Half Moon Cafe: 13 Victoria St, Coburg; (03) 9350 476
Cafe Sarabella: 1 Victoria St, Coburg; (03) 9353 5239
With an upper limit for house prices in sight, and the gentry moving ever northward, it's only a matter of time before Coburg is the new Fitzroy.
The Victoria St mall is the obvious candidate to fill in for Brunswick St. But what to eat and sup while posing? Felafel, for starters.
Half Moon Cafe is drawing punters from afar for its famed felafel - made with fava beans, rather than chickpeas - and accompaniments both traditional and inventive. Their special offers cauliflower and eggplant alongside a smoky babaganoush; other mixes offer fetta and olive; or more traditional tahini and pickle.
A couple of shops along, at Cafe Sarabella, carefully prepared Indian food is on offer, with at least half the dishes vegetarian, and many gluten-free and organic. This isn't a run-of-the-mill Indian takeaway, however. Its decor and cosiness is the match of the shabbiest of chic inner-suburban cafes, and it offers a range of sweets to nibble alongside a specially prepared cup of marsala tea or coffee.
The proprietress roasts a mix of six spices, chops them, then grinds to powder, sieves, and grinds again. There's no caffeine in the mix, but she adds the blend to tea or coffee at the customer's whim. If you like your hot drinks a little spicy, she can also add some pepper. Or, if you like to do the mixing yourself after someone else has done the roasting and grinding, her marsala mix is available to buy.
Sip, savour, and soak up the new inner north.
14 October, 2010
Catching up in Coburg
14 December, 2008
Eat here or take-away? It's All Good Cafe and Fishbone II
It's All Good Cafe: 234 High St, Kew; 03 9855 0823
Fishbone: 109 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9380 4343
What shall we do?
Mused the restless two.
We’ll ride to Kew!
Which, as it turns out, is a quiet place on a Sunday afternoon. It was far enough away, however, and the getting there involved enough serious-effort-inducing hills, that upon arrival we felt we were exploring a whole new town. So cheery were we with our adventurism, that an eatery by the name of It's All Good Cafe seemed a natural fit.
Enhancing the illusion that we had crossed significant borders in our journey from Brunswick East to Kew was a menu of straightforward cafe favourites - not a drop of rosewater or spoonful of labne in sight. As such, I was inspired to partake of a classic myself: caesar salad.
It delivered everything a caesar should: goopy egg yolk mixing with tangy caesar dressing (which was just bordering on excessive), complemented by salty bacon and all bulked up with chunky croutons and plenty of cos leaves.
A caesar salad is, to me, is a meal for mind and stomach. It's undeniably a salad - placatory to the mind when there's been a little too much of the fried and fatty going on - but it's satsifying to the stomach in a way a green (or lower-fat) salad isn't for most.
The same theory applied to a recent burger excursion to Fishbone. It may have sounded like a strange request: Can I get the veggie burger but with a meat pattie? I wanted a burger, but I didn't want that heavy after-feeling of grease, onion breath and indigestion. Fishbone's veggie burger comes with pesto, rocket, red onion, capscium and mushroom, which sounded like - and indeed was - a fine accompaniment to their moist but firm meat patties.
A new Brunswickian recently tried Fishbone and commented they weren't all that thrilled on their chips, which have always been a highlight for us. On the veggie burger occasion we got take-away and I will say that the chips did get a little soggy on the trip back home. My tip: make a night of it in that part of Lygon St. Grab a table and eat in at Fishbone; head across the road for a Coopers at the Comfortable Chair craft beer at the Alehouse, then head for dessert at Gelobar.
19 June, 2008
Pappa's Fish and Chips II
79 Holmes St, Brunswick; 03 9383 4331
After posting about Pappa's Fish and Chips last year I received a couple of suggestions in the Comments to go beyond their namesake offerings and try the burgers.
Firstly, let me say that we are blessed in Melbourne with accessibility to cheap burgers (eg Fishbone and Danny's) that aren't unrecognisable as food . I'm happy to add Pappa's to that list. The burger was not extraordinary, but given it was less than $6 it's an achievement.
