Pasta I can eat more than 3 times

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 / smikg / 2 Comments

Third Place
286a Epping Road Wollert

We’d driven past the café/restaurant a few times, with the intention to go in and grab a coffee, but the opportunity truly presented itself one night during Hubbie’s leave period, when we wanted to go out to dinner but didn’t want to venture too far. We needed a local, and so urbanspoon-ing I went.

When I crossed the path of Third Place online, I realised we had to go, and their motto only cemented our decision, as it rings so true. ‘For everyone there’s Home, Work and a Third Place…’

Was this going to be ours? We needed a good local.

I called ahead and booked for dinner at 6pm, but upon arriving on that Thursday night, realised it probably wasn’t that necessary, as there was ample room and only one other group of people. It filled up a bit more during our dinner, however for a small group, on a weeknight, I think you’d get away with no phone-ahead booking. For us with a pram though, I don’t favour the thought of unpacking car and pram, only to be told ‘sorry’ at the door for not thinking ahead. So I’ll continue with my reservations.

Again, we found ourselves in a bluestone building, but this one was decorated by little blue fairy lights, probably so you could see it from the Main Road. Cute, and appropriate for Winter I guess. Inside the décor was interesting. You would expect to find perhaps a more historical style, suited to the age of the building, but it had a bit of a modern edge to it. This is in no way inappropriate, as I’ve seen plenty of television programs where untouched historical buildings have a completely renovated and modern style within its walls – only thing is it appeared far from finished. The lightbulbs hung from red wires over the tables, and the walls seemed unfinished, as well as the ceiling. There was a beautiful fireplace near us, but it was a modern one, with a pink wall around it. I don’t want to comment too much as I don’t know if they’re still in the process of doing up the venue, but I think it’s safe to say there needs to be a bit more sprucing up. Doing so would benefit the other pluses of the place.

The service was fantastic. Our waiter was very attentive, and brought the specials board over to us before we ordered, explaining all the dishes, and he almost sold me on the snapper if I hadn’t already seen prawns on the menu. I asked for a jug of hot water to warm up baby girl’s ‘pouch’ food, and it was a tiny bit slow on the deliverance – it’s the smallest of things but big to me, because when we go out to eat, it’s: feed baby girl, then I get fed. The longer she is delayed, the more chance my meal is sitting there, untouched and going cold as I finish feeding her. My meal did sit there for a while, as I’m now getting very accustomed to, but the meal was still warm, so I was a happy camper.

The food, the food! I was excited about the options: as the menu is not overly extensive (away from the pizzas that is) I was under the impression that what they do, they do well. The website states that the food is inspired by the Head Chef’s home town in Italy, with an emphasis on fresh home style cooking. We were pleasantly surprised when before our meals came one of the chefs (I assume) came to each of the tables and offered some complimentary pizza dough balls – an Italian word was pronounced but not understanding it I sure as hell can’t remember it, but he said there was some cheese and other herbs with it as well. It was warm, soft, very light and fluffy, and sooooo good. Bonus points on free food, as usual.

I had ordered the:

Scialatielli – pasta sautéed with fresh prawns, zucchini and cherry tomatoes

Hubbie ordered the special, which was:

Scotch Fillet with salad

And we also ordered rosemary potatoes on the side.

I loved my pasta. It was so yummy. The prawns were almost creamy, the pasta itself was al dente and fresh, and the saute it was all in was so good, I continued to dip the rosemary potatoes – also really tasty – into the saute long after the pasta and prawns were gone.

I loved my pasta so much, I really wished there had been more. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for me – there were only a few prawns, and if the meal had been only a little bigger, I would have been more satisfied. Delicious, but little light on the serve. I do realise the dish I ordered came from the ‘Primi Piatti’ section of the menu (meaning first dish, therefore assuming there would be a subsequent dish…) but like I said, a little more would have been ideal. And for $25, I guess I was expecting more. Still, super delish, and would definitely order it again, but with a side, again.

