There are so many places to eat on Brunswick Street but because I work on the strip I get a little tired of being spoilt for choice and a bit bored with what's on offer. Sucks to be me with all this good food around! The newest kid on our block is Cruzao Arepa Bar and I was very curious to check out the Venezuelan food in the hope of finding a new lunch option. The bar serves arepas which are flat breads made from corn meal and stuffed with yummy fillings and then grilled. Kind of like a quesadilla ...
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I love going to Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, for something to eat and drink. I've been eyeing off Anada for some time. I caught up with B finally and we went to Anada for dinner. It was a Tuesday night and nearly a full-house. The service was really good and the food fantastic. The menu had plenty of tapas options and raciones (larger share plates)B and I chose four tapas which came with some bread and olive oil. The salt cod croquettes, I could eat everyday (if someone else would cook them for me) had the right amount of crunch with ...
It’s been a few months now since Rita Micali’s new venture, Supermaxi, opened it’s doors. I’ve been back a few times now, so lets have a look beyond first impressions. I’ve dined alone at the bar, with a friend a couple of times and with a group including children. Am I a fan of the “grunge” styling? I’m not sure I am. All that has changed is the letters that spelled out the previous tenants name – Tugra Restaurant – midnight haunt of hungry cabbies, have been removed. The colour is quite hideous in my opinion. But being next to ...
Exhibition dates: 19th March – 18th May 2010 . Curated by Mark Feary, this is a deliciously ironic exhibition that asks the audience to question the social and political construction of the blockbuster exhibitions regularly held by large museums around Australia; to question the role of the curator in assembling such exhibitions; and to question the cultural value of permanent collections of ‘Masterpieces’. Autumn Masterpieces displays work that is anything but permanent and undermines the process whereby museums construct frameworks for social understanding. The work, displayed in a roped off space on plinths of various heights, in cheap frames and at skew-whiff ...
Melbourne hipsters, readers of the Big Paper and FB fans of this very blog already know about the "Hidden Pizza" restaurant that sprung up in a laneway almost two weeks ago.Karl Quinn's article published on the 19th April basically blew the "restaurant's" cover, revealing it is a marketing campaign that has set out to highlight the effectiveness of advertising via non-traditional methods. Karl begged the question of how people would feel once they knew they had been "duped" into taking part of a clever campaign. This is the reason why I went to check out the restaurant. I was ...
I've long wanted to visit Dench's Bakery in North Carlton, especially as my friend John continually regales me with tales of this wonderful bakery, its enticing aroma of freshly baked bread, and the wide variety of breads available.Dench's has an impressive website, filled with some of the most stunning, evocative shots I've ever seen. Ciabatta, baguette, focaccia, schwarzbrot, panini, beer, farmhouse, spelt, brioche, raisin, potato and walnut, apricot and honey are just some of the loaves available from its store in Scotchmans St, North Fitzroy. There is also a cafe, which serves breakfast and lunch and baked treats such as ...
I have a lot of fond memories of eating at Guru da Dhaba in Johnston St. I met my now sister-in-law there for the first time, had many a boozy boozy dinner there, and the first meal in our new house was take-away from there, eaten in the back garden while slugging champagne. A little while back I phoned Guru to order some take-away and the phone was disconnected. Odd. I walked past a few days later and the place was boarded up. Soon enough, a new Indian restaurant emerged there, Tandoori Station. I decided to wait it out before giving it ...
Exhibition dates: 22nd January – 14th March, 2010 . Two solid exhibitions by Shane Hulbert and Trish Morrissey at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Fitzroy. Hulbert’s series ‘Expedition’ (2009) features nine large beautifully printed and framed pigment prints with prosaic titles such as ‘Pit’, ‘Shooting Range’, ‘Spud’s Roadhouse’ and ‘LED Sign’ to name a few. The work is at it’s most successful when it challenges the conventions of colonialism and undoes the mapping of ‘rightful’ possession of the land – usurping the space and place of occupation and memory – questioning how western cannot be seen as national. This goes against the stated ...
