The Potato Man - Mindil Market

Potatoes are a huge weakness of mine. It's true. It's a versatile little tuber that has a million and one uses. Truth be told I take issue with those folks in the days of old who thought the potato was only good for pig feed. I tell you if there ever was a people who were downright crazy it's them!

As I was recently strolling through the Mindil Market I was lost in my thoughts that maybe man has indeed gone as far as we can with what we can create with a potato. That's when I spotted The Potato Man! There his stall sat with his team working like a busy bunch of scientists working in a magical potato laboratory creating wonders I can only dream about!

I tell ya… it's like finding the Willy Wonka of potatoes.

The Potato Man himself was unable to join me on camera. Luckily one of his entrusted assistants was kind enough to spill some of their secrets on the art of potato preparation.

Mmmmm. If it's that messy it's got to be good! Click to embiggen!

The folks at The Potato Guy really know how to make a baked potato into something even more exceptional. They have a range of toppings that go from the classics such as sour cream, cheese, and different kinds of butter (regular or garlic), and a range of hot toppings such as bolognaise, chilli con carne, bacon, and baked beans. Cold toppings include dry slaw, beetroot, pineapple, chives, and lots of cheese!
My party and I tucked into a pile of baked potato slathered in bolognaise, sour cream, and cheese. Boy was that great! Two or three people could easily share a large dish together. It definitely filled us up and it was hugely satisfying.
I'm eager to go back to The Potato Man and try the Chili con carne topping. I certainly always have room for potato!
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Gourmet Sushi - Mindil Market

I'm a recent convert to sushi. For years I have been of the understanding that sushi consists entirely of raw fish and that's about it. Not being the biggest fan of fish in the world I always given sushi a pass. Since moving to Darwin my eyes have been opened to the large variety offered in the world of sushi. I was especially happy to learn about what Di and her team was doing at Gourmet Sushi at the Mindil Beach Markets.

Di has been doing something unique with sushi and putting her own spin on the dish. The first thing I noticed about her range of sushi was all the unusual colours. Among the favourites we have like avocado and chicken there are also new ingredients like pumpkin, kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi, and sweet potato!

I had a little talk with Di where she told me a little bit more on what they are all about at Gourmet Sushi!

Di prepared for us two different varieties of her gourmet sushi. One was rolled with quinoa, sweet potato, onion, marmalade, and feta cheese. The other contained avocado, roasted pumpkin, capsicum and pepitas. This second sushi also contained a mixture of brown and black rice.

I've never had sushi quite like this before and I was quite amazed at how much flavour was bursting out with each bite. Di and her team are truly doing something unique and special here and I can't wait to try out some of their other dishes. If you are out at Mindil Market I would highly recommend stopping by Gourmet Sushi and trying out some of these unique dishes.

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Spiral Spuds - Mindil Market

I had a quick stop at Spiral Spuds and had a nice chat with Ash. When we stopped talking about comics, Doctor Who, and all things geek we got down to business and talked about Spiral Spuds.

Spiral Spuds are a tasty concoction where Ash and his team magically turn a spud into a spiral, cook it, and flavour it. It might be best to let Ash explain it in the video below!

I tried a plain salt Spiral Spud and it certainly was a treat! I'm a guy who likes his chips and crisps and these things are the best of both worlds! I'm excited to try more of the flavours in the future!

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Authentic Indian Foods - Mindil Market

To continue on our night of exploring vegetarian options we stopped off at Authentic Indian Foods. Graeme and his crew certainly make it difficult to choose from their wide array of fresh curry they have ready to be scooped out and devoured.

From mild to spicy there is certainly something here for everyone. Of course, this being a vegetarian night, we went with the vegetarian option. All the other varieties were certainly enticing!

My friend Baz joined me on camera to talk a little about Authentic Indian Foods, how many curry's one stall can have, and how long they have been serving these curries.

Mmmmm. Curry just makes everything better.

Meat or no we really enjoyed what Graeme and his crew had to offer when it came to a vegetarian option. The curry was served with rice and heaping with vegetables. The curry sauce itself was mild but perfectly seasoned. It certainly didn't last long!
Other than curry there are many other vegetarian and gluten free options available at Authentic Indian Foods. There are actually so many different items on the menu that you will have to get yourself to Mindil Market and check it out for yourself!

This is just the beginning of what they have to offer!

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Lucky Cow - Mindil Market

A nice colourful range of salads. Click to embiggen!

The next vegetarian stop for us carnivores was Lucky Cow. Why is the cow so lucky? Because she'snot being eaten! Lucky Cow specialises in vegetarian dishes with vegan and gluten free options.

The first thing I noticed from the stall was the colour. Not even from the stall itself but also from the food! It's hard not to pass by and not be curious about what's going on. It was enough to even get the mouth of this proud carnivore watering.

Di and her team were busy preparing hordes of chow for hungry market-goers. I had a moment to speak with Di and see what Lucky Cow is all about!

Is your mouth watering? If not you may not be human!

Di and her team prepared us a colourful array of salads and goodies that consisted of cow pats (no. Not THAT kind of cow pat. These are spinach and ricotta patties and they are heavenly), the vegetarian caesar salad known as Cleopatra, the best beetroot salad ever that can only be called Beautiful Beets, and the cooked camembert with cranberry sauce.

Being a cheese nut they had me at the cooked camembert and I was convinced that was going to be my favourite. After giving everything a try I would say that it's difficult to pick a favourite!

The cow pat was very popular among the group and those I asked said they would choose it over a steak. My conclusion is that Lucky Cow has done the impossible and made a bunch of meat eaters eat their vegetables!

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Nita Delights - Mindil Market

After weeks of meat eating and desserts it felt like a good time to try out a few vegetarian options at the Mindil Beach Market. The next stop for me and my carnivorous friends was Nita Delights.

Nita Delights offers a range of Thai goodies and treats put together by Marlene with impeccable style. One look at her stall and you will see a colourful array of mouthwatering goodies waiting to be devoured.

I had a little talk with Marlene from Nita Delights and learned a little bit about what she does!

Green Paw Paw salad. Click to embiggen!

Marlene put together for us a lovely Thai Paw Paw Salad. A Paw Paw salad is a very popular dish which I only tried for the first time on this occasion. Paw Paw salads come in many different varieties including prawn, chicken, and pork. Being this was a vegetarian evening we were going with Green Paw Paw Salad. Marlene prepared the salad with peanuts, garlic, tomato, salt, lime and chilli. Marlene worked some kind of magic there as it was heavenly at first bite. Not too spicy and considering the muggy day we were having a nice cool paw paw salad really hit the spot!

  I'm looking forward to trying some other of the treats that are on offer at Nita Delights. I've always been a fan of sticky rice and was very impressed by how many varieties that Marlene had on offer as well as the many varieties of coconut dishes. There are so many to choose from I hope I manage to try them all!

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