Hubbie said he would have enjoyed his scotch more, if it had been cooked to his liking. He requested medium for the meat, and it was definitely more on the rare side. He will still eat it if it’s not exactly as requested, but when the centre of the meat is bordering on raw, I can understand why he would feel unhappy about not getting what he asked for. It was a shame, because everything else was so good. He still ate most of it, and the salad too.

For dessert we decided WTF and shared a Pannacotta – baby girl was still good and I knew when Hubbie goes back to work our dinner nights would be over, so we had to make the most of it.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t tried heaps of panna cotta, but I assumed it was going to be more of a custard-y texture? Yes, it is custard, but this one was creamy, and I could see what appeared was traces of vanilla bean through it. Ice cream on the side, and some little fruit. It was easy to eat, and would be so even if on a really full stomach, as the dessert wasn’t sickly sweet. It left a lovely taste in my mouth, even though we were there going ‘is it meant to be like this?’ Hubbie wasn’t convinced, yet ate all of his portion. We scraped the plate clean, leaving our waiter jokingly asking us “What did you have?”

All up our meals and drinks were just under $90 – which is what we used to pay going into the inner-city suburbs for a meal on a Saturday night. Closer to a $100 when I used to get a glass of red. So a bit more on the pricey side, even the dessert, $14, is a decent price if you’re having the pannacotta just to yourself. So pricing is on the up-side, but the produce seems fresh and as I already said, the service was great.

Food: 8/10. Fresh, home cooked, all that good stuff… my meal was great, and I would love to try their other pastas too. Servings on the smaller size though.

Coffee: Yikes! We ordered none! Will need to do a Review part 2 on that one…

Ambience: Lovely and warm. Really digging the whole fireplace thing, hoping all restaurants start doing it. Once it’s more renovated, I think it will do heaps for the place.

Staff: Very friendly, accommodating. I’m encountering some exceptional wait staff of late. +++

People: We had a few couples, a group, and an older group. Pretty much locals I’d say, a mixed crowd.

Price: On the up-side. You’re paying for the produce, but that freaking pasta (it’s still on my tastebuds) is worth it… I just really wish they up the serves too.

Advice: Get a few plates. Have some nibblies, and then do the meal with sides thing, or as they suggest, do your antipasto, first plate, second plate, dessert… the food is great, you won’t regret it. But your wallet, might. These are the Northern Suburbs after all, not inner-city Melbourne.

In a nutshell: I would love to come back, try more pasta, some coffee… however Hubbie tends to get scarred when his meat is not cooked well. Not only is he a fusspot (he’d say rightly so when you’re forking out cash) but he’s a butcher, and he almost always gets meat when we order out. Poor restaurants everywhere. I’ve lost count of how many times our dinner conversations have turned to how rare/well done his meat WASN’T meant to be, and the number of times chefs have served up meat, the menu saying it’s one thing, Hubbie saying “no it isn’t…” yes, that actually happens.

He’s sorry to say it but he’s not keen to try it again. Because of the locality and food I will use my strongest powers of persuasion and get him to give it one more go… if only for that damn pasta.

So, not a Third Place. Not for us, not yet. But we are yet to try their coffee…

Coffee rules and Fireplaces are Nice at Carome

July 14, 2014August 7, 2014 / smikg / Leave a comment

Two Beans and a Farm
10 Hathfelde Boulevard Mernda

This was our second outing to the Carome Homestead, as the first one had us there to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary months earlier. It was our first dinner outing with baby girl, and even though I wanted to stay close to home ‘just in case,’ I wanted something nice, something different, something special that wasn’t an overbooked rambunctious restaurant with every tom, dick and harry from down the street walking in.

Two Beans and a Farm was the perfect fit.

It wasn’t totally evident then, as we had arrived about 6pm and it was already dark, but driving through the homestead grounds to get to the restaurant car park, it already felt like we were far away somewhere… and yet it was only Mernda, a short drive down the main road. It felt odd that a place as unique as this could be within our immediate area, and even as we walked to the front entrance of the bluestone building, pushing the pram on the gravel footpath, helped along by the low, dim lights in the chilly darkness, I vowed we would be back during the day to fully appreciate the temporarily pitch black scenery.

