Date Night, by David

Burger Bar [March 8, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 16:54:00 +0000

Thanks to The City lying to us (and many others) with a web page not matching reality, our late morning activity 'cancellation' left us with nothing to do and the realization that no lunch plans were made as part of the trek. It's been a while, but Burger bar has helped us out in the past and it was on the route we needed to take to get home.

Nothing has changed visually, and we may have even sat in the same seat as last time. Perhaps a little busier, on the 'bar' side of the place with all the bigger TVs, but overall not particularly busy. It's quite possible the menu hasn't changed either, but I don't know for sure, but it's certainly of the same style of mostly burger burgers, some non-burger burgers, a build your own burger plan, some mac & cheeses, a small selection of starters, some shakes, and lots of beers.

Our Server was nice enough, polite and friendly and able to answer our questions about the beers easily. Drinks appeared quickly and he prompted us in all the right places while ordering our burgers. He wasn't runn'n, but he was busy and this didn't prevent him of taking care of us properly amongst his other tables.

Our meal went a little like this:

Malted Milk Ball Madness - for the record, no Malt Ball, but a tasty shake all the same...
Draft - a replacement to the no longer available fun named one that was chosen
Hey Shortay, braised short ribs, caramelized onions, roasted garlic aioli - tasty
Truffle Fries
Fa-Getta-Bod-It, prosciutto, fried egg, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil mayo - chosen mostly because of the egg, tasty and good messy
Sweet Potato Fries
Beer of the Month, draft - something red

Activity a bust, tummies quite happy! Good to have this as an easy to get to option as part of our commute home.

Stay JOLLY!
D

Tank Noodle [March 1, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 16:37:00 +0000

4953-55 N.Broadway

Following up on plans to not wait too long for another get together over a meal, we left the location choosing completely in the hands of our friends. Not sure what their decision making process involved, but here we are.

Just a few steps away from the el easy enough to find on the corner. Greeted at the door by a sort of host we were given a table slightly bigger than we needed in the corner overlooking both Broadway & Argyle. It's one big space with tables over varying sizes and shapes not jammed in, but pretty closely arranged, with lots of options for moving them around for various sized groups.

Fairly brightly lit, although a good part from the street lights, as two sides are nice big floor to ceiling windows. The kitchen is sort of open a little bit if you want to see what's going on. Pretty busy, but not quite full this evening, with a steady turn over of people who were eating a whole lot quicker than us.

Our Server was quite patient as each round of ordering took us a bit to sort out. She was asked for some suggestions and we now know she gave us pretty good suggestions, but she didn't name the dishes just told us the menu numbers which although working just fine we probably really would have liked to hear the correct pronunciation of our dishes even if we would do a poor job of repeating it back. Things appeared really quickly but as they were ready not as the collection ordered, which is totally fine.

It's a really big menu, conveniently broken up into sections that might help you find what you might be after. Catch is, we had no idea what we wanted other than being pretty sure we wanted to have a try at some pho. We got a couple of maybes, but after consulting with our Server we discarded all of them and went with her choices. I don't think we would have made bad choices, just uninformed ones.

Our meal went a little like this:

Soave A Wine Club Member - buttery, nice with our first choices, but also fine before the first treat arrived
#12, Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe, bean sprouts, coconut milk, lettuce, mints, basils, cilantros, cucumber, sweet & sour fish sauce - an interesting crunchy & fluffy texture, largish shrimp cooked into the pancake, everything else as a sort of side
#10, Fried Pork Egg Roll, ground pork, carrots, taro, wood ear mushrooms
Pinot Noir - a really nice pinot that went well with our selections.
#16, Self Wrap Grilled Beefs, rice papers, sliced grilled beefs, rice vermicelli, mints, basils, cilantro, lettuce, cucumber, sweet & sour fish sauce - really tasty, an amusing challenge to get the rice paper going in the contraption for this activity (we all got better with each one). I think we all added a bit of everything to each attempt
#133, Combination Stir-Fried Rice, shrimp, beef, B.B.Q. pork, chicken, assorted vegetables
Bouchaine Syrah A Wine Club Member - really gentle.
#47, Beef Noodles Soup With Sliced Beef - a generous serving, tasty broth, nice noodles, plenty for the 4 of us to share.

Tasty and fun dinner! We ate well and we chatted well in a nice relaxed way. We do need to get back to try some more of the menu, perhaps making our own choices.

Stay JOLLY!
DLouise & Chris

Pauline's [March 1, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 18:26:00 +0000

1754 W. Balmoral

It's not really all that often that we're out and about for brunch, and pretty close to never that we make it out for Breakfast. After completing an early activity we were a little bit hungry with no plan to fix that. Fortunately we had smelt Pauline's in action after an early run during warmer times and remembered it with just enough time to take the slight detour to find it.

A corner building we had no idea what to expect stepping through the front door. Greeted immediately by the Server who turned out to be our Server, he pretty much allowed us to sit wherever we wanted. With just a quick look that tricked us into thinking the place was smaller than it really is we chose a booth towards the far end of this sort of front section made up of mostly booths, a couple of small tables and the kitchen area. What we realized later is that there's also a next door sort of side through an opening just off where we came in. Going to guess it's fitted out more or less the same as our side, less the kitchen bit.

It's been here for a while so they've accumulated a lot of interesting knick knacks as decorations that cover just about every spare (or partially spare) shelf or wall. They also have a lot of pictures of their guests, some up on the walls, some under the glass top of your table - I don't need to be one of them, but mostly fun to look at. It's a Diner, I guess, so the furnishings easily fit in to that theme and you can watch some of the activity in the kitchen if you're so inclined.

Lots of energy from our Server who was never in a rush to get our order in, happy to explain the special more than once and just as happy to offer his opinion to help us make a final decision between two things. We saw him enthusiastically chatting a little more to another table who I assume to not be first timers in the place, so if we really wanted to chat with him we probably could have got him going. He got everything right, kept the coffee topped up and things arrived quite quickly once ordered.

It's a breakfast menu so everything we expected to see in some form or another. Not hard to make a decision if you have some sort of hankering. A couple of always specials highlighted on the menu and a special of the day (we happily got talked into) on a blackboard by the front door.

Our meal went a little like this:

Coffee
Chocolate Milkshake
Banana Bread French Toast, poached eggs - eggs done right, nice interesting & tasty toast
Blueberry Pancakes, powdered sugar - quite light, quite big
Bacon

That worked out well. Not much opportunity to get back (because we'll be in bed), but good to know they're a useful option should the need arise.

Stay JOLLY!
D

TÊTE Charcuterie [February 21, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 17:46:00 +0000

1114 W Randolph

Not sure how we came across Tête but when looking for a spot for dinner before a show we matched up the theatre with our To Do List and here we are.

Easy enough to find after a short walk from the el. Easy enough to get in when you arrive shortly after they open (yes, not our normal goal, but remember, we had a show to get to). Easy enough for the host at her stand by the door to find our reservation which was right at the top of her list. It's one big space sort of kind of broken up into 2 by a banquette which we were sat at.

The front window side is mostly twos and a couple of 10 tops that I suspect are also used as communal tables as needed. The other side is set to go with more fours is great if you like to keep an eye on the chefs, from this side you can easily see what they're up to in the open kitchen, but also in to a prep kitchen you might get to see them making sausage or their other cured products. There's also the charcuterie bar where you can sit or just watch the dishes come together right next to the bar bar where it seems they're quite happy to let you sit for dinner.

