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HOT: Adriano Zumbo at Books for Cooks, 233-235 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 26 October 2011
We’re so lucky to have Books for Cooks in our city. This independent book store in Fitzroy is Australia’s only retailer specialising in books on food and wine. The five rooms of an old Victorian terrace typical of the area are filled floor to ceiling with densely packed books, from the popular to the obscure. [...]
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HOT: Miss Marie, 45 Beetham Pde, Rosanna
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 24 October 2011
Miss Marie is a cafe with an inner-city vibe catering to the discerning suburban cafe set. The first hint of its slightly left-of-centre sense of humour is in small shrub outside its entrance. The hanging child made me take a horrified double-take before I gasped in relief to see that it was only a doll. [...]
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The Alphabet Dinners: I is for I Carusi
Blog: Aerohaveno: A Travel Blog - 21 October 2011
In The Alphabet Dinners series, I review the cheap restaurants of Melbourne... In alphabetical order. It's been a while since I reviewed a cheap Melbourne restaurant taken from the Age Cheap Eats guide. That's partly because I was up to the letter I, and there weren't many choices.
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Melbourne's Angels & Demons
Blog: Aerohaveno: A Travel Blog - 20 October 2011
We're in the last week of the Melbourne Festival, the city's annual big-budget celebration of the arts. Coming hot on the heels of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, it showcases impressive and challenging productions from around the world, as well as locally produced shows of distinction.
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HOT: The Mercy Seat, 31 Johnston St, Collingwood
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 19 October 2011
In case you get confused by the ’99 Problems’ emblazoned on the door of number 31 Johnston Street…the address is a cafe called The Mercy Seat by day and a bar called 99 Problems by night. Time-sharing space (and facilities) is such a good idea! The Mercy Seat serves vegan food that’s not just beans [...]
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HOT: Sataylicious, Shop W3, Dandenong Market, Cnr Clow and Cleeland St, Dandenong
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 18 October 2011
Is it possible that I’ve found the best satay sauce in Melbourne…in Zone 2? Every family, every region and every country has their own satay recipe – and everyone has their favourite. I’ve eaten a lot of satays both in Australia and in South East Asia and I’m so excited about discovering the spicy satay [...]
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HOT: Quartetthaus, Melbourne Festival, Ngargee Centre for Contemporary Art, Sidney Myer Courtyard 111 Sturt St, Southbank
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 17 October 2011
Something very curious has landed in the courtyard of the Malthouse Theatre. What is it? It looks like a big wooden box. No obvious doors or windows but if you listen carefully you can hear the faint scraping of string instruments. It’s the Quartetthaus! The Australian National Academy of Music and lighting and design studio [...]
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HOT: Town Hall Hotel, 166 Johnston St, Fitzroy
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 16 October 2011
The Town Hall Hotel is a handsome gastropub where you can expect fine dining quality of food and service, without having to wear your best frock or bear the fine dining prices. The bistro menu has a heavy Italian focus and spans small, medium and large plates to cater for any appetite (they also have [...]
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Preserving Style and Architecture at The Rialto in Melbourne
Blog: Landlopers - 14 October 2011
I don’t usually write about hotels, unless I find something really unique to say. This post isn’t any different, I’m not going to write about how great our rooms were or how amazing the service was at the InterContinental Melbourne – The Rialto, instead I...Copyright LandLopers All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
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HOT: Pope Joan, 77-79 Nicholson Street, Brunswick East
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 11 October 2011
At last count, there were 19 blog reviews of Pope Joan on Urbanspoon. So I’m far behind with my visit and now I’m not sure why I’ve waited so long. Pope Joan is the kind of neighbourhood cafe for which you’d be willing to travel. Which is why it has found success despite being located [...]
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The Unpublished 11: St Kilda by the Bay
Blog: Aerohaveno: A Travel Blog - 10 October 2011
I just stumbled across a trial guidebook entry about the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, which I wrote in 2005. It was created as part of my application to be included in Lonely Planet's pool of authors; ultimately successful therefore, but never published.
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Giveaway: Environmental Film Festival Melbourne 2011
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 6 October 2011
The Environmental Film Festival Melbourne is back again this year with more environmental themed films screening from 11-16 October at Kino Cinemas, 45 Collins St, Melbourne. The aim of the festival is to increase awareness of key environmental issues by bringing together film-makers, experts, policy makers, politicians and the wider community in an open conversation about [...]
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HOT: Cafe Vue at Heide, Heide Museum of Modern Art, 7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 5 October 2011
It’s been a while since my last visit to Cafe Vue at Heide and this time we decided to try the a la carte menu rather than the Menu du Jour set menu. On a sunny weekend the cafe is a real drawcard for visitors to Heide Museum of Modern Art. There’s often a queue [...]
