Words and Flavours | Melbourne food and book reviews

Bar Idda

2010-03-04T09:00:00.005+11:00

132 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9380 5339With the launch of Cheap Eats 2010 last week, Bar Idda in Brunswick East found itself in the limelight, picking up the Cheap Eats Champ award. The plaudits reminded me of our early-summer meal there, which I hadn't got to writing up.Bar Idda opened unobtrusively into the space formerly occupied by Rumi (who moved down the street a bit to bigger premises)

'Juliet, Naked' - Nick Hornby

2010-02-27T14:28:00.007+11:00

There's no doubting Nick Hornby's success as a writer: novels, films - both from his books and written by him - syndication, collected columns, musings (such as 31 Songs). Hornby practically created the genre of witty, observational man-lit; certainly he retains ownership of it.For all that, I didn't come to Juliet, Naked with huge expectations. Not everything he has written has been brilliant.

'The Easter Parade' - Richard Yates

2010-02-09T09:39:00.004+11:00

Revolutionary Road was Yates' first novel, and the one to reignite his career (albeit posthumously), thanks to Sam Mendes' film. The jacket of this re-issue of The Easter Parade is crammed with praise for Yates' work. Given the nature of marketing, however, most of it refers to Revolutionary Road, a disservice to this later novel, which demonstrates similar restraint and unflinching observation

Ham or spam?

2009-12-08T14:33:00.004+11:00

One of my favourite tasks in December is ordering the Christmas ham. When I was a kid, our ham always came courtesy of my grandfather, who inevitably won the necessary vouchers from his local club to pick up an orange-cellophane wrapped number from the supermarket. Christmas fun officially started on Saturday night, as we snacked on the long-wished for ham after getting back from Mass.These days

Panettone: Va Piano II

2009-12-08T11:54:00.006+11:00

126C Nicholson St, Brunswick EastBrunswick East's new high performer has added a wonderfully seasonal breakfast to its succinct menu: panettone with cinnamon ricotta, honey, some macerated fruit and a sprinkle of nuts, crowned with a plume of pear.It's a joyous way to enjoy this traditional festive season bread, and another example of how well Melbourne embraces European customs.A quick bit of

Seven Seeds

2009-12-04T10:12:00.005+11:00

114 Berkeley Street, Carlton; 03 9347 8664The coffee pedigree of Mark Dundon must be the envy of roasters around the city. Dundan ran St Ali, the venerated South Melbourne cafe, before selling up and opening Brother Baba Budan in the city, an outlet so confident in the allure of its brews that it put its seating on the ceiling. And now, there is Seven Seeds, a shrine to the bean.The warehouse

Lake House

2009-12-01T16:51:00.001+11:00

King Street, Daylesford; 03 5348 3329A peculiar coincidence occurred the day I finally dined at Lake House: reading 25th anniversary edition of 'Good Weekend' later that night, I came across an article from David Sedaris, a favourite writer of mine, in which he described a trip to Daylesford - parking across the road from our accommodation - complete with lunch at Lake House. It went further the

Farmers Arms

2009-12-01T13:47:00.007+11:00

1 East St, Daylesford; 03 5348 2091If every town had a pub like the Farmers Arms, noone would live in the city.Out the back is a one-hat restaurant, thronged with visitors - cosy inside or kicking back in the summer courtyard - enjoying dishes such as rosemary and polenta crumbed pork cutlet with parsnip puree and roasted apples. Out the front, locals and blow-ins jostle at the wide-topped bar

Italy II and Spain I: Cured meats

2009-09-26T18:38:00.007+10:00

We established early on that this was going to be a meatlovers' tour of Europe. In some of the towns we travelled to it was just as well: in Sanabria in Spain, for example, most menus offered a choice of how your beef was cooked, and not much more.More than fillets and steak, however, what really stood out were the cured meats. Our trip itinerary read: Budapest, northern Italy (including

Italy I: Pasta

2009-09-26T18:37:00.007+10:00

Our Italy trip was no more pasta laden than an average week of eating in Melbourne. Our attention was far more diverted by cured meats and delicacies, both savoury and sweet, from street-side shops. Pasta undoubtedly deserves its own mention, however, particularly since it formed part of some very worthwhile dining experiences.Ristorante Vecchio Falconiere in Padova looked like a great find.

Va Piano

2009-09-26T15:34:00.005+10:00

126C Nicholson St, Brunswick EastI love Brunswick. I love its range of food stores, unpretensiously provisioning cravings for any number of cuisines from around the Mediterranean. I love its capacity to support cafe after cafe. Before long, the ratio of foodstores and cafes to houses in Brunswick will be 1:1. I love the way its locals will drive, ride or walk past any new outlet with faces of

Hardware Societe

2009-09-25T18:14:00.003+10:00

120 Hardware Street, City; (03) 9078 5992 Beetroot's former owners return with a new venture across the road from their old cafe, which itself is recently closed and re-opened as the disturbingly named McSpankys. (I don't know what the chances are of someone googling 'beetroot' and 'spank' in the same search, but I guess they'll be disappointed if they end up here!)Hardware Societe could not be

Budapest III: Take away?

