The June 29 Edition
Have the TV streamers been spying on Good Weekend? Because one recent morning, at the train station, I stood staring vacantly at an ad across the tracks before realising it was spruiking a new TV series, Hotel Cocaine. I was on my way to work to put the finishing touches to today’s cover story, which is about … cocaine. Spooky, hey? Even though that show is set in Miami in the 1970s and ’80s, while Tim Elliott’s story is very much about the drug in Australia 2024. As Elliott writes, this country is in the midst of an unprecedented cocaine boom. More than a million Australians tried the drug last year, and despite the cost of living crisis, we’re forking out up to $400 a gram for it – only the UAE and Saudi Arabia pay more. What’s going on? Elliott unpicks all this, and the often unglamorous ramifications, in his story. – Editor, Katrina Strickland
Australia’s cocaine use is soaring. Why?
Australia, it seems, is awash with cocaine, despite its high price and record police hauls – not to mention hospitalisations and deaths.
- by Tim Elliott
From ‘bistro-mausoleum’ to tech and culture hub: How Paris got its mojo back
France may be grappling with massive social divisions, but its latest evolutions have helped it regain some of its historic savoir faire.
- by Brook Turner
How a flock of 12 sheep helped one man heal his ‘soul tiredness’
One burnt-out writer, 12 sheep, numerous lambs – and a renewed sense of the sheer wonder of life.
- by John Connell
Two of Us
For subscribers
‘I’ve learnt a lot’: De Minaur’s game has changed, thanks to girlfriend Katie Boulter
Tennis couple Alex de Minaur, the men’s world number seven, and Katie Boulter, Britain’s top-ranked woman, on changing each other’s game (and life).
- by Jane Wheatley
Dicey Topics
For subscribers
Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis: Exactly how old is that beard?
The TV presenter, landscape architect and environmental educator on his famous facial hair, being single and what’s sexy (and what’s not) about gardening.
- by Benjamin Law
Modern Guru
For subscribers
Happy 1000th birthday, Modern Guru
To celebrate the milestone, we’ve gathered 10 classic Katz columns from recent years – and spoken with the Guru himself on video.
- by Danny Katz
Al fresco
He had dirt under his nails the night he pissed on the freshly planted lemon tree. “Just sprayed some fertiliser,” he quipped to Gemma when, unzipped, he returned inside. Urinating outside became his bedtime ritual. Even after the tree died. Even when it was raining or the evenings were so cold he steamed from two ends. It was liberating, he thought. Primal. “It’s like running with the wolves,” he once explained to friends over dinner. “Weeing with the wolves,” Gemma joked. They just don’t get it, he thought later, sprinkling the lawn in the exquisite stillness of the moon-bright night. – Words by Paul Connolly. Illustration by Jim Pavlidis.
Drama, pain, food porn: The Bear is back... Funny how it’s called a comedy
Plus: get ready for the weekend with these fresh diversions.
Froga tat-tarja (Maltese spaghetti frittata)
A humble recipe with just a handful of ingredients, this thrifty frittata is one of my childhood favourites.
- by Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Almond shortbread jam (or marmalade) drops
You can use any kind of jam, but Helen Goh recommends a particular marmalade for these thumbprint biscuits.
- by Helen Goh
Review
Quay
With a near-perfect score of 19/20, this is now Australia’s top-rated restaurant
There are few overblown adjectives that haven’t been used for Quay under Peter Gilmore’s tenure, writes Callan Boys.
- by Callan Boys
Review
Good Weekend
‘Doubly exceptional’: Why this humble Ethiopian restaurant’s injera is twice as nice
Sinq’s sisters cook Ethiopian dishes you can find in dozens of Melbourne dining rooms, but with uncommon deftness and detail, and a warm, generous spirit.
- by Dani Valent
How hot does it need to be to fry an egg on a car bonnet or cook a toastie on an engine?
From fancy cars to dishwashers, there’s no end to human ingenuity when it comes to unusual cooking methods.
- by Terry Durack
