Tag Archives: Brunswick St

Hooked Fish and Chips

24 Jul

Multicultural Cuisine of…

Seafood


Hooked Fish & Chips
384 Brunswick St,
Fitzroy
(03) 9417 7740
Visit Website

Wow, a LOT has been happening in the life of this little food blogger lately…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I’m doing with my life, and whether it’s making me happy or not; after many turbulent years dealing with my own inner demons and unhappiness, a few years ago I made a decision that I deserve to just be happy, and to really, truly enjoy my life. It sounds basic enough, doesn’t it? But as anyone else who has suffered from depression will attest, it’s just not as simple as “being happy.”

I spent plenty of years being quite miserable and just dealing with life and getting through the day. I wanted to be happy, I really did! I just didn’t know how to! Making some beautiful friends along the way, meeting and marrying my best friend, Sous-Jeff, mending some strained family relationships, and playing “mum” to my beautiful dog, the KitchenBug, have all made an immeasurable difference. Another thing that has reaaaalllly helped me get through has been food.

I’m not talking about comfort eating, or binge eating, or anything like that. I’m talking about cooking and baking. I’m sure it sounds insane to a lot of people, but cooking relaxes me. It’s how I enjoy spending my down time, and I certainly don’t see it as a chore. I love reading cook books and watching cooking/travel shows on TV. That’s one of my other passions – travel. I want to see the world and explore every culture I can (hence, “Multicultural Melbourne!”), learning about their food traditions, something that’s been spawned on by being brought up with a strong Italian heritage.

SO, with all of that said, this week I decided to resign from my health and wellness based job after six years in the industry, and am super excited to be starting a new career adventure in a few weeks, as a travel consultant! I’m really excited to be following another one of my passions, alongside my cooking classes with Amore Cucina, and my food blogging! Wow, all my Christmases at once :)

Which takes me to this blog post… after officially resigning and officially accepting my new job offer (which came about awfully randomly – will tell you more about it later!), Sous-Jeff took me to my favourite fooding-and-drinking hole to celebrate – Naked for Satan (You can read all about one of my many adventures to Naked for Satan here)! After a few celebratory cocktails and pintxos, we decide to meander on down Brunswick St for something a little more substantial for dinner, maybe a shared pizza or something. I also decide we’ll be heading to Shocolate for dessert (macarons… YUM!), so we won’t need to eat a heap. And then, we stumble upon this A-frame…

Melbourne’s best chips? Well, our hands are tied. We are somewhat connoisseurs of the deep fried, crispy delights that are hot chips, and are quite well-versed on what constitutes a good chip.

In we walk, to find an absolutely adorable little set up, of wooden picnic tables and benches, and old, weather-boarded walls with framed fishy pictures. Cute! We looked to the counter to see a giant blackboard with the “catches” of the day. And we notice some more information on the board to the right of the counter… Why healthy seafood, you ask? Well, let me tell you…

The delicious food here are low in fat, low in cholesterol, high in protein, vitamins and minerals, rich in Omega-3, and no frozen chips! You can read more about their fabulousness here. The tables were set with Sicilian rock salt and wooden boxes containing cutlery and serviettes. We were ready. Give us the chips.

After a wait of a mere 10 minutes, our chips arrived. Oh my. They look verrryyyyy impressive, hand cut, golden, crisp potato chips, topped with even crispier, deep fried sweet potato chips on top. Wow. And for our extra 90c each, our sauces look very generously portioned.

Regular Chips, $5.90 with Basil Salsa Verde ($0.90) and Sweet Chilli Sauce ($0.90).

Now, having eaten more hot chips than we’d like to admit, we have extremely high standards of anywhere claiming to have the best chips. We were bitterly disappointed by Lord of the Fries after their claim to being the best, so we are a little more cautious now. Upon tearing into these chips, we decided that they were delicious, they were better than your average chip, but they still weren’t the best chips we’ve ever had. That honour goes to Eltham’s Burger Lounge, to be reviewed very soon.

