Not too long before we noticed the assembling of a Jerry’s franchise branch in Kensington, our friend The Burger King dined at the Tullamarine shop.
His verdict?
He was and is dismissive.
More recently, another friend – for whom Kensington is neighbourhood territory – implied he and his had a much more satisfying time at the new place.
So I decided to find out for myself.
The Kensington jerry’s is a smallish operation, done out in typical fast-food franchise fashion.
The seating is limited and rudimentary.
I found the service to be good and the prices to be very low.
But there’s the rub – on the premise of “you get what you pay for”, your Jerry’s burger will most likely suffer by comparison with the more pricey likes of Grill’d and other ritzy burger places.
The range of sandwiches – and even salads – is very long (see below), ranging through beef, steak, pork, fish, vegetarian and breakfast items.
I went with the She Hot! burger with beef, bacon, cheese, red onion, Tabasco aioli, lettuce and jalapenos ($7.90) and a small serve of chips ($1.90).
My burger was just OK, and as hinted at above pretty much what you’d expect for cents under $8.
It wasn’t nearly as hot as the number of pepper slices included might suggest.
It was a sloppy meal, with the structural integrity lapsing totally by the end.
Worst of all, the meat patty was bereft of beefiness and redolent of sausage meat.
I wouldn’t go so far as draw a comparison with “pet food”, as one Urbanspoon contributor has done, but you get the picture …
The best part of my dinner were the chips, which were terrific and plentiful.
Zomato international operations director Pramod Rao, CTS and Zomato Melbourne community manager Pranav Singh.
As far as I’m aware, there are three kinds of users for restaurant website Urbanspoon.
For many, it is simply somewhere to go for information about places to eat – including details such as phone numbers and opening hours, but also very much including opinions good and bad.
A second group does all of the above but also contributes what are referred to as “diner reviews”.
The third group consists of food bloggers, who stories are listed and linked on the Urbanspoon website in exchange for carrying eatery-specific Urbanspoon dinkii.
For the first named of the above groups, the recent news that the American Urbanspoon had been bought by the Indian company Zomato is probably of only passing interest, and perhaps none at all.
By contrast, for the contributors of Urbanspoon “diner reviews” – and some, such as our friends Nat Stockley and MelbourneMiss are very active indeed – and the food bloggers, the Zomato transaction is very big news.
Like many blogs, CTS derives many visitors from its relationship with Urbanspoon.
That relationship sees bloggers going unpaid for the goodwill and stature they bring to Urbanspoon but the actual work requirements are minimal – simply cutting and pasting a bit of code and making sure the paragraph or sentence that appears with the Urbanspoon link is appropriate.
Should my relationship with Zomato – once Urbanspoon is integrated into it – become any more complex, time-consuming or problematic, I’d seriously have to consider cutting my ties.
It’d be a bugger to lose all those referrals, but the truth is the number who become regular CTS readers is probably quite small – so I’d do it, no problem.
And from all I’ve read, the existing Zomato operation so far has not utilised bloggers anywhere it operates in the world.
Thus for bloggers, the questions surrounding the Zomato buy-out are many.
So I was surprised and delighted even to get an invite from Zomato’s Melbourne community manager Pranav Sigh to meet for coffee and a chat.
(I am just one of quite a few Melbourne food bloggers they are in the process of meeting …)
This in itself is a big change – my technical or procedural issues with Urbanspoon over the years have been minor and dealt with well and quickly, but always via email with Urbanspoon staff in Seattle.
So people on the ground is a whole new ball game, with Pranav – he’s a Kiwi by the way, having been educated in CTS’ home town of Dunedin – being just one of hundreds of staff being hired by Zomato around the world to manage the transition and the ongoing relationships with bloggers and other contributors.
When I meet Pranav, he has with him Zomato international operations director Pramod Rao.
We have a good frank, discussion.
I am eager to make my point main points – that food bloggers and contributors around the world are feeling a distinct level of unease, and that Zomato would be foolish indeed to discard, meddle with or downgrade in any way the contributions these many people make and the goodwill and stature they lend to their employer.
I can only take what they tell me at face value, but for the record I find them both to be smart operators who are fully aware of the issues and eager to reassure me on every question I have – and hence their pro-active approach to getting out meeting the people concerned.
So …
Branding apart, there will be little or no change in terms of Zomato’s relationship with its contributors, including bloggers.
Links with food bloggers are very much seen by Zomato as an asset.
The various leaderboards will continue, although the exact methodology for determining them has yet to finalised.
Zomato’s Melbourne staff count stands at present at nine but will rise to about 30.
Zomato’s aim is to update the details, including menus, of each and every restaurant every three months.
However, contributors will still be able to “Add Restaurant”.
To much greater extent than Urbanspoon, Zomato will be “social”.
Indeed, what Pramod shows me on his phone looks very much like a “Facebook-for-foodies” and actually very exciting.
Urbanspoon generated income – such as it has been – through the likes of Google AdSense.
Zomato, by contrast, will hopefully derive income by taking a hyper-local approach to advertising.
