Getting our shorts and Pinchos on

I love movies. The popcorn, the frozen cokes and the ability to escape reality and indulge in joining someone else's adventure. For 90 minutes you cease to exist, and it's all about blazing guns, monsters or epic romances. And when it comes to local Western Australian cinema, I'm all for supporting our wonderful industry which is something we all have the opportunity to do through Revelation Film Festival where they feature 'Get Your Shorts On', a compilation of WA short films.

And before a visual feast for the eyes is started, of course one for the tastebuds and the tummy is a must. So it was lovely to be invited to attend both the movie, and a quick dinner at Pinchos beforehand by one of my favourite fellow foodies, Laura Moseley. I joined her with other bloggers and creatives including RRated, Little Miss Mon Bon, She Does and Danica Zuks. 

I'm already quite a fan of Justin Bell, the owner of local businesses Jus Burgers and Pinchos. Not only is he consistently friendly to chat to, he's also doing his bit to support Western Australian growers and the community. I'd been to Pinchos a couple times when it first opened, but as is often the case time has flown by since then.

The menu ranges from $1 spikes up to $9.90 for savoury pinchos and tapas which means dinner here is quite an affordable affair. We were treated to some of their most popular items, while washing it down with the housemade sangria which is a very agreeable price of $19.00 per carafe. I really enjoyed the sweetness of this sangria, especially the use of apple which just soaked in all the flavour.

From the 'para picar' section of the menu, we first munched away on:

• Pintxo gilda - white anchovy, guindilla pickle and olive ($1 per toothpick)
• Pintxo sopa salmorejo - andalucian tomato soup ($2 per shot glass)
• Pintxo chorizo con miel - sausage, honey and cheese ($2 per toothpick)
• Almendra - smoked almonds ($3.00)
• Aceitunas alinadas - marinated olives ($6.00)

Out of these small bites, my favourites were definitely the soup which was chilled and so refreshing, with the flavours well balanced and the chorizo - because who doesn't love the combination of savoury spiced sausage, sweet sticky honey and creamy cheese!

From the tapas section of the menu were some outstanding small plates, including:

• Croquetas - smoked ham and chicken croquettes ($9.00 for 3)
• Brochetta de gambas - marinated prawn skewers on bread ($9.90 for 2)
• Chicharrones - crisp fried pork belly with cumin and lemon ($8.50)

Talk about moorish bite after bite. For me, like last time I visited Pinchos, the croquettes were the absolute standout. Crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside with a strong ham flavour. The prawns were a close second though - fresh and herbaceous, with the seafood cooked perfectly to allow for a satisfying snap as I bit down into the flesh. 

The gazpacho salad ($8.00) was a vibrantly bright pan comprised of tomato, capsicum, bread, basil and px onions. Because of how capsicum upsets my stomach I only had a small bite of this salad, but reports around the table was it tasted fresh and tart. 

I think next time I come, I'd like to try their grilled tomato bread with jamon salad, it's something that sounds delicious and my grumpy tummy will be able to handle it.

Knowing we needed to shoot off to the movie soon, we finished things up with the special of the day - slow cooked beef cheeks with cauliflower puree and chimichurri. I thought this was a great winter dish and full of that beautiful unctuous meat that melted in my mouth. This definitely shot me over into a very full state - perfect for kicking back in comfy cinema chairs and enjoying the best of 2015's WA short films.

Small bites and short films seem to go hand in hand, don't you think? I thought that Pinchos and Revelation Films were a great team and made for a lovely night out. I love frequenting local businesses, and seeing the work of local filmmakers was really special because those movies might have been bite-sized in length, but the quality and the storylines were definitely meaty. Another great way to support local!