Provincial Hotel: $10 pie and pot

299 Brunswick St, Fitzroy; 03 9810 0042

I 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 concrete outside, and a brooding, quirky interior of dark wood, with a sloping crimson bar fronted by wrought-iron stools. The sign advertising the pie and pot also spruiked an open fire, which coupled well with visions of splitting open a pastry case to reveal a steaming interior of meat and veg in thick gravy.

Well, not quite. Here's the steak pie:
The casing is in fact puff pastry rather than shortcrust. They've missed a trick there: it seems so obvious me to match a pot with a pot pie. The sign didn't say puff pastry parcel and pot (though, with that much alliteration, it might have got me in regardless). The steak filling was a little wanting, but the chicken and mushroom filling was lovely, though not lovely enough to make up for the lack of shortcrust.

You may notice two things about the piccie above: a) the chips on the plate and b) it's not the sexiest plate of food ever presented. The chips come via the pot and pie upgrade: for $3 you get mashed potatoes, chips or salad on the side. I'm always a bit put off by the mid-week deal that then offers you a bit more for a bit more, because I immediately feel like I'm getting less. See, if I go for a $10 deal that's all I'm going to spend, there's no upgrading. But the optional, paid extra just highlights that you and the restaurant are doing something a bit on the cheap. And when it comes out on the plate looking that ordinary, it doesn't help.

I understand the establishment is offering a special deal, but their purpose presumably is to increase bums on seats on the quiet nights. If I got a great plate of food - pie plus chips or a simple salad, I'd have a fuzzy feeling indeed about the pub, and make a mental note for the next Wednesday night I was looking for somewhere to go. If the side orders aren't doable for a tenner, why not make it an $11 or $12 pie and pot, meet your margins and get people back in for a second go?

The evening ended, however, with inspiration. I'd heard gushing reports of the Provincial's tiramisu, which is only available from the cafe area, rather than the bar. Turns out, they do their desserts to takeaway, and with 'Spicks and Specks' time looming, we decided to make a dash for home with dessert stashed for some decent couch time.

'Huge' doesn't come close to telling the story of this tiramisu. And even in foil rather than ceramic, it tastes a treat.

Green Refectory

115 Sydney Road, Brunswick; 03 9387 1150

A sunny long-weekend afternoon. A lazy bike ride, the fresh air clearing out the last of the fugginess from a red wine indulgence the night before. The ride leads us to Green Refectory at the Brunswick end of Sydney Rd. The cafe's rustic interior is buzzing. Groups and couples arrange themselves at mismatched chairs around communal and smaller tables. Counter staff take orders from those dining in as well as those wanting salads, cakes or coffee to take away. A grill behind the counter is on incessant duty warming up homemade sausage rolls. Overlooking all of this activity is a trustworthily smudged menu announcing yet more choice from their hot kitchen dishes or breakfast menu (offered all day every day). At the till, enormous fresh muffins - such as raspberry, pear and choc chip - almost steal the menu's thunder as a lunch selection.

I draw my eyes back to the blackboard and instead of homemade baked beans with mushrooms on sourdough, or a roast sweet potato, fetta and spinach focaccia, my lunch choice comes from out of the blue: when I read 'oat porridge, served with stewed prunes and apricots, scattered almonds and a jug of milk' I know absolutely that it's all I want to eat. This is despite its proximity on the menu to french toast, served with pear poached with white wine and vanilla bean, served with ice cream.

We settle into a reclaimed timber table in the window and admire the surrounding furniture and fittings. The cafe is awash with retro chic, down to the saucers for our hot drinks.

The porridge when it arrives looks just as nourishing as I'd hoped:

It is, unfortunately, lacking the promised jug of milk but for moisture content I make do with the stewed juices. The fruit is superb, stewed to softness and oozing flavour. There may have been some orange blossom water in the mix as overlaying the sweet cinnamon scent is an aroma of citrus. The dish is a progression of texture from the soft fruit, to the hearty oats, to the crunch of nuts.

My oaty contentment doesn't stop me noticing how fine SG's choice of the summer chicken burger looks.A chalk sign just next to our table informs diners that all of Green's chicken is free range. This particular sample has been beautifully seasoned and expertly prepared. Rather than a bun it sits between toasted bread, atop layers of crisp spinach leaves, cushioned by crescents of avocado and rounds of tomato, topped with thickishly-cut, unfatty bacon, dotted with sun-dried tomatoes and forming a wondrous partnership with a homemade mayonnaise. It is an utterly delicious lunch.

