Fino

Fino's has the distinction of being a great local restaurant that also happens to be just round the corner from a close relative's house. We have all applauded her move to this region as it offers great wine, a fabulous Farmer's Market, the joy of Russell's for pizza and, not least, a truly classy small restaurant.

Having eaten here a few times before we were pleased to see Fino awarded both the Restaurant of the Year and Outstanding Regional Restaurant in the 2009 Adelaide Food Awards. We decided to inspect how the restaurant had grown by going to a Slow Food dinner as part of Tasting Australia in May.

While both of us applaud the idea of Slow Food this was our first experience with the organisation and we were at first a little apprehensive that we were going to be lectured before and between each course. The meal had been planned around possible South Australian local additions to the "Ark of Taste" a Slow Food initiative to publicise unique ingredients and foods that are in some way in danger of extinction. The hope is that by promoting these delicious foods, demand will increase and production will be boosted. A noble pursuit.

Fino is a good fit for a Slow Food event as Sharon Romeo at front of house and David Swain in the kitchen have been focussing on regional flavours since they first opened. Sharon's father has a sizable garden and many of the ingredients including the olives and any fresh greens come from there. There is a fine family tradion in the Romeo house of curing your own pork products as well - something David has seized on and eventually mastered (after a few early mishaps).

The meal began simply with a divine soft local goats cheese simply warmed in a terracotta pot and drizzled with (rare and possibly endangered) Ligurian Honey from Kangaroo Island. This was served with home made sour dough bread and we all dived in with gusto.

Our next lecture focussed on Coorong mullet which is sustainably fished by small operators from individual boats in this threatened wetland area. The fish was simply served with some of Sharon's Dad's olives and the smallest touch of David's guanciale (dried pork cheek). The fish was absolutely delicious and the guanciale left me wanting more than just a taste.

The Coorong was featured in our next course as well - Coorong cockles simply braised and served with more of that great bread to dip into the remaining juicy sauce.

Saltbush lamb was next on the menu. This is another speciality product that actually makes an asset out of low water and drought conditions. The Saltbush is a hardy perennial that grows in water sparse areas. It is rich in minerals and provides sustainable feed for lambs whilst allowing other flaura and fauna to coexist in the same area.

I was learning a lot but the main thing is that it tasted very good. Once again there were no bells or whistles, just good ingredients cooked simply and well - the rack of lamb pink and tender and served on a bed of heirloom tomatoes with beans and potatoes on the side.

After an interesting chat from a local almond grower we were served dessert - a simply fabulous poached quince tart with the quinces resting on a wonderful almond batter.

The entire meal was served with mainly local wines. The service was friendly and efficient and I even learned something. Fino does simple regional food very well indeed. David Swain justly deserved his recent award for Outstanding Use of Regional Produce received at the recent 2010 Australian Produce Awards. We will be back.