the town mouse

We delight in celebrations. Birthdays are as relevant to us now as turning 8 and going to a McDonald's party with so much excitement that you think you're going to throw up. So, after only a little deliberation we chose The Town Mouse for 1405's 29th birthday. 

We had a big party of 11 including 2 littlelies and one teenager and chose to go with the banquet. The food proceeded with a few starters to share then the mains being meats, fish and sides.

We were seated in the courtyard in the back on a day that threatened to rain but ended up sunny. We were lucky. The service was amazing, considering we had children crowd our long table with colouring books and pencils, as well as my Chinese parents asking for hot water (yes, in place of cold tap water, it's a real thing).

Food came in quick succession, just the way we like it, and the ambience of courtyard was just right for conversation.

Cured meats of the day.

In the front: Goats cheese profiterole, caraway, thyme and honey.
In the back: Smoked duck liver parfait, pickled cucumber and crisp potato.

Tuna rillettes with crackers for the table.

Sea urchin on sourdough with dill.

Whole vadouvan roasted flathead.

Cos lettuce, soured cream, lemon verbena, pumpkin seed.

Fried chat potatoes, yuzu mayonnaise.

Not pictured, included in mains:

Black angus intercostals (500g), watercress & green chilli 
Albacore, spring peas, mussel, tarragon & wild rocket
Duck breast, jerusalem artichoke, porcini, horseradish & young kales 
Slow roast red cabbage, prune, parmesan & red apple
Roast cauliflower, almond & broad bean miso

You know how sometimes you eat a meal, and you think "yep, that's it, that's my favourite this year"? Well all the dishes we had in the banquet was like a parade of dishes like that. Nothing to fault in the food, except that one of our flatheads was undercooked. The waiters were very apologetic, did not succumb to my father-in-law's suggestion that they "microwave it", and brought another one to us quickly.

Upon reflection my favourite dish of this meal was the sea urchin - fresh, slightly sweet slighty salty sea urchin on grilled sourdough bread. The subtle herbs and lightness of this meant you could eat and feel happy. My mother's fav dish was the roast cauliflower, golden crispy with a wonderful tangy miso and crunchy almonds.

We spent a good few hours here, munching through the food in our courtyard space which felt invitingly private. Would return.

grace

Down the road from the Rose Street Artists' market on Sundays, sits gentle, imperturbable Grace. It's a cafe operating out of what used to be two Victorian terrace houses, bustling with happy mellow patrons, doling out good food, being like that one neighbour who quietly plays acoustic guitar when you need it the most.

Somewhere on Rose Street.

Great coffee, friendly service.

Chai tea like this, how can not like?!

 There are always seasonal specials made with care.

Pancakes with poached pear, rhubarb and quark.

Smoked salmon bagel.

 And a constantly changing little dessert table.

This cafe is incredibly charming, a contrast to doof doof music trendy new cafes opening like mushrooms around Melbourne. I have a feeling like this place had quietly always been here and been good, and it will continue to stand long after the trendy glitzy cafe trend has buckled.

addict food & coffee

Another one! Another trendy cafe in the north side! This trend is not showing any signs of slowing down, and the northsiders (I will pretend to be one for now) are lining up for it.

Addict Food & Coffee sits on the quieter part of Johnston Street where the furniture stores are, before you hit Smith Street. Around it are a car wash (?), second hand shops and a bunch of independent galleries. We waited about 15 minutes for a table on a Saturday morning, there were lines before and after us. 

The concept is farm-to-table which is certainly welcome, decor is clean and sleek, and crowd is 18-35. I really do feel like everyone here is my age. It's like the nightclub crowd have grown up, gotten jobs, and exclusively see each other with vague nods of recognition at brunch places.

Potato hash and mushroom duxelle with roasted field mushroom, a poached egg and caramelised onion. 

Gorgeous mushroom flavours, not sure about the duxelle (texture of dirt?) but the sweet caramelised onion was delicious.

The special was a congee-like dish with smoked bacon broth (in the white bottle), seared fish and egg. It was divine, having salty congee for breakfast is genius.

On a lazy Sunday, perfect place to hang out, reflect on the fact that you have grown up somewhat, and spy on people whose faces are creepily familiar.

the breakfast club

We are making a move to the north this winter and will take this opportunity to check out the cafes that everyone's been raving about!

The Breakfast Club sits along St Georges Road, which for the eastern suburbs noobs (I will willingly admit I was one until very recently) is kind of a nicer version of Burwood Highway - a major highway-like road which is home to a weird empty spaces, lots of residential and commercial properties, and a very beautiful piece of indigenous Australian reconciliation art, on the back of a billboard girding a sports oval.

It's a little cafe sitting behind a black and white striped canvas, where you will find the kind of comforts on display in the home of your artist friend who lives in Northcote. Small details like the salt and pepper shakers which are kitschy porcelain affairs in the shape of capsicums, tomatoes and cabbages. Dark wood tones, exposed brick - tick tick. Squishy seating - unfortunately a tick.

The menu is small, with handful of breakfast items and sandwiches. Their logo is very cute - a silhouette of the final fist pump moment from the iconic John Hughes movie we all watched in our 20s ironically with glee.

There is nothing kitschy about the food though - the items sound creatively yummy ("eggplant and cauliflower sambal, brown rice, cashew cream and vadouvan" and "kaagi corn fritters, miso aioli, green tea salt and pickled cabbage") and I witnessed some serious portions (y'all know how I feel about portions).

