Okay, okay. I know what you’re thinking… “Where the bloody hell is she?”
Although it has been 162 days since my last post, Don’t you worry, I have been around and about this lovely city of ours eating at some amazing places. Pope Joan, B&P (pop-up store), Proud Mary, El Mirage, Earl Canteen, Movida Next door, Cumulus Inc, Abla’s and Northern Soul to name a few.
So, my mission in this post is to give you a quick insight into these lovely places.
Pope Joan – One of the biggest hyped up places around town.
Who: My other half and I
When: Sunday morning brunch in late summer
What: My Other half – boiled eggs and soldiers, Me – boiled eggs with goats curd, zucchini and tomato
Result: Service was short and professional but lacked personality. Meal was decent, although beware if you don’t eat eggs (almost all menu items are egg based). We both left feeling a little disappointed due to the hype of this establishment.
B&P (pop-up store) – Let them eat cake…
Who: The Westerner and I
When: A random Friday at lunch time
What: Coconut, Passionfruit, Ginger & Mint for me and Chocolate, Mandarin, Murry River Salted Caramel for the Westerner.
Result: A lovely little concept store to demonstrate their lovely products prior to the opening of their store. Each little cake is prepared with care and perfection which is why you end up with a beautifully elegant and decadent sweet, reminiscent of something Marie Antoinette would have enjoyed.
B&P is now an established dessert store on Chapel Street.
Proud Mary –the hottest thing in town!
Who: The Westerner, The Greek and I
When: Saturday lunch in winter
What: The Westerner in typical style ordered the smashed avocado with goats cheese and chilli on crunchy sourdough, The Greek (with anglo taste buds) felt like a homely ham and cheese toastie and I was keen to try the pumpkin and goats curd tart with beetroot and almond salad.
Result: A lovely lunch on a chilly Saturday afternoon. Service was professional, friendly and despite being quite busy, treated each table with respect. I must say, I was disappointed with the coffee, I believe it was a little too strong, but the Westerner was happy with hers and the Greek loved her luscious hot chocolate. A word of advice, get there early to avoid queues.
El Mirage – trendy little café in East Brunswick
Who: The Westerner and I
When: Saturday morning after a busy morning market shopping!
What: The Westerner ordered her favourite eggs benedict with proscuitto and I ordered my standard – a warm autumnal fruit compote with musli and yoghurt.
Result: A retro chic café serving some great food. Service was more than satisfactory and although, I did enjoy the atmosphere and the food was yummy, I don’t know if I’d head back there anytime soon. There are so many other places in Melbourne and more specifically in East Brunswick with more of a WOW factor.
Earl Canteen – Sandwich bar of the century.
Who: The Ladies who lunch (from work)
When: random weekday lunch whilst up the other end of the city.
What: Baguettes baby! Two pork belly, one prosciutto and one broccoli, pomegranate and quinoa salad
Result: Well what can be said, it’s silver service with (brilliant) sandwiches. This was the first time for the ladies who lunch to visit Earl, while I have been there in the past and eaten the stunning wagyu meatball baguette (which I adored!).
The pork in the famous pork baguette, is slowly cooked and lovingly wrapped in fabulous Dench bread with apple & coleslaw. The prosciutto baguette has classic Italian flavours and the broccoli salad was crunchy and healthy (in a delicious way!).
We love Earl and would love to visit more often, you should too!
Movida Next Door – a night in Spain
Who: My other half, his mates and I
When: A Saturday night
What: Tapas baby! Started with stunning bread, croqueta, bomba, Ox tongue, fried artichoke, prawns, chicken skewers , goats cheese cake and Spanish donuts with hot chocolate sauce.
Result: Movida Next Door, you are amazing. But, please stop telling your patrons that the wait to eat will be 30 minutes and then have us wait for one hour and half!
Now, that I have vented that thought, I want to tell all Bombolone Blog readers that Movida Next Door is glorious. Everything and anything you order will taste delicious as it is prepared with care and the finest ingredients. Favorites of mine are definitely the pungent croquetta’s , the rich and delicious bomba and the moorish fried artichoke with lemon and almonds. And, for those who love their sweets, anything on the dessert menu looks and sounds amazing – try the cheesecake and the custard flan (which smelt incredible, but was sold out when we were there).
Cumulus Inc – you had me at hello…
Who: Various colleagues & I
When: Let’s be honest here…almost two or three times a week.
What: Everything and anything.
Result: Well, what can I say, I love this place… truly love it. It is innovative and inspirationally delicious with fabulous coffee and gentle yet totally professional staff. I totally recommend Cumulus Inc. I have eaten so many delicious dishes things here and would recommend to any diner to be open minded.
There is one drawback to Cumulus Inc…you can’t book for small groups, so (once again) this is one of those ‘get there early’ warnings.
Abla’s – a visit to see my Lebanese nonna, or at least, that’s what it felt like!
Who: My foodie friend, my other half and I
When: A Thursday night dinner
What: The seven course banquet which is similar to a typical Greek banquet i.e dips with pita, small entrees, mains (meat) and dessert.