The UK's influential Guardian newspaper recently featured Melbourne's shopping and tourist attractions in its travel section. Among the attractions labelled 'not to be missed' was Mission Australia's own Charcoal Lane restaurant.Charcoal Lane aims to provide a career path into the hospitality industry for marginalised and unemployed young people, many of who come from an Aboriginal background.Further Reading: Read the Guardian's article here: www.guardian.co.uk/travel... Recent review by The Age: www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment...
I first visited Charcoal Lane in September last year. This white building used to be home of Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS). I have shady memories of walking past a prominent black, yellow and red coloured building almost everyday to and from Uni. And now it has become this white and somewhat majestic building. From the outside, one would never think that this is a restaurant. It will be good if there are big glass windows or glass doors to peer into this elegant looking restaurant.
Frequent visitors to Mission Australia's website will know of our terrific new Melbourne initiative, Charcoal Lane.Developed by Mission Australia with support from the Victorian Government and the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, Charcoal Lane is a 'social enterprise' restaurant that combines a top-flight dining experience with a transitional labour market program designed to assist disadvantaged young people – mainly from Aboriginal backgrounds – develop professional skills for a career in hospitality.Opened in July 09, Charcoal Lane has already been an outstanding success giving Melburnians and visitors to the city a taste of contemporary Aboriginal food and culture while providing crucial training ...
Tin Pot is a bit of an old faithful - not my most favourite place but always there and always with an extensive breakfast menu. Service is always friendly but a bit hit and miss with remembering things or meals coming out together. This most recent visit was odd because there were plenty of tables when we arrived but we had to stand around for ten minutes while they cleared off a particular table for us. Don't get me wrong, it was a good table but it would have been easier for everyone to let us sit somewhere else.So, combine ...
Charcoal Lane, Mission Australia's social enterprise restaurant in Melbourne's Fitzroy, has featured in The Age's award-winning (Melbourne) Magazine.Charcoal Lane is a unique new restaurant that embodies the theme of indigenous cooking in a modern setting. The menu blends international cooking with indigenous ingredients, with items such as salmon wildfire terrine with desert limes and crème fraiche, or kangaroo fillet with rosella flower jus - view the menu here.While boasting the innovative menu, the restaurant employs up to 32 apprentices and trainees, who are mainly of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island descent. The social enterprise aims to help disadvantaged young people ...
Finally, I’ve eaten at St Jude’s Cellar. It has been in my mind since stumbling upon it on a lonely St Patricks day and spending my last $20 on fine wine, not Guinness. I’ve since been back, for wine and cocktails, to sit at the bar, to taste their wine, and even to just gaze at the interior design but never for food – how I’ve been missing out. The wine list is great. They have a great range of wines by the glass, varying not only in style but also price and a massive by the bottle, walk in wine list with ...
Exhibition dates: 9th October – 13th December 2009 . . . Simryn Gill ‘Forest #5′ 1998 . . Simryn Gill ‘Forest #13′ 1998 . . Simryn Gill ‘Untitled’ from the Forest series 1996 . . Simryn Gill ‘Untitled’ from the Forest series 1996 . . This is a strange survey exhibition of photographs by Malaysian-born Australian artist Simryn Gill at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne – photographs that form distinctive bodies of work that support the artist’s other conversations in art but do not form the main backbone to her practice. Perhaps this is part of the problem and part of the beauty of the work. While the work investigates the concepts of presence and absence, space, place and identity ...
Bebida (325 Smith Street), the Fitzroy Tapas bar and cafe is the home of one of my favourite Melbourne meals. Luckily (for them) I am not reviewing their dinner/tapas menu – please don’t call it tapas when you obviously cannot master the Spanish cuisine- but their breakfast. More so, their piece de la resistance – Huevos con Jamon. A breakfast so perfect that I honestly cannot tell you anything about the other items on the menu; haven’t ordered anything else, and (if I don’t develop an allergy against prosciutto, or god help me – eggs) I probably never will. Just say the words; Huevos ...
Exhibition dates: 7th August – 27th September 2009 . All images by Clare Rae from the series ‘Climbing the Walls and Other Actions’ 2009. Many thankx to Clare for allowing me to publish them. . . . . “To withdraw into one’s corner is undoubtedly a meager expression. But despite its meagerness, it has numerous images, some, perhaps, of great antiquity, images that are psychologically primitive. At times, the simpler the image, the vaster the dreams.” Gaston Bachelard.1 . Usually I am not a great fan of ‘faceless’ photography as I call it but this series of work, ‘Climbing the Walls and Other Actions’ (2009) by the artist Clare Rae is ...