This throws up a whole new set of questions for me …
“What if,” I ask Pramod, “a potential Melbourne advertiser is prepared to spend big bucks with Zomato – but only with proviso that existing negative reviews be removed or altered?”
Kuni’s, 56 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. Phone: 9663 7243
This particular foray to the CBD is about nothing more than spending Grandma’s money on a much-desired comic book.
Bennie’s accepts with good grace my point that perhaps a book or even an electronic game would be a better and more long-lasting present than a comic book – even if it is one that has won a Pulitzer Prize.
Accepts with good grace if note an entirely convincing display of agreement.
The first likely shop we enter does not have the desired item in stock, the second one does.
By the time we’ve made our way from Flinders Street Station to Spring Street, we’ve been up and down many laneways and in and out of many book and record shops just for the fun of it.
I’m somewhat amazed we’ve done so with me keeping my credit card in my wallet.
We stop for a coffee at Pelligrini’s and then it’s most certainly time for lunch.
Bennie loves Japanese food – particularly our local haunts Ebi and Ajitoya.
We both love them.
But as far as I am aware, he’s never dined in a swish CBD Japanese eatery.
Kuni’s seems to get mentioned less than some others when it comes to naming Melbourne’s more venerable Japanese restaurants.
As a one-time regular customer, I’m not sure why that is.
On the basis of our wonderful lunch, my affection for the place is only enhanced – the tranquil elegance, the service, the very good food and its pricing are a real kick.
We stick to the compact meals offered on the lunch list, Bennie’s selection pretty much a given considering his fascination for all things bento.
After slurping up his fine miso soup, he tucks with relish into his bento of the day ($19) of beef teriyaki, sashimi, tempura and some salady things.
It’s cost a few bucks more than a bento deal might in less storied and more cheap-eats style Japanese places, but the quality is there.
My own tempura lunch deal ($22) also begins with miso soup along with marinated bean sprouts and a beaut chawanmushi.
There’s not a lot of content in my savoury custard, but it’s so silky and sensual, I simply do not care.
My tempura offering is superb – as good as I’ve had, hot, ungreasy and featuring a wealth of vegetables and seafood.
In addition, I get spinach with a sesame dressing and some pickled zucchini.
What a simple and lovely lunch it’s been for two lads leg-weary from retail therapy!
Le Bon Ton, 51 Gipps Street, Collingwood. Phone: 9416 4341
Are regular readers discerning a trend here?
Yes, it seems we’re methodically – without actually meaning to – checking out Melbourne’s outlets for BBQ and other things to do with the American South.
This is driven largely by besottedness with that part of the world in general.
I’d have to say, after several tremendous meals, my skepticism about what is possible and available in Melbourne in this regard is evaporating; Le Bon Ton continues that trend.
Our pursuit of this food is driven, too, by the simple fact we love it to pieces.
In this case, “we” refers to an extended CTS “A” Team that numbers six and involves Bennie, myself and four great pals who also love getting on the fang.
We wish another “A” Team member, the fabulous Nat Stockley, who would fit like a glove into this happy aggregation, was with us!
Le Bon Ton is in a former pub in the back blocks of Collingwood.
It’s a big place rather extravagantly set up, with a lot of time – and no doubt money – spent on creating a Southern aura.
It works.
The place rambles just like some old-school New Orleans restaurant, with many rooms and a beaut outdoor dining area out back.
We figured arriving relatively early on a Friday night would see us right in terms of snagging a table.
We are wrong.
The place is jumping and packed.
No matter – after a brief cocktail-and-chat interlude that actually seems just right, we are seated and thereafter very well taken care of.
Most of our group went with the $49 banquet set-up just a few weeks previously at Meatmaiden, and ended up being happy with the results.
At Le Bon Ton, we baulk at their comparative offering of the Southern Pride deal for $59, not so much because of the cost but because we simply doubt our combined capacity to eat that much food.
So we go our own ways, ordering a couple of dishes to share and getting sandwiches and a meat offering based individual preferences.
This turns out to be a winning approach for us – and allows us scope to go with a couple of pies at the end of our meal.
The original inspiration for our Bon Ton outing was fried chicken.
Here it’s served as an entree of “Southern style buttermilk soaked tenders with cracked pepper white gravy” for $16.
We get two serves that allow us one piece apiece of very good, beautifully seasoned and coated chook.
Based on a recent visit here by two of our party, we also go the chili cheese fries ($15).
As all our food arrives pretty much at the same time, the photographic situation is intense so this rather blurry photograph is all I’ve got to show you of these delicious, decadent pimped-up spuds.
We get two orders of these, too. One would’ve done.
With the arrival of the brisket (half a pound of grain-fed Riverina Angus beef for $21) we wonder just how Melbourne’s BBQ emporiums who sell their smoked meats by weight go about maintaining consistent portion sizes.
Surely there’s not someone in the kitchen weighing up individual orders?
In this case, the serve seems very, wonderfully generous, so much so that the person whose meal it ostensibly is happily shares it with rest of the table.