There was certainly nothing wrong with these chips – they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, well seasoned, and we looooved the addition of the crispy bits of sweet potato on top. But there just wasn’t anything EXTRA special that grabbed us… They were yummy, but fairly standard. Upon walking out and seeing another customer’s piece of fish, we are however quite keen to get back and try the seafood out!

Over to you guys now – where can we find your favourite hot chips? And, what passions are you currently following?!

Would rate it 6 out of 10.



Hooked on Urbanspoon

Babka Bakery Cafe and Casa Iberica

9 Jul

Multicultural Cuisine of…

Russia…

and Spain

“You ever been to that Spanish supermarket place on Johnson St?” Sous-Jeff asks me randomly one day. Huh? Sous-Jeff had been out having a drink with a friend of ours, a vegetarian and big Mexican food lover, who told him about it. When Sous-Jeff arrived at his house for a quiet beer or 7, Mr. Vego was cooking up a chickpea and lentil curry, which captured Sous-Jeff’s attention and senses.

From what Sous-Jeff can tell me, there’s some sort of supermarket on Johnson St that sells Mexican and Spanish groceries and food – things like black beans, chorizo and the like. With no other information to go from, I investigate further and discover the boys are talking about Casa Iberica. In that case, yes, I have heard of it, but no, I’ve never actually been before. With Sous-Jeff having a day off work on the same day as my day off, the planets aligned, and off we go to do some shopping!

With plenty of time to kill and tummies already grumbling, we decide it’s lunch time, and to just wonder into the next place we walk past. That place is Cafe Umago, at 171 Brunswick St. In we walk, and none of the wait staff seem to have noticed us. So we sit down and help ourselves to a few menus. 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) minutes later, we haven’t received so much as a side glance from either of the two waiters roaming the bar area of the cafe. One of them has walked past us twice while clearing another table, but still hasn’t bothered to so much as make eye contact with us. 20 minutes after walking in to Cafe Umago, we walk out, very disappointed, and absolutely starving.

Not wanting to be disappointed any further, we stroll on into Naked for Satan, where we know we can’t be let down. It was around about 1:45pm on a Friday afternoon, and it was still fairly busy. Drinks in hand, we grab a plate each, fill up, and crash on a couch, devouring our food as if we hadn’t been fed in a week.

It’s a beautiful day, so we decide to leave the car and just wonder around on foot, which as a great option, as we came across this:

Awesome! But anyway, we were still a little peckish, so I suggest a stop into Babka Bakery for a little dessert action…

Babka Bakery Cafe
358 Brunswick St,
Fitzroy
(03) 9416 0091

A cosy little cafe, it is absolutely packed with people. Some are eating eggs on toast, some are eating lunch, and others, like us, are enjoying something sweet with a tea or coffee. From the moment we walked in until the moment we left, there was a line from the counter to the front door, people wandering in and out to either have a sit down feed, or to grab some bread to take with them on their way. I wanted to try everything, but Sous-Jeff and I decide to be good and share, so I’m sent to the counter with his wallet to order. Mistake. We decided on a small piece of Chocolate Mudcake. I may have gotten a slightly bigger piece. And a cookie. Oops.

Thick, moist, chocolatey and delicious. It was a darn good chocolate cake, although I think it would have been even better warmed up.

I also grabbed a lemon coconut and poppy seed biscuit. I’m stared down by Sous-Jeff who’s trying to make me feel guilty. “I couldn’t just leave it there, it was looking at me, look how nice it looks!” I protest, weakly.

I was expecting a nice, soft, chewy biscuit. I got a very hard one. I was very surprised, but pleasantly so. It was absolutely delicious, and I think I may have even enjoyed it more than the chocolate (which is very unusual for me!) – the combination of the citrus and coconut was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the crunch of the cookie. Luckily for me, Sous-Jeff wasn’t a fan, so I didn’t have to share!

All of that said though, I wasn’t as impressed as I should have been after having visited this Fitzroy institution. My reasoning behind this is that they are known more for their bread and pastry than their cakes and cookies. But I wasn’t really feeling like a loaf of bread to nibble on for dessert! Therefore, my rating is based solely on THIS visit.

