http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/simon-thomsen/ Simon Thomsen is restaurant critic for The Daily Telegraph. In a past life, he wandered the world, working as a chef and waiter before deciding he wields a pen better than a knife.  Simon’s munched his way around NSW for 15 years and was editor of the Good Food Guide for six years. His wife calls him the World’s Most Sustainable Fisherman because, despite wetting a line regularly, Simon takes nothing from the sea. Friends panic when inviting him over for dinner, until they realise his perfect meal is pork and fennel sausages with mash. Christmas cake increases his contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Restaurant-no-shows-should-plate-up-or-shut-up/ The woman booked a table for 10 at 7pm, Thursday, at the hip Bentley Bar and Restaurant in Sydney’s Surry Hills. Owner Nick Hildebrand had to turn away four couples trying their spontaneous luck because his 50-seater was fully booked, but by 7.45pm, that big table still hadn’t arrived so he called them and was told they were on the way. It sat empty for another 30 minutes, so he called again but this time, she didn’t answer. They never arrived. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Simon Thomsen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Restaurant-no-shows-should-plate-up-or-shut-up/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Restaurant-no-shows-should-plate-up-or-shut-up/#item7314 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:55:45 +0000 Simon Thomsen | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/festival-of-obvious-ideas-7-pig-out-when-you-eat-out/ Guillaume Brahimi makes the World’s Best Mashed Potato in his posh restaurant, Guillaume at Bennelong, at the Sydney Opera House. It costs $14. I could go there for dinner and happily eat nothing but the Paris mash. Why’s it so good? Well, you try tossing an entire packet of butter in with four potatoes next time you’re making mash to serve with snags. You’ll win Masterchef in no time too. Quay at Sydney’s Circular Quay is regarded as one of the world’s best restaurants (ranked No. 26). Yes, chef Peter Gilmore is clever, but I reckon brushing almost everything with butter before it leaves the kitchen is part of that genius. You show me a delicious meal and I’ll show you a restaurant with a big block of churned milk. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Simon Thomsen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/festival-of-obvious-ideas-7-pig-out-when-you-eat-out/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/festival-of-obvious-ideas-7-pig-out-when-you-eat-out/#item6960 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:00:35 +0000 Simon Thomsen | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/secret-life-of-a-food-critic/ Nothing gets foodies more excited than the discovery of a new food, for example the cheese-and-bacon-stuffed pizza burger, except perhaps a jolly good debate about whether restaurant critics should be anonymous. Just before Christmas, LA Times critic, S Irene Virbila, was outed after 15 years of relative visual obscurity as she waited outside a new Asian restaurant. The restaurant’s owners fronted Virbila after she’d been left waiting for 45 minutes, photographed her without her permission, refused to serve her and then posted the photo online. It was obnoxious behaviour regardless of who was involved. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Simon Thomsen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/secret-life-of-a-food-critic/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/secret-life-of-a-food-critic/#item4823 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:55:52 +0000 Simon Thomsen | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/was-this-the-worst-concert-australia-has-ever-seen/ Rogue’s Gallery lived up to its name. It was meant to be the high point of the 2010 Sydney Festival but appeared on the horizon as a rolling, shambolic ship of celebrity vagabonds in sloppy seas. Perhaps that was the point. You can’t help thinking the early days of the rum colony that became NSW ran along similar lines. Actually, it still does. Nonetheless, after watching Marianne Faithful struggle to read the lyrics for two songs she’s either beyond remembering or couldn’t be bothered to learn, many left feeling pillaged by the $145 ticket price. They stood outdoors for 150 minutes at the Opera House forecourt in thunderstorms and intermittent rain. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Simon Thomsen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/was-this-the-worst-concert-australia-has-ever-seen/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/was-this-the-worst-concert-australia-has-ever-seen/#item2270 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:18:18 +0000 Simon Thomsen | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/for-a-truly-australian-dish-first-insert-tinnie-in-bum/ The signature dish at the Prairie Hotel , in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, is its Road Kill Grill ($30), a mix of kangaroo and emu fillet on mash, with a camel sausage tossed in for good measure. I can recommend the kangaroo tail soup too. Reflecting on what it means to be Australian inevitably leads to a debate about our national dish. The Daily Telegraph asked the question on Australia Day, with Masterchef’s Poh Ling Yeow telling the Tele salt-and-pepper squid has taken over from fish and chips as our top tucker. It follows on from a major survey in The Sunday Telegraph where people said Australia’s national dish is the meat pie (37 per cent), followed by roast lamb (28 per cent), lamingtons (12 per cent) and pavlova (11 per cent). feedback@thepunch.com.au (Simon Thomsen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/for-a-truly-australian-dish-first-insert-tinnie-in-bum/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/for-a-truly-australian-dish-first-insert-tinnie-in-bum/#item2237 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:00:15 +0000 Simon Thomsen | Author bios | The Punch