Homemade comes up a lot on the Green's menu. The atmosphere here is very much of using the best of what's on offer, to greatest effect. There's no gimmickery, no need for fancy fit-outs. Their menu is full of sensible and delicious food combinations and their kitchen is to be commended for so aptly handling baked goods, pastries and desserts as well as plated dishes. I do believe I've found my new favourite cafe.

Danny's Take-away

360 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy; 03 9481 5847

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.

India on Lygon

440 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9388 8339

The shopfront of this northern-end Lygon St diner is all spattered paint and bright neon. It's relatively new, probably 12-18 months old. I'd picked up a menu early on, and had on a couple of occasions when walking past encountered someone out the front proferring small sample cups of curry. As a small, local business, I hoped things were going well, but from the amount of traffic I witnessed going in and out I had my doubts.

But then lo, someone from the all-knowing supplement that is Epicure paid them a visit, and wrote up one of their dishes for the Under $10 column. The dish in question was a goat curry, and coming in a full $4 under the column's maximum, it sounded like too good an opportunity to miss. I was suitably impressed when I first tried it for myself many moons ago.

Travelling home this week with a dismantled bike on the back seat, its back tyre as deflated as its rider was when he heard it go 'pop', some cheap, impromptu curry sounded like a good way to rescue the evening, so India on Lygon finally got its repeat visit.

Prices are up; but at $8 or so for most curries they're still at a suitable price for Epicure's column. Goat is available as either masala or biryani and, as before, I went for the former.If it all looks a bit indistinct in the bowl, it's not just due to the quality of photography! The goat meat comes on the bone: big slabs of it, with plenty of sinew to tear through to get the meat free. Don't bother with a knife and fork. Go traditional and get your hands and teeth in there! I like to imagine when I'm eating this dish that I'm in a tent in the mountains and in the distance I can hear bells from a herd of goats that, in order to meet our appetites, is now one less in number. On my first try the only obstacle to such a fantasy was the undeniable fact that I was actually in a flat in Brunswick East, and while there may have been bells, they were of the bicycle, not bovid, variety. This time, however, the meat let the dish down. I know it's not meant to be the tenderest of varieties, but it was too tough. It was saved, however, by the sauce, which was enjoyably spicy.

The butter chicken turned out to be a better option. When done poorly, this dish is just foul - just a bowl of oil and cream with some white meat floating in it. India on Lygon's version is a lot more subtle however, and they've taken care to make sure the spice dominates rather than the liquid ingredients.

We really enjoyed the garlic naan first time around as well. It was a bit singed on this occasion, unfortunately. It still held its consistency, however, to do a fine job of mopping up sauce.

And given two curries, rice and two naan cost just over $20, I think we got about what we paid for.

Update: India on Lygon underwent a change of management a few months ago. It's still the same look outside, but the decor inside has been schmicked up a little bit. I can't report as yet whether there are marked changes to the food.

Kake di Hatti

128 Lygon St, Brunswick East; 03 9387 7771

It's 42C outside. It's after 8 o'clock at night. Your favourite Italian place is still on holidays. Where to eat? I admit not everyone would immediately think 'curry' in these circumstances, but plenty of people obviously had, since Kake di Hatti was pumping when we gratefully stepped into its air-conned dining room.

Kake di Hatti is one of the best-value eateries in town. The vast majority of its curries are served for under $10, the only exceptions being the Goa and Garlic Prawns. And you can order extras to your heart's content, with rice for $1.50, roti for $1.00 and naan for $1.20. It's BYO, but if you haven't brought anything with you Indian Kingfisher lager is $4 a bottle and astonishingly they sell their Australian house wine for $2.50 a glass.

The Hatti prides itself on speedy service and it's a certainly a close race between two bottles of beer and two plates of curry to get to the table. The lamb degchi comes in a tomato-based sauce of spices, onion, ginger, garlic and capsicum.The meat has obviously been stewing for a suitable period of time, perhaps since the mercury peaked at 5pm or so. The sauce too has the balance and subtlety of flavour that shows it was prepared freshly but with time to mull over its contents.

The chicken korma lives up to its reputation as an entry-level curry, light on the spice but rich in creaminess and flavour.The garlic naan is exceptional: crispy bubbles from the oven, soft and chewy dough and lathered with minced garlic. Just fantastic.

