Monthly Archives: June 2015

Carlton ‘que

Leave a comment

blue1

 

Bluebonnet Barbecue @ The John Curtain, 29 Lygon Street, Carlton. Phone: 9972 1815

Driving to Carlton for an impromptu feed, Bennie and I talk about our barbecue adventures.

We love the food genre but generally tend to get gleefully lost among the many other offerings in the west, some of which often have elements that are barbecue of a sort by nationalities other than American.

Nevertheless, over the past year or so – and without having agenda to do so – we’ve knocked off, and overwhelmingly enjoyed, many of Melbourne’s BBQ hot spots.

See posts here, here, here, here and here.

Tonight it’s our turn at Bluebonnet Barbecue, which is operating out of Carlton’s John Curtain pub on account of fire damage to the BBQ business’ Collingwood digs.

 

blue2

 

The trade union history of the pub seems to have been wholly overtaken by inner-city hipster grungedom in the form of posters spruiking upstairs gigs, gloom, old floorboards and carpet that is metaphorically sticky even if it isn’t physically so.

We grab a seat near the kitchen – we’re super impressed that there’s a paper towel roll on each table!

We splurge a bit, eat well but don’t push it to gluttony levels.

We find the pricing and food quality akin to several of the other Melbourne BBQ places we’ve tried.

In another words, it’s a darn good feed.

 

blue3

 

Pork baby back ribs (200 grams, $19) and Riverina black angus brisket (200 grams, $22) are both quite fatty but very well cooked and delicious with great flavour.

Our order provides us both a hefty slab of each of the meats.

We ignore the hot sauces on hand and make happy with judicious dabbings of the very good house BBQ sauce.

If anything, though, it’s the sides that are the real stars of our meal.

Too often we’ve found the obligatory slaw at Melbourne’s BBQ places too tricky and trying way too hard.

The Bluebonnet slaw ($8) does wonderful by keeping it simple.

In fact, the mustard seeds in the dressing aside, this could almost pass for the sort of east European cabbage salad served at places such as this one.

Greens in the southern style ($6) – cooked down with chunks of ham hock – are just as fine and have lip-smacking flavour.

We love the fact we’ve been able to have an effortless in-and-out feed here – BBQ should be so casual.

We even got a park right outside the pub!

Check out the Bluebonnet Barbecue website, including menu, here.

Santorini/West Welcome Wagon/CTS benefit – the wrap

2 Comments

www5

 

The fundraiser night for West Welcome Wagon hosted by Santorini Greek restaurant in Williamstown and Consider The Sauce was a hoot and a wonderful success.

Many, many thanks to Craig and the Santorini crew for making us so welcome and filling us up with so much fantastic food!

After subtracting booking fees and a very generous per person fee for food, West Welcome Wagon will be getting just a tad under $1000.

 

www7

 

Some very generous bidders on our three auction lots put another $500 or so in the kitty.

So all up, West Welcome Wagon will get more than $1400 to help continue its amazing work with asylum seekers in the western suburbs.

 

www9

 

So thanks, too, to Santorini (again!), La Morenita/Latin Foods & Wines and Brother Nancy for their generosity in terms of auction goodies.

 

www10

 

And a final big “thank you” to all who supported this event!

We’re already discussing the next one.

 

www1

www3

www4

www8

www2

 

Real Italian – $12

5 Comments
river6

 

Riverside Kitchen & Events, 55 Newsom Street, Ascot Vale. Phone: 9326 0525

The longer Consider The Sauce lives in the west, the more delightful are surprises we stumble upon of people and places that have been there all along.

Like Medway Golf Club, Riverside Golf and Tennis Club is tucked away beside the Maribyrnong River in a way that seems almost designed to evade casual discovery.

Even better – much, much better – the catering and food affairs at Riverside go way beyond what may be expected at a golf club.

I’m told that for at least a couple of years, Riverside Kitchen & Events has been running here, delivering the food and service of a traditional, old-school Italian restaurant.

You can check out the full Riverside menu here but tonight the four of us are here to take the place for a spin in the form of the Tuesday’s $12 pizza and pasta specials (see menu below).

 

river7

 

The place does has an attractive clubbishness that is not unexpected – it’s a cool place to spend some time and must be a true delight for a sunny summer lunch or early evening weekend dinner.

