I'm not Rachael Ray, but I'll be her for a day

I can’t even remember where I found this link: Be Rachael Ray for a Day.

So here is the deal - your Dine & Dish #4 blog post should cover a whole day’s worth of meals eaten outside of your home - breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks (if you have enough money), including drinks, for the total sum of $40.

Now, I’ve done the calculations, and US$40 is around about AUD$51, which is really quite a lot! So, here is my first part of my Rachael Ray Day - I’ll combine everything together on August 22nd. $40 a day in Adelaide.

Breakfast.

Hindley Street still has a bad reputation amongst a significant proportion of the South Australian population. Most of it is undeserved, but a quick walk down there at 8:15am will clue you in to why, especially if you remember that it’s much better now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. The section between Bank and Morphett Streets is the pits, and if you take the Railway Station underpass, you’ll emerge in the thick of it. Turning right into Hindley Street, you’ll pass pubs that are open that early in the morning, and strip clubs that closed not too many hours before. If you are lucky, you’ll see a feral or two enter a pub, stinking of beer, and eyes glazed over as they prepare to waste the local taxpayers money on poker machines. But push through, your destination awaits, and it’s worth it. After crossing Morphett Street, you enter the Education precinct, where the University of South Australia built a new City West campus to replace the aging, and closed suburban campuses of Salisbury and Underdale. (The northern and western suburbs are still whinging about the lack of education opportunities. Catch the bus, I say.) Because of the influx of students, several cafés and other shops have opened, and our goal is one of these: Phat Coffee. Josh will be behind the counter, he makes a great coffee, and he’s there all day, from 8:00 until 5:00. During Uni holidays they close at 4pm, but getting there is worth it. Phat Coffee does more than just coffee - they also serve a magnificent Ham Cheese and Tomato Croissant. Eat in or take away, it’s worth the $7.95 for the comfort food of a tasty croissant and a perfect coffee. Breakdown: Croissant: AUD5.25 ($4.12) Flat White: AUD2.70 ($2.12) Total: AUD7.95 ($6.24)

Lunch.

Still to write…Sushi train?

Tea.

Adelaide has a vibrant Touch Football community. It’s a relatively small town, so everyone who plays touch knows just about everyone else. Anyway, after playing a game with the Arab Steed Pornstars, at City Touch Club, we headed into their sponsor, the Arab Steed Hotel. Owned and managed by Shayne White, the Arab Steed Hotel has been trading since [YEAR]. Shayne bought the pub in [YEAR], and has turned it into a successful little business, with a great location near the south parklands, on the Corner of Hutt and Gilbert Streets. Parking out the front can be difficult, especially in the peak mealtimes, between 7 and 8:30. Don’t even think about parking on Gilbert Street, unless you go further west, as parking inspectors like to frequent the area, and unless you have a resident permit, expect the day to quickly become more expensive. There are plenty of parks further up Hutt Street, near and past the Adelaide City Council library, and beyond, as well as futher west. The ‘Steed used to make a great mushroom gravy, and it wasn’t unknown for the whole team to order Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce (and Just Chips, in some cases!). Nowadays, the mushroom gravy ain’t that good, but there are several other great meals to try. The Veal Shanks (or Calves’ calves - thanks Alyse!) go well, but my choice is generally the Cajun Chicken Burger. Today, however, on the Specials’ board was Pork Puff Pastry Parcel, so I had “A Pork Puff Pastry Parcel, Please”, and a jug of beer. Since I bought the first round, others paid for the following rounds, and that was all I ended up paying for. Breakdown: Pork Puff Pastry Parcel: AUD10.90 ($8.55) Jug of Coopers Pale Ale: AUD12.00 ($9.41) Total: AUD22.90 ($17.96)