Thanks, Eliza!
It’s very, very fine.
The Le Bon Ton cheeseburger of “150g Wagyu beef patty & crispy bacon w/ onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, spicy ketchup & aioli” comes with a price tag of $16 and disappears down the gob of its owner in a flash.
Two of us select the brisket sandwich of “pit smoked chopped brisket with damn good BBQ sauce & slaw” ($16) – and what a sloppy, tangy, spicy joy it is.
Mine certainly eats bigger than the photo seems to suggest.
The “debris” of meats and dressings that tumble from my sandwich are far from being the least of the pleasure had.
Through our BBQ explorations, Bennie has developed a profound fondness for pulled pork.
He devours the Le Bon Ton version – “pit-smoked pulled pork with white onion, jalapeno, sharp cheddar & special sauce” ($16) – with relish.
It, too, is bigger and more hearty than first appears to be the case.
With a view to dessert, the Pie Mistress in our midst goes for the lighter delights of Gulf-style crab cakes with streaky bacon, bell peppers, celery and Old Bay aioli ($16.5).
She reckons they’re good and crabby. The sample I am afforded tastes lovely with a herbal blush that is familiar yet mysterious.
With such an amazing spread laid out before us, the otherwise fine buttermilk biscuits ($8.50 for three and served with chipotle and honey butter) seem something like bridesmaids.
Then it’s pie time!
What to choose, what to choose?
The Le Bon Ton pies are individually baked items that cost $12.
We collectively find the …
… chocolate and peanut butter mousse pie and …
… the banana cream pie to be utterly wonderful, though in truth the former seems a little on the bitter side to me.
We’ve made pigs of ourselves.
The food and the service have been grand.
The financial damage?
The $35 per person we pay is outstanding value.
Eschewing the temptations of hanging out all night in cocktail mode, we waddle into the night.
I skip breakfast before getting down to writing this story.
Check out the Le Bon Ton website, including menu, here.
In a lovely piece of serendipity, just before departing for Collingwood I had unwrapped a new CD arrival that has this tune as its first track:
Hellenic Flavours On Puckle, 25 Puckle Street Moonee Ponds. Phone: 93757064
Vicolo, 28-30 Young Street, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9372 9500
There’s been a number of eatery openings in and around Puckle Street lately and we’re up for trying one of them for lunch.
We know Hellenic Flavours will be a kebab shop that will also do hamburgers.
But we suspect that it may also be one of those nifty places that does a nice job of taking care of the fast-food requirements but one that also offers more substantial Greek food at prices way below those found in more formal Greek restaurant settings.
That’s just what we discover.
The place is done out in the expected mix of take-away and restaurant with plenty of seating and scenic photos from the Mediterranean adorning the walls.
A big work group sitting next to us is tucking with glee into $15 plates of various kebab meats (some of it on sticks), pita, salad, chips and tzatiki.
Cool!
There’s also available the likes of mousaka, pastitsio, stuffed vegetables and grills such as steaks.
We both go for the traditional lamb souvlaki ($11) and are happy with our choices.
Our wraps are encased in the usual, thickish Greek-style pita we suspect may have come from this venerable Braybrook institution.
There’s just the right amount of salad and sauce.
And the meat is crunchy crusted, salty, hot and delicious.
Next stop – dessert!
Not since a flurry of visits to the classic Italian of Vicolo – culminating in a beaut CTS Feast – have we been back.
Today we’ve been enticed through the Young Street doors by a Facebook item in which Marie spruiks her white chocolate risotto with hazelnuts.
It’s the biz at a very generously proportioned $12 serve – thank heavens Bennie and I share.
“Mmmmm – it’s good,” says I.
“Yes, and so healthy,” quips Bennie.
Haha!
It’s nothing of the sort, of course.
But nor is eating this glorified rice pudding quite exactly like the decadent, silky and out-there experience of consuming a panna cotta, creme brulee or even a pavlova.
The al dente rice gives it a bit more substance and chewiness than that.
Consider The Sauce may have views on the varying food, service and even the social media hubris of West Footscray’s Indian restaurants, but right from the start we’ve considered them a community asset.
Still, as much as we love our Indian tucker, we also dig the heck out of diversity – so we’re delighted to see something very exciting happening in one of the neighbourhood’s landmark buildings.
The double-storey building at 572 Barkly Street has been vacant and unused, so far as we are aware, for several years.
Its history includes time spent as an ANZ bank branch and as home for a Serbian Social Services And Support group.
That latter was still active when we were living just around the corner, many years before CTS.
My very strong visual recall is that “social service and support” meant, in this instance, a very blokey spot for coffee and gossip!
That’s the (potted) history.
The future is … Ovest.
The new eatery, at this point scheduled to be unveiled to the eating and coffee-slurping public in February, is the baby of Ben Sisley, his wife Stephanie and Alex and Kate from Seddon’s Sourdough Kitchen.
Ben has a long history in Melbourne’s hospitality industry, including more recently stints food styling in the corporate world and, before that, time with Mr Wolf in St Kilda and, before that, with Madame Joe Joe, also in St Kilda.