Our Server helped us out nicely and although we had no questions at ordering time she did help us make sure we knew what everything was on our Board. She did check in often enough so that when we needed a little more of the tasty bread it appeared quite quickly. Everything was dropped off by someone else and he also went through the description of what we had, although it turned out he made one small mistake with an off the menu option.

Without knowing the specifics of the menu we were pretty sure we'd be starting with a collection of treats of the cured variety, probably chosen by the chef. After easily confirming this would be the case we took a moment to check out the full range of cured treats & patés and the couple of sausages, all of which they make themselves, mostly in view of you it seems if you time your dining experience correctly. There is a small section of both starters & mains, most of which we'll never get to due to the rest of the menu being very very attractive to us, but all are consistent with what they doing and we'd be happy having a go at given no other choices.

Our meal went a little like this:

Octandre A Century Club Contribution - not a big wine, easy to enjoy with what we chose this evening.
Large Board, bread from PQM, spicy mustard, house made pickles - chef's selection, often with things not listed on the menu. Not everything needed the bread, but it was easily the best non-meat thing on the board.
Coppa, pork shoulder, black pepper, bay leaf -
Chorizo, smoked paprika, espelette, garlic - not like chorizo we've had before, in a good way
Country Ham
Garlic Sausage - apparently they've been trying something new. We think they've done quite ok.
Rosette de Lyonred wine, quatre épice, garlic, black pepper
Pâté de Campagne, chicken liver, pork, cognac - a hearty paté we'd like to have a try at some time
Pâté Bourguignon, pork pistachio, cassis, paris mushrooms
Fromage de Tête, house speciality, our namesake & inspiration
Pot Roast, braised short ribs, leeks, roasted carrots, black pepper - not hot & steaming, all the flavors were there, served as a nice slice from a terrine
France Sausage, all veal boudin blanc, red cabbage marmalade, quince, house smoked bacon - a wonderful sausage with useful accompaniments
Duck Rillette, maple cured duck leg, fig - really tasty, quite possibly our favorite on the table
Venison Hunter Chips, venison, pork, garlic, mustard seeds - the most interesting of everything we chose, mostly in a new texture. Not quite crunchy, but crisp and tasty.

We were a bit conscious of the clock so didn't sit back and relax quite as much as this sort of meal encourages us to, but we're still very glad we came by and although not a super convenient place for us to get to from home, we probably will end up here after work some time when we're after a bit of dinner with a show (if we get lucky and they're making something).

Stay JOLLY!
D

Taste of Peru [February 14, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:19:00 +0000

6545 N Clark

This really has become our go to hang out with friends BYO place where decision making is made easy by recalling past tasty treats.

Nothing has changed, and we don't expect it ever will.

The boss was around and kept things moving and although he didn't rush us out the door it was clear our table was needed as we were finishing up.

Our friend let us order, nothing new was selected.

Our meal went a little like this:

Pisco Sour - not sure we could come and not have this any more
Ceviche Especial, mixed seafood, grouper, marinated in lime juice and Peruvian spices, onions, corn, sweet potato - just as we remember it
Pinot Noir - worked quite nicely with our early selections
Papa Rellena, mashed potato stuffed with seasoned rib eye steak, walnuts, eggs, raisins, & olives - just as we remember it
Empanada de Pollo - just as we remember it
Forma de Arte A Century Club Contribution - perhaps preferred this one
Seco de Pollo, chicken, cilantro base sauce, cooked in beer and served with rice and peas - just as we remember it
Alfajor, traditional cookies with manjar blanco (Peruvian Caramel), topped with powdered sugar - glad our friend reminded us to order these up

Another successful dinner!

Stay JOLLY!
DKate

Bread & Wine [January 31, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 18:22:00 +0000

3732 W Irving Park

We've done Brunch here a couple of times. Each time we've left saying we really need to come and do dinner, so when one of the group suggested Bread & Wine for our get together we were quick & happy to support the suggestion.

Pretty much full on arrival the host matched us up quite quickly with the earliest of our arrivals and we were told there'd be a short wait for our table. We sort of kind of had to squeeze in with our freinds at the bar which was pretty much fully occupied. Which worked out fine as the last of the gang were still to arrive.

It looks the same as the other times we've been in, just a little darker and a lot more active with customers and staff. The open Kitchen was jamming, the Bartender was kept hopp'n and the Servers didn't get to do much standing around. The main part of the restaurant was where all the larger groups were settled, perhaps not a 2 in amongst us, but in that sort of nook by the host stand it works out as a nice little section for couples, although I'm sure there are times when there are more than 2s sitting over there.

Our Server did a great job, with some good support. He helped us out with our few questions, he kept everything moving along without nagging us, he let us order in waves and was patient (especially as we got settled in) with our inability to have everything sorted by the time he came by. He was there as treats were dropped off, but whoever did the dropping off gave a quick reminder of what we had. We appreciate that he worked with the chef to make sure our two Charcuterie boards were not the same thing and that missing desserts could be replaced. The Bartender came by a couple of times, which may or may not be how it normally works, with the first time to let us know that the choice of Pinot was no longer available. He helped locate an alternative and checked back later to make sure it was a good choice.

Our meal went a little like this:

Martini
Third Thyme's the Charm
Phantome Parish
Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc
Hitching Post Pinot Noir
Roots ¨Klee¨ Pinot Noir
House Charcuterie & Cheese, chef's choice - the chef gives you six items, so we got two boards and our Server helped us get 2 pretty much different boards. These did not last long!
Chicken Liver Pâté
Country Ham
Smoked Kielbasa - we love this is served warm
Tasso Ham
Mortadella
Rillettes
Blue Bonnet, goat, MA
Hickory Smoked Gorgonzola, cow, WI - not too 'blue'
Triple Cream Brie, cow, France
Cottonwood River Cheddar, cow, KS
Verano, sheep, VT
Beer Steamed PEI Mussels, blue cheese, sriracha, toast - quite gentle on the sriracha, but it's there
Herb Fries, garlic, malt aioli
Crispy Semolina Gnocchi
Wild Mushrooms, country ham, poached egg, ricotta, frisse, red wine vinaigrette - a simple yet tasty salad
Tagliatelle, duck confit, butternut squash, radicchio, brown butter, madeira, parmesan
Duroc Pork Chop, marble potatoes, collard greens, bacon, warm spiced pears
Housemade Sausage, brussels sprouts, potato puree, giardiniera
Chocolate Mousse - may not have been exactly as advertised as after being told they were out enough sad faces helped turn that around. Happy faces reignited...
Brownie Bread Pudding, crème anglaise
Restaurant Week - not enough choices for all of us, they were happy to let us order one and send things out at the appropriate time
Roasted Beets, barley, greens, feta, lemon vinaigrette
Crispy Chicken Thigh, cranberry beans, tasso ham, smoked mushrooms - the favorite dish on the table of more than one of us
Salted Caramel Popcorn Panna Cotta

Great dinner! We ate well, we chatted and laughed well, we were taken care of very well.

Stay JOLLY!
DJanet & Dave, Pete & Kris, Kate

World Restaurant & Bar [January 2, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:33:00 +0000

Building 2 Riverside Quay

With just the one breakfast under our belts on this trip we thought we should combine our proximity to the river with an early(ish) morning view of it over a little more than our more usual bowl of weet-bix. With no idea what was on offer we walked past the selections until a menu board kept our attention.

