Going out for a fancy meal or birthday celebration may not be possible for several months, but - at least for now - some of Wollongong's best restaurants have turned their dine-in only eateries into takeaway joints.
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Daniel Sherley, who owns Debutant and Rookie on Keira Street, said he decided to stay open and serve takeaway to keep paying staff.
"For them it's a much better option if I can keep them employed, because complete closure would have been devastating for their immediate future," he said.
"We also dry-age our meat, so we would be sitting on thousands of dollars of meat that would have to go in the bin otherwise. We will keep going as long as it's working, and as long as we can under the government rules."
Starting from Wednesday, Mr Sherley has been offering takeaway family meals; he said, after a slow start, that the restaurant was "smashed" on Friday.
"It's been a lot of our regulars, people we know wanting to support us, and a lot of people are calling up during the day and pre-ordering too, which is a big help," he said. "We're serving homestyle, shared meals. People are at home, spending lots of time with their families right now, so that's the food they want."
It's a bit like going out - not exactly the same though, I guess you still have to do the washing up!
- Daniel Sherley, Debutant
Also on Keira Street, at Babyface Kitchen, chef Andy Burns has been offering a limited amount of multi-course, takeaway "dinners for two". On Saturday, for example, diners could order wagyu dumplings, wagyu rib with pine mushrooms and four different sides, and a dessert of olive oil cake.
At Kneading Ruby, in addition to a new delivery menu, there are food packs available for pick-up - perfect for people craving pasta who have been unable to buy it at supermarkets for several weeks. A "romantic night in" box has fresh fettuccini, pork ragu, Parmesan, tiramisu and a bottle of wine for two.
If a night out at a small bar was your idea of a good time pre-coronavirus, Night Parrot could help you create something similar at home. The lower Crown Street bar has listed its Asian-inspired small plates menu and drinks list online and says it will to deliver "pretty much anywhere in the Greater Wollongong area".
Other exciting quarantine cuisine options include:
- Hone at Balgownie will be starting sanity-saving family baked dinners from Monday, drawing on produce from other local suppliers to make dinners for a family of four which only need to be heated.
- Just opened Resin Brewery, in Bulli is also hanging in there, with food by former Sandygoodwich and Eat at Sandy's chef Yon Miller, growlers of beer and wine available to pick-up.
- Thirroul's South Sailor, which quickly adopted a "click n' drive thru" service as lockdown began, will serve up its seafood menu to eat at home, and has been offering daily $15 specials.
IMPORTANT: Remember to practise social distancing and if necessary, self-isolation
- The NSW Government has urged everyone to stay at home and only go out into the community if essential.
- Essential means going to work (and you should work from home if you can), going to the supermarket, pharmacy, doctor or other health appointment, buying food and essentials to take home, or exercising.
- These things should be done only with your immediate family and you should avoid being near other people. Prime Minister Scott Morrison emphasised this week that this means not holding family barbecues, groups gatherings, birthday parties and house parties.
- While outside, you should aim to stay at least 1.5 metres away from people other than your family, social gatherings larger than 10 people should not be held, and if you are inside there should be at least four square metres of space allocated to each person.
- Use contactless cards to pay where possible and wash your hands before and after any trips out.
- Do not leave your house if you are sick.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