The good news starts with the condiments. There are two types of sauce: mayonnaise on the top bun and BBQ on the bottom. The pattie looked interesting (that's not a euphemism, it tasted fine!) - it looked like it had been chargrilled and blackened, but I think it was just some rogue onion or sauce that had spent a while near the hotplate. As is so often the case, the tomato left something to be desired, starting out soft and progressing to mushy. More good news: there's smoky bacon, there's non-plastic cheese and there's crisp lettuce.
The single pack now has competition!
31 May, 2008
Golden Pizza II
500 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9383 1386
Are you ever inclined to show no restraint when ordering a pizza with your own selection of toppings? To go for everything that you like, rather than just three or four complementary flavours? The staff at Golden Pizza have done just that with one of the gourmet pizzas on their specials board, the aptly named 'Fusion'. It features: three types of tomatoes (the standard tom base, sun-dried and roma), two types of cheese (mozza and bocconcini), three vegetables (eggplant, roasted peppers and pumpkin) plus a meat (Virginian ham).
Golden Pizza's standard base is a lot thicker than many, so it can handle the overload. And so can my tastebuds. This pizza was delicious. The thicker base is fluffy on the inside with a crisp base, and not too sweet. There wasn't huge evidence of the sun-drieds, but the romas added juicy bursts of tomato flavour. I think pumpkin is a natural fit as a pizza topping, but perhaps its preparation needs dictate the fact that it's not always popular. Here it was wonderfully mushy against the crisper base. My goodness, there are still so many flavours to describe! Both the eggplant and roasted peppers added their own degree of smokiness. The eggplant, happily, was finely cut so it didn't 'string out' as can be the case when it's laid on in larger slices. The Virginia ham contributed some subtle meatiness much as bacon might. All in all, I was thoroughly impressed.
SG did in fact construct his own pizza. Ordering from the everyday menu, he went for the chicken pizza, which invites you to pick your own accompaniments. His choices were capsicum and mushroom, with the requisite BBQ sauce.
The chicken pieces were chunky and as such dried out a little in the oven. This pizza was perhaps more akin to something we'd be likely to rustle up in our own oven, as far as the toppings went in any case. But the proof for any pizza establishment is in the base, and Golden Pizza have a lot to lay claim to in that regard to make them well worth the stopover on the way home.
Golden Pizza I
17 May, 2008
Danny's Take-away
Best burger in town is a coveted title for any establishment devoted to flipping patties; and it's one that many pundits have granted to Danny's. Recent trends in burger franchising have tended toward the gourmet: their menus run the gauntlet from avocado to zitar. Danny's is the opposite in approach and the winner in value and flavour.
Their burgers start with a good pattie, which after grilling still retains a mincey texture. Their basic burger is bun, pattie, lettuce and onion, and it's $4.50. Not much to fault there. Working down the menu lets you build a burger to take your fancy, adding bacon, cheese, tomato or an extra pattie or two. Even their works burger is only around $7.50, well shy of the $10 or so starting point of 'fancier' places.
For me the winning element at Danny's is the buns, the insides of which are lightly toasted. I always like that extra crunch and it means the sauce, and cheese if you've asked for it, melts into the bread. Their chips, too, bring the crunch and are salty without being dehydrating.
Having served Melbourne since 1945, Danny's retains a great retro interior, perfectly suited to burger, chips and an old-style bottle of soft drink.
03 May, 2008
Tasmania - Cafes and morsels
Food can be part of both the wonder and frustration of travelling. Finding new places to dine and new cuisines to sample is an exciting and often splendid experience. Sometimes, in unfamiliar territory, it can instead be hard to source a great encounter or, indeed, any dining options at all. Conversely, in a new town, the options are so numerous that the odds of hitting a bad one are worringly high. Happily, our Tasmanian experience was one where things turned out well more often than not.
