Monday, February 22, 2010

Better get a bucket for all this Gluttony - Fringe Food'n'Booze Review.

It seems the Gluttony (- A decadent feast for the senses)  a part of the Fringe opening weekend festival got their sums horribly wrong.  So wrong were the numbers that on Sunday the  equation had completely changed.   Entry fee advertised pre event was $10+ Booking fee (through the fringtix site)  This ticket price included the perfunctory courtesy of a wine glass.  As we wondered past the enty gate of the Gluttony Fest. and headed to another event we were informed by an attendee that entry was free for a "short time".  We sauntered in and had a quick look, just to see what was on offer and how the event was being put together.  The staging had elements of Friday evenings Fringe opening concert which was a roaring success, or so I am informed.  As we loitered at the Sparrow Kitchen & Bar stall, an acquaintance made it clear that the event was terribly attended the previous day. The number 'a thousand' was mentioned and this rattled me a little.  It is only after I had time to think of the set up and the positioning of the event in the general Adelaide festival scheme - one thousand is not an ideal number. 
So the reason was clear, the equation had changed because organisers realised their massive over sight. The entry fee had been waived to increase the punter numbers walking through in a hope to raise the trade of the stall holders.  People seemed to have taken advantage of the open entry policy, but the damaged had been done.  Saturday's tiny attendance could be attributed to and probably will be if you talk to the event managers to the busy Adelaide schedule and the hot weather.  The Garden of Unearthly Delights across Rundle St. is free entry and has many varied food stalls, wine, beer and entertainment available all for the low low cost of $0.  It seriously begs the question why would you have two events running side by side offering relatively the same thing and expect people to attend the one with the $10 entrance fee! Madness!
There is the underlying fact that these sorts of events are not indicative of the food or standard of food at the the stalls' parent location.  One example is The Pot Food and Wine tent offering  bbq'd chicken "salad" plate in a wrap or a cup, it looked unimpressive and drab.  I would hazard a guess that The Pot Restaurant actually serves a much more interesting menu on King William Rd.

Any way after some snooping and sniffing we opted for a couple of ales and a plate of paella from the combined stalls of The Tivoli Hotel and The Union Hotel, it was terrific!  The paella was smokey, very aromatic and had the perfect Calasparra rice texture.  The princeley sum of $12  a plate was worth the effort.  Calasparra rice just happens to be one of the most expensive rice varieties in the world - merely because of the location it is grown and when you are sure it is the real deal the price tag is often worth it.  The Ale was less impressive, it was more of an empirical taste test to see if James Squire had squeezed every drop of marketing worth from what is essentially a middle of the road beer.  Many years ago Golden Ale was hoppier and more vibrant, now it is well suited to a can.  Despite this biased negativity toward highly filtered ale I would have gone thirsty for cans of Hahn Super Dry seemed a punishment not fitting the crime.
I am positive for the future of the event but would like to see it progress past a few tents in a circle following the same format as all the other loosely related events.  What is wrong with one of the many grassy square's in the CBD, they seem begging to be used for such an event, divert the weekend traffic and create a focal point for foodies and socialites to gather away from the usual fringe suspects.  Imagination was definitely not at the core of the early phase of this event and neither was common sense for that matter. 

Giles

nb{It bodes poorly for the Fringe that the issue of entrance fees to a registered Fringe Festival event where the punter is obliged to spend dollars can proceed, the focus of the entire Festival has been broadened beyond any resemblance of an eclectic assemblage of artists}

No comments:

Post a Comment

Tell TheScullery your thoughts...