Melbourne Public 11 Dukes Walk, Southwarfe

We four friends added 3 more school buddies from our high school days.  We met at Melbourne Public Terrace on South Wharf Melbourne.  I was a little late getting there so the girls had already started with their coffee's.  Apparently this was their 2nd cup as the first ones arrived cold.  After a lot of catching up and laughing, we moved inside to find a table and eat.  The manager kindly let us have a table in the dining room, a little quieter than the bar.  He also said we could order from either the bar menu or the dining room menu.  I had a pie floater ($21.50), which consisted of a chicken pie with home made pastry sitting on a small amount of potato mash in a bowl of green pea soup.  I also had a glass of Chardonay ($10.50)  Just the thing for a cold Melbourne day.  Some of the others had crumbed chicken tenderloins ($16.00), Salmon Carpaccio ($15.50), these were entree.  The staff basically checked on us from time to time but left us alone as this is just what we needed to catch up with the last 30 odd years.   Overall a great place on a Saturday afternoon, warm pleasant and friendly.

The Long Room 30th November 2011

We celebrated an early New Years Eve at The Long Room in Collins Street Melbourne.

http://www.thelongroom.com.au/lr/index.cfm?pageID=43&gID=25&pageRef=25&

We arrived about 6pm and got in straight away after the receptionist juggled a few things for us....so it would be a good idea to book.  We were taken to a little booth with an Asian influence.  The room was primarily dark and I felt a bit unsure of my footing as there were steps down to the venue and again a few steps up to the booth.  Once in the booth, there was plenty of lighting and there was a nice feel.  The waitress for the night was Justine and she really couldn't have been more helpful.  As we had never been there before she explained that the food was an east meets west? or an Asian/Spanish cross.  As we have loved Tapas in the past we were happy to take the plunge on that.  The other option was sushi, and as I'm not a fish eater, it didn't appeal to me and the others didn't seem to mind going Tapas.  Jean & I ordered a glass of Chardonay (it was a warm night) and it was about $10 a glass and from the Mornington Peninsula, I can't remember the name.  The boys had a soft drink.
The one complaint that I do have is that we asked for the Tapas to be brought out in a staggered fashion so we could enjoy each one but sadly they all came out seemingly close together.
First plate was a trio of dips with bread and there was more than enough bread, pita, rotti and pide.  There was carrot dip (delicious), tzatziki and one other I can't remember.  All beautiful and bread left over.  This was shared between four and as I said before, bread left over.  I don't think there was any dip left so that may tell you how much we enjoyed it.  The next plate was Saganaki, which was served on a very hot cast iron plate, it came with lemon and a couple of slices of warm bread.  We also got Chorizo Romanesco which was very tasty and again served with bread.  We also had crispy fried chicken (tasted a bit like KFC).   We also had two serves of dumplings, which I can't find on the menu to give the correct name, one serve was seafood and the other vegetables.  All delicious.  The total bill was $95 so rounded off it was about $25 per head.  We were very happy and satisfied with the food and service.  I felt a little old in this environment but thats just my opinion.  I think it probably caters for a younger group seeing the queues and security lining up outside as we were leaving.  All in all, a delicious meal for a reasonable price in a beautiful atmosphere, the only down side was it was over too quickly.

Tis the season for Weddings!

Two of us ladies have had children married in October & November less than a month apart.  My son Luke married Katy at Summerfields in Bittern http://sfields.typepad.com/blog/weddings.html
I couldn't fault the owners hard work to make sure everything was perfect right down to the watching the weathermap to make sure we missed any passing rain for the outdoor wedding.  The food was delicious and everything ran smoothly.  The families stayed overnight at the B&B next door which was out of this world and we all gathered for a magnificent breakfast made from home grown produce the next morning.  Overall I couldnt rate this venue high enough and its no wonder its booked out 12 months in advance.

We'll wait to hear from Jean about her daughters wedding taking place today!  They have got a fantastic day for a wedding!

Jimmy Watsons

8th January 2011

Today was Christine's choice.  She had been here before and quite enjoyed the ambiance of the place, but it was at night and it wasn't 42C.  To say it was too hot to be out is an understatement!  Jimmy Watsons, is primarily a wine bar.  They serve specialist wine, and the food compliments the wine.  Being so hot we were not in the mood to drink much alcohol so I think we disappointed the waiters who seemed to loose interest in us once we had ordered our wine by the glass.  We were lucky to be sitting near the air conditioner which was a split system and I don't know how effective it would have been if the restaurant had been full.  We ordered finger food to share and it came on a multi layered platter which gave us space on the small table.  The atmosphere at night was better than during the day so this is definitely a place to eat and drink in the evening!
http://www.insidersmelbourne.com/jimmy-watsons.html

I couldn't find a dedicated website but there are heaps of reviews if you google Jimmy Watsons Wine Bar.

The Lux Foundry Brunswick

Saturday March 26th 2011

Today we had lunch at The Lux Foundry in Brunswick.  Today was Kathie's choice.  Brunswick is our old haunting ground.  We grew up in and around this area.  It was once a factory but now its a trendy, busy cafe and another part seems to have been converted into apartments.  There was a great friendly feel about the place although it was very busy and noisy.  I'll get some photo's up as soon as I find them.

http://www.luxfoundry.com.au/

The Spagetti Tree

May 28th 2011

We attended The Spagetti Tree on Saturday 28th May 2011.  It was Jeans choice this time.  We all remembered coming to the Spagetti Tree in the 70's.  Before or after a show or movie.  It was like our first grown up restaurant when we were making the transition from school to work.  Strangely the decor and food hasn't seemed to have changed much and you know what?  That can be reassuring.  One thing I like about The Spagetti Tree is that they stock wine from The Hanging Rock Vineyard.  The Rock Merlot is my particular favorite.  http://www.spaghettitree.com.au/

Then the wine took hold!