No idea what it's like inside as we were greeted on the patio by our Server and offered a table in the sun. Actually, so much sun one of us had to return to our condo for their sunglasses - which turned out not needed thanks to them closing the sun roof just as we were reunited. The patio is made up of a collection of high tables, normal tables and a low table with sofa type seats - we got high along the rail over the river walk. On some days this would be perfect for people watching, but the restaurants and walk were quite quiet this morning.

Not a very talkative Server, but she got everything right with our drinks and plates arriving quite quickly.

An easy menu to navigate with a couple of things we don't normally see for breakfast in amongst the more regular and traditional type offerings. We took a bit to make a final decision and if somehow we're back again we'd almost certainly try the dishes that missed out this morning.

Our meal went a little like this:

Iced Chocolate
Red Berry Iced Tea
Buttermilk Pancakes, blueberry compote, maple syrup
Breakfast Pizza, bacon, egg, tomato, mushroom, rocket - tasty overall, just the right amount of messy, but for the record I might prefer my egg cooked on the pizza rather than fried and added after, but no real harm

Breakfast by the river mission successful!

Stay JOLLY!
D

D'Lish Fish [January 1, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 18:36:00 +0000

3/105 Beach St

Our St.Kilda adventure brought us to Port Melbourne for the official treasure find.

When we got off the tram, the first thing we noticed was the Fish & Chips shop. We debated eating first but thought we would find the treasure first and our reward for the long day would be our long awaited fish & chips. We were not disappointed!

Totally unrelated to how tasty our meal was, we got to hang (well, we just looked at him as he was with his family) with a tv celebrity who may or may not still be doing what he did many years ago, and we got a very pretty and colorful and much photographed sunset.

Our meal went like this:
Diet Coke
Boags
Snack Pack, fish, chips, potato cake, dim sim

We enjoyed our fish & chips but wish we had more fish & chip meals like this - that is, we have options for fried fish where we are, even though the batter is way way way different, but we really miss the style of chips and the side of dim sims & potato cakes that are never an option.

Spud Bar [January 1, 2015]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:21:00 +0000

43 Blessington Street

After celebrating NYC with a bit too much to drink we decided that fish & chips were the way to go for lunch. We decided walking along St Kilda beach was the place to go work up an appetite, plus we could fit in some treasure hunting.

It turned out the Fish & Chips spot was closed for the holiday - who knew places close? The second option was a Potato Bar that one of us was sure would be closed up since it had been 8 years since our last visit. Low and behold, the Potato Bar was still there - like I knew it would be.

Same look, menu on wall, few two tops next to the counter and a small counter to sit at in the window with just a few chairs.

The menu has changed a bit but you can still build your own potato if you want. They do have some combos to do plus you can choose a sweet potato if you like.

Our meal went like this:
Diet Coke - one of the few lunches without a beer and we did not need one
Pork Belly Potato, pulled pork, baby spinach, shredded cabbage, corn, peas, spring onion -
Crispy Bacon & Cheese Potato, free range bacon, tasty cheese, mushrooms, shredded cabbage, wild rocket, extra tomato salsa, spring onion -

Still a great find after 8 years and I'm sure we'll be back next time around. We were a bit bummed to learn that our Potato Bar is now a chain - oh well.

A successful lunch that went quite well with a 6 mile walk along the beach!

Pure South [December 31, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:08:00 +0000

3 Southgate Avenue

Warned that we probably wouldn't want to be out in downtown Melbourne this evening we were always going to decline that warning. Our Short List of places had already been pruned to just the one when we learned that our apartment would be barely half a block away so our 9pm reservation had us walking out the door at 8:50 and we were still early.

It perhaps could be argued it's two restaurants in one with the patio section being very separated from the rest of the place (where we were because we weren't quite quick enough to commit to have the option of the patio). The inside is one big space with some delineation thanks to the furniture which is not jammed in, but it's pretty easy to eavesdrop on all your neighbors if you're so inclined.

As it turned out, if it matters, we were next to last in with the place bustling away quite happily with our table sort of tucked in a corner of the banquette waiting for us. It was quite loud, so if there was music going, no idea what it was, but it's good loud with just the happy chatter of happy diners.

Part of the deal was that they promised there'd be space on the deck for us inside people to see the fireworks. We were a little concerned that wouldn't work out so well, but a surprising (to us, anyway) large number of people were packed up and gone long before tomorrow arrived and some people didn't even leave their table. Therefore, we pretty much got to pick our spot when the time arrived.

We weren't in a hurry at all, knowing that we wanted to stay here for the fireworks, but our Server worked quite hard to get our choices out of us as quickly as possible. He really didn't have much to do with us (and didn't need to) after he got our order but was nice enough when he came by with new cutlery or to drop off our next treats. The Wine Server we saw more of and chatted a little with as he helped us decide whether we should switch it up for our main course - we did. He had no hesitation keeping our glasses topped up which we made good use of, no matter what we had going.

The hardest part of the menu was perhaps deciding which of the 7 generously flowing wines to chose from with half of our dinner being no choice required and just a couple of choices where one was offered. We mixed up the dining treats as best we could, but stayed mostly with one wine for the duration.

Our meal went a little like this:

Aperol Spritz - a sort of bitter and refreshing start from a liquor we'd never heard of before
2008 Rumney Cloud Nicole - nicely citrusey, gentle bubbles, really enjoyable
Tasmanian Rock Lobster, crispy vietnamese pancake - looking nothing like it from the outside, it made us think of a New England lobster roll
Hot & Cold Seafood - we liked this selection of treats
Tasmanian Pacific Oysters Natural
Tuna Tartare
Seared Scallops
Carrot Mousseline
Smoked Petuna Salmon
Hard Family Pickled Octopus - probably our favorite
2012 Ellis Shiraz - quite tart, didn't like at all
2008 Bespoke Cabernet Sauvignon
Aged Cape Grimm Grass Fed Angus Eye Fillet, potato beignet, carrots, citrus & red wine jus - nicely cooked, simple sides
Mt Gnomon Farm Wessex Saddleback Pork Loin & Belly, korean chilli spices, fragrant rice - belly the preferred bite, interesting sides.
2008 Rumney Cloud Nicole
Anvers Chocolate Mousse Torte - not too rich
Tasmanian Cheese Plate, pear & raisin jam, house baked fruit bread, poppy seed crisp breads - our preferred dessert of the two
Red Cow Triple Cream Brie
King Island Dairy ¨Stormy¨ Washed Rind
Pyengana Cheddar

We got to be out for NYE, we got to see in the new year, we ate and drank well (perhaps drank a little too well), we got to see the fireworks (nothing special, really), we got to watch the crowd accumulate, and we got home safely. That sounds like the NYE we were looking for whilst on vacation.

Stay JOLLY!
D

Chin Chin [December 31, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:19:00 +0000

125 Flinders Lane

Found in the same book and more or less on the same block as a place we visited not too long ago, it was always on the short list of places to keep in mind each time we needed a place to eat. It took two tries, but here we are, even though they don't take reservations.

Fairly nondescript from the outside there is a simple sign over the door that can be seen from down the block (although if you turn up when the wait is 2 hours there has to be a good gaggle of people waiting out the front that makes it extra easy to find). A small entrance way foyer thing serves as a not big enough waiting area, but for this lunch there was no waiting and therefore no crush here. A pretty big host stand I think doubles as a service station had a pleasant guy waiting for us who we were expecting to be given a significant wait time, but got us straight to our table.

