Basil Pesto Pasta – Lee Glezos cooks for us at home.
Posted on | February 2, 2010
Recently, I moved out of the place in Windsor I was sharing with Oscar. I started looking for a new place to live and was offered a stint of house sitting, but before I start the house sitting I’m doing a bit of couch surfing and staying with friends.
First stop on my tour of Melbourne’s best couches is in Fitzroy, with an old flat mate Lee and his girlfriend Emma.
Tonight on the menu is fresh Basil Pesto Pasta, which Lee whipped up on the spot.
We headed down to the supermarket, picked up one of those pots of fresh basil, you know the ones where the herb is growing in the pot? Fresh, so fresh it’s still growing.
The penne of choice for the dish was ‘Selezioni Monograno Valentino Felicetti Penne Rigate’ according to the literature on the side of the box; it is apparently the brand for chefs and connoisseurs!
This dish is made up of the basil pesto sauce mixed in with the pasta. Simple, and a quick dish to make, but the result is a great rich meal, which belays the work needed to put it together.
Step one: the pesto. Into the blender went the fresh basil, shaved Parmesan, roasted pinenuts and extra virgin olive oil. Amounts were to eye and adjusted to taste.
Step two: boil the pasta …
Step three: combine, server and top with some shaved Parmesan.
The meal was great, the fresh basil was tasty and the penne was el dente perfect! Thanks for the recipe Lee – I plan on stealing it!
Alimentari – Oral explosion.
Posted on | January 29, 2010
Oh My God… I just had the best steak sandwich I’ve ever had in my life!
I was on the way to lunch and bumped into Matt Watson, who I work with; we were both on our way to the deli (Alimentari).
Both of us, seasoned Alimentari-ites, have had pretty much everything on the menu. As we walked in I noticed that they were really busy, even for their standards. I also noticed that now they have staff walking the floor taking the orders of those who are dining in. It’s definitely working to clear up that bottle neck that used to gather around the counter.
Matt pointed out the Scotch Fillet sandwich which had appeared on the menu since I was last in there. Sounded perfect, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted and that seemed like it would hit the spot.
The sandwiches came out in plastic boxes and looked great, I could see spread across the bread was a little bit of butter and lovely grill marks, hmmm… The plastic container was starting to steam up, which on retrospect should have made me open the corner to let the steam out.
I got back to work and grabbed a plate, I knew this was going to turn out to be a very messy experience.
The sandwich had a fairly thin Scotch Fillet Steak (for me this is preferable), beetroot, caramelised onion, what looked like celery leaves and a white sauce all between lightly buttered and grilled pieces sour dough.
It’s hard to describe the flavour sensations, they were all a perfect combination. I couldn’t stop eating it, there was sauce flying every where; all over my hands and face! I got so engrossed eating it that I forgot to take notice of what the sauce was and by the time I thought to take a photo of it, there was nothing left but a puddle of jus on the plate!
At least I now have an excuse to have another one.
Jonathan’s – I just ate it and it was soooo good.
Posted on | September 10, 2009
I just ate something that was so good, I had to blog it straight away.
Jonathan’s is a Butcher located on the city side of the middle of Smith Street in Collingwood. Jonathan’s has been on Smith Street for as long as I have been alive and is viewed by most meat eaters as the premier Butcher in Melbourne.
I remember my first sausage from Jonathan’s, a friend of mine Crabbey brought them along to a work BBQ and since then whenever I have wanted decent meat I head to Jonathan’s.
Yesterday, I went to Jonathan’s to grab something for dinner. I got some amazing looking Porterhouse Steaks and a Lamb Noisette stuffed with Basil and Garlic. But while I was there trying to decide what I wanted, I stumbled across the tried and true Sausage Rolls.
These Sausage Rolls looked fresh, they looked real, they looked handmade and for $2 you got four of them.
I have just devoured all four of them for lunch. The blew my expectations out of the water. The meat it tastes so good and real, there is light seasoning which easily makes this the best Sausage Roll I have ever eaten.
I say, go to Jonathans!
