Cafes and Restaurants » Melbourne Restaurants
Miss Jackson, St Kilda
Every time I’m on my way to Miss Jackson all I can think about is that song, “I’m sorry Miss Jackson, I am for real” it’s really annoying because I should be thinking how Miss Jackson is going to help me from my hangover, you know, for real. After watching the film clip, now I’m going to expect someone to be washing their pimped out car out the front and dogs nodding their heads at me as I walk up Gray St. All of this and no hallucinogens.
Wedged down an alley between halfway houses, backpacker travel agents and a few seedy nightclubs, Miss Jackson is a shining beacon of class in an otherwise classless (apologies to the Melbourne Wine Room, none such to the ever-so-trashy George lane-way bar) area. The café itself is a converted house that reminds me more of a rabbit warren than a café, the smaller nooks don’t quite fit the tables that they contain. It’s nowhere near as cramped as Wall 280 in Balaclava and there it adds “character”. Nonetheless the place has character and the larger communal tables are comfortable and spacious. There’s also an outdoor area, which thankfully parents seem to utilise to entertain their wild children.
T
he menu is everything you would expect without being outstanding. Corn fritters, steak sandwiches, and eggs every which way. But what the menu lacks in excitement it makes up with in the execution. While you might cook everything on the menu at home, it simply won’t be as good.
The portions are great, the food looks amazing and best of all it tastes spot on. In fact, of all the cafés around, Miss Jackson is my favourite for a comforting, hangover curing breakfast – morning or afternoon. Perhaps this is cause of a subtle focus on booze. There is beer and wine on the menu and a few bottles of spirits peeking out from behind the bar – important for my personal favourite menu item.
The “superstar DJ” bloody mary is everything you could want in this breakfast cocktail – good spice and acidity and a healthy sprig of celery. A bloody mary is tricky to get right at the best of times and they come out with amazing consistency.
The guys that run this place (Steve and Matt) are clearly drinkers – it shows – they know what’s good for you.
You should follow me on Twitter.A Year of Coffee in Melbourne
A week is a long time in football, and in a city as fascinated with coffee as it is with football, a year is an eternity in the world of cafes. Today marks the 1st birthday of Seven Seeds, one of the superstars of coffee in Melbourne. Happy Birthday Seven Seeds.
It is amazing to think that since the opening of Seven Seeds there have been so many other great coffee shop openings. So many in fact that Seven Seeds feels as though it is one of the “old boys.” It will be fascinating to see how the “scene” evolves over the next year.
Putting it all into context I’ve constructed something of a timeline of the last years specialty coffee shop openings. The dates aren’t exact (and I would welcome corrections) but they are pretty close.
Seven Seeds, Carlton. 1 June 2009.- Outpost, South Yarra. 22nd September.
- Dead Man Espresso (review), South Melbourne. 25th September.
- Proud Mary, Collingwood. 4th November.
- Market Lane, Prahran. 10th November.
- Sensory Lab, (review), Melbourne CBD. 29th November.
- Three Bags Full, Abbotsford. 27th January 2010.
- Monk Bodhi Dharma, Balaclava. 5th January.
- Espresso 3121, (renamed and revamped) Cremorne. 3rd February.
- Padre South Melbourne (review), South Melbourne. 5th February.
- 65 Degrees, Melbourne CBD. 18 February.
Cafes opening aren’t the only thing that has happened in the last year either, the blog coverage of cafes in Melbourne has gone through the roof with the usual suspects spending as much time reviewing cafes as restaurants. There is one specialty coffee blog though that has been providing an attempt at objective reviews of the coffee being served across the city. Backseat Baristas is doing a great job and can only get better as they refine the concept.
Like in so many other facets of life Twitter has become the best way to talk to people who are involved in the industry and coffee is no different. I have created a coffee list of the people I follow. It’s a great way to keep an ear to the ground.
In a summary of the year I would be remiss to ignore the fact that the actual coffee has changed quite considerably. Seven Seeds, St Ali, 5 Senses, Market Lane and Small Batch seem to be all be expanding the number of cafes they are supplying with beans and places like Dead Man are making the most out of the variety.
Experiencing these coffees has never been easier either with Seven Seeds and Market Lane (that I know of) doing daily cuppings.
This isn’t to mention alternative brewing methods which seems to have had a massive boom. The syphon has gone from strength to strength with a good number of these cafes using it. Pour over seems to be the flavour of the day though, with it allowing some subtle flavours to really poke through.
You should follow me on Twitter.The Best Melbourne Lunch Spots
When my friend Bruce isn’t writing about The Black Keys he is usually experimenting with some other piece of crazy social media or pottering around in his garden, beer in hand. But today he has enabled some cool team collaboration. Finding the best lunch spots in Melbourne. It’s a simple thing to do and one which any team could do, create a Google Map, share it with your coworkers, add some guidelines and presto. Better lunch for all.
Check it out, we’d love to hear how you and your coworkers find the best places to eat, drink and recover.
You should follow me on Twitter.Hidden Pizza Restaurant, Fitzroy
They want you to check out the Yellow Pages to find out where the Hidden Pizza Restaurant is, but personally I’d just go over and get the scoop from Brian at Fitzroyalty. A quick picture and a Mellie putting 2 and 2 together and we have the answer. This is a lesson to us all, if there is something interesting happening over in Fitzroy, Brian will know.