Ben tells me Ovest (it means “west” in Italian) will offer food that will be based around the joint’s pizza oven – think pizzas and the likes of seafood and steak dishes using the same cooking apparatus.
Ben talks enticingly, for instance, of whole snapper lightly crusted/dusted with flour, seasoned, pan-fried and then quickly grilled in the pizza oven.
“We will be tightly focused in terms of opening hours and menu at the start, and then we’ll see where the public takes,” he says.
“This is a great location and we think the area is ready for something like this.
“We see us catering to everyone from people grabbing an after-work drink right through to young families.”
What that means is … no pasta, no breakfast, dinner and maybe lunch on selected days.
Nor will there be entertainment offered – the open kitchen will play that role.
“The food is the entertainment,” Ben says.
And, thanks to a liberal licence being secured, there is the possibility of 1am finishes on Saturdays and Sundays.
“But we won’t be sitting around chewing up money on wages if there’s no customers around,” Ben quips.
Significant renovations are underway on the ground floor of the old bank building.
But in some ways it appears to be almost purpose-built for the likes of Ovest.
The classic ’60s/’70s style bar is cool as!
The area around the entrance will be for more casual, drop-in customers, with the rear area offering dining of a more formal variety.
Consider The Sauce has received a good deal of medical advice in the past six months or so.
Some of it was about food.
“We really like Siam Kitchen in Newport,” the doctor said. “The wok dishes and salads – not so much the curries.”
That’s the kind of advice – medical or otherwise – we’re happy to follow!
Truth is, Siam Kitchen has been on our radar for a long time.
The restaurant occupies the same strip as the recently covered Odd Spot Cafe.
We are expecting a modest, typical suburban Thai eatery.
So we’re surprised and delighted to discover within a really love room dominated by dark wood and tastefully decorated.
We’re happy to report that by and large the service and food reflect those good first impressions.
This place is a handy and classy notch or two better than the phrase “suburban Thai eatery” implies.
It’s early in the week but the place is busy, with a good half of the tables occupied and a constant stream of takeaway customers coming and going.
There’s only one front-of-house staff member at hand and she’s working very hard indeed, though some kitchen folk help out by bringing full dishes out and taking empty ones back in.
It’s Bennie and I only tonight so we keep it simple by choosing two entrees and two mains plus rice.
The entrees satisfy rather than thrill us.
We whip through two roti breads served with satay sauce ($5) in quick time though it’s all rather nondescript and the sauce lacks punch and is too sweet for us.
Crispy golden bags(tang tong) of marinated pork mince with garlic, spicy onion and herbs served with sweet chilli sauce ($6.90) are way better and much more interesting than your average won tons.
The chilli sauce, too, is a flavour hit, boasting more zip and depth of flavour than your typical commercial version.
I cannot tell if this one of those commercial brands tarted up in the kitchen or one made from scratch – either way, very nice!
Seafood pad cha of – “traditional” stir fry with peppercorn, ginger, eggplant and mixed vegetables ($14.90) – is my selection based on the eggplant component.
As it turns out, the eggplant is pretty much the least of it.
There’s plenty of seafood that tastes very fresh – I slurp up the mussels as Bennie is uninterested, and the scallops have terrific flavour.
Best of all, there’s nothing tame about the seasoning levels here – it’s a spicy blast.
Crispy chicken salad with herbs and chilli topped with peanuts ($13.90) is Bennie’s choice and the outright highlight of our meal.
The chicken bits really are crisp, and delicious to boot. And we love the crunch of the peanuts.
There’s a significant chilli hit here, too, and real tang thanks to coriander, mint and lemon juice.
Unlike some people we could mention, we’re by no means Thai food experts – but for what it’s worth, the Siam Kitchen menu appears to have no really unusual dishes or surprises.
That said, this is the best Thai food we’ve had in the west.
Check out the Siam kitchen website, including menu, here.
So here’s Consider The Sauce thinking it had a pretty good handle on the places across the west that purvey Lebanese pies and pizzas … when reader Carolyn comes up with a new one for us to try in Altona Meadows.
Babylon Bakery, just around the corner from a small neighbourhood shopping centre, has been in business for about four years.
Three of us rock up for Saturday lunch and have a fabulous time.
After we occupy one of the outside tables, boss man Diya moves the big umbrella so it covers us, the table and our food in pleasant shade.
Sarah cuts all our oven-baked choices into three for sharing ease and brings the plates to our table.
We feel like kings of the world sitting on an Altona Meadows nature strip.
As we’re sharing, we have the za’atar with vegatables done in open pizza style rather than as a wrap. It costs $5.
It’s very good.
As are our lemon-spinach-onion, chicken and spinach-cheese pies, all of which cost a simply fabulous $3.50.
Our nutella pie (top picture, $5.50) is brought to our table looking like a work of art
Studded with plump, hot, oven-roasted sultanas, it’s a wonderful thing, thinner and less doughy than many we’ve had.
