By Jacqui Taffel
INDULGE
Take a crunchy Granny Smith apple, scrub it vigorously, dip it in caramel, then roll it in naughtiness. Love Dem Apples leaves the run-of-the-mill toffee apple for dead, with flavours like Fraggle Rock with smashed Smarties, Strawberry Pop with Belgian white chocolate and strawberry pop rocks, and Cherry Ripe, with coconut, Belgian dark chocolate and cherries. Dracula toffee apples, just in time for Halloween, are dripping with "blood" and topped with bats and skeletons. Trick AND treat. 454 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, 9698 7110, lovedemapplez.com.
Love Dem Apples in Surry Hills.Credit: Sahlan Hayes
WALK (DON'T RUN)
Note to diehard local joggers along the Bondi to Tamarama walk – yes, we know you do this route every day – BUT IT'S SCULPTURE BY THE SEA AGAIN, so how about embracing change and finding some different pavement to pound, at least on the weekends? Or ditch the exercise altogether and go for a feed at Grounds by the Sea, a coastal pop-up of the Grounds of Alexandria, serving sculpture vultures such sustenance as brioche brekkie burgers, cheese toasties, prawn buckets, kale smoothies and ginger beer to go. 7am-7pm daily until November 9, Marks Park, Fletcher Street, Tamarama.
Grounds by the Sea, Sculpture by the Sea pop-up cafe.
VISIT
Fancy some inner city outdoor browsing action? Brewery Yard Markets at Central Park had its debut two weeks ago, and is on again this Sunday, with a carefully curated line-up of food, drink, clothes, homewares and cosmetics, etc. Foodwise, the frozen goods from La Mamma del Gelato Anita look good, as does the Marysol Hot Sauce, but we'll be heading straight to Cakey Breaky Heart for a Nutella babka. There's live music, too. Every second Sunday, 10am-4pm, on the green at Central Park, 28 Broadway, Chippendale, breweryyardmarkets.com.au.
CELEBRATE
Sydney is busting with festivities this weekend, and here are our picks. Kids' pizza-making workshops at the Western Sydney Food Festival; Argentinian asado barbecue at Fairfield's Culinary Carnivale; and Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival's Champagne Taittinger oyster bar. Something for everyone. Western Sydney festival, Sunday, 10am-4pm, Lizard Log Amphitheatre, Abbotsbury; Fairfield festival, Saturday, 11am-4pm, Spencer Street; Wahroonga festival, Sunday, 11am-5pm, Wahroonga Park, off Coonanbarra Road.
DRINK
Smashing Pumpkin Ale is the creation of Murray's Brewery in Port Stephens, using 80 kilograms of dry-roasted pumpkin and spices. It tastes, so they say, like pumpkin pie in a glass, and will be on tap for the brewery's Halloween Spooktacular next weekend. In Sydney, you should be able to find it at Yulli's in Surry Hills, The Hive Bar in Erskineville, Harts Pub in The Rocks and the Lord Raglan in Alexandria. Spooktacular, October 31-November 2, Murray's Brewery, Nelson Bay Road, Port Stephens, murraysbrewingco.com.au.