Bakeries were our breakfast destination of choice. I miss European bakeries, where, while a white breadroll could easily be a culinary event, they offer extensive sweet and savoury options. In Australia it's often all bread, muffins and pastry with cream in (perfectly acceptable in the right place, but not so often for breakfast).
Morning #1 turned out very well, with a vegetable pasty from Sheffield hitting exactly the right spot for fillingness, indulgence and nutritiousness. Now, I have an important question, which I'd love you to answer via the comments: Do you pronounce pasty (as in 'a type of pie in which a circular piece of pastry is folded around a filling'):
a) to rhyme with nasty
We'd been hoping for some woodfired pies in Exeter after our Tamar Valley wine run, but the way the day panned out saw us dodging logging trucks and chasing regeneration fires on the road to Pipers Brook before hunger struck. Luckily Pipers Brook vineyard (makers of excellent riesling and gewürztraminer) had a cafe on site.
Theirs was a simple menu of six or so dishes, averaging about $15 and featuring local produce. Their own wines were generously available for $5 a glass. I selected an open baguette, with chicken, tomato pesto, mushroom, sundried toms, greens, King Island brie, topped with lemon aioli.
Phew! A bit like something you'd put together if you needed to use up as many ingredients as possible, and happily something that worked very, very well. I wasn't sure what the tomato pesto would involve, but it was a little like a nutty chutney. The brie was wonderful, the French-style bread held its copious topping well and the aioli added a subtle and welcome tartness. The only downer was that all the wines I sampled afterwards tasted of sundried tomato!SG got his pie after all, going for the beef pot pie with sweet potato, and tomato relish on the side.
It was a fine choice. The beef pieces were chunky and tender, balanced by the sweet pot, and the vibrant, fresh tomato relish added some great contrast. We picked up some astonishing strawberry jam to take home too.Pies also came to the rescue at Port Arthur. Stops at one too many gasp-worthy clifftop lookouts had us arriving at the deservedly famous site a couple of hours later, and much hungrier, than planned. We were booked on a tour 20 minutes after arrival, and grabbed a locally made pie each from the respectable Felons diner. Mine was chicken and camembert.
Crisp pastry, gooey cheesiness and chunks of meat: a perfect belly-filler.Before heading to the Freycinet Peninsula we'd planned breakfast at Eureka Farm, south of Scamander, which does a range of fresh fruit, berries and preserves and make its own ice cream, which it serves at breakfast with pancakes. The chef was at the dentist though (!) so we made do with a jar of quince butter (extraordinary with Tas brie and crackers), a cone of strawberry ice cream and some apples. Retracing our steps to Scamander's Gourmet Food Shop, which is also the post and trading office, we were at first dismayed by their range, limited to pies and sausage rolls. Happily they were also harbouring savoury muffins: sundried tom, capsicum, mushroom, fetta and parmesan to be exact.
No, that's not their range, that's all in the one muffin! Warmed and with butter, it proved a fine start to the day, as did SG's two mini sausage rolls.
Our only cafe breakfast was in Hobart, at Say Cheese on Salamanca Square. A big sign advertising all manner of pancakes hooked us. They served about eight varieties, as well as standard bacon and eggs breakfast fare. My Summerberry Pancakes came with seasonal fruit compote, blueberry ice cream, berry sauce and cream.
Um, yes, that's quite a visual delight! Ice cream for breakfast is a wonderful notion, made entirely civilised by the fact I approached it with knife and fork, rather than spoon. The rivulets of melted cream running down the side of the pancake were enormously enticing. The 'fluffy' pancakes spruiked on each menu item were actually dense and doughy, but with all that fruit and ice cream going around I wasn't too bothered.
28 April, 2008
Tasmania - Flippers Seafood
1 Constitution Wharf, Hobart
Here's a W&F Top Tip: if you are in Hobart, take the advice of Flippers Seafood and order yourself a Bag of Treats.
