Archive for March, 2006
V Rating: VV With its unobtrusive glass shopfront, Made in Italy could almost be mistaken for a real estate agency or generic inner city retail shop. However, any confusion about the nature of the business is soon dispelled by the seductive pizza aromas that fill the restaurant and float out onto the street. Made in Italy is the real deal. The pizzas are thin crust and the toppings are fresh, original and flavourful. The spinaci (fresh spinach and tomato, cheese and garlic) and funghi francesci (champignons, parsley, cheese and garlic) are standouts, but vegetarians can take heart that there are eight veggie pizza options. Vegans are ignored entirely on the pizza front, although you can probably ask for the pizzas to come without cheese. There are a couple of veggie and vegan friendly pastas, and usually one veggie special. The catch with Made in Italy is the service. Generally it’s friendly, if not always efficient. Sometimes it’s neither. For example, recently some work pals and I dutifully booked a table for a Friday lunch. We were seated in the corner and had trouble attracting the attention of the staff when we were ready to order. Once we’d finished ordering we were treated to a Kremlin style lecture on the rules for eating at the restaurant. The cardinal rule, apparently, was that if we booked a table there was a minimum spend of $15 per person. Our order was below this mark. We listened to the lecture and then politely suggested that a good time to tell customers about this ‘rule’ might be when they made the booking, not after they’d been seated and ordered. This was not viewed favourably by the waitress, who gave us a severe look and reminded us that we were already bad customers because ‘you booked for five but only four came.’ Apparently this was also against the rules. Fortunately for us our bad behaviour was overlooked on this occasion and our steaming pizzas and huge salad soon arrived. They were worth the wait, and the rules.
V-Rating: VVV The Retreat Hotel is a bit of a Brunswick institution. It’s a little bit shabby and retro on the inside with a massive beer garden out the back that on a Sunday afternoon looks like some guy’s big BBQ house party with DJ. The street frontage boasts four large tables that catch the afternoon sun – perfect for that lazy afternoon in Melbourne’s cooler months. Settling in for the long haul one Sunday arvo I was expecting the veggie choice at the in-house restaurant to be poor. At best, I was expecting standard gastro-pub veggie choices such as a tomato sauce pasta or veggie lasagne. At worst, I was preparing to fall back on the emergency veggie “meal” of wedges and sauce. How wrong I was… I was startled by the veggie range given the pub location. A lentil burger, a roast veggie stack on salad, a roast vegetable pasta, a vegetable lasagne and – catch this – a vegan pasta. Now, we’re not talking haute cuisine here but the carnivore choices (parma, fish and chips etc.) aren’t exactly three star Michelin offerings either. As much as I wanted to give the veggie stack a whirl I couldn’t go past the lentil burger. I’m a bit of a lentil/ tofu burger junkie and, don’t forget, a burger goes oh-so-nice with a pint of Guinness. The burger was all I hoped for and more. The genuinely tasty lentil pattie was well balanced with the fresh salad and mystery dressing. As long as the mystery isn’t chicken stock I’m happy for the mystery to remain a mystery. The large burger and thick-cut chips to round off the plate made it value-for-money pub grub. My dining companions highly enjoyed their meat-based meals so The Retreat will satisfy both herbivores and carnivores with food+beer needs. This afternoon we got back from a great vegetarian weekend wedding in the Blue Mountains, caught up with a friend and then went for a sunset swim at Bondi. All in all, it was an idyllic break. However, I was tired by the end of it and keen on a low fuss dinner. That’s how I came up with this potato salad, which takes all of 10 minutes to make, but is pretty tasty. Ingredients Boil the potato and sweet potato for about five - seven minutes in lightly salted water. Remove from water and drain. Let the potatoes cool for a couple of minutes then mix through the apple and crumbled feta. Combine the mint, youghurt and coriander and blend (I use a hand blender). You can add salt to taste if you want to give it an extra ping. Serve the main salad with the mint sauce on the side so people can dress it as they choose. Add mint to garnish (I didn’t do this but just occurred to me that most recipes end with a ‘presentation tip’.) Enjoy! NB: HUGO’s CLOSED IN 2006. V Rating: VV Weekend brunch at Bondi Beach is a survival of the fittest affair. Go before 9am and the cafes are vacant. Come after that time and hordes of surfies, trendies, backpackers and tourists have materialised from nowhere and taken YOUR seat at your favourite cafe, goddammit. A table for two can be secured fairly easily. However, any more than that and you find yourself entering into international diplomacy style negotiations with cafe owners and happily agreeing to wait on the footpath for half an hour for something to become available. As one of Bondi’s most hip and trendy eateries, Hugo’s is in particular demand for Saturday and Sunday brunch. My group of six people plus pram seemed especially hard to seat, and the ‘twenty minute’ wait we were promised was more like half an hour and counting. Of course, there’s a usually a reason why a place is popular. In Hugo’s case it’s the large, open windows with a view along Bondi Beach, ultra white, crisp decor, and original, well-presented gourmet food. It also has some fun features, like the plate of crayons of every table inviting guests to draw on the paper tablecloth. For brunch Hugo’s has a decent vegetarian choice. Six of the eleven choices were vegetarian, although only one was vegan. I tried the avocado, tomato and mushrooms on rye toast with hummus and lemon on the side. I liked each of the separate elements, although together the flavours were a bit too distinct for my taste and didn’t quite gel. I didn’t order the huevos rancheros (a Hugo’s speciality) because I assumed it would be too big. It wasn’t and I spent the brunch experiencing food envy. Hugo’s also serves lunch and dinner. From memory these are far less vegetarian friendly than the breakfast so this is probably the best time for vegetarians to go to Hugo’s. Hugo’s is not the kind of brunch spot I’d go to on a regular basis. It’s a bit too trendy than my patience allows for early in the morning, and can be expensive depending on your order. However, as a special treat or wow your parents experience it’s hard to beat in Bondi.