Hooked, on Hooked.
Posted on | September 9, 2009
Around the corner from my house on Chapel Street, there is a fish and chip shop that goes by the name Hooked. On most days I walk past Hooked but due to circumstance I had never gone in, up until now that is.
Tonight I had an hankering for some good old fish and chips. I wasn’t interested in getting some bland everyday fish and chips and I knew exactly where to go to fulfill my needs.
My first choice was the seafood chowder, I had often seen it when we were experiencing those cold harsh days of winter on the sandwich board out the front. Alas, I was too late and they had stopped making it.
Next choice, Sticky Rice and Bok Choi with soy sauce and a piece of fish.
The meal came in a box and the quality of food and it’s presentation were just what I was after.
If you are looking for great fish and chips for dinner, get to Hooked.
I just took the plunge – WordPress
Posted on | August 26, 2009
Hi there,
You may notice that this site looks a little different than it used to. I’ve decided upon recomendations from my co-workers to migrate to WordPress.
Please bear with me as I get used to this and sort out the look and feel.
Thanks,
Mark
Eating Out, In – Menulog Restaurant Delivery Guide
Posted on | August 18, 2009
I like to eat out, if I hadn’t made that quite obvious already. I like to go to the restaurant, I like to look at all the other people at the restaurant, I like to look at the walls, I like to look at the wait staff… I really like to be served and not have to cook.
I also like to sit on the couch.
I discovered, quite by accident about a year ago, a Web site that allows you to perused the menus of local restaurant’s online, make your selections, pick your payment method and place the order. Menulog Restaurant Delivery Guide, you are my salvation. For those days, where I can’t be arsed cooking and I really can’t be arsed going out to eat it is the perfect option.
Menulog Restaurant Delivery Guide removes the need to talk to anyone (we all have those days), it removes the need to leave the house (pick up can be such a drag when it’s pouring down with rain) and it allows you to stare at the menu for as long as you want to work out what you are going to have for dinner.
Lately I have been using Menulog at least once or twice a week, I really have become reliant (lazy).
Some of the tricks that I have learned… If you want alcohol delivered, there are places that will do it. I’m not sure if you have to order food, but I usually do as I’m trying not to give the impression that I’m an alcoholic.
If I am dining with fussy eaters, i’ll order starters from one restaurant and then mains from another. This was particularly helpful last week when I dropped the first delivery and the dog ate it, ten minutes later the next round arrived.
Menulog also has great incentives to order from new places, often you will get a discount on your first order. On top of that, there is a points scheme which you can use to redeem for vouchers which can be redeemed at certain restaurants.
You should deffinitely check out what is available in your local area.
I have been given this voucher code: BA5EFD
You can use the code to get $10 off your first delivery from participating restaurants (needs to have “accepts voucher” sign and be a minimum purchase of $20).
Vietnamese bakeries – Best eats!
Posted on | August 13, 2009
So I’m not sure if it’s the same in every city, but in Melbourne in nearly every suburb, Vietnamese bakeries have popped up like a plague of places to get great cheap food.
Their business model is high turn over cheap product. Generally they use bread rolls baked freshly onsite, they have a refridgerated baymarie with a variety of traditional salads and condiments. Of course spring rolls and dim sims are on the counter.
One of my favourite’s is the Vietnamese pork roll, they put in a variety of types of process and sliced pork, lettuce, coriander, onions (sometimes crispy), pate, a soy like sauce and chilly (of course, I ALWAYS hold the cucumber). I know that it’s probably not the best quality meat cuts, but it’s cheap and tastes good.
Now the point of this post is to highlight N Lee Bakery on Smith Street in Collingwood. N Lee is always packed and thankfully there is usually at least six staff on hand to process all the orders. My latest N Lee favourite is the pork meat ball roll, it cost $4 and comes with Vietnamese salad, crushed pork meat balls and some of the sauce that it was cooked it in. Forget what it is and just eat it…
Noi Thai – Richmond Thai Restaurant
Posted on | August 5, 2009
It was sort of spur of the moment when Oscar organised dinner with Mark at Noi Thai; one of Oscar’s favourite Richmond Thai Restaurants.