Would rate it 6 out of 10.


Babka Bakery Café on Urbanspoon


Tummies fed, it’s time to get to our final stop – Casa Iberica. Footing it again, we see some more awesome street art, which we love even more because we’re both huuuuge basketball fans:

Casa Iberica
25 Johnson St,
Fitzroy
(03) 9419 4430
Visit Website

Ahhh here we are! Finally! We walk into a treasure trove of imported goodies. Here’s some of the amazing products we found…

Everything from paella rice (above) to chilli sauces (about 300 different types – Sous-Jeff bought about 4 of them), and everything in between. We came home with the above mentioned chilli sauces, quite a few bags of dried herbs, paella rice, black beans and refried beans, chickpea flour, and a nice, fresh, chorizo empanada. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make it to get photographed – it was sooooo tasty, and I’d highly recommend picking one up if you make a trip to Casa Iberica!

Needless to say, I made an absolutely killer paella for dinner after this trip, and I plan on heading back next week to pick up some more supplies, including some good, thick choriza, jamon ham and some of those little clay dishes that you see huervos rancheros baked in. I feel like getting my Spanish cooking on now – I’m inspired!

Casa Iberica on Urbanspoon

Naked For Satan, Shocolate and Books For Cooks

28 May

Multicultural Cuisine of…

Spain…

and France

Naked For Satan
285 Brunswick St,
Fitzroy
(03) 9416 2238
Visit Website

Another day off, another opportunity to food blog :) ahh the good life! After my trip to Smith St yesterday, I’m feeling like heading back for more, as I didn’t have enough time to meander yesterday. I’m catching up with an old friend (we’ve known each other for 20 years now!) for lunch, and we’re both fans of Brunswick St, so we decide to meet up there. Once we both finally secure car parks (no easy feat on a Saturday), we decide on Naked For Satan – a place I’ve been to a couple of times and absolutely loved, and one that Poo had never been too, but was eager to try out, given the large variety of little foods.

For those of you who haven’t heard of this venue yet, you must be living under a rock. Naked for Satan is fast becoming a Brunswick St institution, with their range of infused vodkas and pintxos. Pintxos are basically a bigger version of tapas, Spanish in nature, and generally served on bread.

Now, Naked For Satan is primarily a drinking hole, with little nibbles while you beverage. Once you walk in and grab yourself a seat (no waiters asking if you’d like a table, just stroll on in and make yourself at home), you’re welcome to grab a plate and help yourself to the pintxos.

The food is set up buffet-style – you simply grab a plate, help yourself to whatever takes your fancy, and save the toothpick that is stuck in each pintxos. They operate on the honour system: you pay per toothpick at the end of your dining experience, $2.00 per piece (or 80c per piece at lunch times and dinner Mon – Wed).

We take a seat on the higher level/balcony area, on a comfy couch, and have no sooner sat down than are visited by a waitress with a plate of hot pintxos; the ones on display are all cold, and wait staff roam the venue with hot plates fresh out of the kitchen. They do not last long.

Meatballs with parmesan

We’re presented with some delicious looking (and smelling) beef meatballs smothered in tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. We haven’t grabbed our plates yet, so she brings us one each and we tuck in. Yuuuummmm.

With that done, we jump off the couch, plates in hand, to grab some more.

The pintxos are all set up with a mini black board explaining what they’re all about – we grab the tongs and fill our plates! Here’s what we devoured…

Rice ball on cream cheese and quince paste.
Carrot puree with beans, red onion, tomato and coriander
Frittata with aioli
Fried eggplant chip with honey on blue cheese
Chicken croquette
Chorizo with apple cider sauce and onion

Plus a couple of cocktails, of course. So, why “Naked For Satan?” Basically, a Russian (Mr Satanovich) distilled some vodka under prohibition, it got warm so he did it in his undies. In return for the vodka, his fans helped him make it. Because it was all quite illegal, the secret code was “getting naked for Satan.” Hazaah. We take our cups of toothpicks and head to pay. With the lack of dessert options available, we decide to head across the road for a sugary finisher. All in all, I quite enjoy the food, although the hot pintxos are nicer than the cold ones. Great value for money, great variety, and great vodka!

