The other day a friend mentioned to me that the somewhat horrific Father Flanagan’s Irish Pub (on the corner of Smith and Alexandra Pde) had been transformed and was now serving cracking pub food with an American bent. I decided to check it out immediately.

Mr M and I went fairly early on a Friday night for dinner. The space still is light and bright, with plenty of woodwork and there are still some touches of Irish pub to it. Broadsheet described the space as ‘barnlike’ but I would say it reminds me more of an old-school train station. The upright booth seats with luggage racks overhead certainly gave that impression.

But Gasometer is still a work in progress. It is the new venture of seasoned publicans from the East Brunswick Club, Shit Town and Horse Bazaar and has been open just 4 weeks. There is some further work to be done, including finishing the covered courtyard (apparently the courtyard should be open in the next couple of weeks).

On to the food, the menu is divided into ‘plates to share’ and ‘big plates’. Items to share include mozzarella and ricotta fritters ($10), buffalo chicken wings (or smoked tofu strips) ($12) or cheese stuffed meatballs ($13). The American bent is more evident in the ‘big plates’ section which includes Southern fried chicken ($19), NYC cheese burger ($16.50), BBQ pulled pork ($19) and you can get a side of mac and cheese ($8). Some of the other items have a European bent, think pipis with chorizo ($15), brandy and chicken liver pate ($11) and burrata, basil and heirloom tomato platter ($17). Vegans, vegetarians and the gluten-free are well catered for, with veggie items including a vegan chorizo burger ($15) and arepas with shredded chilli seiten ($18).

Starving after some after work drinks, Mr M & I headed straight to the ‘big plates’ section. Mr M ordered the Southern fried chicken, that had been marinated in buttermilk and was served with greens, mash and champagne gravy:

You can see from the picture that the chicken was incredibly crispy and inside it was moist and tender. Yum.

I ordered the Arrachera ($21) a Mexican style sliced hanger steak, served with guacamole, fried arepas, salsa and a lime and habanero vinaigrette ($21):

I wasn’t entirely sure how to eat this, but decided to stack as many things as possible on the arepa and hope for the best:

This was bloody good. I really liked the zingy, chilli spiced salsa of tomato, spanish onion, heart of palm and corn. Tasty guacamole and crisp, hot arepas. My only qualm was the steak was quite cold.. slightly odd.

We shared a side of fries with black ash salt and aioli ($7.5):

I urge you to try these fries. Like the chicken, they were incredibly crispy. I loved the aioli too, I just wished there was a little more of it!

All in all, a great meal. Gasometer is still a very new venue but all signs suggest it will be overrun before we know it. I’ll be heading back sooner rather than later to check out the courtyard and get my hands on some more of those fries… mmmm.

Details

484 Smith St,
Collingwood VIC (Corner Smith and Alexandra Pde)
Ph: (03) 9417 5539
Mon-Wed 4pm-midnight, Thurs 4pm-1am, Fri-Sat 11am-2am, Sun 11am-11pm
‎

After a recent (delicious) experience of South American (specifically, Colombian) food at Sonido! I thought I would continue the theme and try out another new South American place in Fitzroy – Cruzao Arepa Bar. I had read good things about Cruzao Arepa bar (Fitzroyalty and What’s for Tea?), including that the food is cheap, tasty and the Venezuelan owners are very friendly.

Mr M & I went to Cruzao Arepa Bar with my parents, as a quick farewell before they went on holiday. The menu heavily features arepas, there is one soup available, then pasapalos (nibbles) and sweets. The arepas are offered with a range of fillings – shredded beef, shredded chicken & avocado, roast pork leg, black bean and feta, chorizo and cheese and avocado. Unsure what an arepa is? Cruzao takes the guesswork out by having this explanation on its website and in various places throughout the bar:

We started with some drinks and nibbles. Even though it was a quiet Monday night, I went for a mojito ($8) (well, it really is the most apt beverage!), if you are feeling less cocktail inclined beer, wine and a seriously impressive selection of juices (pineapple, soursop, lulo, tropical berry, guava, mango and passionfruit) are also available.

