November 1999 Volume 80 Number 11 "serving the protectors"
Dining

Sweet Beats

- a Global Dining Experience

By Jason Squire

Sweet Beats on King William Street Adelaide boasts its fusion of Australian and Californian cuisine. Californian cuisine was explained to me as having influences from Mexico, the Middle East, Asia and France. Combine this with Australian cuisine - which adds the Mediterranean - and the gastronomic experience is global.

My partner and I were joined by a comrade for an excursion into the Sweet Beats global dining experience. The feeling from the restaurant is funky and fresh, with a boutique ambience. The consensus was that it could easily be seen as very Sydney or Melbourne. The front of the restaurant consists of concertina doors which can open the front of the restaurant to the footpath - great in the warmer months.

Also at the front of the restaurant is a dining bar which would be ideal for a solo diner to sit and take in the passing trams and not feel uncomfortable. The concept of the restaurant is to combine food and live music. No bands were playing on our visit, but I could quite easily see a long Friday night or Saturday brunch perched on and subsequently off the bar stools.

The food has quality stamped all over it. I admit my obsession for quality produce and nouvelle cuisine. Both of these ooze out of Sweet Beats’ menu. It’s fresh and combines the global cuisines curiously well. A good example is southern fried chicken with avocado jalepeno salsa on sour cream corn bread with ranch dressing. Our dining companion enjoyed this dish and couldn’t finish it. The flavours worked well and balanced each other. My choice for main was the chef’s recommendation of a whole baby Poussin (small chicken) served with roasted garlic and candied anise. The dish was deliciously sweet with an opposing strong anise flavour.

A good range of South Australian wine is available, but also wines from the Californian Napa Valley. We chose a Napa Valley Chardonnay to match our entrées - the choice was superb. The balance of fruit and buttery oak was silky smooth and complemented my Asian entrée platter, my partner’s oysters kilpatrick and our dining companion’s Middle Eastern platter very well. These entrées again represent different global destinations in food. They were all fantastic and innovative in presentation and flavours.

Sweet Beats is the place to let the taste buds dance to a different tune; a place to experience combinations of cuisines which would send purists back to the kitchen pulling their hair out. I loved it - and shall return.

Where: Sweet Beats, 312 King William Street, Adelaide. Ph: 8212 4159.

When: Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Friday (no dinner Monday). Brunch on Saturday 9am to 3pm. Saturday nights by appointment. Private room available (ideal for a group show).

Prices: Entrée $4.50 to $10. Main $13 to $16. Dessert $7 to $8.50. Wine List $16 to $38.

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