Would rate it 8 out of 10.

Naked For Satan on Urbanspoon

Shocolate
3/296 Brunswick St,
Fitzroy
(03) 9415 6556
Visit Website

Across the road from lunch, we find a small A-frame black board claiming Melbourne’s best chocolate macaroons. I decided I must try these macaroons that had allegedly been voted Melbourne’s best – I pride myself on being an experienced campaigner in all things chocolate.

We walk in and are met with a wall of assorted chocolatey delights, and while I’m initially distracted by the various shades of brown, I suddenly see the macaroon window. Wow. There are some bright colours in there. I quickly study the menu – my choices include blood orange, salted caramel and lemongrass. I decide on the “black and white” – the one voted Melbourne’s favourites, and a fluro blue vanilla one.

I tuck into the vanilla macaroon first – the blue shell is perfectly soft, literally crumbling away under my fingers. The vanilla ganache is sweet and soft and smooth, even better than I hoped. I was wondering how the chocolate one was going to live up to this!

Looks nice. Feels soft and fresh. Smells chocolatey. It’s a white chocolate macaroon with white chocolate ganache. Wasn’t the big, brown, milk chocolate I was hoping for, but hey, I love white chocolate too – I don’t discriminate! I bite in… to find…

… a soft, milk chocolatey, ganach centre! Ohhhh my…. ok, I’m starting to understand why this got the vote of Melbourne! It was delicious anyway, but to get the surprise of chocolate in the middle, with the cocoa hit in between the sugary sweetness of the white chocolate, was just divine!

Would rate it 9 out of 10.

Shocolate on Urbanspoon


Books For Cooks
233 – 235 Gertrude St,
Fitzroy
(03) 8415 1415
Visit Website

Before I head home, a quick stop to possibly my favourite shop in all the world. Books For Cooks. If you haven’t been here and you’re a foodie, go now. Seriously. Drop what you’re doing and go. If you have been here and you’re as avid a cook/baker as I am, you’ll understand.

Wall to wall, floor to ceiling of cook books, old and new, magazines, books on how to plate up and what makes chocolate so special, how to make beer and how to taste wine, how to cook gluten free and how to make full fat cakes. If it’s got food in it, it’s there. Best end of the day ever. Before I realise, I’ve been in there for an hour (and what felt like all of 15 minutes) – time to get going coz my parking is done!

The Standard Hotel and Max Brenner

21 May

Multicultural Cuisine of…

Australian Pub

The Standard Hotel
293 Fitzroy St,
Fitzroy
(03) 9419 4793
Visit Website

I’m not the only foodie in this household – my lovely husband quite enjoys getting his food on too. One of his new favourite things to do is to get together with his boys club, and sample some of Melbourne’s best chicken parma offerings. Each Wednesday night, the parma boys get together, one of them picks a location, and they all tag along to see what their parma has to offer. A few weeks ago, Sous-Jeff came home, singing the highest praises of that night’s parma, devoured at the Standard Hotel in Fitzroy. Amazing, crunchy, tasty, thick, just really nice, he said. And ever since, he’s been busting to take me there so that I too could appreciate the magnificence of this parma.

So this Friday night, before heading off to see the new Pirates of the Carribean movie, he suggests a parma dinner. Off to The Standard we went.

 

We park in a dark side street, and approach the pub. Doesn’t look all that impressive, I comment. Sous-Jeff suggests I reserve my judgement until I step inside.

 

Inside I step, and much as I hate to admit it, Sous-Jeff is right – I love the place! I’m immediately hit by the smell of the fire place, one of my favourite smells, and am instantly feeling at home in this strange little pub. The lights are dimmed (apologies in advance for the sub-par photos!), and it’s quintessential Brunswick St – the decor is an eclectic fusion of old Fitzroy football paraphernalia, vintage, Victorian-era photos, and randomly placed modern artwork. The other diners are a mix of locals, clad in fashionable double denim, beanies, dreadlocks, and super-colourful tights and cardigans, post-work drinkers in their suits and ties, and others like us, who’ve clearly heard they make a mean parma, as they seem to account for 2 in every 3 meals coming out of the kitchen.