On a “research” visit a few days previously, I’d spied house-made zippoli, tiramisu and canoli!

The $12 Tuesday menu is a restricted selection of the menu proper’s pizza and pasta line-up – no surprise the five of each evince no presence of seafood, but that’s fine by us.

The food we enjoy is the real deal and of much better quality than we’d find at a similarly priced theme night at, say, a pokie venue or the like.

 

river4

 

Only one of we four goes for a pizza.

The Frank Special has mushies, bacon, basil, tomato and mozzarella.

At first we cynically start to think the pie is adorned with the dreaded “pizza ham” – but no, this is real bacon and it makes all the difference.

This is a good pizza, period.

For $12, it’s terrific.

 

river3

 

My fettuccine alla bolognese is simple but very enjoyable.

The rich sauce appears to have been made with real meat rather than brought-in mince and the noodles have the sort of suppleness that speaks of made-in-the-kitchen pasta.

We’re assured that all the Riverside pasta is created thusly!

 

river2

 

The pasta that comes with the spaghetti al cartoccio is likewise of fine quality.

The parcel’s contents are alive with the flavours of capers, garlic and olives.

This dish tastes and eats a whole lot better than it photographs.

And, as with all three of our pasta choices, the portion size is big.

 

river8

 

Bennie’s gnocchi piccanti has good but quite heavy pasta pillows bathing in a rich tomato sauce with chilli and hot salami.

He’s a little underwhelmed but it tastes fine to me and is quite spicy.

 

river1

Meal of the week No.15: Phat Milk

Leave a comment

phat21

 

CTS checks out the new F&C place in Moonee Ponds.

It’s lunch-time packed.

Worse, there is no provision for communal seating or solo diners – pure folly.

Nothing else in the Ponds appeals so I head on down to Phat Milk (208 Mt Alexander Road) – my first visit since a very enjoyable CTS Feast.

Returning here proves to be a masterstroke of luck.

I’ve a hankering for the burger I’m told they’re now doing but Sean tells me the last one is being eaten as we speak.

This, too, proves fortunate for me – as I now dive into on the Middle Eastern aspects of the menu and emerge an outright winner.

Lamb fatteh ($14) is outstanding.

There’s eggplant there in that lamb mince but it’s overwhelmed.

And the dish is on the monochrome side.

But gosh it eats like a dream and I mop every last bit.

Importantly for such a dish, the proportion of minted yogurt and wonderful pita chips to lamb is bang-on perfect.

Phat Milk is such a cool place – a cafe that always has surprising Middle Eastern slants on a menu that appears to be refreshed regularly.

And the coffee is always perfect.

See earlier story here.

West Welcome Wagon party – auction goodies

Leave a comment

auction2

The Brother Nancy team gives a cheery thumbs-up to being part of the fun!

 

There’s about a week and half until the West Welcome Wagon/Santorini/CTS Greek fundraising feast in Williamstown.

We have about 10 tickets left – if you’re thinking about attending, and we really, really want you to, I suggest you get your skates on.

For booking information, go here.

In the meantime, a couple of generous businesses have donated goodies for a simple, two-pronged auction on the night I hope will raise even more moolah for West Welcome Wagon.

Brother Nancy in West Footscray – see Erika’s story here and mine here – has donated lunch for two to the value of $50.

We reckon that should see a pair of you right for a cool drink, a main meal and a hot drink.

 

auction1

 

As well, Maria and Marco of La Morenita/Latin Foods & Wines have donated a lovely half-dozen bottle of primo South American wine.

Meal of the week No.14: Curry Leaves

1 Comment

leaves21

 

Headed for St Albans with no particular joint or genre in mind for Sunday lunch, I pass a Curry Leaves (463 Ballarat Road, Sunshine) that is full of happy activity so I double back, park and proceed.

It’s busy – a heap of people in the kitchen and even more in the dining room, including one big party of about 30.

I’m told that, among other things, they’ll all be getting lamprais.

I’ve aborted my further west travel plans with just one plan in mind – to have the same kind of biryani I spied another customer having when I dropped in for a mid-week dinner earlier in the week.

This is the first Sri Lankan biryani I’ve had – and I simply love the fact that it’s recognisably the same dish I’ve had countless times at Indian restaurants in the west yet also one that displays marked differences.