Exhibition dates: 7th August – 27th September 2009 . . Tracey Moffat ‘First Jobs, Fruit Market’ 1975 . . Tracey Moffat ‘First Jobs, Housekeeper’ 1975 . . Tracey Moffat ‘First Jobs, Store Clerk’ 1975 . . There are some wonderful bodies of photographic work on show around Melbourne at the moment and this is one of them. Featuring twelve archival pigment on rice paper with gel medium prints, Tracey Moffatt’s series ‘First Jobs’ (2008) is a knockout. Images of the artist are inserted into found photographs which are then ‘hand coloured’ (like old postcards) in Photoshop. Moffatt’s series conceptualises the early jobs that she had to do to survive – investigating the banality of the jobs, the value of friendships that ...
Wabi Sabi Salon94 Smith Street Collingwood VIC 3066 ph: 9417 6119Oh my god!My housemate Dan raved about Wabi Sabi and I'd walked past, slowing curiously as I walked by, a million times, but until last night - I had never actually been there! I am so glad I did though because it really was delicious.I've gotten into the habit lately of checking reviews prior to going to a restaurant. This is what I did before going to Wabi Sabi. I was suprised, however, to find that the three or four reviews that I skimmed through centred on the 'ambience' and ...
Last night ABC News reported the opening of Mission Australia's social enterprise cafe, Charcoal Lane in Fitzroy, Melbourne. For ABC's News coverage, follow this linkRead the related news article at ABC's Indigenous News page
Not Me - the new restaurant on Smith Street silly!Where Level 2, 231Smith Street, Fitzroy. 94196624.Prices entrees $3.80-$7.80; mains $10-$15.Cash onlyFully licensedOpen Thu-Sun 5.30pm-10pm. Bar licensed until later.Photo: The Age Epicure onlineYou know I'd been looking forward to trying Rice Queen out for quite a while, it opened up on the first floor under Panama Lounge. The guys who set up Rice Queen also set up Panama Lounge and St Jude's cellar on Brunswick Street. Panama is a bit pricey for me and apparently St. Jude's isn't really vegie friendly. But I was desperate (especially after reading reviews) to try ...
Julio171 Miller St, Fitzroy NorthI'd never even heard of Julio before I was escorted there for a mid-week lunch with my friend S — I think that officially makes me unhip. It was tiny and quiet and had a menu that appealed to my love of all things carbohydrate. I was almost swayed by the pancake special or the Romeo & Juliet (white cheese and guava paste on sourdough) but I ended up going the vego sandwich path. Oh my. Someone must have informed the kitchen about my love of goats cheese. This sandwich was pretty much everything I love ...
Where else can you order bottles of Parker 2003 Cabernet for $49 a bottle? Griff’s wine pub has been quietly feeding the faithful for almost two years under it’s latest guise (let’s all try to forget about the Purple Turtle shall we?). On the corner of Johnston and Napier streets in Fitzroy, it’s a stylish and comfy kind of place, with a front bar it can be hard to more on from, even when you’re only moving as far as the stained glass accented dining room, or the conservatory. I love the feel of Griff’s, the smart cosy feeling, and the real ...
A lazy Saturday morning beckoned, and a trip to The Commoner seemed to be the order of the day, but alas, when we arrived the door was firmly shut. A quick scan through the mental rolodex of places I’ve always meant to get to, but haven’t - Birdman Eating. It’s not far away, the parking gods are on our side and we are quickly contemplating the menu. Breakfast is good here – it’s an art and they take it quite seriously. The Baked Eggs change regularly and we watch a lot of them come out of the kitchen. But today, my thoughts leap to melty cheesy ...
Previously known as The Bar with No Name and for whatever reason it now has a name. Libation’s definition is The pouring of a drink offering as a religious ritual, fitting for an establishment which brings high quality drinks down from their pedestal. Its decor is understated and elegant with antique style furnishings and a great view out onto the busy corner of Johnson and Brunswick St or a back room if a little privacy or intimacy is more to your liking. The selection of booze is everything you would expect for any high calibre cocktail bar in Melbourne. The ...
