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Eat the Aussie coat of arms at the Ridge

Natasha Rudra

Kangaroo fillet with native fruits.
Kangaroo fillet with native fruits.Jay Cronan

12/20

Modern Australian$$

If you wanted to make a proper meal out of the national coat of arms, you could do worse than a small family restaurant in Farrer. Here you can dine out on the creatures that grace your departmental letterhead -  an emu pie in the entrees and kangaroo fillet with peppercorn in the mains. And for added Aussie flavour you can even have a crack at some macadamia encrusted lamb. Oi oi. 

The Ridge has been at the local shops for ever, purveying big sundaes and gluten free dishes. Trendy it is not. Small wood paneled booths, dim lighting and one half of the restaurant appears to be closed off. But the welcome is very warm, our waitress almost motherly, tucking forks back in to place between courses. Specials are displayed on a white board that's propped up on an empty chair for us to view.

So let's start with the emu pie ($16) - a small, almost cute entree with a lovely short  crust and plenty of chunks of emu meat that stay balanced between gamey and rich.

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Family restaurant the Ridge has a friendly mom-and-pop feel.
Family restaurant the Ridge has a friendly mom-and-pop feel.Jay Cronan

Tea-smoked Atlantic salmon ($17) is served warm on a bed of leaves. This has been treated right - a tender pink with a pleasant but subtle scent of smoke and an accompanying fin of crisp skin on the side. The salad of standard greens is lifted with a bit of grapefruit and round of sticky black rice which is tasty but strikes me as superfluous. 

The dishes tonight are plated without much sophistication, with salad heaped alongside the mains and piles of potatoes. It lends an air of mom and pop neighbourliness and servings are very generous. 

Mains are short and sweet: six meat and fish dishes that dart around the globe, and six vegetarian ones.

Old school: ice-cream sundae.
Old school: ice-cream sundae.Jay Cronan
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The kangaroo fillet is advertised with native spices, which translate into a sweet, fruity, plentiful sauce and a pile of sauteed spinach to round things off.

Pork and chicken adobo comes out as another huge serve – thick slices of pork belly leaning up against a large chicken thigh in a pool of flavourful soy and garlic. The chicken is the best part of this dish with a really fresh juicy tenderness, well cooked and infused with the simple adobo sauce, but the pork slices are slightly overcooked. 

Ordering a vegetarian main ($36) involves a selection of any three (yes three) dishes from the menu. It's not so much a main as a smorgasbord. So what arrives from the kitchen is a gluten free potato gnocchi in a separate, piping hot baking dish. Then a plate filled to the brim – a row of three quinoa fritters with a tangy kick and a sweet and spicy chili mayonnaise sauce, a heap of salad forming a barrier, a very mild vegetable curry and a pressed round of fragrant rice with pappadums.

Of these, the quinoa fritters are the standout, crisp on the outside and tangy and soft inside, paired prettily with the tangy mayo. The gnocchi, perhaps not unexpectedly, is quite crumbly and a little dry for my liking. There's a fresh, sharp tomato sauce interspersed throughout. 

Dinner finishes tonight with a white board special – the old school sundae, served in a glass goblet, stuffed with scoops of coffee mascarpone and hazelnut ice-cream, with wafers and chocolate biscuit sticking out every which way. Great for kids.

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