I had been there for dinner a couple of years back, when it was under previous management. These days the decor is much more ‘schlick’, a booking is essential and it is so renown you’ll often the who’s who of Richmond dining there.
We got a chance to talk to the owner, Peter, who pointed out the gems on the menu (practically the whole thing) and a little bit of back ground on how the place ran.
Food first….? Hmmm, nope. Socialise first; Which is how I like my meals.
Noi Thai’s kitchen has limited cold storage space which is an advantage in a restaurant like this. It means that food has to be freshly purchased daily from local markets and shops. The vibe was great in the restaurant as there were parties, big and small engorging themselves and knee deep in conversation.
For starters we had bit of everything; Curry puffs, Oscar’s favourite… Dumplings, One of my current fads… Spring rolls, Everyone’s favourite… Needless to say, we were ready for mains in no time.
For mains we shared the Roast Duck Curry which is served in a coconut. I love my duck and this was no exception; the duck was tasty like duck is, they curry was fantastic and I even got to scoop out the flesh of the coconut it was served in. We also got the Massaman Beef Curry which was Oscar’s favourite.
I’ll definitely be eating back there again soon, I think Thai is moving near the top of the list of my favourite food styles.
Mint – Crown Street, Surrey Hills…
Posted on | July 31, 2009
Once or twice a year, I’m lucky to be able to come up and work out of our Sydney office. Once of the biggest bonus’s is that I get to catch up with my great school friends James and Katrina Diessl.
It’s a complicated story but I used to go to Plimmerton School with Katrina’s brother Chris and her best friend Rachael’s brother Matt. Then I went to Wellington College with James… Long story short, Rachael and Matt’s mother Helen did a bit of match making and hooked James and Katrina up, many years ago when I was back in Wellington… Any how, enough of that, cos this is a food blog, not a dating site! Check out my other blog for details on their wedding!
Soooooooo, Our office is in Surrey hills and that is apparently one of the great places in Sydney to go out for a drink and something to eat. James and Katrina caught up with me after I had finished work for a drink at the Clock. We then proceeded to walk down Crown Street away from the City… Checking out all the places they like to eat…
Being a Thursday night, most of them were full and not able to seat us for at least 45 minutes.
We got near to the end of Crown and were lucky to get a seat at Mint. A middle eastern restaurant, quaint with great atmosphere and charming staff.
For an entree we ordered Stuffed mini peppers and chicken livers. Wow, I’m a big fan of chicken liver pate so I was looking forward to the livers, I didn’t realise how great they could be! I scoffed down as many as I could. Bugger the peppers.
I had the chermoula prawns and asparagus in spicy tomato and olive moughrabia. I love that big cous cous and there were so many prawns I had trouble finishing them off!
I couldn’t believe that had two fantastic food experiences in Sydney in one day, let alone one visit.
This whole Sydney thing definitely appears to need more investigation!
Organic Produce – The Cafe!
Posted on | July 30, 2009
I found myself in Sydney this week for work.
It was my second day up here and my first morning, so I thought I’d find something to eat on Crown Street in Surry Hills near the office.
I’d had a few coffees on Crown Street before having made it to the Sydney office about once a year, so I knew I should be able to find something.
I happened to come across this cute little cafe called Organic Produce. Sounded more like a green grocers, but it was definitely somewhere I could get a coffee…
I went in, there were a number of take away options in the fridge and after a slightly awkward conversation with the girl making the coffees I got a menu and sat down for breaky.
The coffee was fantastic, rivalling that of Atomica – Brunswick Street Melbourne! I ordered the single egg omelette. It was perfect. The right size, the right zuccini chutney and the perfect piece of sour dough.
I got up from breakfast, felt like I had eaten but not bloated. None of that crazy oversized novelty serving sizes, just the right amount of quality organic food.
The meal opened me to the fact that eating out in Sydney might actually give Melbourne a run for it’s money!
keep looking »