Posts Tagged ‘South Melbourne’
Introducing mEatDrinkBlog Melbourne
For the Melbourne food blogging community, it has been a long time between drinks. The last time the community (aside from the odd tweetup here and there) was together was probably EatDrinkBlog, the first food bloggers conference around this time last year. That’s too long ago. Today, I’m announcing the next part in that series.
It is a regular meetup – every month or 2. A time for a group of food bloggers to have a sit down, catch up, learn a little, eat a lot and drink. Here’s the deal. On the 31st of March, at the Rising Sun Hotel in South Melbourne we will have room for 30 keen bloggers to listen to 2×10 minute talks, each with a few minutes for questions and then enjoy a pub meal and a few beverages. It starts at 7, with the talks to start at 7:30 and dinner at 8.
The pub is just a short walk form the 112 tram in South Melbourne and chef’d by the venerable Mr Ron O’Bryan.
There is no cost for the event itself, but the food and drink isn’t included, so you’ll have to sort yourself out. The meals are no more than $30 unless you want a big slab of steak.
Well, you’ll mostly have to sort yourself out. Terroir.me will be putting enough money on the bar so that everyone can grab a tasty glass of Pinot or beer and get that conversation flowing.
Speakers
We are looking for speakers for this night and nights in the future. I’ve asked @tammois to moderate the evening, so if you’d like to speak about anything relevant to food blogging, please contact her at tammois@gmail.com with a brief outline of what you would like to talk about. If you aren’t sure about topics, checkout the program for the conference last year as an example. If you aren’t available on the 31st, but might be for the next event, drop her an email anyway and let her know.
I’ve already put up my hand and I’ll be doing an introduction on Google Analytics. Delving in a little bit deeper than just seeing how many people have visited your site in the last month.
Who’s invited?
If you are a interested in food, wine, coffee or anything mildly related and you either have a blog, or tweet about it a lot. You are! Really, we aren’t fussy and if you are interested in coming along then you are more than welcome. There will be plenty of people to bounce ideas off, encourage you to start a blog or otherwise help out with any of the hairy technical or other problems. Come along! The more the merrier.
Count me in!
If you are going to attend, leave a comment in the comments here with your name and correct email address and we will keep you updated on any changes. Just be sure to let us know if you can’t make it so that we can get the numbers right for the venue.
Many thanks go to Ed and Tammi who’ve helped pull this together.
You should follow me on Twitter.Ceramics at Padre Coffee
There is this concept in Japanese cooking that a piece of food on a plain plate is naked – an insult to the food. This is why sushi is always served on beautiful ceramics. It’s an oft forgotten idea – that the plate is as much a part of the meal as the food. We eat with our eyes so why not focus more on the crockery.
Padre Coffee in the South Melbourne Market (and I assume the East Brunswick store) haven’t forgotten. They are serving their coffees on the most beautiful hand-made ceramics. They are made by Karen Ho; a regular at the East Brunswick store; at the Carlton Arts Center. For such a simple thing, they add an amazing warmth to the coffee – something that no machine or bean can reproduce.
Freestyle Espresso opening in South Melbourne
It seems a new cafe, “Freestyle Espresso” is opening on Union St in South Melbourne. It is in the old Peter Watson shop and with a new sign and a few fliers in the window describing “Food, glorious food, coffee… Yeh… Really good coffee, gourmet pastries + delights takeaway deliciousness, sweet things + surrrrrprises to come”
Looks good, I’m excited to see somewhere new opening in what is already a crowded space. It will also be interesting to see who supplies the coffee. Most of the 3rd Wave roasters are represented in a 2 block radius of this place. I’m betting on Coffee Supreme.
Dead Man Espresso
There has been a massive amount of buzz since Dead Man Espresso opened on Market St in South Melbourne. There is a lot to love about this cafe, especially the staff and the coffee. But I’m in 2 minds about the menu. There are 2 menus, a reasonably limited brunch menu, served till 12 each weekday and all day on weekends and a lunch menu, served from 12 till 3 each week day. There is a bit of overlap between the 2, but the lunch menu is definitely a bit more diverse. Sadly, I only just realised it existed as it’s normally a weekend haunt. I’ll have to rectify that.
With the exception of the omelette of the day, the food is not your typical cafe fare. The menu is technical and refined and although each item is interesting, they aren’t long lived. Let me clarify, I’ve tried most of the brunch menu and feel as though I’ve exhausted all the options and unless the menu changes, probably won’t return for the food on the weekend. Thankfully, it seems like the lunch menu will keep me going for a little while longer.
