Spoil-her Series: Simple recipes for men.

Under 5 ingredients, Under 20 bucks. Maximum brownie points.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Scallops
• 2 small cloves of garlic, very thinly sliced
• 1 bunch chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup white wine
• Angel hair pasta – enough for 2 people.

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a violent boil, and heavily salt the water.

Cook the pasta, minus 2 minutes from cooking instructions on the packet.

Drain the pasta and store in ice water for safe keeping

Heat a pan with some olive oil or butter (or both) and once it’s hot, grill the scallops for about 45seconds on each side for a golden brown finish.

Season with chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Add sliced garlic, then add the white wine and evaporate it.

Set scallops aside, and add some breadcrumbs to the remaining sauce in the pan.

Add the pasta (without the ice water) into the sauce and toss for a minute or two, drizzle with extra olive oil and extra parsley.

Serve on a plate, with the scallops on top!

Flinders Inn is the creation of an impressive team, with head chef Morgan McGlone (ex-Salt), Darran Smith (ex-Icebergs) and Rob Young (ex-Uccello, NBI) running the show. It is cosy 40 seater French bistro situated by a bustling intersection on Flinders Street. The daily specials written with a tangerine crayon adorn the mirrors around the room, while happy diners sat around tables with crisp, white linen tablecloth painted by the reflection of the reflecting ruby votives. 

The food is rich, french bistro style, with very reasonable prices (all entrees $16, all mains $27) and there is a good mix of Australian and French wines on the list, with the option of by the glass, half bottle carafes and full bottles. If you order by the glass or by the carafe, the wine is poured at the table – it is an act more restaurants should do!

As I looked at my menu, I notived that even the fidgety 10 year old boy on the next table was completely silent when the food arrived. He was savouring every bite of his juicy steak, and he repeated the performance once dessert arrived as well.

We started with amazingly fresh oysters from Merimbulla, followed by…

Chicken liver parfait, cornichons, toasted sourdough - best I've had in a while! Highly recommended

Seared scallops, pickled Jeruselem artichokes, watercress salad

Chargrilled Scotch fillet, pomme frites and sauce Bernaise - also highly recommended.

Duck Confit, peas a la francaise

Molleaux au chocolat, honey ice cream $11

Tarte citron, creme fraiche

Rob Young was ever so kind to add to my caloric intake with a complimentry slice of lemon tart, before what I ordered arrived:

Fromage, Lavosh, fig jam, walnut bread

Cheese of the night was Buche D’Affinois – my absolute weakness when it comes to soft cheese. I had an amazing evening, thank you boys! A return visit is definitely on the books, before it becomes all too hard to get a table.

http://flindersinn.com/
160a Flinders St
Paddington