Alice Springs Restaurants

As mentioned in my general Aussie tips, the land downunder produces a tasty hamburger sandwich. Thick and juicy, cooked to perfection and delivered with a plate of hot fries (or as the Aussie would say, chips, mate...), the meal on a bun thrives and pleases in Australia.

And, like everywhere else in Australia, a big burger usually would include a great big sugar beet as dressing. I have to admit that I'd never considered beets as a possibility on my hamburger, but...... I kind of like it. Consider me converted. I've even made the run to the local store to get a couple of bottles of beets for burgers around my house.

The Red Dog Cafe is a typical Todd Street eatery in Alice Springs. Philosophically, it's somewhere between a saloon and a Burger King restaurant, they have an interesting array of Outback Tucker to feed your tapeworm. I didn't see a lot of veggie treats, so if you love a vegetarian dearly, you might want to swing by a market for some salad fixin's.

Besides burgers, they had all sorts of cut sandwiches (what we'd call deli sandwiches), hot dogs, Aussie meat pies and a nice selection of tempting ice creams, frozen floats and milkshakes.

For us, cold beer was the perfect and satisfying drink for this dry dusty climate. And yes, I let my 16 year old daughter enjoy a sip or two from my frosty mug, in exchange for a hit of her vanilla shake.

If you're into a big more "exotic" taste, the Red Dog serves Kangaroo and Camel meat, too. I didn't see any actual "red dog" on the menu, but then again, I didn't ask.

Favorite Dish: Well, I had a big fat Aussie hamburger and chips. And it was fair-dinkum fine in my book.

Wish I hadn't been so good to stick to a reasonable diet because the ice cream floats looked terrific, as did the milkshakes. But, I had a trip to Orlando coming up, and the prospect of appearing in public in my swim trunks in Central Florida upon my return to the US kept me honest at the lunch counter.

Apparently THE most popular item at the Red Dog is the one advertised in the photo below....the all day breakfast meal which is a typical Aussie baked beans, sausages, tomatoes and bacon dish. It's a big hit with the starving backpacker battalions that are coming and going from the Alice area.

Another fast food restaurant. Ate it because I wanted to save money...and the fact that it was right across my Inn/Hostel.

A little history about the chain first: Red Rooster began when the Kailis family opened the Kelmscott restaurant in Western Australia in 1972. Since May 2002, Red Rooster has been part of the Perth based Australian Fast Foods Group, and today, it is Australia's largest oven roasted chicken operator.

While the meal itself (about A$5+ in 2003) was reasonably tasty (though I had to wait a long time to get my meal - there wasn't enough staff to handle the busy evening customer traffic), it wasn't really substantial enough....leaving me a little hungry for more. And yet simultaneously, it gave me a queasy feeling. Must be all that oil/grease. Left the place a little unsatisfied and a little ill. Eventually found a gas station selling (thank goodness!) tea and gulped it down to wash away the uncomfortable feeling.

Favorite Dish: I had the quarter chicken meal. Oily.

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Located inside the Todd Street Mall, next two two other food stalls which aren't anywhere near as good, Pide and Kebabs have friendly owners who obviously take a great deal of care with their kebabs.

I was reminded several times by a concerned staff member that the falafel I had ordered did not contain any meat - I believe the concept of a vegetarian diet is slightly unusual for them :)

I feared for the worst after that glowing review, but honestly it was one of the better kebabs I've tasted in Australia. This simple fast food place is on par with plenty of more expensive restaurants in the Melbourne and Sydney area.

Give it a go for a quick, fresh, cheap, but not spectacular fill-me-up.

Favorite Dish: Falafel kebabs. So very, very oily. Delicious.

The Menue offers such exotic meat as Crocodile, Camel, Cangaroo, Emu, but also Barramundi and Beef.

I found the Meat here well cooked and the Beer ok.
It is the place for you, if you like steak houses - this is just one, exotic meat, or not.

Favorite Dish: Kangaroo mignon and filet is very good,
the Crocodile tends to be fat sometimes.

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The atmosphere at Overlanders Grill is full of warm and inviting wooden tones - skins of animals available for consumption (plus a few others) are hanging from the walls and as you enter you are asked what nationality you are so that they can place a cute minature of your national's flag on the table.

That makes for some great people watching as you can see at a glance how diverse Australia is even at this section of the outback.

The food is oriented towards meateaters, so my friends had a lot more fun than I did, but there was an extremely tasty spinach and ricotta crepe which filled me up beautifully. I almost turned back to meat after seeing my friend's meals come out: huge steaks as big as you can eat them. Sausages cooked with perfect fluffy mashed potatoes. Bacon and Steaks with corn, mushroom sauce and garlic bread. Oh... mouth-watering.

Favorite Dish: my friend ordered the drover's blowout, which is their signature meal.
First they bought him a soup of the day. Then tastings of crocodile, emu, camel and kangaroo. Then a HUGE steak cooked medium rare as a main. This thing was at least 400 grams.

Then, as if he wasn't full, they asked him if he was ready for Apple Pie or a nice Pavlova for dessert. My friend declined.

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TV's blazing the Finke River Rally. Motorbikes standing idle in the corners. A big, bright bar with plenty on tap. $10 Quesadillas.

Oh, I must be in Sporties. Located right on Main street next to Adelaide House, Sporties provides the locals with a simple convenient place to get some pub grub and a cheap lager.

Favorite Dish: Quesadillas - served with fries (as is everything on the menu) and cooked into oblivion. Perfect hangover food.

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The 421 Bar Bistro is in the back of the Gap View Hotel. It was recommended by Karen and Steve, owners of the adjacent Alice Springs Airport Motel. The 421 Bar Bistro has delicious food at very reasonable prices for the Alice Springs area. There are daily specials on the chalk board. Once the VT group found out about it, we all ate there several times. The bistro includes both indoor and outdoor dining areas, and a large screen TV. There are also karaoke nights on Sunday and Thursday.

Please note that there is one downside to the Gap View Hotel. It also includes a drive-through Bottle Shop that attracts a rough-looking crowd. They don't come into the hotel or its grounds, but I would not recommend walking around outside the fence at night.

Favorite Dish: The roast of the day is 10 AUD on Sunday (usual price is 16 AUD). It is a best buy and includes slices of roast beef, gravy, roasted potatoes, cooked vegetables and a roll. One favorite dish among the VT group was the lamb shanks. It had two huge lamb shanks with a nice sauce, rice, salad and roll. Another favorite was the roast kangaroo with sweet potatoes, salad and roll. Other dishes that I tried were the chicken-bacon pasta special (12.50 AUD), the spicy Moroccan chicken special (12.50 AUD), and the sticky date pudding (7.50 AUD).

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The dinner that comes with the Sounds of Starlight show is served at the Red Ochre Grill. You get a choice among three main dishes and a dessert. The night that we were there the choices were baked NT barramundi, dukkah rubbed kangaroo fillet, or a spinach and ricotta ravoli. The dessert was the Red Ochre wattleseed pavlova (a whipped cream and berry compote). The service was good, the presentation nice and the food tasty, but the serving size of the main dish was tiny! This was disappointing after paying 69 AUD for the dinner and show (including the group discount). My recommendation would be to skip dinner at the Red Ochre Grill, eat somewhere else, and then go to the excellent show.