Fab pizza, great prices, unexpected location

6 Comments
pizza1
Pizza d’Asporto, Rifle Range Shopping Centre, 71 Kororoit Creek Road. Phone: 9397 2033

Consider The Sauce likes – and sometimes even loves – those authentic Italian-style pizzas as much as anyone.

But the prices have always been a sticking point for us.

We know some of our reasoning in this regard doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

For instance, the places that sell such pizzas tend to be located in areas where rents are high.

As well, quality ingredients and preparation come at a price.

And we know, too, that comparing such pizzas with much cheaper but much, much less pleasing Aussie-style pizzas is unfair.

No matter how many low-quality toppings get piled onto a pizza base, the resultant product will always be … low-quality, no matter the price.

And any comparison to our beloved Lebanese pizzas and pies and their ultra-low prices is perhaps even more unfair.

The places that sell them tend to be in low-rent locations, and while the quality is often high I’m happy to accept that to a large degree it’s a matter of apples and oranges.

 

pizza7

 

But still, $20 or $25 or more for a pizza just doesn’t seem good value for money.

I guess what I’ve been looking for is a joint that sells authentic Italian-style pizzas in a more customer-friendly price range.

Well, I’ve found just such a one.

What’s more, it’s in the western suburbs, the place is amazing and the food the CTS party of three enjoys leaves us gobsmacked and grinning from ear to ear.

 

pizza6

 

It’s telling that Pizza d’Asporto is situated in a rather anonymous shopping centre quite some distance from the nearest foodie precinct.

It’s surrounded by a handful of fast-food outlets and is doing a roaring trade at about 8pm on the midweek night we visit.

There’s Italian music playing, there’s a happy vibe in abundance and the staff are smiling and on the ball.

There are no internal tables – just a bunch of stools and benches.

We grab one of the small tables outside.

The menu is split between red and white pizzas.

The least expensive is $13, the most expensive $19.

There are a handful of pastas available, all costing about $15, and a like number of salads.

 

pizza5

 

This broccolini pizza – with its buffalo mozzarella, pecorino, broccolini and white truffle oil – costs $14.

Can you believe it?

It’s insanely good, the flavours melding wonderfully and the green vegetable being superbly al dente but still cooked through.

 

pizza4

 

The San Giorgio – with its San Marzano tomato, sopressa salami, artichoke hearts, roast peppers and olives – is a couple of bucks dearer at $16 and just about as good.

My friends are more familiar with this kind of pizzas than I.

They rate their Pizza d’Asporto pies as significantly better than those they’ve had in West Footscray and Seddon, and “as good as if not better” than those they’ve loved at Motorino in Kingsville.

And keep in mind – those prices!

 

pizza2

 

A few days before our visit, I’d taken note of a post on the eatery’s Facebook page about a really good-looking pansanella bread salad.

Tonight I’m told it’s unavailable; then we’re told they’ll knock one up for us anyway!

Our $13 salad is a treat to share, the plentiful, rustic chunks of bread a beaut mix of dressed sogginess and crunch.

 

pizza3

 

My pasta gamberetti ($17) of linguini with king prawns, zucchini and fresh mint is a good ‘un.

It’s a much more generous serve than the impression given by the above photo indicates.

There’s a heap of very good prawns.

The only quibble I have is maybe wanting a bit more zing from chilli or salt or – perhaps – lemon.

On an earlier solo visit by myself for reconnaissance purposes, I’d enjoyed the ortolana pizza ($16, top photo) of San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, mushroom and olives.

Another winner!

There is nothing I do not love about doing Consider The Sauce.

But it’s relatively rare that I enjoy a meal that involves a full house of …

  • Spectacular food.
  • Fantastic prices.
  • Great company.
  • At a place in a surprising location, offering a great atmosphere and super-friendly service.

Claudio, Antoinetta and their team are doing a great job and tonight has been one of those occasions.

For a full menu including prices check out the Pizza d’Asporto website here.

 

pizza8

The Heights of baking excellence

5 Comments
impasto3
Impasto Forno Antico, 157 Military Road, Avondale Heights. Phone: 9331 1111

Here’s a quirk of the western suburbs …

It’s possible for a resident of Sunshine North to stand on one side of the Maribyrnong River and hold a conversation with a friend or neighbour standing on the other side in Avondale Heights – without either of them having to raise their voices.

But if one of them wants to drive to the other’s home, well the quickest route is pretty much via Highpoint!

Avondale Heights seems sort of stranded.

It’s bisected by its only main road, the arterial thoroughfare known as Military Road.

I’m told much of the suburb’s population derives from post-war immigration of the Italian variety.

 

impasto4

 

Certainly, at one of Military Road’s shopping precincts there is an emporium of things most excellently Italian.

Recently, this bakery being on one of my routes to work, I picked up a panini for in-office lunch purposes that was a $7.50 just right – fresh roll filled on the spot with mortadella, roasted capsicum and artichoke.

Yum!

Today, I go the strictly sweet route.

 

impasto2

 

The pear and almond tart ($4.50) and a slice ($3) that is a full-on flat version of a Christmas-style mince pie are wonderful and classy – and a lot more filling than they appear at first blush.

I rather wish I’d gone for one of the lighter things – such as the cannoli.

My $3.50 cafe latte is excellent.

Before my sugary lunch I’d felt all spruced up and looking good after a superb “hot-towel shave” and mo’ trim thanks to Matt at Matt’s Men’s Room.

Excellent, professional and friendly, he did me this fine service for a charge of $15.

How good is that?

 

impasto1

impasto8

impasto5

impasto6

impasto7

impasto9

Hobsons Bay council … you know, whatever

10 Comments

ticket1

 

To:

Hobsons Bay City Council,

GPO Box 425,

Melbourne Vic 3001

From:

Kenny Weir

Re Infringement notice 3068314

1/12/14

Hi there!

My name is Kenny and I am a western suburbs food blogger.

My blog’s name is considerthesauce.net.