There is no such problem with the coffee. There are 2 options for espresso, the Dead Man blend and the 7 Seeds blend. The Dead Man blend is super smooth, slightly sweet with a bit of berry coming through and the 7 Seeds blend is a much darker, regular style espresso blend.
Most of the single origins are sourced from 7 Seeds but the also regularly have guest appearances from Market Lane and Coffee Supreme. These coffees are available only as pour-over, but I suspect with a little cajoling the barista would pull them through the Synesso. This makes for a great range and doesn’t disappoint. The stand out is the Panama Esmeralda Geisha, this was the best coffee I’ve had for weeks. It had a full palate and a ridiculously oily texture with flavours of honeycomb and dark chocolate.
In a city where every coffee fiend is talking about the Slayer and ordering single-origin siphons, the focus on pour over is refreshing. It is a far more subtle style of coffee, with a very gentle texture which helps to highlight the subtle flavours of the beans. I think pour-over and siphons are the perfect way for people new to non-milk coffee to cut their teeth.
This is the sourdough, smoked salmon, avocado, mimolette and grapefruit salsa and a confit tomato. Sadly I didn’t get to taste this but I was assured it was amazing. The confit tomatoes are out of this world. It’s hard to describe but they have a beautifully fragrant flavour while still tasting like tomato.
The brioche french toast with grilled pineapple, bacon and sesame seed caramel (I added a confit tomato). This is possible the richest dish I have ever tasted. The caramel is dark, and quite acidic but works really well with the grilled pineapple and the bacon.
This is the deconstructed BLT. Pork belly and spinach puree on brioche with gazpacho. As with most dishes this is quite rich and very flavoursome. I’m not convinced pork belly belongs on a sandwich, I think it kind of hides the amazingness of the cut of meat and to some extent this deconstruction removed some of the great texture of a regular BLT. It is a really interesting take though and I would definitely recommend it.
Panzanella with pesto, smoked paprika sausages and poach eggs. This is an amazing dish, the bread has been lightly soaked in a light olive oil and slicing into the egg self sauces the salad. This is the star performer.
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Padre Coffee opens at the South Melbourne Market
If it was possible, coffee in South Melbourne has just taken a step forward. East Brunswick’s Padre Coffee has opened a small store in the middle of the South Melbourne market. The fitout is spartan, polished concrete floor, a recycled timber counter and small Ikea-style stools around low tables are scattered around the store and into the market walkway. This cluttered, almost-messy feel meshes well with the hussle and bussel vibe of the market.
The tiny shop doesn’t leave you in doubt as to what the focus is. 5 Mazzer grinders, 2 Synesso’s (1 manual, 1 automatic) and a wall full of beans and coffee equipment for sale leave little room for any confusion. There is no pretense or wankery, just a shop serious about coffee.
The long black I had in the first week of opening was very dark and over-bitter, the follow-up latte was rich and creamy. Today’s Ethiopian Yirgacheffe latte was uncharacteristically dirty and had a lot of head but was very enjoyable. I suspect that some of the staff may be new and aren’t necessarily up to speed. It is early days and if reports of the Brunswick East Project are anything to go by the coffee will be consistently amazing very soon.
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You should follow me on Twitter.Breakfast at Bastille Cafe, Clarendon St, South Melbourne
Not much to look at from the street but the set tables, open kitchen and French flag give this restaurant an impression of expensive, overdone arogance. The truth is the complete opposite.
The breakfast menu is a very basic affair, eggs, omelet, bacon, mushrooms and pancakes.. Don’t let the lack of options fool you though, the fare is produced with the finest of ingredients, ham off the bone, fresh tomatoes and amazing bread. The eggs were poached beautifully, the ham and mushroom filled omelette moist and the bacon not overcooked. Each meal was served with toasted, olive oil drizzle bread to die for and a dipping sauce of tomato relish. After the fact, the bread and relish could easily have replaced the entire meal.
Generally the coffee in Clarendon St is nothing to speak of, especially when compared with Lygon and Brunswick St but Cafe Bastille’s lattes were great. Caramelly, hot and quick to the table, they certainly helped my hangover turn the corner.
At the end of meal, the most pleasing aspect of the meal was the price. $7 for poached eggs plus $3 for bacon on the side. $12.50 for the omelette and $14 for 4 coffees. 2 very caffeinated and content diners walk out with not only change from $40 but also happy with the service and the quality of the food.
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