a dab of sour cream ($8). Piles of chillied tiny calamari rings with toasted bread crumbs and pine nuts ($9). And a bowl of shoestring fries with garlic aioli so moreish that TK's quick visit to the facilities became a tactical error (Al and Simex left him exactly one chip.) I was hungry and didn't want all the tapas so I ordered a small plate of Venetian spaghetti ($16), with fennel, shreds of crab, scallops and mushrooms tossed in olive oil. It was light and tasty and there was enough to share with Simex. Desserts were beautiful despite a disappointing chocolate and espresso parfait ($12). TK had a slice of immensely satisfying Oscar torte ($7), a dark chocolate and hazelnut cake. But all the competition was for Al and my shared mascarpone and vanilla panna cotta with champagne strawberries ($12). The panna cotta was jellied and creamy, speckled through with vanilla bean. The only odd note was a triangle of decorative puff pastry, but Al appeared not to care. With seven tapas dishes, a small main, and four desserts, the bill came to $146 for the four of us, or about $36 each. Pretty reasonable for such a good feed, and you'll eat a lot worse in Canberra for twice the price. We plan to be back for their popular, hearty-sounding brunches – and Waffle Wednesday. E.U. Cafe, Griffith Shops. Food: 4/5 Service: 3/5 Value for Money: 5/5
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