I take a seat at a table set for 6 (almost all the tables are set for larger groups), and Sous-Jeff makes his way to the back of the line at the bar. This line was consistently lengthy from the time we walked in, to the time we left. I was told by Sous-Jeff that I didn’t need a menu, as he was simply ordering 2 parmas. Entree? No, you won’t need one. Can I look at the menu anyway? Sure, but I’m still ordering the parmas.

The entrees look sound delicious, including roasted chat potatoes, trio of dips, grilled saganaki and a cheese plate. Maybe next time. I continue reading, and discover that I’ll be getting the “Chicken Parma Deluxe;” a crumbed chicken breast topped with prosciutto, napoli sauce, tasty cheese, and fetta. Interesting… I feel like a traditional parma, but Sous-Jeff claims this little touch makes it.

We’ve been seated for 5 minutes, and a waitress with a Beatles bowl hair cut, attired in a pleated mini skirt and skivvy, silently lays in front of us 2 plates with a large slice of bread. She smiles and continues on her way. The bread is thick, fresh, soft and fluffy. Now I’m even hungrier!

Chicken Parma Deluxe, $19.00

Thankfully, we only wait another 20 minutes until our parmas arrive. They’re smaller than I expected, but Sous-Jeff assures me they’re also quick thick, which is his mark of a decent parma. Unfortunately, they’ve been unceremoniously plonked on half the salad, which made the bottom of mine soggy. Other than the disappointing lack of crispyness, I couldn’t fault it.

The prosciutto was deliciously salty, and the fetta was a really delicious touch. There wasn’t a heap on there, just enough to inject some great extra flavour. Sous-Jeff’s parma is a little thicker than mine – unfortunately, because of this, he found a nice little chunk of raw chicken in the thickest part of his parma. He was heartbroken – this little pub that he’d been raving on about had not only forgotten the crispiness on that parma, but they’d apparently forgotten to cook it all the way through as well.

Mine, however, was perfectly cooked; just white on the inside, still nice and tender. Could have cooked a little longer, if for no other reason than to get the crispy breadcrumbs, but other than that, I genuinely can’t find any faults; the taste was astonishingly good. The chips are important to me – I’m a big potato fan, and a good chip really enhances a good parma. They were magnificent – crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, with the most incredible chicken salt. Unfortunately, half way through the meal, because of the lack of seating, we got some interesting locals pull up a seat at our table… we ate a little quicker, and left with a touch of indigestion, so wasn’t as enjoyable an end to the meal as I’d have hoped.

Would rate it (parma) a 9 out of 10.


The Standard Hotel on Urbanspoon




But, not to worry. Earlier in the day, a friend of mine sent me a text message, asking for my vote on a good place to go in the Templestowe area for dessert, coffee and cocktails. My vote was the upper level of Doncaster Shoppingtown – Groove Train’s bar makes a pretty decent cocktail, but the real winner was Max Brenner for dessert. We were already heading to Doncaster for our movie, and since we were arriving a little earlier than expected, I suggested a visit to the Bald Man. Two souffles later, we were two very happy, very bloated diners. If you’ve never had the souffle at Max Brenners, shame on you. This is what you’re missing.

Drizzled in smooth milk chocolate, the cakey part is perfectly soft and fluffy, and then all of a sudden, this gooey chocolate comes pouring out. Just wow. I hope this recipe is in the cook book, I comment. Sous-Jeff looks at me quizically… Oh yeah, didn’t I tell you? I ordered it from Amazon. Should arrive within the next couple of weeks. His eyes light up like a small child on Christmas morning, then they start to glaze over as he mentally begins compiling his dessert wish list…

Would rate it (Brenner in general) a 10 out of 10.

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