On our second journey there we could see that even in the broad daylight there was something evidently distinctive about this place: it was so removed, the restaurant in the middle of the large grounds, accessible via long drive – I actually turned to Hubbie and told him I felt like we were ‘away,’ as we had toyed with the idea of daytripping that week. This place made me feel like I was someplace else, and that was good enough.

It isn’t just the far-removed homestead that makes Two Beans feel so unique. The restaurant, with its old-world charm and comforting fireplaces, does something for the venue as well. It appears that the original rooms have been kept and renovated/transformed into the many eating areas, which only adds to the ambience of having a meal away from other diners, as you may likely only see them in an adjacent room. There are stunning fireplaces within, and can I just say, you need to come here in Winter. It’s the place to go when it’s freezing out, and just be warned, you may not want to leave.

The first time we arrived, we had booked ahead, it then being a Saturday night and a special occasion; this time however, being an ‘ordinary’ Sunday (or so we thought) we decided to wing it, only to be advised at the door that we should book. Oops. Fortunately for us, we were able to be squeezed in, and once again, found ourselves beside one of the glorious fireplaces. Towards the end of our meal, a lovely waitress asked if the room was warm enough, or whether she should put the fire out, and we politely yet strongly advised against doing such a thing. 😉

Our meals, did I say? That’s right. So I ordered a fresh orange juice on arrival, Hubbie got a latte, and then for the brekkie:

I got the Huevos a la Mexicana – chilli scrambled eggs with caramelised onion, sweet corn and chipotle mole

while Hubbie got The Homestead Big Brekkie – scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted mushrooms, tomato & homemade baked beans on sourdough toast

I was already advised that the chilli scrambled eggs weren’t too chilli, which was fine by me. If you’re a heat-seeker hoping to break down in a sweat and gulp some ice cold water down in ferocious spirit, well you won’t. Instead you’ll have a pleasant taste in your mouth, further accompanied by some bite at the back of your throat. Manageable bite, subtle enough for the tamest of adventurous foodies.

My ‘bite-y’ eggs were smooth, almost creamy, the corn giving some great texture, and it wasn’t overly ‘egg-y’ if you know what I mean. Although it seemed a big meal, I ate the whole thing quite easily. Again, could be the whole ‘Mum’ thing with me eating so much more in the last year, but it didn’t leave me with the overly-full feeling usually associated with decent sized breakfasts, and I think this can be attributed to the fact that it was a fairly healthy breakfast. Chilli eggs were atop rocket and sourdough, and their web site advertises the fact that they use homegrown produce, evident from the outbuildings situated alongside the restaurant.

Hubbie enjoyed his meal. I tasted some of his eggs, the beans and mushrooms, and they were good. He commented on how much egg he had on his plate when it arrived (he’s one of those not keen on the ‘egg-y’ flavour) but I noticed he ate most of it. He’s fairly fussy, my Hubbie, but he complimented the bread, the beans, and the meal in general, saying it was far superior to another breakfast we’d had in Mernda recently: “this s*&ts all over – .“

My coffee was great: strong, but so smooth, and the chocolate-y flavour on top of the froth was a beautiful compliment to the strength of the coffee. Hubbie loved his latte, complimenting it many, many times. We were impressed, and I almost asked them what kind of beans they use, until I realised that just because we are coffee snobs, doesn’t mean I have to let them know about it.

Food: 9/10. Spanish/French inspired, homely, fresh and inspiring. The cuisine adds to the other-wordly vibe, and they do it well.

Coffee: 9.5/10. Probably one of the best we’ve had.

Ambience: Warm and inviting, comforting. Being in different eating areas you feel separated from other diners, even if they are only 2 metres away on the other side of the fireplace. It’s a getaway restaurant, with real class, real ease.

Staff: Very accommodating and professional. All restaurants should cater like this.

People: With the general requirement it seems to book ahead, you don’t get just walk-in’s… how should I say… people are prepared? No. Look, the people are nice. I’ve seen couples, families, groups, friends, and just generally nice people.