Result: The dips were amazing, like… so amazing. My other half who doesn’t even eat chickpeas (and swallows them whole!) loved Abla’s homemade yummy hummus! The babaganoush was so deliciously smoky while the labna had the perfect amount of tartness to accompany many of the dishes that followed.
Other outstanding dishes were the “springrolls” with lamb and spices, the green beans with tomato, the silverbeet and rice rolls, the tabouli and, in my opinion – the falafel. But to be honest, it was all so lovely, I couldn’t decide upon a favourite dish. One other aspect which deserves to be noted is the Turkish delight. It is by far the best I have ever eaten. I usually despise it with a passion, but this one was magnificent, silky and delicate with an extraordinary flavor that did not overtake my palette. Meanwhile, the delicious buttery baklava was also a standout! I LOVED it all.
To finally finish off a great meal, what was even more fabulous, was Abla stepping out of the kitchen to walk around and ensure that all guests were accommodated. She was so sweet and advised me to let her know if I need anything. What a lovely lady!
Northern Soul – my new local.
Who: My other half, the unofficial in-laws and I.
When: Brunch on a Saturday morning.
What: My unofficial father-in-law ordered Bacon and eggs with a freshly squeezed juice, My Other Half and his mother (aka the unofficial mother-in-law) ordered the amazing pancakes with banana, honeyed mascarpone and honeycomb and finally, I ordered the home-made baked beans with goats curd and pumpkin bread.
Result: A cute, friendly and inner city suburbs cool little café. Staff are accommodating and more than happy to provide assistance, the menu is very well priced and has some interesting dishes. The baked beans were fabulous and were in itself my breakfast and lunch. It provided me enough sustenance for the entire day and I loved the flavours, especially the contradiction of the sweet tomato sauce with the tart goats curd. Another mention is owed to the pancakes with the gloriously golden honeycomb and banana, they just looked and tasted sensational.
El Joyero
Who: My Other half and I
When: Sunday morning brunch
What: Poached eggs with housemade cherry tomato and mint fava beans, roasted lemon and whipped feta for me & the Housemade waffles with caramalised pear, strawberries, walnuts and vanilla icecream for My Other Half.
Result: Well, I love love loved my meal. It was wholesome, fulsome and so yummy! I particularly loved the sprinkle of lemon over the eggs, it really brought out the sweetness of all the flavours. The waffles looked so nice. Although, I must say that I think there may have been too many flavours on the plate and this may have caused some confusion for My Other Halfs taste buds.
Unfortunately it appears that El Joyero has since closed its doors.
Jackson Dodds
Who: Nadine and I
When: A lovely Saturday at lunch time
What: (Nadine) Bacon and grilled tomato on sourdough toast and I, the famous dukkah eggs.
Result: The lovely Nadine, is a little fussy. But I am so proud of her as she is slowly exploring new flavours.
On our exploration into the outer northern suburbs eatery, she ordered a very safe meal but advised me that she loved it and informed me that her soy mocha had a lovely flavor but was not as hot as she would have liked it. I, on the other hand, ordered and devoured the dukkah eggs. This dish doesn’t look as appetizing as it really tastes, but it was so glorious that it is perhaps my favorite Melbourne café dish. Two perfectly poached eggs were rolled in a full flavoured herb and lemony dukkah and served on red onion and silverbeet on two yummy slices of toast. The silverbeet and onion sauté was sweet and tangy with lemon juice and zest. Each element was well done and overall really was a fabulous flavor combination. Service was polite but a little slow. I highly recommend this cute little eatery.
De Clieu
Who: The Westerner, My other half and I
When: On a freezing cold Sunday afternoon
What: The Westerner ordered a panino with pork and fennel sausage and other goodies, while My Other Half orderd the beef brisket toasted sandwhich which was served with horseradish cream and cheddar cheese (and a very quirkey but necessary tangy gherkin). And finally, I had the smashed avocado with red chilli, tomato’s and fetta. Oh, and let’s not forget the mandatory coffees!
Result: A comfy and homely café atmosphere which was perfect for the freezing cold afternoon we went. Fabulous Seven Seeds coffee is served here along with a similar menu to the sister café, Seven Seeds in Carlton. Each of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals and coffees over our discussion regarding our love for Gertrude Street. De Clieu is a little piece of Seven Seeds which is much more commuter friendly for me– I Love it!
Gertrude Street Enoteca
Who: My Other half & I
When: Friday night dinner
What: Pepperonata (red pepper stew), slow roasted lamb with broad bean, mint and feta salad, almond & strawberry cream layered cake and a glorious valrhona dark chocolate & walnut brownie.
Result: Gertrude Street Enoteca (GSE) is such a lovely little wine bar that is perfectly romantic and so low key on a Friday night. The small bar is full of cook books and wine from all over the world and is reminiscent of a lovely home. Bridgette Hafner (a writer of Gourmet Traveller) is the owner and cook of GSE and you can really tell that she loves what she does. The food here is lovely. It is simple yet well executed and beautifully presented and, the well chosen wines really demonstrate her respect for quality. Our meal on this particular visit was lovely, homely and perfectly seasonal. A great place to unwind.