V-Rating: VVVVV I think I’m the only person, let alone only vegetarian, who hasn’t eaten at St Kilda’s Lentil As Anything. I’d heard all about it but never made the trek. No excuses, really. However, as a new resident of Brunswick I noted excitedly the second outlet of Lentil As Anything on Sydney Rd - inside, but run separately from, a cool pub called The Spot Bar. For those non-Melburnian readers, Lentil As Anything began life as a modest cooperative restaurant cooking exclusively vegan fare. Its gimmick is a “no set prices” menu and no bills - customers simply push whatever money they feel appropriate into an honesty box on the way out the door. This wonderful concept has many wondering if people do actually pay more than the probable menu price due to feelings of goodwill and guilt. I suppose there’s no way of testing this interesting hypothesis. However, one thing is for certain: the food is bloody excellent. Vegetarians will immediately appreciate the overwhelming selection beyond veggie risotto and veggie lasagne. The menu changes daily but the range is strongly influenced by Asian and north African recipes with rice and couscous everywhere. Food is simple but delicious and is served quickly. Staff will assure you that, in keeping with the general ethos of the business, produce is fresh, organic and sourced locally. On my inaugural trip to Lentil As Anything I enjoyed a bean and vegetable stew with home baked rye bread. My dining companions devoured a vegetable couscous and a stir fry on rice - both of which easily passed my sample taste test. All three were spiced to perfection and the servings were very generous. Washed down with a cleansing ale from the adjoining bar it was a highly satisfying dining experience. An absolute must for Melbourne-based veggies and visitors.
V Rating: VVV There is a well known man at the Fyshwick fruit and vegetable markets in Canberra who sells his wares with the slogan ‘yummy, yummy in my tummy.’ This pretty much sums up my attitude towards Nitan Work Station.
There are around 70 dishes on the Nitan Wok Station menu. I’m in the process of conducting an extensive quality assurance review of most of them and am yet to be disappointed. I can particularly recommend the Beautiful Chiang Mai (pumpkin, snow peas, egg and coriander). Like many Thai restaurants, Nitan Wok Station offers a lot of different sauces which you can combine with vegetables and tofu (or your choice of meat - but let’s not go there). This means that at face value vegans and vegetarians have a huge range of choice. Because I wanted to give Nitan Wok Station at least a VVV rating, last time I ate there I checked whether the dishes included oyster or fish sauce. The person serving me confirmed that some did, but happily explained to the kitchen that I was vegetarian and these needed to be left out. They also checked unprompted whether I ate egg. This gave me some confidence that they had a good awareness of vegetarian and vegan diets and could accommodate our needs. All in all, the multitude of inventive, modern Thai dishes that can easily be made veggie friendly and the $7.50 lunch special, make Nitan Wok Station my favourite eatery in the Pyrmont / Darling Harbour area.
V Rating: VVV Mandala Nepalese is part of the Randwick’s quieter restaurant district on Avoca street. It emanates warmth with bright red walls and friendly and attentive service. Mandala is a veggie friendly restaurant. There are five veggie entrees, and you can sample four of your choice in a tasting plate (a guilt free way to indulge your inner glutton). There are only three veggie mains (mostly curries) which are a moderate size. However, there are six vegetable ’side dishes’ which appeared to be the same size and value as a main (only cheaper). I wish I could do more justice to the delicious food (say, by describing it). However, we went to Mandala to celebrate our friends recent engagement and neither my notes nor my memory extend beyond my first glass of champagne. Unfortunately for this review I had finished it by the time the entree arrived. I can recommend the pumpking side dish and the main with black eyed beans. I really enjoyed Mandala and would happily go back. It is a great choice if you want to eat with non-vegetarians because it easily accommodates a range of food preferences. |
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