Wandering through Southbank with my fiancée and his parents a couple weeks ago we were torn over where to go for lunch.  We decided to try Amicis as the menu looked good and the place was pretty busy compared to the places around it.

The decor at Amicis is conventional, the staff friendly and the food comforting. The was a great family atmosphere. Definitely a place you can got for a relaxed meal with friends and family.

We were seated at an outside table, and although there were a lot of people at the tables around us it was still easy for us to converse. After looking through the menu we decided on the Garlic Bread to start. The Garlic Bread was a good light choice and set the taste buds flowing for the rest of the meal. It wasn't too heavy on the garlic or butter.

For main I had the Soup of the Day. It turned out to be Mushroom Soup. The soup was amazing. It was a great balance of cream, mushrooms and herbs. It came with a few slice of turkish bread and butter. It was a nice light meal, but still filling.

My fiancée had the Chicken Parmigiana. It came with a choice of chips and salad or potato and veges (all the other mains at out table did). The serving was huge. I was a large oval plate with nearly all the surface covered. Definitely value for money. He thoroughly enjoyed the real chicken breast coated in lovely crumbs with a tasty tomato sauce and covered in bubbly cheese.

Future mum-in-law had the Chicken Avocado. It was a moist and delicious chicken breast served with avocado and a hollandaise sauce. She really like the sauce and chicken, although as it was also a large meal she ended up taking some of it home to enjoy later. The salad served with the meals was dressed with a nice whole grain mustard based sauce and was enjoyed by all the table.

Future dad-in-law had the Rump steak with Mushroom sauce. He ordered medium-rare but it came medium-well done. He still enjoyed the meal but was slightly disappointed not to get the steak how he ordered it.

We all really enjoyed our meals and I will definitely go back again. Maybe next time I'll try one of their freshly made pizzas or the Pasta Marinara. In fact now that I'm thinking about it I really want to go back and try their Antipasto plate for two. It comes with cheeses, vegetables, and cold meats with toasted focaccia. Amicis was a great experience and reasonably priced for a nice relaxing time with the family.

Last June, with only a days notice, we found out about the Brisbane Cheese Awards. Lining up on the Sunday morning to enter I was thrilled to see so many people out for a fun day of Cheese tasting, classes on cheese and wine, and plenty of cheese to buy. I was particularly thrilled to see Will Studd from the ABCs Cheese Slices program. As one of my favourite food shows I was so happy to see him and he was very approachable.

Now it is time for the Brisbane Cheese Awards again. This Sunday, 9 September 2012, is Peoples Day down at Portside Hamilton. Will Studd is going to be there again.  I can't wait to enjoy all the oozy, wonderful cheeses. So many local cheesemakers geared up with different cheeses to try. Everything from Haloumi to Feta, Brie to Blues and everything in between.

Standout favourites for me were the Udder Delights Heysen Blue, Locheilan cheese Triple Cream Brie and the 'Raclette' which grills cheese which can then be scraped off and onto bread.

It is $10 for entry and really is a lot of fun. Expect it to be crowded, but it is definitely worth it. Hope to see you all there.