It is concerned almost exclusively with the food culture of Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Not only does Consider The Sauce write about a wide variety of restaurants, cafes and retail outlets spread across the western suburbs, it also takes great delight and satisfaction from covering and supporting many community initiatives and festivals.

It was for that reason that I spent some time in Laverton on Thursday, November 6, when I copped the above infringement notice.

My only reasons for visiting Laverton that day was to visit Saffron Kitchen at Laverton Community Hub and do a story on it for Consider The Sauce.

The resultant story can be seen here:

https://considerthesauce.net/2014/11/06/mother-noras-new-adventure/

Given that Saffron Kitchen is a community initiative in Hobsons Bay – indeed, is one supported by Hobsons Bay City Council – I hope that in my case some leniency may be offered and that this parking infringement penalty be waived.

Cheers,

Kenny Weir, Consider The Sauce

 

ticket2

New Indian joint in WeFo

7 Comments
amrutha3
Amrutha Authentic Indian Cuisine, 552 Barkly Street,West Footscray. Phone: 9913 3794

Team Consider The Sauce tonight numbers four for the purposes of checking out the newest addition to West Footscray’s line-up of Indian restaurants.

As the restaurant was being put together behind papered windows, two of us had wondered if the new place would specialise in some way to provide it a point of difference from its many competitors.

The answer is – no.

Amrutha’s menu is long a covers all the expected bases.

Go to the joint’s website here for a looking at the full list, including prices.

 

amrutha2

 

The place has scrubbed up a treat – quite a lot of money has been spent.

And the main room is a good deal larger than we were expecting to be the case given the hair salon it replaces.

The furniture and fittings are pure Franco Cozzo.

We admire with interest the breakfast list, which includes all your dosas and a lot more.

But we go a la carte from the body of the menu.

Among our choices are a couple of Indo-Chinese selections …

 

amrutha5

 

Gobi manchurian ($7.99) and …

 

amrutha4

 

… chicken 65 ($8.99) are enjoyable but wet where we have been expecting dry.

 

amrutha6

 

My eyes invariably light up whenever I see a menu that features eggplant, so eggplant curry ($10.99) has been ordered at my instigation.

Again, our expectations come into play – maybe unfairly.

The menu does mention a “rich cashew nut and special sauce”, but this seems to me more of an unbearably creamy spread with eggplant flavour.

It’s something I’d be happy spreading on toast.

But otherwise?

Nah.

 

amrutha7

 

Moving right along, we start to get into things more hearty and flavoursome of the kind we have been seeking.

Lamb Madras ($11.99) is very nice, its rich gravy hiding lots of fine meat chunks.

 

amrutha8

 

Chicken chettinad ($12.99) is likewise very good, with its gravy of “yogurt sauce with crushed black peppercorn, herbs and spices”.

 

amrutha9

 

Palak paneer ($9.99) is a doozy, its silky cheese pieces swimming in a wonderfully almost-smoky gravy.

Another high point for us are the $1.99 naan that avoid photographic scrutiny – sorry!

These are super, and appear to have been made – as one of my tablemates points out –  using “wholemeal flour with all the bran removed”.

The result is like a cross between a regular naan and a roti.

We’ve enjoyed our meal but are left wondering about the wisdom of our choosing, what sort of wonders Amrutha has hiding in its menu – and whether the more snacky or one-person dishes may be the go here.

So I sneak back a few nights later for an early dinner by myself – biryani.

 

amrutha11

 

My default choice of chicken is unavailable, so I’m happy to go with the lamb ($11.99).

Even though the lamb almost always used in biryanis – you’ll see it in the markets labelled as “lamb curry” – is often more bone than meat.

No such problem here – the plentiful meat comes easily from the bones and is flavoursome and surprisingly tender.

The rice is somewhat darker than usual, and the fried onions are more than a garnish here – there’s lots of them and they’re fully integrated into the rice.

The biryani picture is completed by a fine gravy that is salty and peanutty and a raita chunky with cubed carrot.

My biryani is very good and fully up there with those available elsewhere in Footscray.

Maybe for me next time the chole bhature ($11.99).

Or perhaps the puri ($8.99), which – according to the in-house printed menu – are served thali-style with a handful of small accompanying bowls of goodness.

 

amrutha10

amrutha1

Our fave taverna

3 Comments
oil21
Olive Oil & Butter, 196 Somerville Rd, Kingsville. Phone: 9315 1060

Olive Oil And Butter has become a “regular” for us.

We love that it’s doing its own thing away from the cafe culture of both Yarraville and Seddon.

The geography also means parking is never a hassle.

The coffee is reliably very good.

We love the syrupy sweet treats such as baklava, the custardy galaktoboureko and the more austere biscotti-style of paksimadia and koulouraki.

 

oil24

 

But it is the plain cake-iness of the semolina revani that we have cone to love most – at first because it goes home in better nick but eventually just because it so good.

Especially when its syrupy richness is cut with a big dollop of high-class organic yogurt.

 

oil25

 

We take the spanakopita and its meaty cohort the kreatopita home often, too.

These cost what seems a rather hefty $8.50.

But one look, feel, smell or taste of the incredible quality of the pastry involved soon dispels such misguided views.

 

oil23

 

For in-house savoury treats, best bet is the tight blackboard list of rustic Greek dishes – just the sort of thing you might find at a roadside taverna.

Horiatiki salad with loukaniko (sausages) is a treat for $16.50 (top photo).

The serve is significantly more generous than the picture suggests.

Best of all, there are multiple discs of superb, sweet, tangy, smoky sausage.

The grilled, seasoned Greek-style pita bread – perhaps from this place? – does good mopping up the juices and a rather miserly serve of a nicely spicy pepper dip.

See earlier story here.

Interruption

interupt1

 

Earlier this year, I read a statement by a famous American food blogger that went something along the lines of: “No way I’m going to put a post up on my blog every day!”

I know how she feels … sort of.

In the first few years of CTS, a post a week was the go.

In the past couple of years, it’s a rare thing if I don’t publish at least three or four.

There’s been no particular, ambitious gameplan about that.

It’s just become part of my routine – a bit like breathing, really.

