Fitzroyalty

Hyperlocal news about Melbourne's first suburb: Fitzroy 3065

Archive for the category: Melbourne suburbs

social media mob rule and the Astor cinema building public relations war

17 May 2013 | 15 Comments

This post is about the circumstances that resulted in a school buying, then unexpectedly selling, a cinema building within a few years, with the sale apparently driven primarily by negative public opinion expressed through social media. Like my previous posts about the business and psychology of social media, this one examines the power of social media and the perils faced by those who ignore it.

As usual, there is a disclaimer. I was working at St Michael’s Grammar School when the Astor saga occurred, developing its new website, and it would have been a conflict of interest for me to write about it at the time. …

lunch at Masak Masak, Smith St Collingwood

2 May 2013 | 0 comments

Masak Masak is a new casual Malaysian eatery on Smith St in a space where a couple of generic cafes have previously failed. In reinvigorating the space and changing its use I think it will do well, because there’s been nothing else like in the area since the closure of Roundhouse Roti a few years ago.

I had beef rendang with roti canai and my friend had soy braised pork with rice. The rendang was fantastic but the roti was a little dry, and my friend said her pork was very good.…

Marmalade and Soul in North Fitzroy has closed

8 April 2013 | 2 Comments

Thanks to regular reader David for alerting me to the fact that Marmalade and Soul on Queens Parade in North Fitzroy closed around the time of the Easter long weekend. It’s been open for little more than a year and seemed to be doing alright, but evidently not.

The redevelopment of the former pub into a restaurant and apartments has been a slow process with the apartments yet to be finished. It’s not clear if the closure of the restaurant is related to its profitability or to issues with the broader development of the whole building.…

complaining to Australia Post about the North Fitzroy post office

28 March 2013 | 8 Comments

The North Fitzroy post office is notorious for providing bad service, losing parcels and generally being the Fawlty Towers of post offices. You can read many complaints in reviews. But complaining about Australia Post in a Google page is of no concern to Australia Post – I doubt they’re trawling the internets and attempting to find consumer concerns to sooth away.

The customer service is now bad at most Australia Post outlets. As an organisation, they’re too busy undermining the wages of skilled staff and replacing them with unskilled contractors who never deliver parcels, who can’t sort letters and who dump mail that is obviously for other properties in your letterbox.…

lunch at 2 Bob on Queens Parade, North Fitzroy

21 March 2013 | 0 comments

This is the big breakfast at Two Bob cafe on Queens Parade North Fitzroy – toast, poached eggs, bacon, fried tomato, onion jam, wonderful pork and fennel sausages, mushrooms and a triangle of what they call rosti. Normally rosti is made with grated potato but this was a surprisingly light concoction, like the lightest fluffiest polenta, and was made with mashed potato.

The coffee is very good, or at least it is exactly as I like it: strong.…

lunch at Gypsy Hideout, High St Northcote

13 March 2013 | 0 comments

In between French films at the Westgarth on the weekend I enjoyed an amazing lunch at Gypsy Hideout. This is a lunch plate that is like a sample plate featuring items from the lunch menu, including stuffed vine leaves, meatballs, a stuffed tomato, baba ghanoush, feta and bread. The coffee is good too. I haven’t eaten there since my first visit and I’m releived to find it as good as it was then.

northcote food coffee …

fish dumplings for lunch at Shandong Mama in Midtown Arcade

28 February 2013 | 1 Comment

Sometimes it’s easy to follow the hype of a new place. I read about the fish dumplings at Shandong Mama and said to myself yes I want to try those. A bazillion food bloggers have already reviewed this new place but whatever, I’ll add to the chorus.

I was sad to discover when I went to find Shandong Mama in the Midtown arcade that it is located in the space previosuly occupied by one of my favourite 2011 lunchtime haunts, Laksa House, which I’d last eaten at sometime in the second half of 2012.…