Inspired by this mind-blowingly interesting job advert, Consider The Sauce has tried phone, email and Facebook message in a bid to nail the details – so far to no avail.
Here’s what we know thus far …
A Jamaican restaurant will soon be opening in Yarraville.
It will be housed in the Gamon Street premises that for many, many years hosted Gravy Train and which are currently undergoing renovations.
The people behind the restaurant are those who run Boss Man Food – see website here and Facebook page here.
With that sort of pedigree, I reckon we’re all fully entitled to hope for something amazing.
How about that for something to look forward to?
Another Gamon Street gem, the good ship Advieh, is staying right where it is.
But in about a month those fine folks will be bringing their wonderful Middle East-inspired food to Yarraville village.
Little Advieh will operate out of a prime spot on Ballarat Street and not too far from the now-permanent park.
Wonderful news, we reckon!
Meanwhile, plans to fill the ground floor space of the old St George’s Theatre with a hospitality industry business appear to be taking time to come to fruition.
Under The Sea Fish & Chips, 49 Anderson Street, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 6912
Consider The Sauce has long held a preference for fish and chip joints that offer more than paper-wrapped bundles.
We like our F&C and accoutrements fresh-as and eaten at restaurant-provided seating – even if it is of the most rudimentary kind.
We like it, too, when proper cutlery and crockery are part of the deal.
So we’ve never gotten around to trying our very popular local fish and chippery.
But with Bennie being a happy fish eater these days, he’s several times recent in months declared his preparedness to troop around the corner and bring our dinner home.
So off he goes … and back he comes with a meal I find OK in some regards but disappointing in others.
Low expectations met?
Yes.
The chips are hot but on the dull side for me.
Ordering instructions had been for a small so naturally the medium Bennie gets is excess to our requirements.
The calamari rings are of the reconstituted surimi variety, so are automatically graded “OK”.
Fish of the day is blue grenadier and it’s real good.
What’s more, we receive three generously sized pieces instead of two, so we eat really well.
But the batter of one of them is stuck to the paper and is only messily removed.
It’s been good fare, especially as the whole lot cost something under $20.
But I won’t be in a hurry to return.
And with dinner?
Bickford’s, of course.
We go through at least a bottle of this stuff a week – lemon or lemon barley now that the bitter lemon variety seems permanently unavailable.
But tonight at the IGA we spied a new flavour – apple and cinnamon.
I detect only the faintest of spice undertones but Bennie reckons it’s the best of the lot.
I Love Dumplings, 311 Racecourse Road, Flemington. Phone: 9372 5218
The restaurant also known as Chinese Spicy and Barbie Kitchen appears to have bowed to the obvious and inevitable by embracing I Love Dumplings as its major name.
It’s also moved a few doors up the road – into what was once a bank building.
On the outside, it’s drab, box-like appearance still reeks of financial sector.
Inside, and after a no-doubt expensive and extensive makeover, it looks like, well, a Chinese restaurant.
With a happy, big mid–week lunch crowd in attendance and a vinegary tang in the air, it sounds and smells like one, too.
Team CTS is today two robust appetites and one not so much.
We order smartly and stick solely to dumplings – or almost – in celebration of the management’s embracing of the dumpling love mantra.
The lunch menu (see below), mind you, has a lot of very well priced and interesting non-dumpling dishes about the $10 mark that will make this a lunch hot spot for sure.
We spend about $10 per head and eat like kings.
Pan-fried chicken corn dumplings ($9.80 for 15) are extreme in terms of plainness but taste beaut, the lovely chicken meat having enough corn kernels to provide flavour and texture lifts.
Steamed pork and spring onion buns ($11.80 for six) are, we are assured, quite different from the regular BBQ pork buns.
We don’t find that to be the case, but they’re a hit anyway – quite delicate, and with enough moistness in the filling to offset the doughy exteriors.
Steamed vegetarian dumplings in Sichuan chili sauce ($9.80 for 15) are our best dish.
The soy-based, thin sauce has enough of a spice kick to make the already fab dumplings really sing.
The parcels are packed with all sorts of goodies that make the absence of any sort of animal protein an irrelevance.
Do dogs dig dumplings?
The guide dog trainers of two lovely labs that have been in the house for lunch-time assure us they would if they could!
Wok Rite Inn Noodle & Snack Bar, 5 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 4077
Wok Rite Inn has been recommended to us more than once by a regular reader whose opinions we respect very much.
The vibe, we have been told, is one of a neighbourhood noodle shop with a bit more going on than in your average such establishment.
Over two visits, we discover that’s a fair assessment.
The staff seem to be many and are obliging.
There’s basic seating both inside and out.
The menu ranges widely through Chinese, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese dishes – something that’s not always a good sign, of course.
The food we are served is adequate in an average sort of way.
If we were any of the locals we see coming and going, we’d be regulars who know exactly which of the many menu boxes get our ticks.
Beef rendang with rice ($14.50) is rather good.
It’s on the sweet side and (unsurprisingly) mildly spiced, but there’s a heap of good, well-cooked beef.
And the generous flourish of snow peas and broccoli is appreciated.