Some of it comes down to  chemistry.

No matter how tired, depressed, anxious or otherwise uptight I am, once I start editing, cropping and uploading photographs, set the post up and write that first paragraph, it’s like shots of adrenalin and serotonin boogie through my system.

Sets me up for the day ahead, that does!

The fact that people – no matter how few or how many – are interested in reading what I write has seemed like some sort of righteous magic, a miracle even, ever since I started banging out words in my mid-teens.

Well, that hectic CTS pace is about to change – but hopefully only for a short while!

Within a few hours, I will be having surgery that I’m told will take at least three hours and as many as six.

Remarkably, and all going well, I should be home not too many hours after that!

But things will be a bit, um, strange for a while.

There’ll be stitches to heal and I’ll have a catheter feeding into a bag strapped to one of my legs.

So driving and anything strenuous will be out for a couple of weeks.

I won’t be housebound exactly, but food adventures are likely to be thin on the ground – though wonderful pals have made it clear they’re keen to bring good stuff to me.

One thing I am looking forward to is the wrap-up of the CTS highlights for 2015.

Given the circumstances, I’m planning on making that longer, more self-indulgent, nuttier and – hopefully, maybe – even more interesting than usual.

I’ve disabled comments on this post so those who have already expressed their love, goodwill and support don’t feel obliged to do so again.

I’ll be back phishing for comments, feedback and interesting dialogue in a flash! 🙂

Sirens leased

3 Comments

sirens1

 

The prime real estate that is the former Sirens at Williamstown Beach has been leased.

The windows are shielded with blue tarpaulins and something is afoot … though, despite my best efforts, I’m not quite sure what.

In a friendly fashion, I squeezed the young bloke I found there doing some renovations for the new proprietors but he remained admirably loyal and discreet.

But from what I did gather …

It seems the property will continue to operate under the Sirens name, it is open for event bookings and an open-to-the-public date is expected to be in late January.

The family/business moving into the space has a track record in the hospitality industry, one that makes them “quite capable” of doing a fine job at Willy Beach.

“Are they famous?” I asked.

“No,” came the reply.

That snuffs out the goss I’d heard just minutes before elsewhere in Williamstown – that Shannon Bennett was moving in.

Nothing to it, apparently.

But, boy, that’s some rumour …

Mezmez – return visit

2 Comments
mez5
Mezmez, 42 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 8804

We sometimes have a laugh about how fickle the winds are that blow Consider The Sauce this way and that as it embarks on its adventures.

It’s our Saturday jaunt, we’re hungry and feeling virtuous after about an hour’s worth of house-cleaning in our low-maintenance home.

Heading towards Fehon Street, we are confronted with road signs ruling out a right-hand turn and destinations such as Seddon, Footscray and beyond.

So a left turn it is … and Williamstown, with no specific destination in mind.

We park and check out a cool pizza place that is on our “to do” list, but they’re not rolling yet despite it being 12.30pm.

Maybe next time for them.

So we are happy to return to Mezmez, which we wrote about just a few weeks back – it’s a beaut and significant addition to the Williamstown food scene, and we’re eager to try some more of their dishes and write about them.

 

mez3

 

Bennie has been given the run of menu, including the more substantial and expensive meals, but goes for the pide with BBQ zatar chicken, peppers, spinach and chipotle mayo ($14).

It goes down a treat.

He especially like the herby nature of the chicken.

 

mez2

 

My salad of baby beetroots with walnuts, goats cheese, witlof, pasrley and orange dressing ($15) is fabulously brilliant.

It’s a big serve – I take a while longer to eat my lunch than Bennie does to eat his sandwich – and filling for a dish made up so much of water-based ingredients.

The way the various goodies both play off each other and meld together is magical.

The key ingredient is the witlof, the bitterness of which moderates the beet sweetness.

Wow.

 

mez4

 

Mezmez today has some keen-looking baklava on display but we find we are unable to do anything but order another of their Nutella doughnuts ($3.50).

Both myself and the occupants of the adjoining table are bemused by Bennie’s display of inexpert cutting the sees us end up with two unequal doughnut halves.

Oh well – even the lesser of the two tastes divine to me.

Just like that, Mezmez has become a CTS favourite.

 

mez1

New Orleans in Melbourne – this is real

12 Comments
gris7
Girl With The Gris Gris, 18 Market Lane, Melbourne. Phone: 9514 4577

Bennie and I pause midway along Market Lane.

I’ve said nothing about our destination or the variety of food we will be eating once we arrive.

Gesturing to an eatery with a rather anonymous but extremely large doorway, I say: “That is Australia’s most famous Chinese restaurant!”

But then, pointing to the smaller doorway more-or-less directly opposite, I say: “But that is where we’re going!”

Up the stairs we go into what is a typically Melbourne sort of scene – a live music venue with a funky eatery attached.

In this case, the food being served is, by all reports, purebred New Orleans.

And I’m all a-tingle with excitement, as the restaurant’s tucker is being cooked by a real live New Orleans cook.

Most readers will be aware that the diversity and depth of food deriving from the American South available in Melbourne has bloomed in recent years. Indeed, several such joints have been written about right here at Consider The Sauce.

I’ve enjoyed trying these places out.

But I have had to keep a firm grip of any notions about authenticity based my own experiences travelling to the US, and to New Orleans in particular.

 

gris5

 

Let me put it this way …

Gumbo is a soup, not a stew.

Thanks to the roux used in making it, gumbo should be almost dark as night.

It should not be poured over a stack of rice; the rice should be just a part of the soup – maybe a quarter of a cup, or better still a tablespoon.

Unless their names are celery, capsicum or onion, vegetables have no business being in gumbo.

And finally, while seafood gumbos of various kinds are revered in some quarters, the king of gumbos – the benchmark – is chicken and sausage gumbo.

Will I find such a beastie right here at Girl With The Gris Gris?

Will be it be as fantastic as I’m hoping?

We do and it is!

Our chicken and sausage gumbo costs $14 for a bowl ($8 for a cup).

