We had a show to go to and wanted a light meal, not an extended fine dining experience in the rear dining room, so we chose to sit in the front bar (which is not much changed from the Griff’s days) and order from the bar menu.…

My dinner companion had wonderful tender dukkah coated calamari and warm potato salad (below, $9), while I had a piping hot and very tasty kangaroo pie with sensationally buttery sauerkraut (above, $10).…

The garlic prawns were quite good (but a little dry or overcooked – perhaps they were frozen, not fresh) and featured lots of chilli.…

I return now to regular scheduling. First, I  tried one of the house specialties: smoked eel, eel pâté and beetroot relish with rye crispbread (below).…

The photos above and below show the sunny front room overlooking Smith St.…

I ordered two tapas plates – sardines and croquettes. The sardines were large, plump and delicious with pine nuts, currents, onion and lemon.…

Beginning today and continuing for several weeks, I am going to trial posting twice a day. Since the start of 2008 I have been posting daily, whereas previously I was posting on average 3-4 articles a week. I have such a backlog of content that it may lose its value if it is delayed further.

St Jude’s Cellars on Brunswick St has been open for some time now and I have finally eaten there. I’ve been interested in whether the restaurant would work, as previous cafes in the same building have not worked.…

The former Ume Nomiya space on Gertrude St became Añada at the start of the year, it filled immediately with customers, and some vigorous discussion erupted in the comments of the Tomato blog about their food. After two failed short notice attempts to get in I thought I’d let some time pass for Añada to fix any early problems before I tried it, which I did recently with some visiting Perth friends.

Añada has received mostly positive reviews and I agree with the Age, Tomato and Sookylala that its food is fantastic.…

Living in Fitzroy is mostly a pleasure and a privilege. It’s easy to live without a car (though my motorbike is convenient as well as a hobby, and zipping to nearby places in congested traffic like the Corner Hotel or the East Brunswick Club is easy) as you can walk or get a tram, and there are many affordable places to eat.

One of the unique charms of Fitzroy restaurants is Houndstooth, which is a cosy bistro on Johnston St with incredibly cheap meals that are amazing value for money because they are so much better than they should be for the price.…

After much anticipation from the Fitzroy and Melbourne beer drinking communities the Little Creatures Dining Hall finally opened on Thursday 3 July 2008 on Brunswick St. I went to try it the next night, and according to staff, they have been overwhelmed by the response. I was informed that on opening night they served over 250 meals and they expected to do as many again on the Friday night when I was there. With that kind of performance they should be profitable sooner than they expected.…

Ink seafood restaurant (single page site only, no menus Update 24 July 2008 – Ink now have a beautiful looking website with menus) is located on the corner of Alexandra Parade and Rae St in the southern border of North Fitzroy. Alexandra Parade divides Fitzroy and North Fitzroy and is not the greatest location for a restaurant – several lanes of constant traffic, no other entertainment venues on the same block and little passing foot traffic compared to Brunswick St or St George’s Rd.…

A few days ago I finally ate at Red Rice, a Vietnamese restaurant with a modern twist on Brunswick St. I’m glad I did – the meal was sensational – and I feel bad that it had taken me so long to try it, because I had accidently denied myself their wonderful food!

The signature dish is the bright red rice (unfortunately I did not have my camera with me), which is achieved with the use of annatto seeds.…

There was much consernation amongst my friends with the demise of the orignal Builders Arms back room, complete with soggy carpet and disco ball. Daggy dancing is being pushed aside for yuppie dining in many inner city premises. It’s taken me some time to try the new fine dining room, but I finally made a booking last Friday night.

The interior is all retro futuristic late 1960s 2001 A Space Odyssey combined with large prints of punk chickens.…

Next we received the Atlantic Salmon Sashimi, which was slightly seared on one side. Delicious.

The potato salad was the best looking dish (thought the Gobo does look amazing). It contains cucumber and is presented like icecream.…

I’ve been planning to eat at The Commoner since it opened and last week I finally got there with my hungry girlfriend. We wanted to eat! We started with the Boccarones (Marinated White Anchovies) on Crostini with Roasted Red Pepper and Aioli. Sublime.

The Commoner is small, cosy and intimate. The decor is cute and eclectic. The artwork is cool. There’s stuff to look at while you wait for your food to arrive.

For a main I had the Potato Cake Stuffed with Lamb and Pine Nuts with a Warm, Smoky Eggplant Salad.…