Price: A little on the up side, however we’re always willing to pay when the quality (and ahem, coffee) is to this standard. Both our meals, coffees and my juice tallied to around $44.

Advice: Book ahead, no matter what time/day it is. I fear this place becoming all too known to the public around it, and if that becomes the case, you won’t just have to book, but you’ll be placed on a waiting list. True story. Pleasant places like this that have that far-away feel, holiday vibe, are unfortunately hard to find in these parts…

In a nutshell: As the Terminator says… you know.

Ducks with a side of Dukkah

June 23, 2014July 8, 2014 / smikg / Leave a comment

Rivers Café and Providore
28 Kurrak Road Yarrambat

The first time Hubbie and I went into Rivers of Yarrambat was because we were looking for plants. Hubbie used to drive by it on his way home from work, and noticed signs alerting to the fact that it was a nursery. Upon going there a couple of times and falling in love with the interesting variety of flora, along with the beautiful homewares shop housed there, we also noticed there was a café on the side of the premises.

Then we started going to Rivers: more for the café, than the nursery.

I have been to Rivers Café and Providore many, many times since. It was the first café/eatery we went to after having our daughter, in those early days where I was scared to leave the house in fear she would cause a scene and in embarrassment I wouldn’t know how in the world to settle her, while simultaneously feeling like if I didn’t leave the house I might die of cabin fever. I now know that’s a thing, a REAL thing.

I’ve been there for coffee, I’ve been there for scones. I’ve been there for brekkie, brunch, lunch, dessert and everything in between. I would have been there for dinner if they catered for it, and the only thing I haven’t had there is the high tea: that I WILL most definitely do sometime in the near future.

So I guess this is a bit of a prelude to this review: in writing of my most recent visit there I feel it would be slightly unfair to solely score it on this one experience, being that during this one my brunch friend was not too enthusiastic about her meal, yet every other time and with every other person, it’s been fairly consistently fantastic.

Being early Winter, it was actually fairly lovely weather as we arrived, and upon waiting to be seated were offered either to eat outside in the covered dining area overlooking the nursery grounds and ducks swimming about in the pond, or inside. I wanted to sit outside for my friend to get a better experience of her visit, but she was cold, so that kind of made up our minds fairly quickly.

Something I have to mention here is that most times when I’ve gone there to eat, when a waiter has gone to sit us they’ve usually asked if we have a booking. Every time, we reply “no,” however every time they still manage to sit us, no matter how busy they are.

On this day, they were very quiet. You’d probably think that going on a weekday would usually present you with a fairly deserted restaurant. When we went, although quiet, there were a few large groups of ‘Mums with Bubs,’ prams everywhere, to the point that you wouldn’t be mistaken to wonder if Wednesday’s were a special day for those maternally inclined to step out and get a free babycino for their littlies or something.

On other days, you’d think it was a special Pensioners day. This place attracts all kinds of people, but generally more of the nicer-dressed, upper-class variety, if you know what I mean. The kind that are more inclined to tip.

I ordered The Moroccan – poached eggs on grilled flatbread with feta and dukkah

while my friend ordered the Rivers Berry Crepes

I really enjoyed my meal: it was to the same standard of every meal I’ve had there. The produce is fresh, and you get excited just looking at the adjoining garden to the café, wondering how much of it gets into the kitchen. Some part of the menu is seasonal, so there are always a few new additions and interesting combos popping up to make the dining experience lovely. My eggs were poached perfectly, the warm flatbread was beautiful, while the lemon and pepper gave a zest and flavour exactly as it stated it would in the menu, so what I ordered was exactly what I got. The dukkah gave a lovely crunch, however though I love sesame seeds it got a bit much to me towards the end and I shoved the remainder to the side to keep them from getting stuck in my teeth. All in all, really yummy, and very presentable.

My friend wasn’t a fan of hers. I think I would have liked it, in defence of Rivers; she’s recently back home from the States, and said her berries were too sour – she’s used to her berries “sherbet.” LOL. Enough said.