The basic curry laksa ($13.5) appears to be not made from scratch – but I’m OK with that.
I’ve had worse at supposedly specialist Malaysian places in the west.
I like the tofu and vegetable components.
But the main protein hit comes from far too much roast pork of a thick and rather rubbery variety.
There’s plenty of that pork in the kwai teow ($13.50), too, though not so much as to deliver imbalance.
Bennie likes it even if he fails to finish it off – the serves here, it must be said, are of a very generous nature.
I’m told the beef curry puffs are made in-house but that my vegetable rendition is not.
I’m fine with that, too.
I suspect that’s the case with the likes of curry puff and samosas at more places across the west than most of us might suspect – especially at the lower end of the price spectrum.
What I am not fine with is the fact my fried parcel is stone cold in the middle.
A perfectly cooked replacement, brought with an apologetic smile, tastes just right.
b Eatery 21 Anderson St, Yarraville. Phone: 362 080
So Yarraville’s long-time burger place has gone.
No surprise, really.
Perhaps it was nudged out of the picture by the arrival of a Grill’d outlet just up the street.
Or perhaps it had simply done its dash.
Whatever the case, a new business is in residence – one we believe has proprietorial links with the previous establishment.
The place has been done out a treat – the ambience speaks of laid-back cool without trying too hard.
The upstairs area remains, but we hunker down in a nice back room.
We suspect, appraising the menu and generally taking in the operation, that while the success of this business is no doubt the paramount aim, such success may lead to other eateries of the same ilk opening up elsewhere.
The staff, we find, do a fine, on-the-ball job for us.
The two-sided menu (see below) covers the breakfast-and-more territory, including some very unusual items.
Sesame-seared ahi tuna nachos, prawn and crab “bang bang” cakes or Italian soda fountain drinks, anyone?
In the interests of blog diversity, Bennie has been banned from ordering the burger.
So he does the next best thing by nominating the steak sandwich (pictured at top).
It does good for him, with the nice slab of meat, good rocket and garlic-lemon aioli dressing all disappearing very quickly.
The chips are unlisted but we’re glad to observe their presence, as it makes the $15.50 steak sanger price tag a good one.
The chips are good though could be hotter.
We share one of the smaller items – a duck rice paper roll ($5).
It’s OK but the quack quotient is on the tardy side, meaning the roll’s filling is mostly vermicelli.
Presentation has trumped eating practicality – the hoisin sauce is prettily drizzled on the roll, the eating of which is thus a very messy business indeed.
For the second time in a week, I go the healthy route with my chicken salad ($16).
It’s a nice thing, beautifully presented and super fresh, especially the finely grated apple, which mixes well with grapes of both kinds, celery and chicken.
It’s like a waldorf salad with bells on – but without the waldorfs.
Ha!
The chook is a bit tasteless and I generally think of my lunch as being on the bland side.
I resist the temptation of requesting salt and/or pepper dispensing implements, but wonder if the rest of the menu evinces such rampant moderation in the seasoning department.
Given the spread of the menu, b Eatery we feel is likely to be a hit with families.
It appears to have been set up with some ingenuity, finding a niche in jam-packed Yarraville by doing what many others are without mirroring the competition in any precise way.
Meatmaiden, Basement, 195 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Phone: 9078 77
Nat and I visited Meatmaiden in November for a Saturday lunch.
We had a Very Nice Time, though in truth we didn’t get too carried away.
But I know that this kind of utterly delicious BBQ food requires, on occasion, a lack of restraint.
So I’m delighted to be back for dinner as part of a CTS team numbering four.
And this time, there will be no holding back.
The reasons are several …
It’s the end of my long, wonderful, meandering, post-surgery down time.
The regular work routine will kick in in just a few days.
And – perhaps most importantly – it is birthday time for one of our group!
We even do cocktails all round – non-alcoholic for Bennie!
With no hesitation, we all four opt for the “chef’s choice” Maiden’s Mood deal of two small/share dishes, three from the smoker/grill/not-meat, and two sides for $49 per person.
We only do so after ascertaining that we will not, by choice, be served anything from the “not meat” line-up.
We’re here for the meat.
We’re most certainly not here for eggplant, even if it is BBQ eggplant.
And we’re most certainly not here for pumpkin, even if it is smoked pumpkin.
What we are served sates every desire for BBQ we possess.
It’s fantastic.
And there’s a lot of it.
Up until this point, I would’ve rated Meatmaiden – with its clubbish, sophisticated atmosphere – as a little less our go than the raffish roll-up-your-sleeves vibe of Fancy Hank’s.
As of tonight’s feast, I am more than happy to give them equal billing.
The Maiden’s Choice?
Very highly recommended by us all, and good value to boot.
Here’s what we devour …
Devilled eggs – delicate and mildly but beautifully seasoned flavour bombs.
Two serves of pickled heirloom veg, chilli and goat curd – a wonderfully tangy mix of all sorts including baby carrots and beetroots.
Southern fried chicken ribs with tequila mayo – crunchy and fab.