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HOT: High Tea at Lobby Lounge, The Westin, 205 Collins St, Melbourne
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 4 October 2011
I can think of no better way to spend a cold, rainy afternoon than in front of an open fireplace drinking tea. Better still, drinking tea, eating cakes and lounging around reading an Evelyn Waugh novel. I recently indulged in my perfect rainy-day afternoon scenario with High Tea at the Lobby Lounge of The Westin [...]
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Into the Hills on Puffing Billy
Blog: Aerohaveno: A Travel Blog - 4 October 2011
In all my travel writing about Melbourne and its environs, I've rarely written about the iconic Puffing Billy steam train (except for entries in my two iPhone/iPad apps, Melbourne Historical and Melbourne Getaways).
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HOT: Mitte, 76 Michael Street (cnr Rowe Street), North Fitzroy
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 2 October 2011
I’m not sure whether Mitte is named after the district in Berlin and the German word for ‘middle’ but let’s just say at the outset that there are no German references in the menu, decor or service of this neighbourhood cafe. It’s in a little hideaway location on the corner of two residential streets in [...]
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HOT: The Wine Bar Restaurant, Yering Station, 38 Melba Hwy, Yarra Glen
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 29 September 2011
Fancy a day out in the country? In just 45 minutes from the city you can be out in the vineyards of the Yarra Valley. One of the most popular wineries in the Yarra Valley is Yering Station. It’s the first winery established in Victoria and is definitely worth a stop for the cellar door/art [...]
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HOT: The Commoner, 122 Johnston St, Fitzroy
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 28 September 2011
The Commoner is one of my local favourites – great food, reasonable prices, friendly service and lots of different spaces depending on your dining needs, from intimate couples tables to the outdoor courtyard to upstairs private dining room. My most recent visit to The Commoner was for Sunday lunch. I reckon Sundays are the best days [...]
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HOT: Demetri’s Feast, 141 Swan St, Richmond
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 27 September 2011
Oh Demetri’s Feast. If only you weren’t so small. If only your food wasn’t so good. If only your service wasn’t so friendly. If only you weren’t so cool. Then it’d be easier to visit you all the time. Demetri’s Feast was crowned Melbourne’s best breakfast in The Age’s Cheap Eats 2010 and that accolade [...]
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HOT: Fringe Furniture, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 26 September 2011
Melbourne Fringe Festival is on now until 9 October 2011 and one of the regular parts of the eclectic program is the free Fringe Furniture exhibition. The theme for this year’s exhibition is ‘Dancing in the Dark: Small Solutions to Big Problems’. Basically, this translates to design that’s smart, green, sustainable and beautiful by designers, architects, [...]
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HOT: Queen Margaret, 356 Queens Pde, North Fitzroy
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 25 September 2011
The pizzeria Queen Margaret is not named as a reference to QEII’s sister, but to Queen Margherita of Savoy, the first Queen of the united Italy and for whom the magherita pizza was named. Queen Margaret boasts eighteen (!) pizza varieties on its chalkboard menu, spearheaded by not just one but three riffs on the [...]
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HOT: Ilona Staller, 282 Carlisle St, Balaclava
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 21 September 2011
I can’t cope with Melbourne’s growing trend for restaurants that don’t take bookings (too uncertain, too impatient, too hungry). But I really wanted to have dinner at Ilona Staller. What to do? Answer – dispatch my Balaclavan friends R and A to plonk themselves at the bar at 6:30pm on a Saturday night while I [...]
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HOT: Small Block, 130 Lygon St, East Brunswick
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 20 September 2011
Small Block is a cafe particularly well suited to the urban professional/hip and arty/young parents demographic of East Brunswick. To whit: attention to coffee – the blackboard shows the single origin bean of the day and gives a description of its particular qualities; an extensive all-day breakfast menu which has the locals lining up on [...]
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HOT: Victoria in a Bento Box, Matteo’s Restaurant, 533 Brunswick St, North Fitzroy
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 19 September 2011
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival doesn’t just run events for two weeks in March – the rest of the year they promote food and wine with themes and events such as the Spring Graze. The Spring Graze is a gathering of more than 60 events throughout September across Victoria, all with the theme of [...]
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HOT: Plumm Wine Glass Experience, Taste of Melbourne 2012, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton
Blog: MEL: Hot or Not - 18 September 2011
Did you visit Taste of Melbourne this weekend? The exhibition can be pretty overwhelming, what with the huge crowds of people and the number of exhibitors and restaurants participating. So this year I restricted myself to a quick whip around the stalls that I was interested in (such as Yarra Valley Dairy, Gundowring, Enni) and [...]
