01 Oct

Earlier this year, Cantina Napoletana became Gemma Simply Italian. In accordance with its namesake, owner Alessandro Bollino sought to serve simple, authentic and not too expensive Italian food. The pasta menu is straightforward, with a choice of either gnocchi or fettucini and the list of sauces listed underneath. Today I had the Zucca e Striscie di Gambetto San Daniele with fettuccini (pumpkin, strips of Gambetto San Daniele prosciutto, baby spinach and pine nuts). I found it to be a bit too creamy from the pumpkin and the pasta itself...

21:45 / Carlton / Food / Gemma Simply Italian / Italian / Restaurants
26 Sep

Since 2011, The Last Jar has been serving up traditional Irish cuisine out of the former Royal Artillery Hotel building, which was previously home to The Arthouse. Having originally met whilst working together at Michelin-starred The Commons in Dublin, Siobhan Dooley and Tim Sweeney now co-own and run this Irish gastropub. Sweeney has an impressive CV, working at other Michelin-starred restaurants including Petrus and Thornton's (by Gordon Ramsay) and also Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant. The kitchen at The Last Jar makes as much as possible from scratch, from the...

15:43 / Bar/Pub / Food / Irish / Melbourne CBD / Restaurants / The Last Jar
22 Sep

Our (late) Father's Day dinner involved a trip down to the Dining Room of The Grand Richmond. Aiming to serve simple and authentic Italian food, the Dining Room was small and intimate and the service there was incredibly pleasant, friendly, informed and attentive. [caption id="attachment_6406" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Bread and Olives[/caption] We started off with some warm bread and a variety of olives. Of the two types of bread I particularly enjoyed the...

20:51 / Food / Italian / Restaurants / Richmond / The Grand Hotel
10 Sep

I managed to try different pizzas this time - the San Daniele and ai Porcini. The San Daniele had a very tomatoey flavour, but it was mellowed out by the mozzarella, and the truffle oil was wonderful with the mushrooms. I also quite liked the farro salad, which had great textures and a nice punchiness from the goats cheese. [caption id="attachment_6261" align="aligncenter" width="529"] San Daniele (Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella, Prosciutto, $23.90) Pizza ai Porcini (Wild Mushrooms, Truffle Oil, Mozzarella in Bianco w. Grated Pecorino, $23.90); Farro, Spelt, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin,...

20:14 / Carlton / D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar / Food / Italian / Restaurants
06 Sep

On Fridays and Saturdays, Hellenic Republic offers up a $12 takeaway lunch special, which is booked over the phone. At the moment the special is only being offered from its Brunswick store. This week's lunch consisted of chicken souvlaki, grain salad and pasteli. Despite the 25 minute drive home, the souvlaki held up relatively well. There was the comforting, char-grilled aroma of flame licked ingredients paired with flavoursome and juicy chicken, fresh tzatziki and fat potato chips. I was particularly impressed with the grain salad (which included pomegranate,...

23:56 / Brunswick East / Food / Greek / Hellenic Republic / Restaurants
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