That divine brisket – the serve is way bigger than it appears in this photo.
Lamb ribs with lemon crumb – black-as, fatty but very enjoyable.
Two serves of wonderful pulled pork – we struggle to eat it all.
And fail.
Two serves of fries – they’re fine but seem somehow superfluous to our present carnivorous requirements.
A big bowl of coleslaw.
It’s good, but I reckon it could do with a good dollop of some form of acid.
As we wind up our very extremely meaty evening, Bennie wonders aloud if ordering all of the above separately would cost more or less than what we’ve paid.
We doubt it. But we’re not about to spoil our post-meal glow by doing the maths.
Why bother?
Just go for it!
Check out the regular prices at the Meatmaiden website here.
Following a knowledgeable recommendation, we give Odd Spot Cafe a whirl after stocking up nearby on goodies for the general all-round comfort of our new family member.
Odd Spot Cafe is situated amid a strip of shops on Melbourne Road to which we usually pay little interest as we’re usually too intent on going elsewhere when we whiz past, though we’ve also heard that the Thai joint Siam Kitchen is worth checking out.
Odd Spot has a nice fit-out dominated by black and white that speaks of coolness on a hot day.
It presents as an oasis.
We really enjoy our lunch choices and find the service to be grand.
Odd Spot features a number of dishes and a philosophy and approach that embrace “health food” – the sort of thing that can send the senior member of Team CTS fleeing.
So Bennie’s burger ($16) amply illustrates the “don’t judge a book by its cover” axiom.
It’s all-round fantastic.
He would’ve preferred onions to be cooked and some bacon but he really digs the pronounced pickled cucumber tang.
Is there anything more important – apart from the patty itself – to creating a successful burger?
The crinkle-cut chips are fine.
Kenny, what are you thinking?
Sesame-crusted carrot fritters with “wilted spinach, pesto, hummus and micro herbs” ($16.50)?
Yes, I surprise myself by going all healthy.
Perhaps it’s a the festive season and all that oh-so-rich food we’ve been eating, but it does me fine.
Sure, the carrot pulp of the fritters is coated with sesame seeds rather than crusted or even, it seems, really cooked.
Perhaps I would’ve liked a bready base of some sort.
And the seasoning levels are way below what we’re used to in our mostly multicultural journey.
But right now, here today, this hits the spot.
The Odd Spot cake display cabinet is chockers with great-looking things.
Bennie and I split a “chocolate fondant of goodness” ($4).
Cosmopolitan Hotel, corner High Street and Cosmo Road, Trentham. Phone: 5424 1516
Our Monday trip to Trentham and Woodend, postponed from the heat-struck weekend, has as its main purpose choosing a new family member for Bennie and I.
But of course we have multi-faceted aims that include eating.
As company we love having along two pals who are as intensely passionate about all sorts of critters as they are about a good meal.
After a nice, safe drive on a lovely summer’s day we depart our car, stretch and take in the fetching surrounds of Trentham.
Original plan had been to dine at the town’s famous bakery but we make an impromptu last-minute decision to try one of the two pubs on main street instead.
We do good.
The food we try is typical pub fare, enjoyable and fairly priced by the standards of our westie pub haunts.
The cool, gloomy bar and dining room are almost deserted, but we love the garden out back – it’s big and charming thanks to its slight scruffiness and plentiful shade.
As we commence our lunch, we are among the first customers. By the time we depart, the place is doing good trade for a Monday.
A shared plate of Cosmo fried chicken with chipotle mayonnaise ($14) is beaut.
The crumbed chook is hot, superficially grease-free, tender and tasty; the smoky condiment is marvellous.
Two of us go the chicken parma ($19).
It’s a winner, the thickish chicken slab tender in the middle, hot throughout, topped by the usual and with a nice sage tang permeating.
The chips are excellent.
What is it with parmas and salads?
Is there some sort of dictate-from-on-high that means parma salads must always look like a clone of the above pictured mix of mismatched ingredients?
Thankfully, the salad accompanying Bennie’s salt and pepper calamari ($28) is much better, with its orange, radish and fennel components in harmony with the rest.
This is our most expensive selection, but there’s no doubting its quality, the soft-textured batter allowing the calamari’s flavour to sing.
Spinach and ricotta dumplings with basil, napoli sauce and parmesan ($26) are a lighter treat with appropriately milder flavours.
On the way back to Woodend, we pause for a breather at Trentham Falls – yes, that’s Bennie right in the middle there.
Then we’re at Pet’s Haven for the culmination of a long-considered decision – yes, a feline for us.
I don’t let us get too involved in hand-wringing because, yes, they’re all gorgeous.
I withstand Bennie’s forceful arguments in favour of one particular kitten, but only after ascertaining from the staff that the fact it has only one eye and stitches where the other used to be will in no way harm its chances of finding a new home.
We settle on a feisty 11-month-old black devil named Boris.
So now Team CTS is three.
In our first 48 hours with Boris, I wonder if I’ve made a mistake – if perhaps we should have chosen an older, more sedate and settled companion.