The rice is a deeper yellow-going-brown that is studded with onion slices and curry leaves.

The lamb – unlike the on-the-bone version I’ve had almost without exception in Indian eateries – is boneless and cubed.

It is, however, very, very well done – though not to such an extent it affects my enjoyment.

The raita is much creamier than I am used to and packed with finely diced vege (I’m guessing – capsicum, onion, cucumber and, maybe, tomato).

The eggplant moju is a sweet alternative to the usual tart pickle.

The whole boiled egg has been given a grizzled exterior.

This a ripper dish for $12.95.

See earlier story here.

The chook rules

Leave a comment

katie1

 

Miss Katie’s at Rochester Hotel, 202 Johnston Street, Fitzroy. Phone: 9419 0166

Approaching the Rochester Hotel, my mind is full of dark thoughts.

When Consider The Sauce hit Miss Katie’s Crab Shack in its previous carnation in North Melbourne, the pervasive gloom wasn’t just a hindrance to photography – it also lessened the enjoyment of our food.

It was bit a like a food version of Dating In The Dark.

My heart sinks when I enter the bar area of the Rochester – it, too, is gloomy.

Exploring a bit further, my mood lightens when I discover the dining room “out the back” is considerably brighter.

 

katie10

 

My spirits veritably soar when I receive my bloody mary ($18) as I await my friends.

It’s sensational, delicious and worth every cent of the admission price.

 

katie3

 

Off we happily troop to the dining room to sort out or collective order.

We go two starters, two star-attraction mains and one light, vegetarian option.

 

katie9

 

Deep-dried pickles are, initially, a surprise as I have been expecting the heavily battered discs I’ve had in New Orleans.

But these lightly-battered spears are very good.

It seems as if the cooking process has lessened the vinegar factor, as they’re mild of sourness.

 

katie8

 

Crab dip is, well, very crabby.

And also very rich and yummy.

The accompanying bits and pieces -including biscuits that are more like cookies – fall a little short, however, of being substantial enough to handle all the pot of dip.

 

katie7

 

I go the seafood boil.

The basic price of $25 includes a blue swimmer crab, kransky pieces, chat spuds and corn.

From there, more crab – or oysters, clams, mussels or prawns – can be added for extra $.

I go with oysters for $10.

I get only three, bathing in seasoned butter, but they’re fabulous.

The hot-dog-style kransky pieces are a highlight.

I have a splendid time extracting sweet, delicate crab meat.

But here’s the rub – despite the high quality of its individual components, my dish is lacking a knockout punch.

I suspect that could only be had, under current arrangements, by adding a lot of extra seafood that would make it prohibitively pricey.

Which means …

 

katie5

 

 

… we reckon Miss Katie’s fried chicken ($24), which comes with either mash or waffles, is this establishment’s outstanding dish – and excellent value.

Yes, in a crab shack.

It’s a good thing, then, that one of my companions orders it.

It’s an even better thing that it is so very, very good and such a substantial portion that we all have a good taste.

The coating is light but wonderfully seasoned and the meat itself is perfect.

Could this be Melbourne’s fried chook champ? Or, more accurately, Melbourne’s non-Korean chook champ?

 

katie6

 

My other pal’s hasselback potatoes with jack cheese and slaw ($15) do the trick for him, though I suspect he’s very appreciative of the couple of chicken pieces that come his way.

 

katie4

 

Our finale – banana split ($12) – is enjoyable though a bit rich price-wise for an American-style fantasia that is little more than fluff.

Sunshine eats goss

2 Comments

sungoss5

 

Regular readers will readily understand that as part of the Consider The Sauce ethos, one of the reasons for our deep love for La Morenita/Latins Foods & Wines in Sunshine – apart from the food and the people! – is that it is in a setting about as far removed from a hipster cafe/food “precinct” as it is possible to get.

Still, we’ve often felt the Berkshire shopping strip of which it is part could do with a bit more livelieness and food.

Well, that will soon be happening.

To the left of La Morenita, Whad (that’s him on the right in the above photograph) and his pals are busy preparing their Afghan joint, which will be known as Berkshire Cafe.

They’ll be doing skewered meats over a charcoal grill, other kebabs and “tandoori chips”.

