So we can’t go to the pub, probably not for awhile. We miss cold beers and shooting the breeze with our friends, we miss parmis and people watching and the general feeling of being somewhere fun. There’s another thing we miss that’s generally related to the pub too, and that thing is trivia.

A bit of friendly competition, hilarious trivia team names, the aforementioned cold beers and parmis. Trivia is a very good time. Luckily the very clever people at the Gold Coasts’ Time Out Entertainment, who are responsible for in-person trivia at several venues across the Coast, have come up with a solution.

And that solution is, online trivia. Which is amazing and something we are absolutely going to do to fill in some time from now on.

As it has everyone, the current state affairs affected Time Out Entertainment in that they are obviously no longer able to go to the pub and offer trivia to the people. Also like many people, they were able to come up with an alternative to that problem and here we are.

Entertainment for everyone.

Combining some fancy tech equipment we will never understand and A LOT of time spent working out the details, Time Out Entertainment were able to come up with a way for people to get involved free of charge.

The first round saw 500 teams playing and that has built to now over 700 teams.

It’s run three nights a week, Wednesday and Thursday at 7pm AEST and Friday at 9pm AEST and there has even been a Kids Trivia event which had over 500 kids playing.

It’s pretty much the perfect way to stay connected to friends and family, for adults and children alike, keep that Aussie competitive spirit alive and garner some bragging rights for when we’re allowed to spend time together again.

At the moment, there’s chats in the works about online music bingo which is also super fun.

Not only that, soon there’ll be prizes to win so you can not only play for free, you can win stuff too! It just gets better and better.

If you’re keen to join in, jump over here and get started. You’re guaranteed to have a very good time.

Words by Kirra Smith

While the last couple of months have been a trying time for every single one of us, there are those who have had it harder than others. The people in our community who are unable to afford food for their families for example. Those who live in refuges and are unable to return home, aged care services who can’t have food delivered, now is the hardest time of all.

Which is where OzHarvest come in and at the moment, they too need the help of the community and it comes in the form of the Here for Hope campaign.

Coming off the back of the horrific bushfire season, the not-for-profit business are experiencing an overwhelming need for for food relief, at a time when their resources are more limited than ever.

So what can you do?

You can donate to support vital food rescue services at www.hereforhope.com.au or pledge to make a small donation in connection with your continuing business activities (e.g. $1 from each transaction – that’s 2 meals for someone in need) or, if a monetary donation isn’t possible for you right now, you can share the campaign with your networks and get the word out that they need financial help to keep operating.

In case you aren’t aware of the work OzHarvest do, here’s a little recap.

They are the first perishable food rescue organisation in Australia that collects quality excess food from more than 2,000 commercial outlets and delivers it, direct and free of charge, to more than 1,300 charities.

They deliver this food (that would otherwise be tossed) to vulnerable men, women and children across Australia.

The surplus of food is collected from all types of providers including fruit and vegetable markets, supermarkets, hotels, wholesalers, farmers, stadiums, corporate events, catering companies, shopping centres, delis, cafes, restaurants, film and TV shoots and boardrooms. Just imagine the waste of leftovers!

The organisation was founded in November 2004 by Ronni Kahn who has been working tirelessly ever since.

So if you can help, please do.

$20 provides 40 meals, $50 provides 100 meals and up it goes.

You can choose to donate as a one-off or on a continual basis and know that when you do, you’ll be changing the life of someone who really needs some support right now.

And helping each other is the very best thing we can do.

Take care out there.

Words by Kirra Smith

If there’s one thing recent times has gifted us, it is a slew of new phrases that are now part of our daily language. One of which is pivot, a thing that many Gold Coast businesses are doing very successfully, making our lives even easier than they were before.

A group of such businesses you’ll know quite well, are those found at Oracle Boulevard in Broadbeach of the eating and drinking variety, all very good at what they do and all very accessible thanks to a new thing they like to call Dial + Drive-Thru.

Which yes, is as great as it sounds and consists of exactly that. As of right now, you can call ahead to your favourite venue within Oracle Boulevard, order some goodies, get an allocated time and head to the new drive-thru section to grab it and go.

Genius.

So what’s on offer you ask? Well, everything.

Orzo is serving up their exceptional Italian eats including cook-at-home pastas and your choices of accompanying sauces. There’s also ready-to-eat dishes like handmade lasagne, salads and of course, you may add a bottle of wine to complete the experience.

The Lamb Shop is offering their absolutely delicious souvlakis (could eat four of these at a time, don’t do that) plus small plates and bar snacks like Housemade Pork Sausage with Tzatziki.  Wash all that down with a beer, wine or cider and you’ve got a good time.

Mamasan Kitchen + Bar have their extensive menu available for takeaway. It’s filled with an array of Asian dishes like Pork San Choy Bau, Dumplings, Baos and some incredible curries to name a few. If you’ve not yet had the pleasure of sampling their dishes, do yourself a favour now.

Social Eating House has a fine dining share-style menu to go including dishes like Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder, Chargrilled Chicken and Korean Twice-Cooked Glazed Lamb Ribs to name a few. There are sides, a few cook-at-home options and cocktails to go too. So good.

The Cuban Bar & Lounge Dining have many a tasty Cuban delight including Paella Cubana, Salmon Ceviche and Cuban Chicken Breast Skewers PLUS Spanish Churros for dessert. Yes to all of that please. Of course, there’s plenty of wine and beer to go and that’s our new favourite thing.

Mecca Bah is all your Mediterranean food dreams come true including MEZZE PLATES, Stone Baked Mecca Bah Pizzas and Morroccan Chicken Salads among other things. It’s all ten out of ten goodness and all available to enjoy in your stretchy pants right now. Bless.

Broadbeach Pizzeria is a relative newbie on the scene and they absolutely have all your hand crafted pizza options covered. Start with Mozarella sticks and waffle fries (obviously) and then treat yourself to a Spicy Spanish Prawn and Chorizo pizza or perhaps a Gourmet Pepperoni is more your style. They have it all.

Guzman y Gomez are all about good Mexican eats to go and we can confirm, they’re onto it. All your fave Mexi-goodies are there including burrito bowls, tacos, enchiladas and Nacho Fries (OMG) and you may as well taste them all.

No Name Lane is the Boulevard’s exceptional coffee joint but not only delicious brews, the team are also serving up their famous brunch eats like Smashed Avo on Sourdough Toast (the best), Reuben Sandwiches and Potato Hash Benedict and it’s all amazing, all the time. That’s your breaky run sorted.

Noodle Broadbeach have a snack menu on offer including things like Spring Rolls, BBQ Pork, Deep Fried Squid and Chicken Wings so you can grab something yummy to sample on the go. Not sure where you’re going but perhaps around through the drive-thru again? Why not.

There you have it, breakfast, lunch and dinner sorted in absolute style thanks to Oracle Boulevard. Impressive pivot guys, love your work. Get ordering here.

Words by Kirra Smith