The waitress who picked up our plates on completion did ask if anything had been wrong with my friend’s meal, and it proved again to me how polite and keen the staff there are to right any wrongs and make sure the customers always leave happy.

As usual I ordered my coffee as our meals arrived, and it was great. They use Dukes there, which I love, and although when I first sipped it there was a bit of a different taste to it, it faded away quickly and I enjoyed the rest of my lukewarm coffee (I’d been busy scoffing my eggs on flatbread).

I’m going to try and generalise my scores based on all my visits there, so here goes.

Food: 9.5/10. Fantastic, as usual. Fresh, seasonal, and appearance-wise, very attractive as far as food goes.

Coffee: 9/10. Dukes, what else is there to say?

Ambience: Generally, fairly mellow, even when it’s busy it doesn’t get very loud or raucous; the only ones making the noise there are the kids getting hyper on their babycinos, and that’s if you get a massive group of pram-pushers like we did. Normal café noise I guess.

Staff: Always aiming to please, very smiley. On a previous occasion I ordered a very weak flat white for my Mum; the waitress came to check if the strength was appropriate, adding that she could bring extra milk if required. Tick and Tick.

People: Of the ‘nice’ variety. You won’t catch a horde of uni students here, unless they’re dining with their parents. There’s still a very relaxed vibe. Laid-back country style mixed with $$$.

Price: Speaking of the dosh. It’s a few dollars more than some other places you may go to grab brekkie, or lunch, or dessert. Having said that, with the presentation, quality of food on offer, surroundings and the service, it’s definitely worth it.

Advice: If it’s a lovely day and you want to eat with a view or you wish to dine there on a public holiday, maybe best to phone ahead. Yes, they are open on public holidays. Funnily enough, it appears they’re open bar a few select days a year, which makes it so much more hilarious that they don’t do dinner. I guess they need a break somewhere, right?

Oh yeah, and you berry eaters? They’re sour, because they’re fresh. On a previous visit Hubbie had the same crepes as my friend did and also didn’t like the sourness. Fuss pots ;P

In a nutshell: I’ve been going back for years now, so there really isn’t any question, sour berries or not.

Custard at the Corner Store

June 11, 2014June 23, 2014 / smikg / 2 Comments

Red Door Corner Store
70 Mitchell Street Northcote

Our fair yet weather-unpredictable city allowed Autumn to put on its finest show as I ventured along to the tucked away Northcote café, off the busy High street one Saturday in late May.

The weather was mild as it had uncharacteristically been the last few weeks, yet the season was evident, in the picturesque leaves lying scattered around each tree lined up on all sides of the street surrounding the corner café, with hues of green, yellow and orange colouring the ground.

Although not far from the busy High street, there was a strong neighbourhood and tucked-away vibe as I happily discovered parking not too far from the corner store, and realised with even more relief that there were no parking meters. What? I had even bought my stash of loose change just for the occasion. That would go back into my coffee change tin thanks.

The woman passing me with her milk as I set off with baby girl in pram, saying a friendly “hello,” only added to the lovely everybody-knows-your-name feel. And how true it is, don’t you wanna go. Tick and tick.

Arriving as I do everywhere with pram, I was happy to see there was only the slightest step leading into the café where my friend was waiting for me. However backing into the busy and crowded place was another story, and it was only after a polite woman waiting for her coffee held the door open for me that I was able to actually get both me and my girl in.

I’d happily read a review before going there that seating and parking were plentiful. Parking, yes. Seating? Not with pram. Maybe the reviewer meant the amount of seating, rather than the space surrounding the seating. I’d wondered if perhaps, on a lovely Saturday Autumnal morning, we should have phoned ahead. Inside it was tight with my pram, and only after shifting spots after a more abundant amount of space became available, did I become more at ease. There was seating out the front of the cafe, which would have been good, and my friend visited the loo which was out the back, where there was also more seating – apparently that was packed.

Get to the damn food, you say! Well I had the lovely
Brioche French toast, baked quince, rosewater custard, pistachio praline.