It’s easily the best gumbo I’ve had in the southern hemisphere – and the includes those I’ve made myself (though it’s been a while now …).

The restaurant is dimly lit, so while I secure good lighting for our other dishes, I wuss it for the gumbo – this is as good as I snap:

 

gris3

 

Our gumbo is magnificently dark, full of well cooked sausage discs and shredded chicken.

It has strong flavour of roux, oregano and other gumbo goodies. It has a nice spice glow on, too.

It IS fantastic.

 

gris4

 

In some ways, this photo is more revealing.

One sure sign of a good gumbo is that the roux remnants will leave “tide marks” down the side of the bowl as the volume of soup decreases.

If your gumbo does not leave such signs, you’ve been had.

I very much wish we’d ordered a bowl of this stuff each.

But we love everything else we have.

 

gris1

 

Onion rings ($8) are superb in their fat, deep-fried decadence, and are wonderful dunked in the tangy (remoulade?) sauce.

 

gris2

 

Roast beef po’ boy ($15) also sets a high water mark (thinking tidal again!) for New Orleans sandwiches we’ve had in Melbourne.

The bread is a just-right, scooped-out French loaf.

The beef is plentiful and plenty juicy without completely overwhelming the bread.

And the dressings are wonderful and zesty.

 

gris6

 

At this point, I really am seriously suggesting to Bennie that we order more gumbo – but he gets a bit stroppy about wanting one of the dessert items he has clapped eyes upon.

Ice-cream sandwich ($12) is a fantasia of “housemade peanut butter banana ice-cream between graham crackers, caramel, caramelised bananas, honey”.

Wow – it, too, is so very New Orleans.

It’s gone, shared by the two of us, in seeming seconds.

There’s no degrees of separation between Consider The Sauce and Girl With The Gris Gris.

The restaurant and the Ding Dong Lounge that adjoins it are both run by Bill Walsh, formerly of crazed rockers the Cosmic Psychos and a former long-time colleague of mine at PBS-FM.

I’d spied that fine bloke, sitting at the bar, on arrival.

But as he didn’t seem to recognise me – perhaps it was the dimness, perhaps it was the moustache – I let it pass so Bennie and I could enjoy our dinner and I could play the role of “anonymous food blogger”.

But as we’re paying, Bill does recognise me – or rather, recognises my voice!

It’s swell chatting with him about the restaurant, his endeavours in employing New Orleans chef Chris Weysham and their menu.

Bill even recalls the story I wrote about his band in the now long defunct afternoon Herald newspaper at the very start of my Melbourne music-writing career.

 

gris8

From the old broadsheet Herald of February 2, 1987 … when yours truly had yet to become Kenny!

 

I reckon the menu (see below) is superb.

I love that it’s minus any high-falutin’, high-priced slabs of meat or extravagant seafood, instead focussing on a tight list of affordable New Orleans classics.

They’re the sorts of things found at bars and neighbourhood joints right across the Crescent City, such as the most fondly remembered by me Liuzza’s.

Hey, Chris! How about some deep-fried pickles?

The phrase “can’t wait” mostly strikes me as nonsense.

But, frankly, I “can’t wait” to return to Girl With The Gris Gris.

Check out Girl With The Gris Gris stories in The Age and the Herald Sun.

 

gris9

After the Raincoat … what?

1 Comment

rainc1

 

Well actually, after the closure of venerable Kingsville institution the Famous Blue Raincoat there will be … more Famous Blue Raincoat.

In the short-term anyway.

Meet Andy, the Newport local whose family is taking over the Vernon Street premises.

They hope to open in about a week.

There’s no great overhaul going on – just a spring clean of sorts that will take in a spruce-up of the lovely garden area out back.

A rebranding of sorts is likely to take place early next year.

The food offered will stay solidly in the cafe format but with a few Andy tweaks along the way – an emphasis on nifty salads instead of fried food, for instance.

I spy a pork burger on the dummy menu Andy lets me examine.

All such goodies as relishes and sauces will be made in-house.

The new/old joint will be open six or maybe seven days a week but not at nights.

There is a strong likelihood, however, of there being some night action along the lines of monthly theme nights of four or six courses with matching beer or wine.

 

Checking out the new Yarraville pub

6 Comments
rail6
Railway Hotel, 35 Anderson Street, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 2034

After watching, like so many Villagers, the fading into the past of a scruffy pub and the unveiling of a new, shiny incarnation, we’ve taken our time checking out the new Yarraville local.

We’re wandered in a number of times but never quite got round to taking the plunge.

For one thing, it’s often seemed mad busy so we’ve gone elsewhere.

But to be truthful, it’s the pricing that has been a sticking point.

I’ve been a feeling a sense of duty, obligation even, to put the CTS take on the Railway out there but …

Singapore noodles for $26?

Lamb curry – made with “saltgrass lamb” – for $26.50?

It’s not that I mind paying such prices.

 

rail5

 

But long experience with items such as high-priced, fancy fish and chips and $25 laksas served in seafood emporiums has taught me that not only are such things expensive but also that all too often they are simply not very good.

So, yeah, I’m suspicious.

Even more so when there are three pubs nearby with similar pricing schemes and proven track records, and at least a couple more that fall into the cheap ‘n’ cheerful genre.

But arriving home from work mid-week, I’m resolved to get the job done.

That resolve is cemented when I retrieve from the letterbox a flier announcing the commencement of $15 parma Tuesdays at the Railway – that’s more like it!

So off we go … for what actually turns out to be the first such parma evening.

The place looks great, though is still recognisably the same building – it’s not like they’ve knocked down any walls or anything.

We secure a table for the two of us without any fuss, though from there on in new arrivals have to wait.

The staff are cheerful and obliging.

And we eat.

 

rail1

 

I’m more than happy for Bennie to trial the Railway burger ($21.50).

He likes it, too, but not with boundless enthusiasm.

The patty looks great and the whole thing impresses as a good, solid straightahead burger.

Bennie likes the cheesy/herby effect and his chips are excellent.

But he’d rather have a burger meal right across the road at a significantly lower price.