Along Constitution Dock are four 'floating wharves'; two selling fresh seafood for you to take home and create your own masterwork, and two selling cooked seafood. Flippers (closest to town) has an extremely approachable menu, once you get your head around just how many choices there are! In this seafood savvy town there is rarely something as straightforward to order as just 'fish and chips'. Here you can pick exactly which variety of piscine meat you want encased in batter - trevalla, blue grenadier, couta, etc. There is a daily special, based on that morning's catch, as well as packs galore. And then there are the various morsels, each of which you can order individually and hence mix and match to put together your own paper bag of fried fish heaven.
I approached the morsel situation with some guidance, going for Flippers Bag of Treats. I've received good value fish and chips with change from $8 before, but this $7.20 bag of deliciousness was absolutely the gastronomic highlight of the trip (and only just pipped for Number 1 Highlight overall by the fact that we saw a wombat in the wild!).
From the menu, the Bag comprised of: 1 x battered scallop, 1 x garlic prawn, 1 x prawn cutlet, 1 x crab stick, 2 x seafood bites, 2 x calamari rings. I scored a bonus Bag, with an extra portion of both garlic prawn and scallop, both of which were so moaningly wonderful I couldn't believe my luck. I didn't expect much from a crab stick but it too was sensational. The calamari rings were plump and one could actually bite through the ring and keep the batter-flesh union intact. The seafood bites (in picture below) were surprisingly dense and covered in more of a crumb than a batter. Each reach into the bag had me expectant to discover which new portion of fabulousness I was about to bite into.
SG got seafood envy and mixed and matched to get himself a bag with three seafood bites and a small serve of chips.
As would be expected, their chips were also superb (Tasmania does also do a rather fine line in potatoes). Plenty of crunch, but not overcooked.
This was the holiday moment where you start to wonder if you need to pursue any other food avenues in town, or instead return to what you've just discovered for a second, third, fourth experience.
19 February, 2008
Vege2Go
452 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9384 6200
The former site of the Organic Wholesalers (now across the road and up a few shops) has been transformed into Vege2Go, a fresh and exciting new cafe and takeaway that is offering something truly innovative. The kitout is very impressive: the new owners have created a bright and welcoming space, proudly themed on the Italian tricolour. Eyecatching canvas prints of the Tuscan countryside and the quinoa plant adorn one wall.
The premise of the cafe is fresh, vegetarian Italian food. The menu is designed with complements: there are mains as well as sides and snacks, encouraging provision of a full meal. The shop is open til 9pm (Mon-Sat), succeeding in that rare venture of providing healthy, inviting and affordable take-home food, at the time when you most want it. Not only is their food accessible, it's also very strong on quality and flavour. The absence of meat is relevant, but no impediment. Instead, a plethora of plant foods are given centre stage: zucchini, eggplant, beetroot, mushrooms, cannellini beans, asparagus, to name just a handful.
The savoury side of the menu is divided into Mains, Sides and Snacks, plus Soups and Desserts. Meal Savers encourage customers to mix and match. Of the mains, the three mushroom frittata is extraordinary, with mousse-like eggs enveloping a trio of earthy mushroom flavours. The asparagus and tomato risotto sings with sweet tomato tang. Jumbo-sized mushrooms are filled with pesto and topped with torn bocconcino and a basil leaf. It's incredibly simple but even a meatlover wouldn't be left wanting for protein or 'fillingness'. Aromatic vegie lasagne and parmiggiana are also on offer.
It's worth getting a Meal Saver to ensure you sample at least one of the sides. These daily-prepared salads all punch a big flavour hit. The rocket explosion (above) - featuring the holy combination of rocket, pumpkin, pinenuts and feta - is superb. The pumpkin is perfectly cooked and deliciously seasoned. I could happily sit down to a whole tray of grilled peppers (below), doused simply with olive oil, sea salt, garlic and parsley. Other sides include broccoli tossed with garlic and the Mediterranean rice salad, which flies the flag of all that is wonderful about the region, with a mix of antipasto, artichokes, olives, capsicum and brown rice.