It's one space with a long and fully occupied bar (dining, not just for a drink) pretty much along the length of one wall and in the back corner there's part of the kitchen out in the open with perhaps 15 fully occupied seats around it. There's a banquette of smallish two-tops (where we ended up) very close to your neighbours under windows that let the place be brightly lit, but have nothing for you to look at. The rest of the room is also pretty tightly arranged with tables of varying sizes. The place was pretty close to full when we arrived and full when we left, so there's a lot of happy people making a lot of happy noise along with the bustle of the bar and the kitchen. We didn't really have any problems chatting but a quite peaceful meal this was not.

Our Server was a server. She got everything right and was around when we needed her but she wasn't overly personable. The food runner was a bit more talkative as he dropped of our selections giving a quick description of what we'd ordered.

It's a good sized menu themed I believe along the lines of Asian Street Food. It's broken up into sensible sections but not wanting a too big lunch we stayed in the 'Little Something' section for our few choices. Lots of words we'd never seen before we could have asked for clarification on, but seeing we would have needed just about everything clarified we just chanced it a bit and selected by the featured item of the dish. We did quite ok. There is a mystery type ordering option for a set price they just bring out whatever they want. We never considered this for lunch, but got to watch the couple next to us work it over and they ate well so now know it would be a pretty good dinner option.

Our meal went a little like this:

Clare Hills Riesling - not a big riesling, a gentle sweetness to it.
Crispy Sardines, nam prik pla yang, steamed vegetables - yes, very crispy, don't skip the head. Very rich heavy paste type sauce which is quite ok in small doses.
Miang, betel leaf of braised lamb, smoked eggplant, mint relish - tasty, but a surprising amount of heat slowed down the consumption
Chin Chin Pork ¨Roll Ups¨, red braised suckling pig pancakes, slaw & asian spices - great pork, crisp slaw

We're glad we managed to get in, but we're also gladish we didn't manage to get in the other evening as it's just too much of a bustling happening place to make chatting with our friends a pleasant part of the evening.

Stay JOLLY!
D

Bouzy Rouge [December 30, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 18:54:00 +0000

470 Bridge Road

The last of our it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you evenings was left completely in the hands of our friends. We didn't get their first choice, probably not even their fifth choice due to the seasonal closing of a lot of their favorites. No harm, they still picked a winner!

Easy enough to find when you're being chauffeured around (thanks nice friends for coming to get us!), I think there was a big sign up over the door. There may be two doors? Entering the door we chose there's a host stand pretty much in the door but immediately to the side is the public bar (I'm pretty sure it's more of a come in for a drink, than wait for a table bar) which I think has it's own door on the other side. We were taken out to the patio which was a little less busy than the rest of the quite full place. We were prepared for it to be a little chilly out there this evening, but as it turned out we didn't need our sweaters, thanks to it being covered, tent walled and having a big fireplace going not too far from us this evening.

I'm not sure the decor technically matches the fun tapas menu, but they've certainly had fun putting it together with many things on any wall or piece of furniture that has room for some sort of arty sculpture thing. Swords, horns, deer, plush chairs & banquettes, oh and quite large chandeliers inside, and out on the patio we got to dine with a large collection of mosaic-ed and mirrored bulls heads, amongst some other interesting (and I assume weatherproof for when the roof and / or walls are opened up - they can be, right?) pieces. All in all fun, and cheery and sort of kind of surprisingly not out of place.

A very nice Server helped us out, taking care of everything except the opening of the wine, politely and cheerily. She knew the menu well, and answered our few questions quite well, although the menu is spelled out quite nicely describing what everything comprises, and detailed the couple of specials which were in the large plate section we didn't venture to this evening. She kept an eye on us and was never far away when we needed her, certainly having no issue with us ordering in stages in a fairly take our time manner.

Plenty to choose from the Tapas section, which served us well this evening, but there's some Paellas and some larger plates to choose from as well. Dessert caught our attention, perhaps too well as we didn't really consider the interesting sounding cheeses on offer. A very large wine list that could amuse a lot of people, perhaps bamboozle a lot of others, includes some things with good age, quite a few ports, a nice range of larger format bottles has a strong commitment to Australian Wines and French and Portuguese and Spanish and more. We deferred to our very capable host for excellent decision making.

Our meal went a little like this:

Quinta Do Crasto A Century Club Contribution - pleasantly rich, nicely balanced, big but not overpowering
Albóndigas, spanish meatballs roasted in tomato sugo - really liked the sauce
White Anchovies, bread and lemon - gentle sauce, very tasty, bread might have arrived a little late
Fried Calamari, soffritto and aioli - nice light breading
King Fish Ceviche, avocado, mango, chilli and lime - not quite the ceviche we’ve had in the past but still very tasty
Esporão A Century Club Contribution - perhaps a little gentler than the first, a bit more fruity
Chorizo, braised with cider and onions - more tangy than spicy, worked great with the cider sauce
Duck Liver Parfait, cornichons and toasts - yummy, nice and creamy
Roast Mushrooms, garlic butter and parsley - did not hold back on the garlic
Black Tiger Prawns, chilli and garlic butter - garlic more obvious than the chilli (phew!)
Quinta dos Murças, 10 year Old Tawny Port
Ramos Pintos, Tawny Port
Bread and Butter Pudding, caramelised apple and vanilla bean gelato - this did not last long
Churros, warm chocolate sauce - and this wasn't far behind...

We had a good selection of tasty treats, both for the eating and drinking parts of the event. Both quite big wines were not too big for anything we had and it's tough to pick a favorite, certainly impossible to rank them all. But, the Anchovies and the Parfait have to be right up at the top of everyone's list.

Great night out, with great friends! Doesn't happen often enough! - but that's our fault for living where we do.

Stay JOLLY!
DMichael & Luise

ps. Absolutely nothing, I repeat, absolutely nothing to do with our dinner, we were very amused with the automated drop off / pick up dry cleaner that was more or less next door. Yes, we were quite amused, yes, we have a picture...

Il Tempo [December 29, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 00:37:00 +0000

8 Degraves St

Part of our entertaining the short people with ice skating earlier in the day included getting them some dinner. We wanted to get them into a 'real' restaurant and after having learned of this street just the other night thought it would be the perfect place to find something suitable, especially since we were giving the short people just about all of the decision making power. The first place with pasta was all it took...

Like just all the other places, a small street frontage, menu & spruiker by the door, some tables outside (although not as many as those a bit up the alley) and once inside, not a lot of room for the bar / service area and small tables organized for maximum occupancy. Not sure why, but the floor space is built up so it's two levels and we got the top one. Perhaps so it looks a bit different to all the other places?

Nicely polished dark wood all about most prevalent in the bar which is not just the bar but a wine rack rising almost to the ceiling on either side of a blackboard which I think was listing the wines by the glass. From our little upstairs section there's a nice window looking down on to the street, but we were sat on the other side.

Our Server was helpful and cheery and polite, and patient with the short ones. Drinks appeared quite quickly as did everything once we got the orders in. He did everything for us, and apart from the Bartender may have been the only Server working inside keeping a great eye on us being not far away when we needed him.