Update: You need to call 1300 615 786 and you’ll get an order number. They won’t serve you without it. A few photos are emerging, check them out here and here.
Another update: Berry travels has a blogpost about the whole experience. I can’t help but think we are going to hear more about this place.
You should follow me on Twitter.Wall Two 80, Balaclava
If we were all rabbits, the Wall Cafe would be the kind of cafe we would all love. There is no order, there are random little tables and chair jammed in every nook and cranny, seemingly spilling out onto the street. The cafe seems to have been jammed into an old butchers shop that it doesn’t really fit into. Much like the rabbit warrens of my dreams.
Apparently people like this claustrophobic feeling. The place is packed and nobody seems to care that you have to push past someone to get to your table, or that there is newspaper strewn all over the biggest table in the place. Or perhaps it is that the food is great, the service is surprisingly quick and the prices are rock bottom.
The menu is written on the wall and comprises mainly of gourmet pides with a few other bits and pieces. The coffee was good, a really dark blend which made my strong latte a little too strong flavoured. My second was a regular latte.
Baked beans and ham hock ($10) with basil and fetta. This is such a great combination, the gritty texture of the ham hock contrasts really well with baked beans. The basil and fetta ($1.50 extra) adds an extra layer of flavour.
Not the best photo, this avocado on rye was really good. Very fresh avo, great rye bread with cottage cheese and a slice of lemon. Very filling for a small serve and only $8.
It was a quick breakfast, 4 coffees and 2 meals for $32. Can’t really complain when the food is this good.
You should follow me on Twitter.St Judes Cellar, Brunswick St
Finally, I’ve eaten at St Jude’s Cellar. It has been in my mind since stumbling upon it on a lonely St Patricks day and spending my last $20 on fine wine, not Guinness. I’ve since been back, for wine and cocktails, to sit at the bar, to taste their wine, and even to just gaze at the interior design but never for food – how I’ve been missing out.
The wine list is great. They have a great range of wines by the glass, varying not only in style but also price and a massive by the bottle, walk in wine list with a $15 dine-in premium over their retail price. This makes for a reasonably cheap bottle with dinner. The problem is, their lack of good wine advice. This seems to happen a lot recently, we asked for wine advice and our waitress told us what she had been drinking lately. That was the bottle we ended up drinking, but I really wanted someone to suggest a bottle that would complement our dinner.
Wine service aside, the rest of the table service was very attentive, not quite annoyingly so for the first few minutes, but as the bottle of wine emptied and our conversation continued, the staff interrupted less. The perfect amount of service.
Following up the great service was amazing food. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks and trying to replicate the textures and contrast at home. The bread was the sourest of dough – with butter, pink salt and pepper it was truly divine. I easily could have just eaten the bread and left content. The hand cut potato wedges with garlic were crunchy, tasty and a giant serving. The peas and broccoli were crisp and super fresh and the chilli butter was subtle and there was too much rabbit food for 2 people.
The paddock plains lamb was cooked perfectly, the rare lamb had that perfect tough to the knife-melt in your mouth consistency and the potato accompanement had a nice firm texture. I wish I could remember what else was served with this dish.
The standout however was the Tibooboora scotch with oxtails. The contrast of the clean texture of the perfectly cooked steak against the grittiness of the cooked down oxtails was astounding. The onion tart was crunchy and gooey against the crisp asparagus it was served on. This dish alone made my night, so good I was tempted to order a second helping.
In fact, I think I might drop in tomorrow.
You should follow me on Twitter.The Mill, Hardware Lane
Close to fine-dining but also with a touch of pub feel is where The Mill sits in the restaurant spectrum of Melbourne. It is located in a nice spot close to the centre of town in Hardware Lane. The menu is comprised of hearty food perfectly executed and all priced around $30 for a main and served in good sized portions. It can’t be called cheap, but it is definitely affordable.
Hardware Lane is becoming more like Lygon St every day, spruikers and menus on the street, good deals involving glasses of wine or cheap 2 course meals, good food all served up with a good price and a great atmosphere until well into the night. The atmosphere is spurned on by something that the Carlton strip doesn’t offer, live music while you dine and a friendly, lively atmosphere.
The Mill presents itself as an upmarket alternative in the laneway with a great cocktail list, a massive wine list and prices $5-10 higher than other restaurants and a distinct lack of promotions. The wine list is worthy of mention with 18 wines by the glass and a massive selection of Australian and international wines. It lacks an accompanying somelier which leave a diner confused and intimidated. Even if the staff were happy to offer some advice you would be more inclined to try different wines.
The mill provides a really great dining experience, the maitre d wasn’t pushy at all, and the waitresses kept our water topped up and offered drinks at just the right times. The portions were generous and the timing of the meals was good.
The scallops were very nice. Perfectly cooked and in a light tomato sauce.
The salted duck was only mildly ducky and perfectly salty. It worked well with the rich muscatel jus. The spring roll added an interesting dimension to the meal.
The rolled pork belly again was perfectly cooked, cooked so well it literally melted in your mouth. It was served with garlicy mash and a sweet onion and proscuito jam. This meal was really well balanced, the flavours came together really well.
The smoked lamb rump was great. The smokey flavour was present throughout but not overpowering. The texture of the chickpea sauce added an interesting element to the dish. The flatleaf parsley garnish was over the top and everywhere.
The broccoli side was over garnished as well, someone in the kitchen was going crazy with the flatleaf parsley.
You should follow me on Twitter.