Foodie thrills to beat the chill

It's hard to throw off those warm quilts every morning when the ground is white with frost. But winter can be a great time for hearty meals, preferably in front of a toasty fire, or for warming drinks to ward off the night's chill. Here are some of the best ways to eat and drink in Canberra this winter.

Stay suburban

Canberra has so many local shops that it's easy for little gems to hide away in the suburbs. Damien D'Browes's eatery in Narrabundah is a welcoming place on a cold night. The food is Euro-centric and the portions are very generous - with dishes from osso bucco to profiteroles and ice-cream. You do have to bring your own beer or bottles of wine but this restaurant is a reasonably priced, good place for a warming meal. At the Curtin shops the Hungry Buddha is a Nepalese and Himalayan restaurant that's tucked away underground. Go down the stairs between a chemist's and a seafood shop. Have a spicy boneless goat curry.

D'Browes, 59 Boolimba Crescent, Narrabundah, 6295 6990. The Hungry Buddha, 44 Curtin Place, Curtin, or see thehungrybuddha.com.au.

Country idyll

Embrace winter in the countryside. Rug up, bundle into the car with a responsible driver and head out to Murrumbateman for a tour of the wineries. After sipping shiraz at Clonakilla and riesling at Ken Helm's, have lunch at Poachers Pantry Smokehouse Cafe. Try the shared plates of antipasti and meats smoked at the cafe. Or have smoked duck risotto and a dish of slow-cooked lamb cutlets. Then stock up on smallgoods from the pantry for pizza night at home.

Further afield, Braidwood is now host to two great places to eat. There's Paydirt, a tiny, cool restaurant where the menu is cosy, with just a few dishes made from fresh local produce. And just down the road is Torpeas, a restaurant and bar in a weatherboard farmhouse and former inn. In the words of one admirer, it's like sitting in someone's very stylish living room with the added bonus of great coffee and food. Pull up a comfy chair in front of the big open fire.

Poachers Pantry, 431 Nanima Road, Hall. See poacherspantry.com.au. Torpeas, 202 Wallace Street, Braidwood. See torpeas.com.au. Paydirt, 108 Wallace Street, Braidwood. Phone 0404 026 616 or see facebook.com/paydirteatery.

Make some glogg

If heading out for a drink is too daunting, stay home and brew some glogg. This Swedish concoction is a spicier, fruitier, turbocharged version of mulled wine. It's sweet and traditionally made with aquavit but brandy will also do as a substitute. Empty a bottle each of red wine and port into a pot. Drop in a clutch of cinnamon sticks (about 25 centimetres worth), a teaspoon of cardamom, two teaspoons of cloves, the peel and slices of one orange, a sliced apple, half a cup of raisins and a cup of blanched almonds. Cover and simmer. In a separate pan, mix half a bottle of brandy and a cup and a half of sugar over gentle heat until it melts into a golden syrup. Simmer very gently until it starts to caramelise and then add to the wine. Cover and cook for about an hour - it will fill the house with a spicy aroma. Add more sugar or brandy to taste. Strain and serve warm - it will be a dark, raisiny red. Pour the remainder into clean bottles and seal. They'll keep for a year. Perfect for Christmas in July.

Go German

It's not likely that anyone does cold weather dining better than the Germans, though the Germans probably don't consider Canberra's winter much of a challenge. Try the Knuckles restaurant at the Harmonie German Club. Or head to Zierholz brewery for tasting platters of sausages, schnitzel and pork belly with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes or classic dishes such as their special pork knuckle with braised red cabbage. Wash it all down with tasting paddles of their beer and ale.

Zierholz, unit 7, 19-25 Kembla Street, Fyshwick, or Building 1, Kirinari Street, University of Canberra, Bruce, zierholz.com.au. Knuckles, first floor, 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah, harmonieclub.com.au.

Hot pots

This is perfect winter eating. Steaming cauldrons of stock are simmered on the restaurant table. Dip fresh green vegetables, oysters, seafood, bits of fish and thin slices of beef and pork into the soup. Let them cook as long or as quickly as you like, then scoop them out and eat straightaway with dipping sauces. Our restaurant reviewer Catriona Jackson liked Hot Pot Gungahlin, which serves fresh ingredients and all-you-can-eat Chinese hotpot. In a similar vein is Mr Shabu Shabu in the student precinct in Civic, where you can indulge in the eponymous shabu shabu or Japanese hotpot. Thin slices of beef and pork are accompanied by mushrooms, miso soup and rice and diners pop their food into the stock to cook.

Hot Pot Gungahlin, 38 Gozzard Street, Gungahlin, 1300 468 768. Mr Shabu Shabu, 35 Childers Street, city, 6248 9886.

Slow food

Fire up the slow cooker and let dinner cook itself, filling the house with an inviting aroma. For spaghetti bolognese, finely chop a large onion, four cloves of garlic, four stalks of celery and two carrots. Throw them into the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper and cook for two hours on low, stirring every now and then. Add about 300 grams each of pork mince and veal mince, an osso bucco bone, two cans of chopped tomatoes and a sprinkle of dried oregano and fresh basil. Switch the slow cooker to low and cook for another six hours or until you come home. Season again to taste. Remove the bone before serving on a bed of spaghetti. But if that's just old hat, for inspiration, check out the slow cooker bloggers: Stephanie O'Dea started a year of slow cooking as an experiment, making all her family's meals in the crockpot. That was in 2008 and her experiments eventually led to a book deal. Her blog is crockpot365.blogspot.com. Chrissie Saunders is the self-proclaimed slow-cooker queen and makes everything from jambalaya to banana cake at slowcookerqueen.com.

Wood fired

Maybe it's just the idea of a wood fire that makes the pizza sound so much more exciting, more warming and winter-friendly. If it's a stay-in Friday night, spend it curled up under a blanket on the couch with a movie and a pizza from Pizza Gusto on Lonsdale Street. The little takeaway does high-quality calzones and pizzas such as the Gusto, a simple mix of tomato, bocconcini, prosciutto and sprigs of rocket. For a treat, try the dessert pizza with Nutella. At the other end of the scale, the upmarket and much-lauded Italian and Sons divides its pizzas into bianca (white) and rossa (red) with classics such as potato and rosemary pizza and a simple margharita. For a non-wood fired but still delicious pizza night, get a table at Bicicletta for a casual dinner with a bunch of friends. Its thin-crust pizzas are well executed.

Pizza Gusto, 23 Lonsdale Street, Braddon and Duyfken Place, Red Hill, 6257 7508 or 6295 0299. Italian and Sons, 7 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, italianandsons.com.au. Bicicletta, Diamant Hotel, 1/15 Edinburgh Avenue, Acton, bicicletta.com.au.

Get festive

The Capital Region Truffle festival is on now until August. Organisers say more than 40 venues are taking part in the celebration of all things truffle. Hamish Boland-Rudder captured the spirit of the festival in this piece from earlier this month. Restaurants across the capital are holding weekly truffle dinners in July to show off the prime ingredient and you can head out on truffle hunts in the country. See the full rundown of events and shows at trufflefestival.com.au. Or look ahead to August and the Fireside Festival in Murrumbateman and the surrounding countryside. Events are cosy and winter-focused, including special dinners, chocolate making demonstrations, wine masterclasses and weekend horse rides. See firesidefestival.com.au for the full list of events - some double up with the truffle festival.