lunch at Creole Kitchen Lobby on Lonsdale St
At high school I had a Mauritian friend. By year 12, there were only 3 of us left in French class, him and the 2 most literary Anglos in the school. The bogan government school dropped French after...
View Articlelunch at Da Rin Korean on Bourke St
While I’m working in the CBD again for a while I’m lunching around town, amusing myself by pursuing the new and interesting, whether it’s Peruvian or Mauritian. Korean food has become hugely popular...
View Articlelunch at Chef Lanka
The food court in the Paramount building has seen better days. Some of the shops are empty. The vibe is subdued. But a new shop has opened recently. Chef Lanka is a new city location for an established...
View Articlelunch at Rice Paper Scissors
This may be the last in my current short series of CBD lunch posts, as my job in the city is about to end. I’ve enjoyed finding some new, or just new to me, places to eat in the east end of the city...
View Articlelunch at Eastern Bloc in Coburg
I have a thing for central European food. Places I’ve enjoyed visiting in Melbourne have included the North Fitzroy Hungarian fete, Koliba (Collingwood, before it lost quality and was renamed Heart of...
View Articlelunch at the North Fitzroy Social on St George’s Rd
I was walking through North Fitzroy and on impulse stopped at the North Fitzroy Social cafe and enjoyed a reuben panino for lunch. North Fitzroy Social has been open for more than a year now but this...
View Articlebrunch at Lady Melville in West Brunswick
I may have gone a bit overboard with winter and the craving for meat but I am unapologetic. Lamb ragu. Goat roll. Reuben sandwiches. Yes, those. Lady Melville in West Brunswick does one with a...
View Articlethe festival of middle age
I attended a festival of middle age last night. The queue stretched along the street and around the corner and up the block in the middle of Chinatown in Melbourne’s CBD. The people queuing were almost...
View ArticleDavid Bowie Is a long time coming
I am thrilled to be seeing the David Bowie Is exhibition at ACMI this week. I wanted to, but wasn’t able to, get to London to see it at the V&A when it opened in 2013. It then toured several cities...
View Articlebreakfast at Vincent the Dog in Carlton
Vincent the Dog is a cafe on Drummond St in Carlton that has been open for nearly two years. I’ve been vaguely aware of it but until recently hadn’t found an opportunity to visit. They don’t do online...
View Articlelunch at True North in Coburg
I’ve been eating reuben sandwiches around the inner north in recent months. I’m not addicted, and can stop at any time. The North Fitzroy Social one was good but probably the least great of those I’ve...
View Articledinner at Delhi Streets in the Melbourne CBD
The Indian street food cafe Delhi Streets opened in the fast developing west end of the CBD in March in a lane with several other small food businesses. As I’m rather keen on Indian food I was eager to...
View Articlelunch at the Wild Timor cafe in Carlton
I’ve enjoyed coffees and food at Wild Timor on Sydney Rd in Coburg, and they recently opened another cafe in Carlton as part of the new Kathleen Syme library on the corner of Cardigan and Faraday...
View Articlelunch at Jolly J’s restaurant in the CBD
I am on a mission to eat all of the Sri Lankan curries available in the CBD. All of them. Zombimato (a walking dead website if ever I saw one) tells me there are six Sri Lankan restaurants in the CBD.…...
View Articlelunch at Dhaka Indian and Bangladeshi on Lonsdale St
Dhaka Indian and Bangladeshi on Lonsdale St is tiny, but their kitchen produces an impressive variety of curries. When I visited the $8 magic bargain of rice with one meat and one vegetable curry – I...
View Articlelunch at Goz City on Lonsdale St
Goz City has been in Madame Brussels lane off Lonsdale St for about six months, and its original shop on Little Collins has been around for about 18 months. Why has it taken me so long to discover the...
View Articlelunch at Shenie’s Curries on Russell St
Is this the best Sri Lankan curry restaurant in the CBD? I think so, but just to be thorough I’m going to try them all. The variety of dishes they offer each day, and from one day to another, is quite...
View Articlelunch at Lakmi Ceylon on Little Collins St
During the week I continued my mission to try all the Sri Lankan restaurants in the CBD. Up next was Lakmi Ceylon, which is on the west end of Little Collins St in a small food court. For $9.90 you get...
View Articlelunch at Moroccan Deli-Cacy on Lygon St
I’ve been so keen to try Moroccan Deli-Cacy on Lygon St, a new business by the owner of the wonderful Moroccan Soup Kitchen in North Fitzroy, which I’ve been to more times than I can count. At the end...
View Articlelunch at Cinnamon’s Sri Lankan Cuisine on Little Collins St
I got to Cinnamon’s Sri Lankan Cuisine on Little Collins St late and missed out on the goat curry, so I had to slum it with beef. First world problems. But at least I got there in time for the...
View Articledinner at Biggie Smalls on Smith St
I didn’t feel like cooking last night so I went for a walk. My destination was Biggie Smalls, which is a new hipster fusion of Shane Delia’s mixture of north African and middle eastern flavours and...
View Articlemore kebabs for Smith St
When Efes Kebabs closed I didn’t expect another kebab shop to open in its place, but Istanbul will open soon. Similarly nearby, Goshen Korean closed and Mr Bulgogi Korean has opened in its place. And...
View Articlea tale of two craft beer bars
About a year and a half ago two craft beer bars coincidentally opened side by side on Smith St. Since then I’ve wondered which one would succeed and which would fail as I doubt there is sufficient...
View Articlefaces
This is on the little laneway off Smith St near Po Boy Quarter. … This post was first published on Fitzroyalty. © Brian Ward.
