martedì 18 ottobre 2016

Australia // Food & Drink and the strange case of the BYO

"There are many points in life when we cannot see what awaits us around the corner, and it is precisely at such times, when our path forward is unclear, that we must bravely keep our nerve, resolutely putting one foot before the other as we march blindly into the dark" 


Ciao a tutti,

Back in Milano after an 18-day-trip along the East Coast. Simply perfect! Breathed every single moment, tasted every single street, swum every single sea and surfed a wave every 10 ;)

Once arrived in Sydney last September I realized very quickly I forgot almost everything of my year there and I felt a bit upset. How was it possible? Everything already gone?

Actually, it wasn't.





Everything was there... I just needed to feel home again.

For instance... at the Coles (ed. an Australian supermarket chain) I felt as strange to see the liquor section outside the supermarket. I was in front of a reality I perfectly knew - I mean I know that alcohol is sold outside the supermarket - but I was not used to it any longer.

You might not know that .... but in Australia if you want a bottle of wine or a 6-pack of beer, you don't find it in the aisles of the supermarket, but at the shop next-door because according to the Australian laws every liquor shop requires a special license and that's even the reason why some bars or restaurants do not sell alcohol.

Some of them are called BYO, or Bring Your Own, that means that people can bring their own wine or beer to enjoy with their meal since they do not have a licence for that. Usually a small corkage fee is applied - around 5 / 10 AUD - either per bottle or per head.

BYO was first introduced in 1965. This was pretty cool because many small restaurants were able to open without having to pay thousands of dollars for a liquor license. Dining out suddenly became affordable. In particular for travellers lol. And that's was my case (Yellow Tail n°1 - btw we have that brand in Milan as well).


Me @ Pyrmont Bridge - Sydney, 28th April 2015
My first work place, a pizza shop, was a BYO. Its name was Gladiatori, unfortunately it has changed owner, but trust me that was for me the best pizza I have ever eaten. All ingredients coming from Italy... I can honestly say that I didn't miss Italian food there.

The shop was located in Pyrmont, a residential area of Sydney, very close the CBD. I still remember the long walks from Market St. to get there across the Pyrmont bridge. If I close my eyes it's still all there...

I am at home.

"The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd.
The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before." - A. Einstein

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