We were here in the late afternoon and I got the lamb wrap - juicy lamb with barley tabbouleh salad. Nicely seasoned, fresh ingredients.

As 1405 and I sipped our chai lattes (taste very natural and subtle, I liked it but 1405 thought it was bland) we did some people watching. Gone are the blonde stroller mums in 2XU leggings and down vests with their daughter clones abundant in our area. We saw a pair of shaved head lovers split a muffin (which looked delicious, by the way) and a cigarette. Another couple wore their matching outfits from the 1970s and gazed lovingly into each other's eyes when not furiously texting on their phones. Two teenage boys ate monster plates of eggs and bacon. We saw a man with a giant furry mastiff-like dog walk in and out nonchalantly, his giant bear dog trailing him, scaring the little jack russell that belonged to the shaved head couple, hiding under the table.

I think we are going to have an adventure here.

The Breakfast Club
206 St Georges Road
Northcote
9489 0251

grand trailer park

This damn burger obsession continues. A new burger joint has opened in the CBD and people are lining up around the corner.

It's the Grand Trailer Park Taverna, on Bourke Street where I distinctly remember singing karaoke at the former restaurant Happy Palace, after dinner and 13 years old with my family. The new occupants have decked the place out in booths like faux caravan trailers and strung multi-coloured fairy lights over the chandelier (a relic of the Chinese restaurant). It's twee and charming at the same time. 

There is always a wait but it's not for long. We sat inside the big caravan at the back and ordered the burger with the most hype - the Frank Underwood. Like Francis it is hugely ambitious and like most Netflix original series it is binge-worthy. In addition to the beef patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato there is also a chunky potato mac and cheese croquette - a meal in itself. 

We all agreed that this would be a great date venue and we did see many cool couples, hanging out in their trailers. 

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna
87 Bourke Street
Melbourne
9972 3699

crompton coffee

Isn't it nice when we peel back the BS and only have what is essential to happiness / central purpose? It's the reason I have thrown out most of my wardrobe, have failed to replenish it, and now have exactly 7 outfits from circa 2012 which I have on rotation. It's liberating, really. It gives me the head space to dream and feel the peace of not giving a single fffff -

Crompton Coffee is the same. No BS. They're about toast. They do really nice toast, with 8 good seasonal toppings. And coffee. And muesli. And that's IT. No kale, salmon, variations to put shit on the side (wherefore? So your food "doesn't touch each other?" What the hell is that about?)

The interiors are stripped back minimalist, a good space for thinking.

We ordered the spiced avocado and the ham with lettuce and glace fruit. The toast is thickly sliced, warm and perfectly crunchy. The toppings have a great balanced flavour and you can taste the thought behind them.

When it's raining on a Saturday and you want to hibernate away from the BS of everything, come here for something comforting and familiar, with a chic twist.

Crompton Coffee
380 Victoria Street
Richmond

fat bob's bar and grill

Um, are you even serious Melbourne? ANOTHER burger joint?! I hitched myself on to this burger bandwagon about 10 years ago, before the Grill'd phenomenon and all that, when I was in my late teens (the best age to eat shit like this) and discovered an unassuming burger joint in Darlinghurst, Sydney. I remember the experience as transcendental. It was amazing (and I never use that word any more because Louis C.K. is in my head with his "you wasted 'amazing' on a fucking sandwich.") Meat juices, the overly salty sauces, the impossibly tall stack of meat and at one point a pineapple ring. Then, I got older and got over it. It's really that simple.

It's unfortunate that 1405 is obsessed with burgers, perhaps because I don't care for them. Those of you who know me know that once I like something I will eat it over and over again. My husband is the same.

So, on a windy autumn day, we find ourselves at a place one of my friends billed as "the best burgers in Melbourne." I was skeptical to say the least. The outside of this outfit is attached to what looks like an ugly shoe outlet, in a strip of tired suburgatory warehouses. This was starting to feel like a nightmare. We found the sign, took a photo, and walked into the only shop in this strip that wasn't painted with a coat of what I can only describe as "you-peaked-in-high-school-and-now-your-life-is-shit grey".

We walked in, and step into what can only be described as a haven of old neon signs against a black windowless room, the signs making the inside timeless in the sense that you would not have any idea what time it is outside. It's perpetually twilight on a ranch somewhere in Texas in here. Upon closer inspection many of the signs are Australian icons, the old Optus sign etc. In a good way, it feels like Lone Star diner from the 90's in Australia.

We order some zucchini fries and as I was strictly "not eating any of it."

1405 orders the "Jackie O" - 180g grass-fed beef pattie, tomato, spanish onion, fontina cheese, cos, mustard, tomato and Fat Bob's sauce .

Wow.

It was really quite good. The sauce complemented the beef which was very fresh and tasty. The cheese sauce drips out of the burger and into your hands, which you then lick off. It doesn't feel greasy or dry (a chronic problem of some other burger joints) and the balance of lettuce and tomato was spot on.

Much to 1405's despair I ate much more than "just one bite". It's the kind of burger that reminds you that you were very young once, and ate your heart out in Sydney because, well simply because you could. A great trip down nostalgia lane.

Fat Bob's Bar & Grill
80A Cochranes Road
Moorabbin
9555 0909