 

rail2

 

My $15 parma is something else entirely.

In fact, I’m happy to make a big call – this is the best parma I’ve had in the western suburbs and one of the best ever.

From a list of five I’ve selected the Mexican, with the option of cheese topping added – and it’s a doozy.

The real chicken breast is piping hot and emitting steam. It’s tender, moist and flavoursome.

The mix of onions, peppers and nice glow of spice heat is sufficiently like the ingredients of a classic parma for my dish to maintain strong links with tradition and that mix is all-round delicious.

It’s a very moist project so any crunchiness in the crumb department is gone, but I don’t mind in the least.

And it’s so big that in the end I carve off a hefty chunk for Bennie to enjoy.

My chips, too, are very good.

The salad is average – but isn’t that almost always the cases with parmas?

But even then, given the high quality of the chips and parma, $15 is a ripping bargain – and would still be so at $20.

 

rail4

 

Our server is happy to engage in a bit of banter about the $26 Singapore noodles – she reckons they’re grouse.

Who knows?

Perhaps the price reflects excellence and value.

Maybe we’ll order them one day – or maybe the onion and cauliflower pakoras for $14.50.

But in the meantime, we’re happy and satisfied that the Railway is starting to feel like our local.

 

rail7

High-Quality thali

6 Comments
quality6
Quality Cafe, 1116-1118 Glenhuntly Road, Glen Huntly. Phone: 9571 5544

Just for a change for Saturday lunch, Bennie and I are really happy to be heading over to Nat’s side of town instead of trolling around the inner west.

As we had discussed where to meet, I’d pointed out to Nat that he’d long been posting on Facebook great-looking photographs of funky ethnic food from funky ethnic eateries in his own extended neighbourhood … so how ’bout we try one of them.

The joint selected, Quality Cafe, is just the sort of place I had in mind.

 

quality3

 

It’s a newish. bare-bones Indian cafe with an adjoining grocery.

It’s also, as the signage points out, “100% vegetarian”.

That’s fine by us!

The menu (see below) boasts quite a nifty list of snack and chaat items, as well as dosas, bahji and chole bhatura.

We collectively sidestep all that with little mucking around and go the thali route.

 

quality1

 

My “Quality Thali” ($12.50) is a winner in almost every way.

I love the sambar, dal and cracking, creamy pea-and-cheese curry.

The vegetable biryani, not so much.

Plain rice, raita, tangy pickle and roti complete the picture.

 

quality2

 

As neither of them have eaten breakfast, Nat and Bennie both go for the bigger “Weekend Thali” ($15), which is the same deal plus a potato-based vegetable curry and a cauliflower curry.

I reckon I could live on this kind of food.

It’s humble, delicious and inexpensive.

But what knocks me out about the Quality Cafe thalis is the presentation.

Each dish is presented in its own bowl, with all placed upon a steel platter.

How lovely they all look, bequeathing on a quick Saturday lunch a heightened sense of occasion way beyond the modesty and affordability of the food at hand.

How I wish more Melbourne’s Indian restaurants – including those of the west – took such care in finessing their thalis.

Thanks, Nat!

 

quality5

quality4

Way better than a food court

4 Comments

zouki1

 

Zouki Cafe, Royal Melbourne Hospital. Phone: 9916 6020

Zouki establishments are in-house at hospitals all over Melbourne but I’m told the Royal Melbourne establishment is the biggest.

In a hospital that seems like a small town unto itself, this Zouki is all a-bustle at lunchtime, with a United Nations of humanity chowing down, hospital clients and their friends and families rubbing shoulders with hospital staff.

I’m really impressed by the range of food available – looking at it, I figure it’ll never win any prizes or rave review … but it’s interesting to think about just how this multicultural line-up is such a contrast to what would have been served here as little as a couple of decades ago.

The food ranges from …

 

zouki3

 

… a sandwich bar to …

 

zouki4

 

… salads to …

 

zouki5

 

… pasta and …

 

zouki6

 

… wok dishes.

There’s two coffee stands doing roaring trade.

I have two cafe lattes during my day at the hospital, and they’re both very good.

 

zouki2

 

There’s sweet treats, of course, as well as …

 

zouki8

 

… the obligatory sushi roll counter.

And that seems like the least unappealing of what’s on offer.

I go Indian, of course!

One of my choices is called chicken and potato balti – though I suspect there’s not much balti about it.

It joins dal makhani and rice studded with chick peas for a $11.90 lunch complete with a couple of papadums.

Unsurprisingly, it’s mildy spiced in terms of heat but is nevertheless fragrant with seasoning.

It’s fine.

In fact, my meal would put quite a few Indian restaurants proper to shame.

The dal makhani, in particular, has superb, earthy flavour and is a whole lot less creamy and rich than most restaurant versions.

Preparing to write this story, I am surprised to find that almost all the comments at Urbanspoon are negative and very much concerned with pricing.

Would I visit this place if did not have business to attend to in the hospital?

No.

How does it compare with your average shopping centre food court?

Very well, I reckon.

BBQ blast in the west

21 Comments

smoke7

 

Smokehouse 101, 101 Rosamond Road, Maidstone. Phone: 9972 2622

The shopping strip on Rosamond Rd near the bowling club and approaching Highpoint has never particularly drawn the attention of Consider The Sauce – even when a couple of cafes opened up there about a year ago.

That all changes upon us learning that one of those joints is now operating as a BBQ place – we’re there within hours.

Mind you, as always with American-style food in Melbourne we keep our hopes and expectations in check.

Our optimism is hardly given a boost upon entering, perusing the menu and ordering.

Smokehouse 101 may be operating as a BBQ purveyor but to a significant degree it still looks and feel like a cafe, with only a single person – the boss – on the job.

Is this for real, we wonder?

Will the meat be any good?

Will the sides?

Are we on a fools’ errand?

 

smoke6

 

Bennie is impressed that the walls are widely plastered with covers and pages from vintage Phantom comics.

His dad hears on the sound system, among others, the Memphis Jug Band and Howlin’ Wolf.