Land of Siam

121 Lygon St, Carlton; 03 9349 1999 77 Inkerman St, St Kilda; (03) 9534 9909

It's always nice to go to Lygon St for something other than Italian. Land of Siam provides an authentic Asian taste experience and on this Thursday was buzzing with three separate Christmas party groups as well as a handful of dining duos.

The restaurant fitout draws strongly on stone: the walls are a dark grey, the floor is bare and with a large urn water feature there's almost a cave-like effect. A bigger effect of all those exposed hard surfaces, however, was a problematic noise level. Some wall hangings or other soft furnishings could go a long way to helping facilitate lunchtime conversation.

Lunch is fabulous value at Land of Siam. 15 or so dishes from their more extensive dinner menu are offered at the bargain price of $9.90 including jasmine rice. I was thrilled, as it meant I didn't have to limit myself to a noodle dish. Happily my dining partner opted nonetheless for the Pad Thai: the yardstick of Thai dining and the quickest way to determine restaurant quality.

In this case the verdict was better than average. The dish came liberally sprinkled with nuts and the peanut sauce was not too cloying. Most importantly there was some subtly of flavour - lime, tamarind and onion all came through.

My choice was the Wok Basil Beef, with snake beans, red capsicum, chilli-garlic puree and Thai basil sauce.

It was hot! Luckily I had a Singha beer to quench some of the heat. The chilli didn't overpower the dish, however, as all the ingredients had been well-prepared and made a contribution to the overall effect. There was ample sauce, its dark colour mirroring the aniseed flavour from the basil, the vegies were fresh and al dente and the beef was tender.

An excellent value, satisfying lunchtime meal.

Rathdowne Tavern

184 Rathdowne St, Carlton; 03 9348 1133

Peeling paint, faded signage, scrawled writing on chalkboards. That's the exterior of the Rathdowne Tavern. One of those chalkboards advertised the $10 Tuesday bar special - a particular dish each week plus a pot of beer. And hence we discovered the interior: fresh, bright paint, oodles of sunlight, friendly bar staff and a turnover of happy patrons.

The selected dish was roast chicken:

Half a bird in fact, squashing an ample pile of very sharp (endive?) greens, and dwarfing a handful of fries. The chicken was marinated with thyme and lemon and was impressively moist throughout, with a bit of crisp on the bits of skin closest to the cooking element. The flesh was still quite pink, perhaps inevitable if you're going to turn out a hundred or so birds in a night in quick time - given it was of ample size, juicy and had been looked after with a decent marinade, something had to be cut short, and presumably its cooking time.
For $10, including a pot, a convivial atmosphere of customers happy with quality food at a great price, and friendly bar staff, it represents excellent value.

Hotel Lincoln

91 Cardigan Street, Carlton; 03 9347 4666

The Hotel Lincoln is one of Melbourne's best value eateries. In what can at times be a slightly confusing setup, they offer both bar food and a restaurant menu, with both available, via table service, in a kind of in-between room 'twixt the bar and glossier restaurant. The bar menu is under $20 and on Mondays is extraordinary value at $10 for each dish (this Monday just gone, however, was the last such Monday for the year unfortunately). The restaurant features slightly more glamorous dishes between $20-$30.

We savoured three samples from the bar menu. I'd tossed up against the chicken risotto with asparagus, but went for the whitebait hotcake with avocado and chilli jam. The visual presentation of this dish was wondeful. 'Hotcake' undersold this burger of whitebait, cunningly perched on a layer of avocado, then showered with mung beans, red chilli and fistfuls of fresh and refreshing coriander. The dish provided an ample amount of food, but without leaving a residual heaviness. Astonishing at $10.


The salted cod fritters took third place in the looks department, but they more than made up in flavour. Wonderfully cripsy balls (which took us all by surprise after the description as 'fritters) were filled with a creamy cod mousse. As a staple pub food, one would hope the bangers and mash at a place with a kitchen as commendable as the Hotel Lincoln's would be something special. These didn't disappoint. Two incredibly meaty pork sausages, studded with fennel seeds, were served on a wodge of spot-on creamy smooth mash.

In addition to this fabulous food is an extraordinary wine list. They offer six or so reds and whites each by the glass, and they are both carefully chosen and competitively priced - a Hugel Riesling blend for $6, Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris for $6.50, a Marlborough Sav Blanc and Gewürz for around $7. They also do Te Whare Ra Gewürztraminer, which is one of my favourite wines. The staff are friendly, knowledgable and the crowd, not surprisingly given they're in a place of good food and drink, are happy.