Not a particularly large menu but more than enough to amuse the four of us. A couple of 'of the day' items filled in by our Server but no other specials to distract us from the fairly easy decision making process. A short wine list we didn't really look at, considering our company.

Our meal went a little like this:

Sodas - sorry we had an incident, thanks for not getting mad!
Peroni
Coopers Green
Bruschetta, eggplant, tomato, zucchini, capers - held together nicely
Lasagna - ordered without hesitation, eaten with great gusto, enough to share with all
Tagliatelle Bolognese - that didn't last long...
Orecchiette, lamb ragout, peas - really good ragout, could have gone a little more lamb though
Barramundi Puttanesca - a fish that always catches our attention when offered, quite strong sauce still worked out ok with the fish, best with a bit of everything on the fork

The short ones were happy, so we were happy. But, to be totally fair we would have been happy without the little ones and could have had fun exploring the menu a little more.

Stay JOLLY!
DTabitha & Scarlett

Dragon Boat [December 28, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 00:36:00 +0000

203 Little Bourke St

It's time for our next it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you event and after a quick beer to settle down the travelers while the non travelers clean up after a hot day at the cricket we head off with a sort of kind of plan in mind. It didn't work out, not even close (who waits 2 hours for a table?), so we ended up in China Town and at a place that our friends have had success at in the past.

Pretty much full on arrival we were a little nervous to get given another extensive wait time, but as is it turned out the 10 minutes they said turned out to be over estimated by about 3 times - so lets call it no waiting. A nice table up a few steps to a raised section in the window could have sat a few more friends with us, but we made it work.

It's a pretty big room and apart from our raised section is all one section with tables of a vast variety of size arranged sensibly, I'm sure, but it does look a bit random. Brightly lit, brightly decorated, it's pretty much what you'd expect of a China Town type place with lots of lanterns and prints that join to make a quite large piece. Just a couple of fish tanks along one wall (not all that occupied this evening) and a dragon etched across the front window too. There may also be an upstairs section as well?

A sort of Boss Server (who I think also met us at the door?) kept a pretty close eye on us, but she had a good sized team helping out under her probably quite keen gaze. All were pleasant and helpful (especially the wrap lady) and were patient as we sorted our selves out. Once ordered, everything arrived quite quickly and with our slightly over-sized table we could have benefited from a lazy susan but we all worked well together.

An enormous menu, not unexpected, broken up into all the sections you'd expect to see so focusing the selection process isn't all that hard, but making that final decision a little bit harder. We ordered in two rounds after a little of haggling amongst ourselves, more to make sure everyone was ok with a selection than campaigning to get something selected.

Our meal went a little like this:

Corona
Lemonade
Leo Buring Riesling - it's not a big wine, nice enough acid going on, worked fine with everything
Combination Rice
Chicken Satay Skewers -
Peking Duck Wraps - a nice little production with one of the Servers putting them together for us. Could easily have had more of these...
Cantonese Beef Fillet -
Deep Fried Fish, Corn Sauce - sauce made the dish, but fish was cooked pretty much spot on - a little crunch over the moist insides.
Sweet & Sour Pork - as expected, a rich and more sweet than sour sauce, certainly no pork left
White Rice

We may have had our sights on somewhere else (and as it turned out, we now know that had we got in no matter how tasty the dinner, the meal event would have sucked for this evening as it's a very boisterous place and chatting might not have worked out so well) but have no qualms about ending up here. We ate well, we chatted a lot (with a little bit of remembering of past times together, but also catching up on recent(ish) life activities), the little one took a great pic for us and we had a pleasant wander around town to and from the restaurant.

As an aside, it wasn't in the original negotiations, but the walk back to our place (and their car) just happened to take us past the Myer windows where it turns out there's no waiting as it closes in on tomorrow. For us, not worth a trip just to go see them, but certainly worth a look seeing we were there (and there was no line).

Stay JOLLY!
DJulian, Deidre & Scarlett

RMB Café [December 27, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 00:31:00 +0000

37 Degraves Street

With nothing more than breakfast in the cupboards we knew we'd be heading out to find something, even though we really only needed a lunch sort of sized dinner. Very confident we could do this without a plan we were just about to put our shoes on when a quick chat to discuss future plans gave us a tip for where we could not go wrong.

We headed off on what turned out to be our regular walk across the river, this time to Degraves Street where the ratio of restaurants to street space is about as high as it can get. A lane that from the end we started at starts of as a lane where cars really aren't welcome has a few random shops you may want to investigate, but barely half way in it changes to what can probably be called a food court where cars can never be an option. From here to the end of the block, every store front is some sort of restaurant type establishment, most with cafe style tables and chairs jammed in the lane (and I really mean jammed in).

With much spruiking going on and every place quite quite busy at dinner time on a Saturday evening, it was quite loud and overwhelming for our first visit. We looked at a couple of menus along the way but decided to walk the whole half block in case something really sang out to us, but getting to the end we were not committed to anything we'd seen or heard. To be fair, we also weren't against anything we'd seen or heard. Therefore, we just entered the place we were standing in front of when we came to this realization.

Offered a seat out in the very squishy street section we opted for a slightly more normally spaced table set up inside with a little bit of air conditioning to keep us company. Quite tiny inside, it's really just the space for the kitchen with perhaps 10 or 12 seats up against the window into Flinders Lane (which proved to be worthwhile people watching) with it being obvious almost everyone opts to be outside - I wonder what happens on rainy days (actually for all the places down this block?).

Taken care of by a sort of committee it was the dude who got us sorted to we saw most often, although he disappeared for a bit when we were ready to order our last dish. They were all nice enough, but not really prepared for a table to order one thing at a time - they didn't complain about this, but seemed to think our first dish was also to be our last. No harm.

Not an overly large menu, but pretty much what we'd expect from a café type menu. We ummed and ahhed a bit but more because we weren't really sure how little would make our tummies happy. If we were after a more complete dinner we probably would have done that more from their appetizer section based on what we were seeing, which is quite ok...

Our meal went a little like this:

Asher Sauvignon Blanc
Garlic Prawns - yep, head on, garlicy, a little bit (nice) messy
Pita Bread - we needed something to get more of the great sauce
Braised Beef Cheek, creamy polenta - really liked this with great sauce & polenta, and pleasantly unexpected that the cheek was a big piece and not shredded.

We appreciated the tip to get us in this vicinity, and used this knowledge again later in our stay. With every place close to bursting at the seams when we first arrived we're pretty sure we couldn't have gone wrong no matter what we chose. RMB Café worked out just fine for what we were after!

Stay JOLLY!
D

Al Porto Vecchio [December 27, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 18:28:00 +0000

175 Nelson Place

With a plan for lunch that only went as far as a river cruise over to Williamstown we got off our boat and headed slowly over to where it looked like the restaurants started. We later learned that we may have started at the wrong end for best options, but seeing none of us was up to taking the lead in deciding what we might prefer today, that might have just got us all confused and cranky.

A quick peek through the window of a couple of quite busy places got us here, as although it was busy too, we could see a few vacant tables and the special board out front seemed worthwhile. Actually, we didn't see all the tables as there was perhaps the same amount again out the back in a deck type arrangement. Nicely shaded with a combination of trees and umbrellas this is where we settled in, after a quick walk through the place of which I didn't pay much attention to any of it's special features other than there being a lot of wood finishing in a building that if it's not technically a Pub now, probably once was.

