Smokey Joe's

I went to Smokey Joe's on a Wednesday with a group of 8. I would like to note that they do not have a website, so if you're curious prior to going - word of mouth or calling the restaurant may be a good idea. When we booked in advance, we enquired about vegetarian options, and they said they would ensure that there was vegetarian menu items available. I have been to Smokey Joe's before and I found it to be reasonably average, however, I have heard great reviews since so I was looking forward to my visit.  When we arrived, the decor was as I remember - very fitting to the 'creole' theme. It is built into a little cottage and there was  a lot of themed number plates, flags and memorabilia over the walls... and somehow in the table tops. It looked as though they'd set some kindergarten children to go crazy on maps and written information with their crayons and then they were placed under the table top.

We arrived and were offered drinks and food. We ordered fairly soon after we arrived. I was really disappointed when I arrived that there were no visible vegetarian options, unless I wanted to eat fries and salad. Which is what I ended up ordering. I'm sure that if I enquired that the waitress would have been able to supply me with some options, however, she was very unapproachable, and where she positioned herself was at the opposite end of the table to me, which meant yelling in order to say anything. The menu seemed to be okay, every item was ribs or meat of some description - but this was expected.
 
We waited an hour for our food, and when it was presented I wasn't sure what everyone had ordered - things along the lines of fajitas, chimichangas and chilli con carne. They all looked the same, some mushy meat, some flat bread, some coleslaw or salad. I'm not entirely sure. 

Shanyne ordered this dish, it had prawns in it, and we weren't sure how it was supposed to work. We assumed that he was meant to put the condiments on his plate in the bread - but the prawns still had tails?

 

Callums dish looked the best out of everyones, he ordered the pulled pork roll - which sounded really great and he said it tasted delicious. Again though, the presenation made it look like something that you'd eat in a high school cafeteria.

 

I ordered the chips and salad. Re and I also asked for some cajuan dijon sauce for our chips which the waitress forgot to bring out. When i enquired about it she snapped saying that it was on it's way - despite the fact that it was more than 5 minutes after she'd bought out the mains and and a second round of drinks for everyone, I struggled to believe her.

It was a long time until our plates were cleared and we weren't asked if we'd like dessert. When we went to pay - the waitress told us that she couldn't split the bill for us, but we could split it. It didn't make sense, but we just had to work out how much we owed and tell her how much we were paying each... if I didn't know any better, i'd call that splitting the bill. Overall i was really disppointed with the service. Re and Cas used an entertainment book voucher which meant that we were able to leave some feedback, which we're sure the waitress read while sorting out our bill as she was giving us awful atitude. Smokey Joe's is reasonably priced for the meal portions, looking at around $25 for a main sized meal. I don't think i'll go there again.

Smokey Joe's Creole Cafe - 20 Lawrence Street, Launceston 7250

6331 0530

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Elaia Cafe

Evan and I went to Elaia on a Tuesday evening.  There was no need to book, as most places are reasonably empty on a Tuesday. I've been to Elaia a few times and I really enjoy the laid back atmosphere it has to offer. There is indoor and outdoor seating, and there is a big fold-back glass partition for when it's warm outside. When we arrived there was a 21st birthday happening at one table, and a couple of other tables filled. Again, we had a look at their website before we arrived, which has so many delicious looking options on it. When we arrived we ordered a bread with olive oil and vinegar for entree, which was some of the best bread I've had in a long time. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of this. The waitress was quick to take away our entree -  before Evan had finished eating, and our mains were brought out very quickly.

I ordered the traditional carbonara, but requested it come without bacon, which was no issue to the chef. They offer two sizes with their mains, either and entree size or a main size. I always order the entree size - due to having a small appetite. When my meal was presented to me, it looked tiny. I'm not sure if this was because it was missing the bacon, the bowl was huge or because it was the entree size - the bottom of the bowl was visible. regardless of this, I always find carbonara to be very filling, and this was no exception. I could just feel all the carbs and fats filling in all my stomach space per-mouthful. It was very rich and garlicy, which I like, however the people around me probably not so much. 

Evan ordered a main size of the chicken linguine, which was with spicy pumpkin, spinach, chilli, garlic and cream. He said that the dish was really tasty, I tried some of the pumpkin and  would agree.

Elaia is reasonably priced for the portion sizes and quality of the food, main sized meals are all $20-$25. I would recommend this restaurant, and Evan and I will probably go there again to try another of their menu items.

Elaia Cafe - 240 Charles Street, Launceston 7230

6331 3307

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