 

sungoss2

 

To right of La Morenita, the premises that housed the short-lived El Parron restaurant has been leased to the people behind Roti Ria, currently situated in Sunshine Plaza.

They expect to be installed and up and running a bit more than a month.

 

sungoss1

Tomato rice in Footscray

Leave a comment

thien2

 

Thien An, 32 Irving Street, Footscray. Phone: 9687 0398

Bennie’s dining desires are frequently over-ridden by more pressing imperatives in terms of Consider The Sauce.

He always takes this with good grace and a sense of adventure.

This Saturday, however, with his chores satisfactorily and even cheerfully done, I agree to humour his oft-stated plea: “I want tomato rice!”

Off we go, navigating the twists and turns that take us to the top of the Footscray market building.

We take in the amazing views and then head to Thien An.

In its previous carnation, across the road in much smaller premises in a row of now-demolished shopfronts, we once were regulars.

I ask Bennie if remembers those visits.

Nope.

There’s two kinds of tomato rice, we discover – the regular and one on the “Chef Recommended” list (see below).

 

thien4

 

He goes for the latter ($11), which is a bit of twist on the usual, featuring beef ribs instead of cubed beef.

It’s a very good example of his heart’s desire.

The meat comes away from the bones easily and is a little bit more chewy than the typical melt-in-your-mouth beef served with tomato rice.

The rice is fine, there’s seasoned salt and those yummy, lightly pickled vegetables such as cabbage and carrot.

It’s a winner.

 

thien3

 

My own rice vermicelli with grilled pork northern style ($13) is good, too, though not as explosively so as a similar dish served at Xuan Banh Cuon in Sunshine.

This one has no dipping sauce accompanying and the mix of pork slices and meatballs are bathing in a sort of broth/soup.

Still, with the assistance of much greenery – including regular mint – it does go down a treat.

Thien An is, it appears, still a good, reliable in Footscray institution – and certainly has one of one of the lovelier dining rooms around here when it comes to Vietnamese eateries.

 

thien5

thien1

Littlefoot tastes great

Leave a comment

lf8

 

Littlefoot, 223 Barkly Street, Footscray. Phone: 9396 1282

Consider The Sauce’s gaze was largely elsewhere as Littlefoot was coming together

So it was long after it opened that a happy bunch of CTS regulars hit it after going Indo-Chinese up the road apiece.

We were there only briefly, for post-dinner drinkies and dessert.

But one of those desserts – a foundation menu listing – was so brilliant we vowed to return to take the whole menu for a spin.

In the meantime, yours truly was at Littlefoot for the Letters To The West event that was part of the Emerging Writers Festival.

And a fine night it was, too, with me playing catch-up in terms of just what a very cool additional piece is Littlefoot in the Footscray/inner west scene/jigsaw puzzle.

So it is that the following week the exact same crew of six plus two more great CTS pals front up for a mid-week dinner.

 

lf1

 

It’s been a chillingly cold day so Littlefoot is almost empty when we arrive.

Thankfully, a more cheery bar vibe evolves as our meal progresses.

The round front table is ours for the night and proves precisely right for the eight of us.

I’d been a little concerned about effective photography but the light proves OK.

Littlefoot really is a fine place to spend time with friends and conversation – with or without food.

I’d thought that with a table of eight we’d pretty much try everything on offer food-wise.

As one of our party enthusiastically quipped when Littlefoot plans were afoot: “Eat everything!!!”

But as it turns out, our collective eyes are drawn to specific menu items at the expense of others, though we try quite a bit.

It’s all good, better than good or really good.

 

lf10

 

Yep – pork rind chips ($3.50) look just like the trash food that comes from convenience store plastic bags; but they taste way better.

Perhaps it’s for the best that our single bowl provides each of just a nibble or two before we move on to things more robust and (ostensibly) healthy!

 

lf7

 

Fried chicken spare ribs ($10) with crunchy crumbs and wasabi mayo are terrific.

The coating really is crunchy, but also grease-free.

The ribs are suitably meaty and flavoursome and the wasabi mayo a true delight as a foil.

 

lf6

 

The chips with beer cheese ($12.50) are fine but it seems I’m the only one unwowed by the beer cheese dip.