As ever, we are a little wary of high prices for ribs (three kinds ranging in price from $28 to $35), so go for the brisket and pulled pork, $25 each with chips and salad.

When our meals arrive – and we have our first taste of the Smokehouse 101 goodies – we relax, enjoy and realise we’ve done real good.

 

smoke1

 

The plentiful chips are fine.

The meat is way better – as good as any we’ve had around town.

The brisket has its share of fat but is beaut – smoky and a mix a fall-apart tender and chewy.

The serve size is generous and good for the price.

The housemade sauce is not particularly spicy but has a nice tang to it that has a citrus feel and maybe even an Asian touch.

 

smoke2

 

Pulled pork is such a cliched part of the BBQ tradition, but we’ve found quite a few versions we’ve tried in Melbourne to be insipid and tasteless.

This one has porky flavour aplenty, though it does benefit from the addition of that same sauce.

It, too, is a good-sized serve – something the above photograph disguises somewhat.

 

smoke3

 

“Baked chilli beans” ($2.50, from the breakfast menu) do suitable duty as an accompaniment even if we’re pretty sure they come from a can, while two extra large commercial pickles ($2) are excellent.

We’ve been surprised and delighted by our dinner.

Smokehouse 101 is still in the transition from cafe to BBQ joint.

We’re told the menus we photograph (see below) will within days be replaced by new versions offering more depth and diversity of BBQ choices.

We like that this place has a casual vibe a long way removed from some of the trendier, ostensibly hipper BBQ places around town.

Ironically, in some ways that makes it more like the regular blue-collar BBQ places you might find in burgs throughout the US south.

We would, however, suggest replacing the non-memorable salad with coleslaw.

 

smoke8

 

As we very happily depart, we spy one of the only other two customers in the place getting to grips with a serve of ribs – though we don’t know what kind they are.

Oh boy, there’s a LOT of ribs on his plate!

And the gentleman concerned confesses he’ll be struggling to finish the job at hand.

 

smoke5

 

As we walk to the car, Bennie opines that the ribs deal we’ve just seen looks like it could do for two.

How about that?

That’s for us next time … which we suspect will be soonish.

Smokehouse 101 is still finding its feet, but we totally dig the idea of having a friendly, casual BBQ place right in our own neighbourhood.

This is one of those very rare times we are tempted to keep our mouths shut and not post on CTS in case the word gets out too quickly.

 

smoke9

smoke10

smoke11

smoke12

Real good ‘baked’ beans

2 Comments

beans1

 

Foxtel, no doubt facing somewhat stiffer competition and in a bid to lessen customer leakage, has loosened things up a bit.

So what for many years has been, for us, a basic + sport package is now a basic + sport + just-about-everything-else-except-movies.

Truth to tell we’re not that impressed – if anything, the increase of futile channel surfing may actually push us closer to pulling the plug.

And the food line-up seems particularly awful at the moment.

But I did see one interesting bit at the weekend.

It was a show purportedly about British pub food but I wasn’t paying too much attention – book in hand, mute on, music playing.

And it stayed that way even when the dude started making baked beans.

I could see what he was up to, though, and thought: “Hey, I can do that!”

I’ve attempted baked beans in the past with no great success – the outcomes have been quite edible but have been more like a bean stew than your actual baked beans.

This one worked!

I made some changes – I used worcestershire sauce instead of red wine vinegar and I threw in a finely grated carrot.

When Bennie saw these in the pot, he said: “That looks weird!”

When he was eating them, he said: “Mmmm … these are good!”

A few days later, he was specifically requesting the frozen leftovers for dinner.

So from here on, in our home they’ll be referred to as “Bennie’s Beans”!

 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups dried cannellini beans (tinned beans are a shabby substitute).

3 rashers bacon

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 finely grated carrot

1 tablespoon worecestershire sauce

salt

pepper

 

METHOD

1. Soak beans overnight and cook next day in plenty of water until done; drain and set aside.

2. Finely chop bacon and fry off in plenty of oil.

3. Lower heat and throw in finely copped onion and finely chopped or grated garlic; cook until tender.

4. Add tomatoes, 1 can of water, tomato paste, worecestershire sauce, finely grated carrot, salt, pepper.

5. Stir until all the elements are blended in; cook on low heat for about half an hour.

6. Add beans and cook on low heat for another hour.

7. Serve on toasted good-quality sourdough.

8. Eat.

Good Vietnamese in an arid area

1 Comment
an1

 

An Phat Pho Restaurant, 65a Ashley Street, Braybrook. Phone: 9077 7984

Where do all the newly arrived residents of West Footscray’s Bunbury Village do their shopping?

Sims doesn’t seem to be all that much busier – and we visit there often.

Nor do they appear to be hitting Braybrook’s Central West Plaza shopping centre, which appears to have had the same moribund vibe for years.

As well, food-wise Central West has never kicked any goals for us.

So that makes the arrival of An Dat Pho well worth celebrating.

 

an2

 

It’s situated on the other side of the car-park from Central West central, sharing a smaller business precinct with a fish and chippery, a charcoal chicken shop, a kebab/pizza place, a noodle shop, a TAB and a Subway.

I’ve tried them all except the latter two – nothing disastrous eventuated but nor did anything that inspired me to post on CTS.

So An Dat Pho is good news for locals – Vietnamese food in an area about midway between the riches of Footscray and Sunshine.

This is especially true as the very good Quan Viet, just up the road a bit on South Road, has closed, seemingly to be replaced in due course by some sort of noodle cafe.

On our visit, Bennie and I enjoy some good, solid if not spectacular Vietnamese food.

 

an3

 

Grilled pork skewers (nem nuon, $7) are yummy wrapped in lettuce leaves with herbs and dunked in dipping sauce.

 

an5

 

Com ga nuong (grilled chicken with tomato rice, $10) is a hit, with nicely flavoursome chook and fine chicken broth to accompany.

 

an4

 

Combination stir-fried thick rice noodles ($12) lets the meal down somewhat.

It’s OK but almost swimmingly wet – in fact, you could just about call it soup!