Once settled, taking in the deck, it was clearly the place to be this day - couldn't hear the street, nice breeze, quietening down as people finished up, and a cat came by to visit. There's also a bar out here, but not in operation today.

Taken care of by committee they either don't talk to each other or there's a rule to get the order in real quick. This worked great for getting a frosty beverage not long after we sat down, but we were asked 3 times in quick succession if we were ready to order - we weren't, but did manage to agree on an appetizer the 3rd time. We got drink refills pretty easily, but once the dips were long gone it took a bit of effort to get them to come back for some more ordering. If we were dashing back to our boat, we would have had a bit of a meltdown, but on a day where it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you, having extra time for chatting really wasn't a bother over this lunch.

A pretty big menu, with a quite large section dedicated to their lunch specials, didn't help with our ordering speed. At least 2 of us had it down to a short list of 3 or 4 dishes each with a coin toss pretty much sorting it out for us, the other perhaps more focused in on what the tummy was after.

Our meal went a little like this:

Lemon Lime & Bitters
Boags
Dragon Fly
Crown Lager
Assorted Dips, pizza bread, spicy capsicum, eggplant, tzatziki - no shortage of quite tasty bread, no dips left so 3 way tie for favorite...
Steak Sandwich, chips - as advertised, nice piece of steak and plenty of chips for sharing
Lamb Shanks, mash - not quite fall of the bone, rich tasty sauce and plenty of mash for sharing
Chicken Al Verdi, avocado - quite creamy
Cafe Latte

Mission accomplished, quite tasty, quite slow (pleasantly!), very very chatty lunch! Our chatting and take our time-ing may have eaten a bit too much into our walk around the neighborhood time, but oh well...

Stay JOLLY!
DKaren

Terindah Estate [December 24, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 19:16:00 +0000

90 McAdams Lane

With friends doing various things with their families, and our family doing things getting ready for the big lunch tomorrow we decided to take ourselves off on some sort of get driven around wine tasting tour. Leaving it totally in their hands (other than selecting which of the four regions we'd like to visit), we stopped at Terindah for a tasting followed by lunch.

Set on a hill, we entered the tasting room which is at the same level as the parking lot. There might be a pretty entrance down to the restaurant, but we cannot confirm nor deny that as we sort of kind of entered the back way after finishing up with our tasting. Both the tasting room and the restaurant give a view of the Bay, but the tasting room being upstairs is probably the slightly better view unless you get out and walk around the grounds a bit and find the perfect place for photos.

A quite simple tasting space in a corner of really nice quite large room (that has to be used for more than just tastings?) was a nice chat with just us and the very pleasant tasting lady setting us up nicely to make an informed decision for what to have with our lunch. The restaurant part is a nice open space, bright and cheery with floor to ceiling windows pretty much the whole way around. Generously spaced out, everything is neat and tidy and orderly. There are some tables out on the deck (probably a bit warm to be out there for dining today) and I think there was a sort of private space up over the Service Area.

Our Server was nice enough and everything moved along nicely, but she wasn't stopping by to chat. As we are part of a tour (all be it a very small tour) we didn't get a menu, just a quick overview of what was coming with more detailed explanations as it was being placed in front of us family style. We did take a peek at the 'real' menu and although very happy with what came our way we almost certainly would have gone a different way with our selections.

Our meal went a little like this:

Terindah Estate Sauvignon Blanc - a little tart, a little fruity
Terindah Estate Rosé - nicely pale, a little acidic in the finish with just a gentle nose
Olives, garlic
Bread, olive oil, salt
Chicken Breast, roasted corn, mixed greens - a nicely sauced piece of chicken but really liked the corn
Eye Fillet, spinach sauce, carrots, chimichurri - tender and juicy and cooked nicely the meat didn't need the sauces, but was quite ok with them
Crispy Potatoes - crispy and tasty

Our whole day was great! This lunch surprised us a little in it's generosity. It looks like we selected the correct company for this adventure. Now, back on 'our' bus for the next stop.

Stay JOLLY!
DOur Tour Guide, Trevor

Igloo Roadhouse [December 23, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:55:00 +0000

2220 Maroondah Highway

It's been a really long time since I've eaten here. I wouldn't say I've missed it, but when we confirmed in our plans for this trip of an overnight visit just up the road we made sure we had a little bit of time for a slightly long way around trip back over the Spur.

It's a roadside gas station and take away place with a few seats in the igloo if you're not in a hurry, and I think a few seats outside along the side. That's it. There's some history to the place that I've mostly forgotten (of what I got to know) and going back a good few years got themselves a name for the Buxton Burger. The place has changed hands a few times and the burger has changed in presentation a bit from the one massive burger to two more normal size burgers stacked up, but still on the same double size bun.

They do have all the normal take away type stuff if you're so inclined, but we were always going the burger. And there is an addition to the menu they're calling the Cathedral Burger which is a step up in size from the Buxton - not today, thanks.

Our meal went exactly like this:

Soda -
Buxton Burger, bacon, egg, beetroot, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, cheese, tomato sauce (not ketchup!), double size bun, two burgers - a big tasty messy burger that there's pretty much no way you could eat it without the aid of a knife and fork. Not presented the way I got to know it, but one burger served the two of us well.

I wouldn't come this way just for The Burger, but if you're in the neighborhood... Which will be what gets us back for another one.

Stay JOLLY!
D

Riverland Bar [December 21, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 19:43:00 +0000

Vaults 1-9 Federation Wharf

In the grand scheme of things it didn't matter that we had trouble getting correctly connected to get this evening scheduled as it is another of our it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you events. After a cocktail that allowed us to show off our view we took a short walk along the river - mostly with here in mind, but with no firm commitment even after we had arrived and were getting ourselves sorted.

It's a bar. It's a bar on the river. It's a bar on the river below most of the hustle and bustle of the city just a few steps away. It's a busy bar, and being a bar you have to find yourself a table and when you're ready head over to the barman for your drinks and return to him when you want some more, or something to eat, or both - no tab running though. Easy enough, and after a bit of a concern (turned out to be unwarranted) that the only table we could find would be a bit noisy we got ourselves into the swing of things.

Not a big menu, couple of specials up on a blackboard by the bar, but certainly things appropriate enough for us for an evening overlooking the river with one my oldest continually serving friends in a bar type setting.

Our meal went a little like this:

Beer
a Tempranillo
BBQ Lamb Ribs, quicnce, balsamic and rosemary sauce - perhaps could have spent a little more time on the BBQ. Tasty and sticky sauce
Fish & Chips, snapper, smashed peas, pickled onion, tartare - looked good across the table
Crispy Fried Squid, lemon pepper salt, pickled cucumber - crispy as advertised
Grilled Mushroom Ciabata, chickpea paté, caramelised onion, cream cheese, pumpkin seed dukkah - a lot going on, nice combination of flavors, messy.

Friends caught up with over a no stress, comfortable to be by the river evening is exactly what we were looking for. See ya next time! - perhaps we can do the Town Hall Lights again?

Stay JOLLY!
DDavid & Camille

Seddon Deadly Sins [December 20, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 19:47:00 +0000

148 Victoria Street

What do you do when you hope to catch up with parts of the family you missed out on last visit and part of that part has to work at the best time you have to go visit with them? Well, you go eat where that part runs the kitchen, of course!