2009-09-16T22:08:00.006+10:00

Here we have schnitzel, Budapest-style. Note that the side-dish of veg was ordered separately; otherwise it's just a schnitzel with it's own postcode on a plate. When we'd conquered as much of our dishes as jetlag and their richness allowed, the waiter asked if we'd like them taken away. We replied in the affirmative and he came back a few minutes later with the schnitzel and remaining vegetables

Budapest II: Stuffed

2009-09-14T14:59:00.006+10:00

Hungarians are quite keen on stuffed meats, often stuffing them with other meats. Pork and beef are probably their more common choices, with chicken appearing less frequently (and normally with the paprikás sauce, i.e. with sour cream added).The delightful-looking dish below is from our first night in Budapest. We arrived in Budapest on a Friday, the day after St Stephens Day (and the Red Bull

Budapest I: The problem with paprika

2009-09-13T22:15:00.012+10:00

It's been all quite on the W&F front for a little while. Recently, that's because I've been in Europe, exploring Budapest; Ravenna and Padova in Italy; and the north-west of Spain.The trip was three weeks rife with culinary, artistic and visual delights, plenty of which will no doubt find their way up here in the weeks to come.Where to start? Well, the beginning's not a bad place, which takes us

Añada

2009-08-12T19:08:00.000+10:00

197 Gertrude St, Fitzroy; 03 9415 6101It's so hot right now. Food reviewers around Melbourne are loving Añada's work. Clearly Melbourne's diners are fond of tapas too, given the struggles many have getting into Movida Next Door (which doesn't take bookings), and Añada (which, thankfully does). Despite its more welcome policy, even on a random Wednesday they had but two seats available: in at 6pm,

'Turner's Paintbox' - Paul Morgan

2009-07-20T12:25:00.006+10:00

Novels based around the life and works of a renowned artist can go one of two ways: either the story unravelling as the reader learns about the influences and motivations of artistic genius; or the reader discovers how much the author knows about their chosen subject, without it doing too much to enhance the story.Richard Flanagan's Wanting achieves the former as it interlaces the late years of

'Revolutionary Road' - Richard Yates

2009-07-11T17:52:00.003+10:00

To read Revolutionary Road is to be reminded that brilliance as a writer does not guarantee longevity. Yates' novel is a splendid one, yet it was out of print before Sam Mendes adapted it, and cast his glowing wife Kate Winslet as the acerbic April Wheeler, a woman who procures a drastic end to her angered marriage to Frank.This is not April's story, however. This is the story of a man trapped

The Breakfast Club

2009-07-05T21:37:00.005+10:00

206 St Georges Road, Northcote; 0418 379 911It's amazing what a cafe can do in a small space to sate suburbanites. Amazing too just how many gorgeous sets of retro crockery are around for said cafes to utilise to good effect.This tiny cafe, tucked away amidst flats, houses and the odd shop on St Georges Rd could one day be as definitive as its namesake film. There may only be three or four tables

Lomond Hotel

2009-07-05T21:13:00.004+10:00

225 Nicholson St, Brunswick East; 03 9380 1752It's amazing what can hide behind the walls of a corner pub. You might wonder on occasion if the Lomond Hotel is still open - it doesn't flaunt itself and neither does the clientele.When you do step inside, however, there's something of a tardis effect. To one side is a linen-and-silver-cutlery restaurant with a high-end menu. Through another door is

'The Slap' - Christos Tsiolkas

2009-06-15T11:28:00.001+10:00

The book everyone's talking about. That's the word on the street about The Slap. For everyone to be talking about it, the book must have an element of controversy, and that is one indisputable feature of Christos Tsiolkas' fourth novel. It's not controversial in that it tackles taboo topics in a radical way. Instead, it's got everyone talking because it's about us: it's about a group of people of

Cafeklatsch III: Fuel, Red Box III, Big Dish

2009-06-07T22:34:00.005+10:00

Fuel: 4 Margaret St, Moonee Ponds; 03) 9375 4499Red Box: 317 Sydney Road, Brunswick; 03 9387 8699Big Dish: 70 Wales St; Ph TBCWho would have thought that Moonee Ponds is only as far from Brunswick East as the city is? Probably anyone who'd taken the time to look further west on a map than Melville Rd! Puckle St, leading from Pascoe Vale Rd down to Moonee Ponds Station is dotted with cafes,

Provincial Hotel: $10 pie and pot

2009-05-31T21:14:00.005+10:00

299 Brunswick St, Fitzroy; 03 9810 0042I love a mid-week deal. We headed to the Provincial Hotel for the inaugural run of their $10 pie and pot. The pie options cater to the red-, white- and non-meaters: there's steak, chicken and mushroom, or pumpkin (and feta?). The pot of choice is Boags Draught (beats Carlton at least).The Provincial is one of those shabby-chic places - all distressed

Koliba Czech and Slovak Restaurant

2009-05-25T17:09:00.006+10:00

11 Johnston St, Collingwood; 03 9417 3797It's the simple things that can make you happy. For me, one of those is when you call to book an ethnic restaurant, and your booking is taken by someone who is clearly from that region.Such was the case when we arranged to go to Koliba one chilly Friday evening. I'd been waiting for the weather to cool sufficiently so that I could make good on Sarah's

'Food Investigators' - SBS TV

2009-05-24T20:17:00.009+10:00

7.30 pm Wednesday, SBSSBS earned themselves an appreciative following with their luscious series Food Safari. Maeve O'Maera has so far presented three series in one of television's most coveted roles, scouring Melbourne and Sydney for the best purveyors of a giddying range of national cuisines.The series spawned its own website and mailing list. The website in particular showed that the producers