What’s on around town
Lennox Hastie is showing off his grilling prowess at Darling Harbour’s Pumphouse today from midday till 2pm. As part of SXSW, together with Texas Tourism, he’ll be having a go at Texan barbeque. There will be music from Austin-based Walker Lukens, scoops of a one-off Gelato Messina spin on a spicy mango Margarita and line-dancing, too.

• Barangaroo’s Nobu has just launched $95 all-you-can-eat sushi lunches. On Thursdays and Fridays, the Gochiso Lunch will bring a spread of sushi, sashimi, tacos and ceviche to the sushi counter.

Hot Jazz Picnic is the picnic-style music festival with a harbour backdrop hitting Rose Bay on Saturday November 25. Harry James Angus (Cat Empire), The Vampires, The Morrisons and more will be performing, while food stalls bring cheese, charcuterie and antipasti. Plus, Mary’s Burgers and Sonoma, and Hickson House Distilling Co on cocktails.

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• Together with Two Good, the Ace Hotel’s lobby restaurant Loam is kicking off its year-long chef series with a three-course dinner by chef and author Julia Busuttil Nishimura. The three-course meal will be made to the brief of ‘Do more with less’, with Balmy Nights wines on pour. All profits will be donated to Two Good, contributing to their work of supporting vulnerable women who’ve experienced homelessness and domestic violence.

Barrenjoey House is celebrating its centenary with a $100 set menu throughout October. Expect a luxe experience, with caviar bumps on arrival, lobster cocktails, steak frites and petit fours. There’s also fruits de mer for two as an add-on.

• Paddington’s I Maccheroni, which runs weekly pasta-making classes, has taken a cheesy turn. On November 4, the team is running a mozzarella-making masterclass together with La Stella. More dates to follow.

• Club Sup has launched tickets for Sydney’s November run of its knockout pop-up dinner parties. On Thursday November 2, head to Marrickville’s McMullin & Co for a stylish backdrop to Sophie McIntyre’s standout dishes, plus MDI wines and Four Pillars gin cocktails. On Wednesday November 29, it’ll be back to its usual Darlinghurst spot, Theeca, for two courses plus dessert, wine aplenty and lots of conversation with your new friends.

• Famed Melbourne chef Coskun Uysal, of Tulum, is popping up at CBD restaurant Maydanoz for one night only. On October 26, the chef will serve canapés (like simit with smoked taramasalata), larger plates (like yellowfin tuna with fried-green-prepper borani) and a dessert that, intriguingly, brings chicken to the mix.

• If you want to boogie in historic arty digs with a spritzy rum in hand, Bacardi House Party is hitting the National Art School on Friday October 27. Northeast Party House is headlining, with reggaeton and Afrobeat from Trinidadian dancehall artist Gold Fang and DJ Carolina Gasolina. All proceeds will go to a music-industry-supporting charity.

Yum things by cool people
Food For Everyone has launched its next round of prints, this time with Gelato Messina. There are two to choose from: one inspired by the artful dark-chocolate chocolate-covered Dr Evil's Magic Mushroom and one nodding to Pistachio Praline, a cult favourite scoop. Each print sold provides 10 meals to those experiencing food insecurity.

• Vins in tins! Brunswick Heads-based Natural Order Wine has just released a range of its truly yum-town drops in tinnies. There are five available now, including the sparkly nashi-pear-like pét-nat Lake of Stars, bright Fractals orange and easy-drinking light red Earth Twitch.

• Toby’s Estate have gone fruity with its latest release. Blueberry Crumble is the espresso blend that brings blueberry compote-esque sweetness and to your milky cups.

What we covered this week
• First Look: sandwich mecca Kosta’s Takeaway has opened its largest shop yet. The new digs bring some of the city’s best sandwiches to Rosebery. There’s a monster schnitzel sanga, a smashed-beef burger and a range of new menu items (like nostalgic custard tarts in tinfoil pans).

• Surry Hills has welcomed Italian-leaning izakaya Ito to the ex-Cuckoo Callay spot. Pull up a stool at the raw bar to watch chefs slice Hokkaido scallops and yellowfin tuna, or opt for aglio e olio spaghetti with togarashi and spanner crab.

• The just-opened Kyiv Social brings a taste of Ukraine to Chippendale, and it’s all in service of employing and helping feed Ukrainians displaced by war. The restaurant is the latest from Sydney-based social enterprise Plate it Forward, and it’s got fluffy, garlicky pampushky, handrolled holubtsi and small-batch vodka on the menu.

• First Look: the Boathouse Group has revamped its Palm Beach homewares store, bringing breezy summer-long pop-up Casa to the space. There’s snapper carpaccio, pizzas, Limoncello Spritzes and more, all to be enjoyed inside – or under festoon lighting in the salty air.

• The latest venue from the Gidley crew is now open. Humming diner Alfie’s adds more sizzle to the CBD steakhouse scene, minus the velvet and faff. Order a $38 Riverine sirloin steak – butchered and aged in-house – and it’ll be on your table in 15 minutes. Ideal alongside what may be Sydney’s coldest Martini.

• Soon-to-open French bistro Chez Blue has revealed its menu. With an ex-Bistro Moncur chef at the helm, the relaxed-yet-refined diner is taking over the old gaming room in Rozelle’s Sackville Hotel. There’ll be riffs on French faithfuls, like a twisted niçoise and a cracking pate.

• The World’s 50 Best Bars for 2023 were announced on Tuesday night in Singapore. It’s the first time the event has been held in the Asia-Pacific region (and only the second time outside of London). Two Aussie bars made the prestigious list: Sydney’s Maybe Sammy (at number 15) and Melbourne’s Caretaker’s Cottage (at number 23).

• Now Open: Frenchie’s Bakery and Patisserie brings the lockdown-famous pastries and bread from Frenchies Bistro to Rosebery. All the French classics are made daily: chocolate eclairs, layered opera pastries, entremets and viennoiseries alongside crusty baguettes and sourdough loaves.

Listen up
• This week on Around Town we hear from the baker behind the carby goods at Fabbrica Bake Shop and chat about the steaks sizzling in a bright new CBD spot. We cover the staggering Jacksons on George and a Northern Beaches cafe that has on-the-water views and a stellar bolognese jaffle. Plus, 25 years of Sculpture by the Sea.