We had in mind a family BBQ, or something similar, when working on this it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you get together over a meal. No drama that it didn't work out completely as planned, but certainly better than had we stuck with the BBQ option.

It's a breakfast / lunch place in a not too big space that may have been a house in a previous life based on the layout of the space - compact open kitchen as you walk in the door (perhaps with the bar service area attached), some tables opposite it. Towards the back and round a corner a bit there's a room (perhaps even two?) with more tables of various sizes (ours tucked in the back corner) that's protected by thick solid walls that you could easily forget you just walked past a bustling kitchen. There's a few nooks here and there for the staff to do their thing and there's also a few more tables out in a quite nicely shaded courtyard. No matter where, the tables are close but not jammed in and I think you'd be challenged to find any that match - ours had picnic benches instead of chairs.

The place was jamming, even at this back end of the lunch rush (and therefore close-ish to closing up time), and all the staff were running but once they were with us they never were in a rush to get to the next place. It's all done by committee, I think even a different Server taking our drinks and food orders, but certainly different people delivering our treats and checking in on us.

Before you open the menu, it's already a bit of fun. The menu is contained inside a repurposed (and much read) children's book of the style I certainly remember as a kid, although not the titles. Inside, the fun continues. They've made good use of the pun that the name of the place is, so I bet you can guess how the naming goes. But, underneath the fun, it's a quite large and well thought out menu of way more things we'd like to try than could easily be selected from. We did get some strong suggestions from the family who have eaten in often enough to all be greeted warmly by many of the staff, so we didn't pay much attention to the specials board.

Our meal went a little like this:

Lust - a cosmo
Greed - a very chocolate-y martini
Smoked Chicken Salad, almond & orange couscous, bacon, tomato, carrot, cucumber, greens, basil -
Chicken Parmigiana, topped with tomato relish, ham, greens - large of size and tastyness
BELT, bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, lime mayo, turkish bread -
Dukkah Duck Salad, kipfler potatoes, dates, roast tomato, honey mustard vinaigrette -
Gluttony, two eggs, roasted tomato, bacon, field mushrooms, caramelised onions, sourdough - a very nice looking, and completely consumed plate
Fries for the table - just in case we didn't have enough...

We're glad the family runs the kitchen here, because without that there's no way we would have found this place and had such a tasty lunch. We're sorry we all couldn't hang out in the back, but we're happy we got to check in with this part of the family even with one member on the other side of the counter.

If you're in the neighborhood, have at it!

Stay JOLLY!
DHelen & Terry, Mari (& Jeremy in the kitchen)

Localita [December 19, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:39:00 +0000

34 Piper Street

Litterally across the road from our bed for the night, it's quite obvious our friends have been in for a coffee or something more on more than one occasion.

A quite simple store front café it's obvious what it is with the couple of tables out the front. Inside, it's seat yourself, unless you're just coming in for a coffee, at one of the 10 or so tables. Quite simple decor but they've had some fun with the light shades (which I think are pre-loved jam jars?) and a few knick knacks around the place fit in quite nicely. I don't think the tables and chairs matched, but that's pretty much the right thing to do here.

Being a small town, we were sort of prepared for our friends to know the person helping us out (who I think is the owner?), and as it turns out there's a business relationship of a round about way in there. But again it made no difference to how we and everyone else coming in were treated. She got us hooked up with drinks while waiting for the last of our group to return from school depositing duties, and gave us just the right amount of time once we were all there. Everything appeared together and quite promptly and as advertised.

A nice short menu you'd sort of expect of a small breakfast / lunch place. Some items specifically describe locally sourced items, but I'm pretty sure it's all local. Could easily go back tomorrow (can't leaving town later today...) and have something different. If you really like the coffee you can grab up a bag of beans from the selection of things you can take with you for later. Probably should have taken a look at the lunch menu to see what else they offer up...

Our meal went a little like this:

Apple Juice
Coffees of Australian styles
Ricotta Pancakes, lemon marscapone
Sourdough with Honey - awesome honey, great bread
Poached Eggs on Sourdough - nicely runny on the great bread
Bacon - good ol' Australian style
Fried Eggs on Sourdough
Hash Browns

Mission accomplished with a useful breakfast, now let's go check out the workshop, the main street, and the riverwalk on a morning where we were a little under-dressed in our shorts and t-shirts (thank's for the loan of two sweaters!).

Stay JOLLY!
DLisa & Glen

The Good Table [December 18, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 19:46:00 +0000

233 Barker Street

The first of our scheduled meals where it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you got us out of Kyneton and down the road, past a sweet rainbow, a bit to Castlemaine.

Quite quiet in town midweek just before Christmas. We parked pretty much at the front door, inside we were met by the host / server / owner / friend of our friends and our slightly bigger and fancier (and decorated with a chicken) table than we needed was waiting for us. Not a big place, this table, up a few steps, probably deals with groups of up to 8, while the other 20 or so seats are mostly twos that I'm pretty sure can be pushed together for fours.

Simply decorated there's some fun things up on the walls, but the biggest piece is the well used blackboard which probably does specials on the weekend but tonight is the menu. Our table chicken wasn't the only one to be seen around the place. No bar, there's a work area which is cleverly mostly hidden by the selection of reds on offer.

Even though our friends have a relationship with the place we didn't get any special treatment. He took great care of us, stopped to chat, answer questions, guide us, be polite and friendly (to all 5 of us) which was exactly what he did with every other person who came through the front door - he's just a very nice man. Thanks nice friend of our friends!

With just 3 choices for each of the 3 courses offered and a couple of sides (set price for 2 or 3 courses, little extra for the sides) it's not hard to make a decision. Clearly a what-can-we-get-that's-good-today menu it all sounded awesome, but sadly we can't remember the details of the complete plates. Not sure what's on the winelist as our friends and their friend sorted that part out for the table, but based on the visible selection of reds, it appears to be heavy on the locality and surrounds. No kid's menu on offer, but they're happy to work with what they've got to get everyone happy.

Our meal went a little like this:

Tommy Ruff Syrah
Bull Run Shiraz - we preferred this one, but weren't sad to have the other one.
Austerity Measures - a short, yet effective midweek deal menu up on the blackboard on the far wall. We're told it's always changing.
Breaded Rabbit - really crispy, quite tasty, sauce quite nice, but fine without
Potato Fritter - fluffy and crispy at the same time
Braised Goat - everyone's favorite. Rich and sticky and very tender.
Trout and Rice - not presented how we imagined, but irrelevant.
Roasted Potatoes - technically a side, made great 'fries' for our shortest participant
House Salad
Eclair - gone in a second...
Panacotta - creamy
Goat Cheese - really tasty
Cheese Board, goat, aged cheddar, grape cheese - we liked the goat cheese so much we asked for some more for the table and the very nice man hooked up us with a great cheese board.

An awesome dinner! We were fed very well, we got a nice drive over and back, we got to hang with our very very very busy friends who we really really appreciate making the time for us. The place was quite quiet, allowing us to relax over bottles and plates of somethings and chat and catch up and laugh a good bit and learn about the project they are rightly so very proud of.

This would be a place we would love to have in our neighbourhood and might just beg to return to when next we are up this way!!

Stay JOLLY!
DLisa, Glen & Tom

MoVida [December 17, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 15:21:00 +0000

1 Hosier Lane

Given a gift of a fun book of restaurants tucked away in the lanes and alleys of Melbourne on our last visit to Melbourne, we spent some time before coming back over trying to figure out what appealed to us and what was still around. Modiva made the short list and our family said it was a must. Here we are...

