In the two years they've been open for business in Eumundi, owners Steve and Jo have left locals feeling rather smug that one of the best restaurants on the Sunshine Coast - make that Australia - can be found in their cosy little hinterland town. Okay, here is where I really start to talk it up:

1. Wickedly inventive menu. Take the rabbit, pistachio, bacon, marsala and cornichon terrine with goat curd and blueberry vinaigrette. A typical reaction on first reading is: "What the ...?" But the further you read, the more your imagination and taste buds awaken. You begin to drool. Thankfully someone had the foresight to laminate the cards.

2. First class produce: locally-sourced, homemade, and/or organic. Steve is as passionate as he is uncompromising. The man makes his own butter for heaven's sake. And his own bread, and ice cream ... If he doesn't have time to make it, it simply isn't on the menu.

3. Divine meals. There is some sort of alchemy happening out there in the kitchen - these dishes are far more than the sum of their parts. The other evening, we all fell for the duck. It was layer upon delicious layer of flavour, intensifying with each mouthful. A pomegranate vinaigrette had given a sticky sweet caramelisation to the crispy skin, below which the rich, perfectly cooked meat fell gently apart. Add the smoothness of creamy fetta, counterpointed by the crunch of cashews, shallots, and just the right amount of heat from the chilli and - hello taste bud heaven!

My fork dropped. Emboldened by a second glass of cab sav, I headed to the kitchen. "You're a genius," I announced. "No, I'm not ," Steve snorted, dismissing me with an airy wave of his knife. Meanwhile, back at the table, Phil was fielding a phone call: "I'm eating the best food in the universe. Go away!" (or words to that effect).

4. Blissful atmosphere. Out on the deck with the lights twinkling through the palms, the music tuned to chill, the summer rain falling softly on the roof, and under the spell of Jo's warm, relaxed, and yet perfectly attentive serice, you can't help but kick off your shoes and feel completely at home.

Steve, Jo - I have one thing to say to you. Never, never leave.

Modern Primitive:

Old Bakery Building, 101 Memorial Drive Eumundi. 5442 7946

Open for dinner Tuesday - Saturday from 6 pm. (lunch also possible - but phone ahead) BYO

Check out their uber-cool site but be warned, menu changes frequently due to availability of produce, and Steve's hyperactive imagination.
Postscript: Sadly, since the time of writing, Modern Primitive has closed its doors in Eumundi. But we're looking forward to eating more of Steve's amazing food - somewhere,  sometime soon.
(And it was one helluva farewell party!)

In Lismore there's a cool record shop selling only vinyl, everything lovingly cleaned and in plastic sleeves, that makes you want to buy up all your old music again and listen to it slowly, on a turntable, and to hear it the way it's supposed to sound.
We were taking the long way home after a holidayette (read weekend) at Girraween Environmental Lodge. God that was a cold winter. It had been cold enough on the Sunshine Coast, and yet we'd decided to up the ante and spend a couple of days in the Granite Belt. But it was all part of a cunning, mini-hibernation plan: a cosy cabin, a crackling wood fire and a plump sofa; nothing outside but trees, a particularly bitey wind, and the odd wallaby; and best of all, no decisions required - at least, none more taxing than which cheese to eat with which local wine ... and which video to watch.