The Courthouse Hotel

http://thecourthouse.net.au/
86–90 Errol Street
North Melbourne
VIC 3051
(03) 9329 5394

Hello hello hello!  I'd like you to accompany me down to the station... and then the court house... and then eventually I guess you'll end up in chokey.

Or in this case, let's go for a heart starter at the Station, dine at the Courthouse and eat so much you nearly will choke(y).

It's been a while between drinks, and for this I am truly sorry. Watching the Olympics™, working on a deck build and generally doing stuff at work has put a dent in my productivity.... in the slacking off-sphere of blogging about cramming one's cake hole full of tuck at the very least.

However – the voice of the people has been unanimous: "Move away from the door, and read the restraining order more carefully this time."  This is sometimes followed by: "If you wish to communicate with me, send a blog."

So here I am... in blog format!  Take that legal eagles!  Now, read on!



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Le Rosbif

 

Bonjour geezers!

Of course many know the tale of how the Rosbif got his name.  English soldiers fighting in France, back in the day would order “roast beef”, because they couldn’t stand all that foreign garlicy muck.  The locals started rolling their eyes and gesticulating over their shoulders complaining about les “rosbifs”.

Further research into the etymology of the word “rosbif” reveals everyone being very vague. Some place it to the nineteenth century, others to the period of the Crusades or Middle Ages.  Me?  I can tell you exactly.  1045: the day Edward the Confessor went home to visit his mother in the rainy part of France and complained about the food.

And how very true it is that the English love their beef (and also like complaining)!

On going on my working holiday a Angleterre, their traditional Sunday roast revealed that an avoidance of garlic and “that foreign muck” has made for several hundred years of concentrating on how to do one thing well – as always a recipe for success!

The piece of meat central to the whole experience, to sit cheek by jowl with your jowls, is of course the roast beef. I’ve tried differing ones with varying success, but last weekend pushed the envelope and did a traditional English roast (OK, I couldn’t come at the brussel sprouts), and learnt a thing or two about roasting beef…

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Albert St Food & Wine

Corner of Albert St and (382) Sydney Rd
Brunswick VIC 3056
Telephone (03) 8354 6600
Fax (03) 8354 6611
Email: info@albertst.com.au
Website: www.albertst.com.au


Yesterday found me traipsing up to Sydney Rd, Brunswick, for a catch up with an old pal o’ mine (See? I do go to places outside my usual one kilometer radius from work and home), and hasn’t that neck of the woods changed dramatically over the last few years?

It’s kind of like what Brunswick St (Fitzroy) used to be like in the 90’s; cafes, pubs, fish and chip shops with a healthy dose of opp shops and discount warehouse scenarios.

This is absolutely no news to anyone who lives around there, like the Barkly Square (aka the Sparkly Bear) set, hipsters like Sim (who lives over a shoe shop) or Pauly P.  You know... skinny people. Groovers.


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The Everleigh

150-156 Gertrude St, Level 1
Fitzroy VIC 3065
theeverleigh.com
+61 3 9416 2229

Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking. "This guy's only going out to places that are a hop, skip and a step from where he works." Possibly, but I actually have been supposed to be writing reviews on the Carlton Wine Room, an upcoming Italian food festival at the Exhibition Buildings called la Dolce Italia, NOT TO MENTION our new relationship with Les Toques Blanches, the Executive Chefs Society of Victoria who we recently did a website for in exchange for food (well, we are working in a "patchwork economy", as our Julia says).

But somehow my heart just hasn't been in it. I haven't been inspired to put quill to parchment, let alone RSI afflicted finger stumps to keyboard.

But last night something changed all that. I went to try the new cocktail bar up the road, admittedly with a pretty big chip on my shoulder. "The best bar in Melbourne, as judged by the Age Good Bar Guide? Bah! Fifth best bar in the world, as per the some English newspaper? Humbug! I bet it's full of ostentatious wankers with beards, buns and fixy bicycles."

Well, the generation gap may be there, but I am going to have to stop being so flippin' ageist, because it really is fantastic. Now read on...

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RIP Vlad “Vlado's” Gregurek

Vlado's Restaurant
61 Bridge Road

Richmond VIC 3121

+61 3 9428 5833

http://www.vlados.com.au


It was with some sadness I learnt of the demise of Vlado Gregurek today – first from a nun named Sister Mary, then from ‘the Age’ in an email (all the best recommendations as to his character).


His restaurant, Vlados, is a Melbourne institution. Vlados serve meat – steak to be precise. No pommes frites. No veg… aside from a bowl of sauerkraut. No chicken. No fish. Just meat.