Only barely down the lane it's easy enough to find with the big red sign over the door, but don't get yourself confused and head on into MoVida Next Door, because it's, well, next door. You probably want to allow a little bit of time (before or after your meal) for checking out the artwork in the alley as there's probably something there for everyone to enjoy.

A small host stand just inside the door, pretty much in the middle of the two sections the place is broken into - I think the two sections are just to fit in the building. Our section was down a couple of steps (right?) and our table towards the back gave us a sort of view into the kitchen and surrounds. Low lighting, but not too low, music playing, perhaps a little low if you want to actually listen to it rather than talk to your friends. A couple of blackboards over the kitchen area detail dessert so you can do a bit of planning ahead...

Our Server took great care of us. Thanks nice Server lady! She never rushed us as we got ourselves sorted and also as we chatted when perhaps we should have been reading the menu. She did a great job explaining the specials and was able to answer any questions we had on the menu quickly and usefully. She also helped us out with pronunciation of more than one dish - because we asked her to, and not because she was upset with our attempts. She let us order in a few 'rounds' but made sure we understood that things ordered together would come out as they were ready which suited us just fine for this evening.

Not a complicated menu with a nice range of one person dishes, and slightly larger selection of share plates and some well described specials that managed to attract our attention. We decided to share everything, even though some of the smaller plates were a little awkward to divide up, trying to get a taste of as much as possible and we just took turns picking a dish. There's enough there so that a repeat visit could get us a completely different meal, but there's more than one thing we'd happily do again.

Our meal went a little like this:

Espelt Garnacha, Spain - just the right amount of gentle and fullness to go with this meal
Tapa
Croqueta, salt cod, sauce gribiche - light and fluffy
Caballa Ahumada, house cold smoked mackerel, pine nut gazpacho sorbet - nicely delicate, richish sorbet worked well together
Queso, quince paste cigar, whipped goats milk cheese - the casing not nearly as crunchy as it looks, nicely sweet
Flamenquín, crumbed pressed pork, mahon, thyme, jamon - interesting texture, nice collection of tasty parts best taken all together
Crispy Pig Ear Special - didn't need anything else...
Raciones
Goat Sausage Special - rich and tasty and great with the sauce
Venison Salami Special - might not know it was venison if we weren't told, tasty never the less
Carrillera de Buey, slowly braised beef cheek, pedro ximinez, cauliflower puree - puree great, cheek too
Pirirrana Con Verduras, lightly braised baby vegetables, andalusian gazpacho stock - nice selection of nicley cooked vegetables
Postre
Churros, drinking chocolate - we dipped, not drank
Flan Con Pestinos, crème caramel, spiced sherry pastries - yum

Lots of favorites, probably the Sausage or the Pork slightly more favorite than the others, Ear gets a mention too. No misses, that's for sure.

Really enjoyed this meal, we were taken care of, we got to chat easily, we got to take our time, we rounded up a great bunch of tasty treats, and we pretty much closed the place down without being obnoxious about it. Would happily go back, but circumstance suggests we probably won't get to.

Stay JOLLY!
DAndrew & Katrina

Supper Inn [December 16, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 15:51:00 +0000

15 Celestial Avenue

Plan A was developed due to a family suggestion that matched up with the tourist book. Plan B was developed when Plan A turned out to be a cash only place and we were still in 'discussions' with our bank to actually get some cash in our hands.

Down a fairly nondescript alley, it's a small door in a quite plain building that takes you up some stairs. You could easily be forgiven for thinking that this place would be a little light on for clientele on a Tuesday evening but the place was full apart from a table reserved for a group of about 10. We were told about 5-10 minutes which seemed ok (especially since we had no Plan C in the works...) but it was really just a couple after they decided to break down this table for us and the family that arrived after us - not sure where they put that group, or even if it arrived.

It's a simple room, a sort of host stand just inside the door at the top of the stairs, a nook for service taking up not much room at all seeing your meal comes up from the kitchen via elevator, and the dining space is one big area. Tables aren't jammed in, but if you're so inclined, eavesdropping would be easy, and they're able to deal with any sized group that presents themselves by joining them up or converting to large rounds.

Our Server did his job, but that's it. No dramas, things arrived correctly and promptly, including glasses for our wine.

A quite extensive menu, very easy to navigate, just a little tricky to dial in what you want when you're pretty sure you're only going to want one main dish between the two of you (not quite in the correct time zone at this stage). A very small beverage list with most people probably doing the same as us and making use of the BYO option. But, and it's a funny but, their list contains a couple of great great wines at the very very very pricey end of the scale. Eh?

Our meal went a little like this:

Bons Ventos - closer to a red than not in both color and richness
Prawn Crackers - it's the simple things that are often missed...
Chinese Sausage - a really nice sweetness to it. A pleasant little treat we can't really compare to anything else we enjoy.
Duck with Lemon Sauce - really nicely crisped duck, absolutely no doubt that you're enjoying a lemon sauce, great together with a little bit of white rice

Mission accomplished! We got a pleasant dinner walk for a no stress dinner (if you don't count the Plan A failure) with a bottle of wine. And, for the walk home, we got to see the town hall lit up in it's Christmas finest.

Oh, and on the double plus side, three sets of friends confirmed that we lucked into one of the better not-so-fancy-looking places in the area.

Stay JOLLY!
D

Andrew's Open Pit [December 7, 2014]

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 21:12:00 +0000

2610 Dempster

With an afternoon mission scheduled a quick google search of the surrounds and confirmation from all interested parties got us here.

Apologies for thinking that the place was closed up (perhaps for ever) when we pulled up in the strip mall parking lot due to the pulled down blinds and the plain signage everyone in this mall gets. One brave enough to open the door it's a different story. Greeted quite warmly and guided to where our friends were there were quite a few people enjoying their lunch and a good number of staff around the place keeping an eye on them.

It's a quite big place (certainly bigger than we expected) with the front section quite busily made up of twos and fours, and the side section where we were made up of some large tables and booths. Not dim, but not brightly lit (consistent with those closed blinds) there's lots of rich dark wood furniture and some interesting (and recognizable to some at the table) art work around the place. Not as busy in our section, the whole place was quite quiet from a chatting point of view so I guess everyone had their face buried in their plates.

Our Server was very nice. Not chatty, just getting everything done with the minimum of fuss and answering any questions we had. She steered us quickly through the options that come with each dish and everything arrived as expected and quite promptly. She checked in a couple of times, topping up napkins as needed and didn't try to hard to push dessert our way.

Menu is quite straightforward. A few non-BBQ appetizers and salads we were correct to skip over this day due to the generous sides that arrived on each plate. House specialties are more than just the BBQ items, but as the BBQ was that part that got our attention that's where we all chose from.

Pinot Noir
Chicken & Rice Soup
House Salad
1/2 Slab Rotisserie Baby Back Ribs - just the right amount of mess, perhaps a little longer spinning around over the fire, but certainly tasty enough
Wood Roasted Chicken - great juicy chicken
Chicken & Ribs Combo
Wood Roasted BBQ Chicken - same sauce as the ribs
Fries
Baked Potato
Mash

Mission accomplished, perfectly timed. Now, let's go burn some calories...

Stay JOLLY!
DPete, Kris & Jersey