I don’t find it to be a bad taste – it simply doesn’t turn me on.

(Going by this wikipedia entry, that I don’t find beer cheese a winner seems surprising – no matter; in this matter, at Littlefoot, I am a minority of one amid a table of eight …)

 

lf5

 

Several serves of both versions of banh “mini” ($5.50) –  teriyaki tofu and BBQ braised beef – are ordered.

They’re as fresh and tasty as could be desired.

One devil’s advocate wag points out that they are both smaller and more expensive than the regular banh mi to be had just a block away at Nhu Lan and other outlets.

To which my immediate thought is: “Meh … this is a bar …”

 

lf4

 

Slow-cooked kangaroo on Ethiopian bean ful, topped with hemp seed dukkah ($18) is another outright winner and good value for money given the generous size of the portions.

The photograph here shows the big chunks of roo meat broken up – very tender and toothsome!

The bean mix is a cool blend that reminds me of chilli con carne.

That’s fine by me – Littlefoot’s aim is to embrace and celebrate the surrounding food cultures, not replicate them; best to leave notions of authenticity at the door.

Rolls of injera and excellent greenery complete a fine dish.

I suspect that when it comes to a “main course” concept at Littlefoot, this roo dish is it – there is only one item that costs more, the $25 tasting board.

 

 

lf3

 

We are presented a duck pizza by the management, an on-the-house gesture that is appreciated.

By this time we’re all getting fullish so it’s just right that there’s a pizza slice each to appreciate.

It’s good, the meaty duck complemented by nice crunchy things.

 

lf2

 

Dessert time!

And once more, we inhale enjoy the injera and hazelnut chocolate pinwheels with creamy coconut dipping sauce ($9.50) had on our earlier visit.

What a superb and utterly delicious piece of imagination is this, perfectly encapsulating the Littlefoot food philosophy.

The sourness of the injera does a sexy tango with the sweetness of the hazelnut/chocolate, this time even more ooozy and plentiful, all of it lubricated by the coconut sauce.

Totally Yum.

Sign up to the Littlefoot Facebook page, which is regularly updated with forthcoming events, musical and otherwise.

 

lf9

Meal of the week No.13: A1 Essendon

Leave a comment

a1ess31

 

Bit by bit, more Lebaneese food and related Middle Eastern goodies have become available in Melbourne’s inner west.

But that doesn’t mean it’s no longer worth a short drive to Essendon for a visit to A1 Bakery (18 Napier Street).

It most certainly is.

I’m sure the pies and pizzas remain the mainstay of this place, but as ever I am irresistably drawn to the glass display cabinet of “mum made it” brilliance.

I have a fabulous smallish plate custom made.

Excellent kibbeh and stuffed vine leaf.

Warmed, incredibly fresh za’atar.

A big dollop of baba ganoush packed with smoky flavour.

And – best of all – zingy, damp, utterly perfect tabouli.

It’s an incredible lunch, the charge for which is $10.

 

 

Super Sri Lankan in Sunshine

11 Comments

leaves1

 

Curry Leaves, 463 Ballarat Road, Sunshine. Phone: 8528 3876

Given the number of budget-priced eateries Consider The Sauce tries, it’s hardly surprising that when it comes to rotis we sometimes get less than what we hope for.

Specifically, it’s sometimes plain that the rotis we get are store-bought.

When they’re otherwise – when they’re made fresh and in-house – our delight is all the more.

That’s what we get at Curry Leaves, a newish Sri Lankan restaurant in Sunshine.

The outstanding rotis are just one of several high points of a tremendous meal.

 

leaves5

 

Curry Leaves is a nicely appointed eatery right on Ballarat Road and right next door to a discount grocery outfit.

It’s a pleasant space to be in on a cold night, waiting as the traffic whizzes by.

It’s not often we eat in an establishment that uses real linen serviettes – especially not at the prices we’re about to pay.

We’re told that later in the week and at the weekend, when there is a buffet available, the place is “packed”.

Early in the week, we’re the only eat-in customers but there’s steady takeaway business coming and going.

There’s much to ponder in the longish menu – what we share between Bennie and I is just a beginning, we reckon, of our relationship with Curry Leaves.

 

leaves3

 

Our fabulous rotis come as part of the special roti meal ($11.90) that includes two “godamba roti”, one “egg godamba roti”, dal and beef curry.

