It’s bad enough that Penrith already has had something we’d kill for: a local footy club that plays all their NRL home games at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
Now that an excellent Greek restaurant has opened at Penrith, well, it’s 2-0 to them.
A family member who lives out there in the west alerted me to the opening of Avli at Cranebrook, and on Sunday we booked a table.
We all know that here in Campbelltown and Macarthur the missing link in the culinary world is a Greek restaurant, but so far nobody’s had a go.
I introduced myself to the owners of Avli and virtually begged them to consider our region when they decide to expand.
Not sure if they were just being polite, but they told me that indeed they had Macarthur in their sights.
It took us almost an hour to get to this place so we won’t be going every week.
But returning to Campbelltown I couldn’t help thinking about my favourite local places to have a bite.
And indeed here is my Top 5 of places to eat across our region. Hopefully one of them will be replaced by a Greek restaurant when one finally opens up here.
Number 1. The Hermitage. Our very own fine dining restaurant is as good as anywhere in Sydney, perfect for special occasions.
Number 2. We’re blessed with lots of good Italian joints but my favourite is Enzo’s at Camden.
Number 3. These days we have plenty of places serving tapas and nobody does it better and in more stylish surroundings than upstairs@freds.
Number 4. Any list worth its salt has to include Chinese and Chan’s Teahouse in Minto has been consistently very good for 30 years.
Number 5. The days of the long lunch are just about over and most of us are content to have a bite at a café. And the most exciting new café to hit the scene in the past 12 months is Alkalizer in Queen Street, Campbelltown. Nutritious, delicious food, vast array of teas and very good coffee, this is easily the best café in the region in a far from the madding crowd location.