To no fault of their own, I ate my meal lukewarm because I tended to baby girl’s own food of apple and pear puree for a good while, after she stopped with her “mmm!”s. (Means more). Even so, it was slightly warm, the custard rosewater with quince, all melting together in the middle of the brioche. Not too sweet for brekkie, so it didn’t leave me with that sick feeling making me feel like I should have gone the savoury brunch route. It had praline that almost immediately reminded me of the praline atop the never-forget blueberry pancakes I had at Dukes sometime in the year 2012. Yes, I still remember. And the pistachio was sharp and crunchy, sweet, candied even? Yummo indeed.

My cappuccino was ok, it was only warm once I got to it (again, no fault of theirs) and as any Mum would attest to, the experience of drinking a fresh hot coffee while in a busy café entertaining your little one is akin to keeping your brand spankin’ new white heels clean on a rainy day. However my friend did tell me her first coffee before my arrival was cold, so her second was ordered ‘extra hot,’ and was happily, so she reported. I’ll forgive them for the lukewarm coffee, if only for the fact that the beans are Proud Mary’s.

I did love how virtually everything on the menu was using ingredients sourced from around our beautiful state. Massive bonus points in my book. Little pegs held descriptions of sandwiches and tarts in one display case, while another row of cute peg-descriptors (we’ll go with that) were in a cute row in front of the cash register, tempting you to cheekily go “oh, I’ll have one of those too please!” regarding the delicious cupcakes on offer. I resisted, my brekkie was sweet. And they were presented in a lovely looks-like-it-came-from-a-second-hand-shop chic jewellery display case. Kewl.

The only slightly annoying thing was when it came time to pay up front, the guy putting through our order took just a tad long, especially when he went away and came back with a whole bag of cash to put into his till. Fair enough mate, busy Saturday and all. However he took sooo long doing it, almost like there wasn’t a 6 person line behind me (and that took up half the space in the café). Maybe they’re going for the ‘look how busy we are look’ and want a line like that… but it was like that pretty much the whole time we were there.

Food: 8/10

Coffee: 7/10 (Points removed because food/coffee was lukewarm – not their fault I know – but it did remove from the experience, and I can’t give points for what could have been).

Ambience: Noisy, which suited me just fine with my girl doing a few rounds of vocal acrobatics.

Staff: Friendly and accommodating, especially with helping us move seats, answering our ingredient queries politely and offering ‘side’ options (when I wasn’t sure on going the ‘savoury’ route and was considering removing avocado from a meal – I like it, it just doesn’t like me), and of course anyone who comments on how cute my girl is gets extra ticks.

People: Mix of uni students, lovely people who moved out of my way with my pram (it’s all about the pram don’t you know), couples, and quite a few with little-ies, but those that were already walking. There was an older couple there, who fortunately left and gave us the fantastic seating when we moved. Cyclists came in too, and went straight for the paper hanging over the ladder near me. Checking if Autumn will keep up? Who knows.

Price: All up my meal was $19.60. Under 20 and it’s a great feed especially with the quality of the food on offer.

Advice: If going at a busy time of day (or just a busy day, like a weekend) maybe phone ahead. I saw a table with a reserved sign, so fairly sure that means they take bookings. Also, if you have a pram (or a posse, you may be P. Diddy) it’d be good for them to give you a spacious spot. We got lucky. If you’re a coffee snob (and let’s face it all the best people are) order your coffee extra hot. And lastly, ask for them to bring the bill to the table, and then let them pick up your tab so you don’t have to wait in a line up the front – unless you want to be tempted by the cupcakes. You do, don’t you?

In a nutshell, will I go back?: The café has character, sources local ingredients, has great parking close by, and I wouldn’t mind relocating to one of the many beautiful Edwardian houses nearby. Looking forward to going back with Hubbie.

smikg

work in progress

Food Reviews

Pasta I can eat more than 3 times

Coffee rules and Fireplaces are Nice at Carome

Ducks with a side of Dukkah

Custard at the Corner Store