View ArticleKikiRiki on Smith St is getting a complete makeover
Remember when Brother Burger took over from Retro cafe on Brunswick St three years ago? They began by putting a separate business, La Dulcita latin cafe, on the Brunswick St frontage with the much...
View Articlehoppers for breakfast at Pavlov’s Duck on Smith St
Pavlov’s Duck has been open on the corner of Rose and Smith streets for about two years. It was initially a generic contemporary cafe, but the menu has changed significantly more recently, in a healthy...
View Articlefree buffet lunch on Smith St tomorrow
The mysterious little shopfront on Smith St with signage of the South Pacific Institute, a vocational training provider to the hospitality industry, is offering a free buffet lunch on Monday 14...
View Articleconfuserated
Some political graffiti on Smith St. The first reads ‘fuck Abbot[t] (sic) / fuck unions to[o] (sic, presumably a different author)’ and the second ‘fuck gustapo (sic) G Orwell goodbye’. I think the...
View Articledinner at Brika in Perth
Another hometown family visit. More reminders of the Perthness of Perth. Drivers either aggressively tailgate you for doing the speed limit in the left lane or do 50 in a 70 zone in the right lane....
View Articlefarewell Mr Juice, hello Prego Amico
In a surprisingly short period of time the long lived Mr Juice, a scruffy juice and pho place on Smith St, has disappeared and been replaced with Prego Amico (rough translation ‘you’re welcome,...
View Articlehappy invasion day
This is on the side of 3CR radio station on Smith St. … This post was first published on Fitzroyalty. © Brian Ward.
View ArticleMulbury on Smith St has closed
Being kind, Mulbury was not quite right for the quiet southern end of Smith St. It’s going to take time for this strip to gain some kind of retail momentum. … This post was first published on...
View Articlelunch at Tahbilk winery cafe in Nagambie
As someone who enjoys wine and learning enough about it to be able to drink well on a budget, I’ve visited many cellar doors around Victoria and eaten at many of their cafes and restaurants. The cellar...
View Articleflorist on Smith St has closed
The nondescript florist on Smith St has closed. They may have been cheaper than their neearest competitor, but there was no vibe. We gentrifiers require aesthetic sophistication in all things… … This...
View ArticleMr Bulgogi on Smith St has closed
After a refit and a change of name from Goshen to Mr Bulgogi, this Korean restaurant on Smith St evidently fared no better than it did before and it has closed after about six months. Bistro K and...
View Articlean afternoon in the Yarra Valley with Arkley, cider and cheese
The Howard Arkley exhibition at Tarrawarra Museum of Art in the Yarra Valley is excellent and I highly recommend it. I knew only the suburban house paintings and it was fascinating to see the breadth...
View Articledinner at Teta Mona in East Brunswick
I’ve been very late to the Teta Mona party. They’ve been providing homecooked style Lebanese food in a charming space on Lygon St East Brunswick for about two years. It’s a bit further south than the...
View Articlehealth and safety
Some clever person has dumped a significant pile of household goods on the metal roof / awning of this shop on Smith St. I can imagine this collapsing and injuring pedestrians. Why is common sense so...
View Articletricycle
Spotted recently while taking a shortcut through the Carlton public housing estate. … This post was first published on Fitzroyalty. © Brian Ward.
View Articlecurtsey
This new work combining paste-up and paint is on Brunswick St near the corner of Alexandra Parade. A work appearing to be by the same artist using the same technique is on Sackville St Collinwood near...
View ArticleHuxtable on Smith St has closed
After being one of the best restaurants in Fitzroy for five years, Huxtable closed at the end of February. It will be missed, and I wonder if it will be replaced by someone equally good and...
View Articlebrunch at the Merri Table cafe at CERES
For about a year from late 2010 to late 2011 CERES ran a smart restaurant called Merri Table. I visited twice and enjoyed it greatly and was surprised when it abruptly closed. Since then CERES has...
View Articlelunch at Oh Deer in Royal Lane
Oh Deer is a new informal Korean fusion place at the end of Royal Lane in the CBD. The bento boxes are just $11 and great value. The service was amateurish and disorganised, with the wait person...
View Articlebrunch at Craft and Co on Smith St Collingwood
I’ve been meaning to try Craft and Co, the enormous new cafe / restaurant / wine shop / artisanal producer / provedore on the corner of Smith and Keele streets in Collingwood, for some time but frankly...
View Articlebreakfast at Chorba cafe in Coburg
Chorba cafe in the Coburg mall, next door to Half Moon, has been open for a few years. It’s a small Turkish cafe that does amazing breakfasts like this: tomatoes, spinach, pastirma, cheese and eggs on...
View Articledinner at Very Good Falafel in Brunswick
Very Good Falafel is a very new falafel shop on Sydney Rd from established market stall operators Shuki and Louisa. It’s been open about two weeks. You may be familiar with their dips and falafel, but...
View Articlesatisfying my char kuey teow cravings
Yummi Yummi Chinese is a charmingly dishevelled little cheap and cheerful place on Sydney Rd in Brunswick. For $12.50 they do good char kuey teow and you get bonus chicken and sweet corn soup. Just...
View Articledinner at Pintoh on Burke St
After an evening of heavy rain and existential torment seeing the new Juliette Binoche film The Wait at the Kino, my friend and I needed sustenance and warmth. We found it at Pintoh, which is a new Lao...
View Articlebrunch at Mina No Ie in Collingwood
I’ve been to Mina No Ie on Peel St in Collingwood more times than I can remember, but it’s been a while. It became the destination for an impromptu brunch recently, and is as good as I remember it. My...
View Articledinner at Tulum in Balaclava
In conversations with a Turkish friend we have wondered, when so many cuisines have been given a modern makeover in smart restaurants in recent years (such as Sicilian, Armenian and Lebanese), why no...
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