Boris is a small holy terror, a ball of hyper-energy.
But then again this is probably the first time he’s been able to run and cavort relatively freely for who knows how many weeks or months!
Check out the Cosmopolitan website here and Facebook page here.
Consider The Sauce Feast No.11: Pizza d’Asporto, Rifle Range Shopping Centre, 71 Kororoit Creek Road. Phone: 9397 2033 Date: Sunday, February 15. Time: Noon-2pm. Food: Buffet-style offering of pizzas, pasta, salads and starters as chosen by Pizza d’Asporto. Guests to pay for soft drinks separately.
12 places available
Pizza d’Asporto in Williamstown has become a firm CTS favourite in a very short time.
We love the food and the relaxed, happy vibe – and the people who create both.
So we’re thrilled and delighted that Claudio, Antoinetta and their crew will be co-hosting the first CTS Feast of 2015.
As is likely to be the case with most of this year’s Feasts, there are only a small numbers of places available.
In this case, the ticket monies will be split 50/50 between CTS and Pizza d’Asporto.
Since our initial story on Pizza d’Asporto, here’s what we’ve enjoyed on subsequent visits.
Penne with quail and porcini ragu ($17).
What a brilliant contrast to the usual grilled or roasted quail!
Stunningly delicious this was.
Pizza patate with mozzarella, potato, taleggio, caramelised leek and rosemary ($14).
So nice to have cubed spud chunks instead of slices.
Parmigiana di melanzanewith layers of eggplant, mozzarella, potato and Napoli sauce ($12).
Typically done as a bigger dish in a lasagne style, Caludio makes this much wetter – almost like a stew.
There are some damn fine places to get dumplings in the western suburbs, but they’re not exactly thick on the ground in general or in any particular neighbourhood in particular.
So the opening of such a venue in a shopping centre is most certainly noteworthy and blog-worthy, even if it is a pretty fair haul from Yarraville to Taylors Lakes!
We wonder if this joint has anything in common with a certain Highpoint business beyond a similar name and, going by online evidence, appearance.
The answer is: No.
We’re told Dumplings Wise is a completely separate operation.
Moreover, while the menu (see below) is much as expected, it has no such items as mee goreng or laksa.
We reckon the fact this place is happy being Chinese and not trying to be Malaysian as well is probably a good sign.
The place is done out in a mix of Asian and standard fast-food restaurant styles.
We like the abacus!
It’s a matter of make your choices, go to the front counter, then pay and order.
We find the staff to be very professional, cheerful and good.
We’re a hungry group and order widely.
Our conclusion?
Dumplings Wise is a hot spot given the location, price, service and scarcity of dumplings in the far-flung outer west.
We nail far more hits than misses.
We advise homing in on the dumplings, as those we eat are excellent and those we see being consumed around us appear to be equally fine.
Sichuan noodles with minced pork and peanut sauce is the familiar with a twist.
We do expect the mild spiciness (we know well by now that a two-chilli rating in a shopping centre food is hardly cause for alarm bells), tangy sauce, good noodles, minced pork, mushrooms and tiny tofu cubes.
But the peanutty factor gives this dish a flavour whack quite different from the many other different versions we’ve had of this dish.
We wish we’d gone for the more modestly sized $6.90 version as the $9.80 rendition is huge.
We order the steamed BBQ pork buns (two for $2.50) for Bennie, who a. skipped breakfast; and b. is subsequently very hungry.
He likes them plenty. They taste light and fresh to me, but they’re “not really my thing”.
Steamed vegetables dumplings (four for $6) present as rather grey and drab.
But the innards do the biz, being a tasty mix of tofu, mushrooms, carrot and (maybe) water chestnut and bamboo shoot, all elements finely diced.
Pork dumplings in hot chilli sauce ($10 for 15) is both the best value and best tasting of our lunch selections.
This is a 10/10 dish for me – to my mind it’s as good as anything you’ll get at any of the more fabled dumpling joints in Melbourne.
The saucy soup in which the dumplings swim is more soy than chilli, but it turns out to be just the right kind tangy dressing the dumplings require.
The pork parcels themselves are top notch – fresh, slippery, hot and with tender but meaty piggy fillings.
Steamed baby broccoli with oyster sauce ($8.80) is something of a disappointment.
We appreciate having some greenery to go with the more weighty and meat-laden parts of our meal, and the heads are fine.
But the dish is barely warm and the stalks are tough and bitter.
It’s always interesting – for me anyway! – to receive the cool annual report from WordPress.com
As always, I am bemused – but not surprised – to find that despite 211 new posts, the most popular remain two “oldies” about prawn crackers and seafood extender.
Here are some figures not in the report that track the growth of CTS:
Page views per year
2011: 3,410
(5 months)
2011: 48,950
2012: 151,207
2013: 205,575
2014: 270,000 approx
Average page views per day:
2010: 26 (5 months)
2011: 134
2012: 413
2013: 563
2014: 736
Many thanks for all the comments and tips!
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 270,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 12 days for that many people to see it.
consider the sauce 