October 2006

400 entries and the blogger meat

by Ed

Coming soon: Wagyu fillet… Something has changed in the dynamics of food blogging in Melbourne. I started this blog in July 2005, began to find my feet the following September and now, on the day of my 400th entry, I have a better idea of why people visit. There are two ways people find this [...]

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Stephen Downes on fifteen

by Ed

Stephen Downes on his blog comments on Fifteen: “Something stinks at Fifteen and it isn’t the fish. Is it just me, or is that a whiff of money and greed, the flash of a shiny suit, that I’m detecting.”

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Q&A: Fifteen figures don’t add up

by Ed

Who owns Fifteen? Two companies. 85 per cent of the shares are owned by OPG Management Pty Ltd and 15 per cent by Unche Pty Ltd How much will it cost to run The Fifteen Foundation? Lauren Oliver, director of the Fifteen Foundation tells The Age “the foundation needs A$1.2 million a year”. From Fifteen [...]

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Nine questions to ask Fifteen Melbourne

by Ed

Ejected from Fifteen Melbourne, restaurant critic Stephen Downes on local radio said perhaps it should be subjected to an independent audit while being interviewed on 774 Melbourne. Apparently Fifteen’s owners regard Downes’ reviews as too tough. Whether or not this was a stunt pulled by Fifteen to generate publicity for the reality TV show it [...]

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High on spiny beasts

by Ed

It’s full moon and I’m eating the genitals of a spiny beast. Not a hedgehog or a porcupine, but a sea urchin. They have been winking at me for months now and at it’s $7.50 a kilo it is time to try them and bliss out on the anandamines contained within. First I cut out [...]

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I’m not kidding

by Ed

Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, near The George Cinema if you really want to visit.

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Delicious: pass the lemons through the rotating knives

by Ed

Ingredients 60g unsalted butter 185g caster sugar 3 egg yolks 3 egg whites 2 teaspoons lemon zest 80ml lemon juice 40g self-raising flour 185ml milk The last couple of balmy evenings have fund me quaffing a couple of beers – Argentinean Quilmes seems to be the vogue – in the back garden. It’s not long [...]

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Lamaro’s: you don’t want chips with that

by Ed

For a Thursday lunchtime Lamaro’s (273-279 Cecil Street, South Melbourne +61 3 9690 3737) in crowded. The barking from the tables of South Melbourne business types is loud. We opt to relax as the casual bar and eat excellent oysters, fresh with the spray of the sea, with ponzu dressing. The tasting plate advertised supplied [...]

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Spicy chorizo going places

by Ed

Rapidly becoming the signature dish at Bar Lourinhã (37 Little Collins St, Melbourne +61 3 9663 7890) is this very spicy flaming chorizo sausage. The first time it is lit the whole room goes silent as it waits for the jumping flames to damp down. Then, suddenly, everybody is ordering it. And it is very [...]

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Coffee machine distributor penalised $280,000

by Ed

I’ve been researching a new coffee machine after my crappy first generation Chinese import lost puff. If a machine is any good, there is usually a massive cost differential between what I could buy it for overseas and in Australia. Then poking around the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website for a story for The [...]

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Wagyu to die for

by Ed

When I order beef it is usually by it by the cut. You know, filet, porterhouse or something equally decadent like mince, whatever parts of the body that may come from. Lately though I’ve been sucked into the Wagyu beef conspiracy. That’s the one where chefs generically put Wagyu on the menu and don’t tell [...]

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Rhode Island by mail – customs service eat my lobster

by Ed

Last week half the state’s fruit was killed by frost. today the north wind is blowing from the hot centre and it’s 30 degrees C – that’s about 86F. I should be sipping warm java, the beans from some exotic country run by a not-so-benevolent dictator. Instead I’m sitting here with a bottle of Autocrat [...]

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Melbourne baker heads for New York

by Ed

Baker D Chrico is simply Melbourne’s best baker with his artisan-made sour dough breads, pies and assorted sweets and pastries. No other bakery comes near achieving what he can in his tiny shop front. Now I hear that he is to set up shop in New York. I’ll update as I hear more news. Lucky [...]

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Voluptous parsley: my favourite herb

by Ed

Ingredients About 1kg mussels 1 onion Curly leafed parsley Slat and pepper White wine Olive oil Makes enough for two It’s great looking, vibrant green, perhaps the most voluptuous of herbs. As one of my favourite herbs, old-fashioned curly parsley is my choice for the first anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn’s Kitchen. She’s [...]