Desserts on offer include a ricotta tart and vegan chocolate cake. The coffee, from Jasper and hence Fairtrade and organic, is excellently made. Soy, rice and lactose-free milk are all available. Juices, smoothies and Phoenix drinks are also stocked.
There are two aspects of this venture that are worth highlighting. One is the quality of produce. This is well-made food, prepared fresh and with love. Secondly, while it is a vegetarian cafe, and that is a strong philosophy amongst its proprietors, nothing is lost in terms of flavour, nourishment nor satisfaction.
http://www.vege2go.com.au/
29 December, 2007
Pie in the Sky
1296 (Old) Pacific Hwy, Cowan, NSW; 02 9985 7018
A diversion to avoid the clogged pre-Christmas traffic heading up the Pacific Highway turned into a culinary and visual delight. Pie in the Sky, a modest cream building squatting high above the Hawkesbury River is a favourite stop-off with many of the motorbike riders who relish the rises and corners of the Old Pacific Highway..JPG)
Beef, lamb, vegetarian and sweet pies, as well as sausage rolls, are all available to take-away. If you're travelling at a more languorous pace and are keen to savour the view as well as the pastry, you can have them served on a plate with a choice of sides, such as mushy peas.
With SG already claiming the beef burgundy (my first choice), I went for the more exotic lamb, honey, chilli and garlic. All of the pies feature dream pastry: flaky and buttery on the top, firm enough on the bottom to retain structural integrity, but never too heavy. As you can see, there's no doubt that it's real meat on the inside..jpg)
I wasn't overwhelmed by the sauce, however: the flavours weren't particularly distinct, so despite its ingredient list it wasn't notably hot, sweet or garlicky. The plain steak and the beef burgundy were, however, exactly what one would hope for in an exemplary meat pie.
15 December, 2007
Pappa's Fish and Chips
79 Holmes St, Brunswick; 03 9383 4331
What's a hot summer Friday night without fish and chips? When you've no mood to cook and, let's face it, the house is already too hot without turning on the stove and oven (there's nothing in the house that could be prepared via use of the microwave alone) the local fish and chippery is a happy haven.
We're blessed to have some of the best value fried seafood and starch in Melbourne very close to hand. How much would you expect the serving shown below to set you back? To help you guess, included is a piece of fish too large to fit the box, two potato cakes, a dim sim, and more chips than we could ever eat and retain healthy heart function.
$7.70*. That's right. And if that makes you shake your head in wonder let me add to your incredulity: this is what they call the Single Pack! (Oh yes, and it comes with a can of soft drink as well).
The fish is plentiful. As you can see from the picture it comes in a pale batter and probably tastes best immediately out of the oil: it doesn't tend to be particularly crispy by the time you get it home. That's OK though because the ratio of fish to batter is very much in favour of the flesh. The potato cakes are hefty as well, with a wonderful crunch to the batter. And the chips are good enough that I always eat way more than I needed to, normally at the expense of the poor dim sim (excellent with soy sauce).
*The 2008 price is $9. Still good value :)
30 September, 2007
Fishbone
109 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9380 4343
Although we’re in Brunswick East, when it comes to hamburgers our preference has been to head over to Dannys on St Georges Rd for special burger occasions. One night, after declining a 40-minute wait at Andrew’s in Albert Park, we popped into a previously untried takeaway shop much closer to home – Fishbone on Lygon St – for burger and chips. Things looked promising from when we saw the size of a small chips (more than the two of us could eat, not that we didn’t try!) They only got better when we started on the burgers.
The patties are moist, flavoursome and made of quality mince. Along with the chips, they’re fried in cottonseed oil, which from my internet research has points for and against, but certainly neither burger nor chips leave a gluggy, oily feeling in the stomach. The buns aren’t toasted, a feature I love at Dannys, but they’re wonderfully fresh with a smattering of sesame seeds. The experience is further augmented by their sauce – is it homemade tomato sauce? The combination provides a subtly herbed and flavoured hamburger experience that feels more like a meat sandwich than a fatty indulgence.
