I turned 30 on Monday!! and I think it was my best birthday yet. Corey and I went down to Byron Bay for the weekend where so many of my friends from around the country just happened to be because it was Australia Day weekend. We had a sundowners picnic in the park with about 30 people and after we smashed the cowboy boot pinata (seriously thats the second birthday in row now that I’ve had a pinata and its so much fun!) we went out to a pretty rad open air bar called Buddah Bar. There was a silent disco happening and I’ve never been to one but oh my its fun. You get a set of headphones which has 3 frequencies you can switch between, each playing a different genre of music. So you walk in without headphones and everyone is dancing and going mad but its dead silent.
On Monday, my actual birthday, it was a public holiday (Thanks Australia! ) and we met some friends for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Australia, Harvest, which is just 15 minutes from Byron in a teeny tiny place called Newrybar. Before I tell you about what makes Harvest so great I just have to share what my husband gave me for my birthday.
I knew he was up to something because I caught him in the office with a bunch of my cookbooks but I couldn’t quite work it out. He somehow got all the incredible women in my life, around the world, to send him photos, heartfelt messages and their favorite family recipes which he had made into a cookbook for me. It is the most touching gift I have ever received and I was in tears (happy tears) reading through all the love in that book.
So Harvest, its a beautiful restaurant set in an early 1900’s historic cottage. The menu is diverse with a definite Mediterranean flair and showcases fresh, local and organic produce from the restaurant’s 5 acre organic farm in the Byron hinterland. How does “Black mussels in a harissa creme fraiche with white wine sauce, Lebanese couscous, fresh ciabatta and a caprese salad with fresh buffalo mozzarella on the side sound? Mouth watering huh? I love a restaurant that really honors natures abundance.
Next door they have the Harvest deli where they have the best sourdough bread I have ever tasted and when I was there over Christmas they even had Biltong, but my favorite part of the whole place is the garden where the chefs regularly duck out to pick some fresh basil. Corey and I always spend ages walking around the garden checking out all the produce they grow. There’s a different sense of appreciation for your food when you see where it comes from and the effort and energy that goes into growing it.
If you ever find yourself in the Byron hinterland I highly recommend a stop at Harvest.
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