No problem – we like An Dat Pho and where it’s at, and the service has been grand.

We suspect gravitating towards the vermicelli, pho and rice dishes is the go here.

 

an6

Sayonara, Samsung

3 Comments

sam21

 

My mobile phone saga – first reported upon here – has finally, belatedly and perhaps even happily come to end.

I can laugh about it now but at the time these somewhat crazed events unfolded, humour was hard to find.

So my very expensive, very big Samsung phone went of to be fixed, being returned to me on schedule a week later … with the same fault.

So off my very expensive, very big Samsung went again to Sydney … to be assessed.

At this point, I was demanding a full refund or a new phone.

Over the course of a week, I spoke to many Samsung employees.

I suspect they were speaking to me from various different parts of the globe.

I didn’t ask.

All of them sympathised with my plight.

Several were plainly embarrassed.

A couple frankly suggested I take the matter to a third party, such as Consumer Affairs.

The Samsung employee who runs the company’s social media in Australia, including its Facebook page, suggested to me by email they were prepared to offer a free repair job on my phone.

My very expensive, very big Samsung phone THAT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY!

Hahahahaha.

What was plain during all this was that while all the Samsung people with whom I spoke were sympathetic and quite happy to roll out multiple apologies, not a single one of them was able to do a thing to help me in any meaningful way.

Yes, embarrassing.

Finally, my phone found its way to a Samsung department known as VOC.

It was with some disgust but no surprise that I learned that VOC is an acronym that stands for “Voice Of The Customer”.

How’s that for Orwellian?

Finally my case ended up on the desk of a bloke named Benn, who was first Samsung employee able to, um, expedite matters.

He was a good operator and will also be the last Samsung employee with whom I ever have to deal.

Even then, I was required to provide proof of purchase (I refused, saying the Highpoint shop could do that even if it added a couple of days to settlement) and also fill out forms and email them to Benn.

Finally, today, a bank cheque for the full refund amount arrived in the mail.

In the meantime, several weeks before this denouement, I had given up and bought a brand new phone.

It’s a Motorola – not as slick or sophisticated as its predecessor, but it does everything I need.

Best part – it cost $270!

So thanks to Rosemary for a great tip!

Guest post – Yarraville Japanese

Leave a comment

kawa32

 

Kenny says: Laura is a long-time CTS reader and commenter. We have yet to meet face-to-face – but she’s promised to attend a CTS Feast next year! We discovered early on there’s way less than one degree of separation between us – her sister was a wonderful colleague of mine at the Geelong Advertiser. Alison is still there! In the meantime, our inter-action has lately become a little more chatty, culminating in her asking if I had a recent menu from Kawa-Sake. I told her, no; in fact, we haven’t been to that Yarraville eatery for more than two years. Laura made her own arrangements – and reported back. My next question was obvious: “Did you take pics?” From there, it was easy to tempt her into writing her very own CTS post. Thank you! We love a guest post …

Kawa-Sake Sushi Boat & Grill Bar, 3 Anderson Street, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 8690

Words and photographs: Laura Esperanza

Being my birthday week, the choice for takeout dinner was mine.

My good old, faithful of choice is always Japanese – in fact, sashimi and sushi were on the menu for lunch that day – and Kawa-Sake Sushi Boat & Grill Bar was featured top of the list based on past experience and close proximity.

I did, however, email Kenny to get his opinion on something local and I considered Ajitoya in Charles Street, Seddon, but it was not an option – being a Monday, they were closed.

As we wanted takeout, the plan was to get my hands on a copy of their menu, dial ahead and the partner N would collect on the way home from work.

 

kawa34

 

I couldn’t locate a menu online and was messaged a copy of their menu on my phone after a call and follow-up reminder a few hours later (I had actually given up having Japanese until I got the text sometime after 6pm).

The plan was for collection at 7.40pm. N was running 10 minutes late and I called ahead to change the pick up time to 8.10pm (always try to have contingency plan!) so that the food wouldn’t be cold.

By 7.50pm, N called to say that the meeting had run late and we would be lucky to collect the food by 8.20pm.  I didn’t worry about calling back and resolved not to be stressed as it was out of my control.

Arriving home with dinner, Japanese beer and a bottle of vino, we were back on track to tuck into the meal.

We drank the beer out of champagne glasses (celebratory birthday week, after all) and started on our feast.

 

kawa33

 

I ordered us a grilled beef with teriyaki sauce skewer for the partner ($3.90), the old favourite, seaweed salad ($4.50), and the Kawa-Sake sushi platter ($49.80).

Yes, total treat territory – but, again, birthday week.

The sushi platter consisted of three different raw fishes, four nigri, ebi tempura (crispy large prawns in tempura and darn good), salmon age rolls (fried roll with salmon, avocado, eel) , chicken tempura inside out, and prawn avo sushi.

I’m told the teriayki beef skewer tasted like sesame with a light sauce – not too heavy and very tasty.

Next choice was the prawn tempura – always a past winner. It had a cripsy, light batter, was tasty and we enjoyed the extra mayo to dip in.

It had a nice, crunchy texture and was a winner all round. Even though I’m not into fried foods, it was very light.

The salmon age roll with chili mayo was very tasty and was combined with eel. The rice was a little dry but it was picked up 20 minutes late, second call around.

The prawn avo sushi was fresh and enjoyable.

 

kawa31

 

My two least enjoyable dishes were the fried salmon, eel and avo as it had a crispy, thicker batter (too heavy for my liking) and seaweed salad, which was quite tasty and zesty but too runny to be enjoyed it without dropping liquid in the journey from chopsticks to mouth.

Overall I find Kawa-Sake a safe and winning option whenever we have it, either in the restaurant or take out.

While it’s not the most amazing Japanese I’ve had, it has so far had a 100 per cent pass rate and is a fresh and convenient option.

Is it the cheapest?

No.

Have I had better?

Yes.

Would I go back again?

Absolutely.

See earlier reviews here and here.

