It's A Red-Letter Day!

I scurried out to my car to retrieve some clothing... as I was rummaging through the mess in my boot, a large work ute pulled up outside my house.  I shoved the jumble of clothes and shoes back into the car, and panicking slightly (as this meant I would not have time to change) I casually turned around and waved as Liam wandered up my driveway and enveloped me into a hug. 

And that is, you might say, where it all began!

On our anniversary last week, things were a little different.  Although I still hadn't changed when he arrived, and although he still enveloped me in a huge hug when he got home, we are a long way from where we were on our very first date.

After picking me up, we drove to Knox City near my house, and wandered around for a while before settling on Hog's Breath Cafe.  This year, we decided to return to the scene of the crime!

It's been a year since we'd been here last, so I had no idea what to expect from the food - not to mention the fact that Hog's Breath isn't exactly a gourmet establishment to start with!  We decided to start the meal the same way as our first ever date with...

... Boss Hog Mushies! [$9.50]

At first glance, there is a major difference between the plate that has been set in front of us and the dish as it was in my memory.  The portion size has gone down, and the price gone up! This is to be expected in this day and age, however disappointingly the amount in the bowl appears to have decreased by almost half. 

Fortunately, that's where the disappointment ends with these mushrooms.  I pop one in my mouth, and bite through a peppery crunchy coating to taste that wonderful mushroomy juice which is almost scalding on my tongue! Yet I can't resist and continue to eat them piping hot, with a little smear of the tartare sauce provided. 

As we're deciding what to order, Liam pulls these out of his pocket, and places them on the table :

As our anniversary falls in between both of our birthdays, we agreed on no gifts... however I couldn't resist a couple of small items!

Right before our first date, Liam had decided it would be a good time to try and mow some of the lawn, electrocuting himself in the process! He sent me a text of his bleeding finger, and to be honest I thought it was his way of cancelling on me at the time! He reassured me that he was still keen to see me, and I told him I would have bandaids to make it all better. 

Flash-back!  Here are his superhero band-aids!

I tried to find the same superhero band-aids but to no avail, so instead had to settle on Transformers or Cars.  I couldn't decide, so I bought both! We're both still children at heart.

He has a love affair with Stitch, so I bought him this phone cover, where the ears pop in and out! Yep, there's an iPhone hiding under that little blue Alien!

Okay, now back to the food!  We decided to try a Mixed Grill Tower for 2 - that way we'd be able to sample a little of everything that Hog's Breath has to offer! The tower includes steak, lamb, ribs and bacon, with a serve of Hog Tail fries, and your choice of sauces and either salad, vegies or mash. 

Vegetarians... look away now!

It really is a tower! Like... the high tea of meat?



That is a mountain of meat! Carnivore's delight, and a nightmare for vegetarians!  We opted for steamed vegetables as part of our tower, but I didn't take any photos... you all know what vegetables look like!

I have to say, unfortunately I was left underwhelmed by our meal in general.  The meat, while I could find no real fault with it, was lacking in flavour.  We had ordered it to be rare, and by the time it was brought out to us was cold.  The lamb cutlets had been perched on top of the plate, and were the coldest of all, so by the time we got to eating had congealed and were not that pleasant to eat. 

The Hog Tail fries were probably the best part of the meal, however these were slightly cold as well, and tasted like they'd been sitting around for a while. 

Again, there was nothing wrong with the vegetables per se, however if a restaurant can't steam brocolli without stuffing up then we have major issues!

It had been a year since we'd eaten at Hog's Breath last, and going by the quality of our most recent experience, it will be another year until we dine here again.