The rotis really are fabulous – big, not too oily, fluffy and chewy, and the perfect foil for the wet dishes.

The dal is simple and delicious – mildly spiced, sweetish.

The curry is spicier by quite a bit but the meat itself is very good and tender.

 

leaves2

 

Our other board serving is the string hopper meal deal ($12.90) of string hoppers, beef curry, the same dal and pol (coconut sambol).

The string hoppers are super fresh and dainty, and splendid for soaking up the gravy juices.

As instructed, we use our right hands to mix and mop the curry and dal and coconut sambol, doing the best we can based on our greater experience with injera.

We get messy but have an all-round, lip-smacking good time.

As we’d ordered chicken but got beef by mistake, a serve of chicken curry is also brought.

The string hopper meal deal, BTW, is topped price-wise on the menu only by the banana leaf-wrapped lamprais ($14.90), which we only bypass on account of the listed 30-minute wait.

Next time!

We’ve had string hoppers before but not often – all the rest is familiar from hundreds of meals.

It’s simply that these – the string hoppers, the rotis, the curries and dal – are way better than most similar food we eat.

The meats and other ingredients are better quality, the dishes fresher and the simple seasoning more vibrant.

Dosas go (further) west

Leave a comment

hut1

 

Dosa Hut, Wyndham Village Shopping Centre, 380 Sayers Road, Tarneit. Phone: 8742 4263

Dosa Hut in West Footscray has become an institution.

So much so that even the recent appearance of an upstart imitator right across the road has caused not a blip in Dosa Hut’s business.

But it should always be gratefully remembered that it was Dosa Hut that brought dosas – and related foods such as idlis and vadas – to Melbourne’s west.

Those introductions have wrought a revolution.

These days, it’s very rare to find an Indian restaurant on West Footscray’s Barkly Street Indian precinct – or Werribee’s equally busy Watton Street – that doesn’t sell dosas and the like.

As well, most who do so are these days also selling biryanis, Indo-Chinese dishes and even breakfast/snack dishes such as bhel puri and cholle bhature.

And they are often doing so without having on their menus once-were-staples such as beef vindaloo or butter chicken.

All this has been great for us punters – we’ve got more variety of Indian food in the west at lower prices than is normally the case in more formal a la carte joints.

It can even be argued that much of this new wave of Indian food is healthier!

 

hut2

 

But as we’ve been chowing down on our inner-west dosas, the western suburbs themselves have been expanding at a frenetic pace.

And in the new housing wilds of Tarneit and Truganina, there has been little or no Indian food to be had – until now.

I suspect the opening of a Dosa Hut branch at Wyndham Village Shopping Centre is a masterstroke – one that is soon to followed by another branch at Roxburgh Park.

The new Tarneit establishment has more obvious similarities to a fast-food place than its West Footscray sibling – the young and efficient staff are even decked out in uniform black, including caps, and the ordering process is conducted via tablets.

But as far as we can tell, the long menu is the same.

There’s enough that’s recognisable about our surroundings that we relax but we nevertheless stick to a couple of old stagers to share – just to make sure the food here is of the same high standard as closer to home.

As we fully expect it to be …

 

hut3

 

Masala dosa ($9.50) – with the crisp, fermented rice and black lentil crepe stuffed with spuds – is the default position when it comes to dosas; not as bare or unadorned as a plain dosa, not as rich as those stuffed with lamb, chicken or cheese.

This is a fine version with all the accoutrements lined up, including a very fine sambar (a soupish, curry mix of dal and vegetables), though the potato masala is bit more dry and crumbly than we are familiar with.

 

hut5

 

Chicken biryani ($11.95) looks a little on the plain, unseasoned side as it is brought to our table.

 

hut4

 

But spilling the rice, profusely studded with cloves and cardamom pods, on to our metal tray reveals a much wetter and more highly flavoured mixture.

Buried among it are a chook drumstick and a meaty thigh, both good of flavour.

The peanutty gravy and runny raita are the usual, expected and enjoyable accessories.

Just one, final word of warning – not all the food at the likes of a Dosa Hut is highly spiced and hot.

But most of it is – if you’re not used to very hot food, or who have children who are likewise, ask the staff for safe tips.