Inhaling BBQ

2 Comments
meat6
Meatmaiden, Basement, 195 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Phone: 9078 77

This all seems a little odd – lunching in the CBD on a Saturday.

I’ve taken the car on account of having a handful of funky new CDs to listen to, and as I leave the parking building and hit Flinders Lane I realise – with a momentary sense of panic – that I’ve left my phone at home.

No problem, surely?

Surely I can survive without it, and be out of the loop, for a few hours?

Sure I can!

But Nat has told me Meatmaiden is one of those typically Melbourne joints that doesn’t make itself obvious from the street.

If I can’t locate it, I’ll be unable to contact him.

As it turns out, the street frontage of Meatmaiden is out there in plain sight – but it still takes me a while to nail it.

What IS very Melbourne is the twisty metal-staircase meander from the street through to the restaurant itself.

 

meat9

 

Cool!

 

meat8

 

And the scene of the Meatmaiden action is also very Melbourne – underground, dark, cosy in a clubbish sort of way.

We’re meating here for lunch on account of a visit a few weeks before – impromptu because the place Nat, Bennie and I initially pencilled in for a midweek dinner had turned out to be unsuitable – to Fancy Hank’s.

Bennie and I love that place and actually find it hard to credit that there may be other places in Melbourne that do BBQ just as well, let along with the sort of funky rustic vibe so perfect for a such food.

Nat insisted then that there other good places and it’s high time I tried some of them.

So here we are.

At Meatmaiden, the sibling of Richmond’s Meatmother.

 

meat7

 

Nat is right – the lunch we have is very, very fabulous, even if the sophisticated surrounds are a long, long way removed from the likes of Fancy Hank’s or the equally downhome charms of its nearby Americanophile neighbour.

We pass by the lunch menu and head straight to the main list – the meat of the matter, so to speak.

Given our mutual love for this food genre, Nat and I order with unusual – for us – restraint.

I’d love to hit here with Bennie and go the whole hog, for instance, by going the $49 per person Maiden’s Mood spread of two small/share dishes, three from the smoker/grill and two sides.

But, no, not this time – we get one from the smoker, one from the grill and two sides.

They’re all fabulous and priced right – not cheap eats exactly, but about where it’s at for similar fare around town.

 

meat3

 

O’Connor pasture-fed flat iron 2220-gram steak ($24).

 

meat2

 

And … 200 grams of 20-hour Rangers Valley wagyu brisket with native Tassie pepper berry rub ($22).

We consume with both our meat choices in quick time without even pausing to contemplate the use of the various condiments at our table.

 

meat4

 

Spring onion mash ($8) is great though the spring onion tastes to me as being restricted to the garnish.

 

meat5

 

Red slaw ($8) is rather blandly dressed but otherwise just right – I like it that the vegetables are chopped finely enough to make fork-loading easy. Such is not always the case.

The service has been spot on.

And given this place is no doubt mad busy at other times of the week, we’ve done real good by dropping in for Saturday lunch – there’s only four other tables occupied.

Saturday lunch – definitely the best bet at Meatmaiden.

Check out the Meatmaiden website here.

 

meat1

meat10

Nuevo flavours hit spot

13 Comments
nuevo13
Nuevo Latino, 553 Barkly Street, West Footscray. Phone: 0419 589 739

The aroma of new paint tells us Nuevo Latino – in the premises that previously housed the West Footscray video shop – is a fresh enterprise.

But what we see about us conveys a different impression – it’s a fit-out full of bits and pieces, and great vintage furniture, that gives off a happy, relaxed lived-in vibe.

We enjoy our dinner very much.

But the real stars of the night are the staff.

 

nuevo5

 

Salvador and Yoko, out front, and Juan and Clarita in the kitchen take care of us in a way that is warm and caring yet never overbearing.

They’re very good and we eventually leave very happy.

And as we walk away, all four of tonight’s Team CTS of four express the hope their new eatery succeeds and prospers.

We try a handful of the tapas and “rations”, and have one each of four of the five mains.

It’s pretty much all good or much better.

 

nuevo1

 

Croquettes of bacalao ($3) with what I think is a creamy dill sauce are light, delicate  and tasty.

 

nuevo3

 

Yuka chips ($7) with “piquant dipping salsa” are wonderful and unlike anything any of us have eaten previously.

They’re crisp/crunchy on the outer; almost powdery and/or molten on the inner.

 

nuevo4

 

Grilled corn kernels ($6) have the “wow” factor, too.

According to the menu (see below), they’re dressed in a chilli lime aioli – but the dish tastes to me like there’s more than that going on.

 

nuevo2

 

The papa rellena ($4) – “rock salt baked au gratin potato skins, filled with cheese” – are the single dish we order I find less than memorable.

Nothing bad about them; they simply come and go without leaving an impression.

And now the mains …

 

nuevo9

 

The most impressive looking of our mains is carne asada ($21).

The beef strip, threaded on to a wicked-looking dagger/sword, is nice and salty, chewy in a good way and all sorts of wonderful.

It’s not my main so I’m grateful the companion whose it is spares me some nice chunks.

That’s for me next time!

As with all our mains, the accessories – in this case corn tortillas, pico d’gallo and salad – are fine.

 

nuevo8

 

“Pupusaw” $16 have that required full-on corn flavour and are gooey with cheese.

They’re served with pickled vegetables and refried beans.

 

nuevo6

 

Tamales ($18) are plain but satisfying, also having that corn thing going on.

 

nuevo7

 

“Quinoa envoltini” ($28) is a treat of chicken stuffed with spinach, pepitas and quinoa.

It’s mild of flavour but well done and enjoyable.

We have been kind of hoping for desserts along the lines of a flan or creme caramel.

We’re told such is on the way, but we’re happy with our meal and choose to pass on the churros that are available.

After all, the place has been open only a week.

 

nuevo12

 

But then Juan presents us with a couple of  complementary cups of blood orange gelati (sorbet?).

They’re terrific – sweet, rich and sourish – and a perfect way to end our dinner.

See another Melbourne blogger’s take on Nuevo Latino here.

 

nuevo15nuevo14