I was taken there when I was ten years old, wearing a maroon rugby jumper with a sky blue skivvy underneath. That night left a deep impression on me.


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The Perfect Schnitzel and Coleslaw

Oh the shame. And oh the tastiness!

I have a confession to make. I'm a sensate person, and in the pursuit of yet another food high I'm fully prepared to trawl the gutters, driving along with my Mercedes Benz Mouth picking up cheap floozies like hamburgers or fish and chips for a thrill. And worse. I'm surprised I haven't caught a case of crabs yet (a bit out of my price range I'm afraid).

On the weekend I was channel surfing and found myself watching Better Homes and Gardens.

I know what you're thinking, and don't think I'm not ashamed of myself for even writing that last sentence.

You know Karen Martini, who makes tasty food with that extra special ingredient - FAT? Well, she was on: cooking schnitzels with coleslaw. The presentation was pretty good, and the whole thing so simple, I thought I'd give it a go.

WARNING: this dish is so delicious, you may be forced to keep eating and end up as a big fat fatty.

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The Point – Albert Park

The Point
Aquatic Drive
Albert Park Lake
03 9682 5566
http://www.thepointalbertpark.com.au/


Recently, I’ve found myself asking: “What is the point?”

Probably because:
a. I just watched ‘i♥huckabees’;
b. I’m self employed; and/or
c. I’m now forty and my hair is falling out.

Existentialist and hairy aspects of the question aside, I’ve found the answer: the Point is a two hat restaurant on Albert Park Lake (‘Thank you Kit, we got that from the heading to this blog,’ I hear you think in your usually sagacious and telepathic manner).

Jane and I found ourselves there last night as a result of our involvement with Les Toques Blanches (LTB), the Executive Chefs society in Victoria (we’re working on their website – shh!). The Executive chef at the Point (Justin Wise) – who is joining the illustrious ranks of LTB – was cooking up a demonstration dinner and we’d been invited.

See? Dreams really do come true.


The Point has received two hats from the Age Good Food Guide, an achievement they wear with pride, and the service and food was really very good. Perched in a two storey building on Albert Park Lake, the view wasn’t much at night, but on going back to retrieve my car this morning, I suspect this is a much better venue during daylight hours (go there for dinner in summer, lunch in winter). The venue itself feels a bit “receptiony”, if you know what I mean, but in the foyer I was floored by their cabinet, which had sides of meat hanging on the hook. They have their own meat ageing cellar, and all steaks have been aged something like 60 days before they are cooked and served (so if you’re asked, get the steak).

The event itself was a real eye opener. The level of knowledge about food around the table was staggering. I know that chefy secrets are being spewed out on TV at a million miles an hour, and you can’t move without being hit over the head with secrets of cooking that were only available to professionals fifteen years ago (a six year old could tell you to dehydrate the watermelon before you include it in the pile with your gravellax), but I was genuinely surprised at just how much there is to know about what can be crammed between your gums. Sitting down with qualified chefs for dinner is a genuine learning experience.

We had a tasting menu, the elements of which were explained by the charming and personable general manager Bryan Lloyd (he’s English and wears a smart suit) in spectacular detail – including the geographical origins of each ingredient.

The menu we had included:

Pan seared Hervey Bay scallops, Beluga lentils (i.e. lentils with caviar in them) and sauce Madras
~
Murray cod, cuttlefish, oyster beignet, fat hen and tonburi seeds (from Jaan, as colloquially known as land caviar)
~
Glenloth pheasant, braised savoy cabbage, and Slippery Jack mushrooms
~
F1 Wagyu Rump Cap, 450+ days grain fed, Rangers Valley NSW,
truffle brûlée, beetroot and celeriac
~
Banana cake, bubble gum ice cream, warm chocolate and caramel sauce

Each dish was matched to a wine, four Frenchies (two white, two red) and then a sticky at the end; I’m afraid I don’t have the deets, but trust me, they were very good and the reason I had to leave the car behind at the end of the night.

From the look of the menu, you’d imagine that Jane would be in her own personal hell, with mushrooms, banana and seafood featured, but she ate everything and gave it two thumbs up (except the dessert, because she was too full).

If you’re into dessert, you would probably have had an orgasm over this one. It included moon/pop rocks, so it popped in your mouth as you shovelled in dark chocolate, ice cream and cake; kiddy lolly porn for adults.

You can see photos from the dinner here.

So all in all? C’est ce bon! I give the Point seven tentacles out of eight (go there in daylight)! Tell Bryan I sent you.


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