Our nibbles arrived – grilled chorizo with lemon ($9) and empanaditas, 3 beef, 3 cheese ($9):

I was very excited to try the empanaditas as they are made totally from corn and therefore gluten free, while a lot of others include a wheat component. These were hot, crispy and flakey and I really liked the aioli type of sauce that was served with it – garlicky but not too garlicky. They were also served with guasacaca, a guacamole-style sauce which was not as flavourful. I really enjoyed the chorizo – it had a nice kick of heat and worked well with the lemon squeezed on top.

On to the main event – we ordered an arepa each. At the top of the page is the shredded beef, below is the roast pork leg with garlic and red wine, black beans and feta and shredded chicken and avocado ($9 each):

The arepas were crispy on the outside with a fluffy inner and quite different to the arepa I had at Sonido (which was larger, thinner, crispier and was served with filling on top, rather than within). I suspect that this comes down to the difference of origin of the arepas – Venezuelan at Cruzao and Colombian at Sonido! (Wikipedia seems to support this theory - though I am happy to be corrected if I am mistaken!). I enjoyed the Cruzao arepa itself, though I was less enamoured with the fillings – yes, with all of them. Unfortunately, I just found the fillings to be quite bland and I ended up slathering them in the garlic mayonnaise and the guasacaca which was still on our table from the empanaditas. The most tasty arepa was the black bean and feta and I think the least appetising was the beef, which was a bit tough and stringy. Quite a disappointment.

We powered on to dessert, which in true South American style were very sweet and anything but bland. We ordered all of the sweets – a corn sponge cake with papaya preserve,  Tres leches cake (three milk cake) and Venezuelan corn flan ($5 each):

Both the flan and the sponge cake with papaya preserve were made of corn and therefore gluten-free, while the tres leches is a sponge cake made from wheat-flour. Incidentally, the entire menu is gluten-free, other than the tres leches and one of the nibbles, the tequeños (which is a crispy cheese stick wrapped in dough). I couldn’t really eat the tres leches (due to the wheat factor) but I tried and loved the vanilla flavoured custard-esque liquid made from the aforementioned three milks (condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream). My dining companions liked the tres leches the best of all the sweets for its light texture and that delicious milky custard. My favourite was the flan, which was dense but soft and soaked in caramel goodness. I also quite enjoyed the corn cake with darkly caramelised papaya on top.

All in all, it was a good meal that was let down by the star of the show – the arepas. The things that I cannot fault are the service (friendly, good natured and a little cheeky) and the value – the bill arrived and it was $120 for the four of us (which included the all the food, 6 alcoholic drinks and coffees). I would visit Cruzao for a drink with friends, enjoy a mojito or three and to have a few nibbles to go with them. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Details

Cruzao Arepa Bar
365 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
(03) 9417 7871

A while ago, I headed to Von Haus for breakfast. While I enjoyed their breakfast offerings, I couldn’t help but think that Von Haus would be perfect for drinks and dinner… and I was right!

Mr M, P and I headed there on a freezing night for few glasses of red and some dinner. The menu at Von Haus is short and sweet, with a couple of specials on offer each day. When we visited, there was plenty of heartiness to stave off the cold – osso bucco, chicken cassoulet and creamy cauliflower soup.

Mr M and P both went for the osso bucco ($20):

It was rich and delicious, with lovely creamy parsnip mash.

I went for the chicken cassoulet ($20):

This was also perfect comfort food, with tender slow-cooked chicken and beans. I also really enjoyed the side salad which was fresh and zingy and a perfect antitdote to the rich chicken.

P and Mr M decided to share the bread and butter pudding for dessert ($9):

This was another perfectly judged hit of comfort.

All in all, a very pleasant evening. While it is officially Spring now, Von Haus is still the perfect venue for our chilly days and nights.  A great place for a glass of wine or three.

Details

Von Haus
1 Crossley St
Melbourne, 3000
Ph:(03) 9662 2756

Almost exactly twelve months ago, on my daily walk along Smith St I watched the transformation of a dull little shop into a quirky looking bar. There was a hive of activity, with builders and tradesman coming in and out. Progress was fast. The bar opened and I made a mental note to give it a try.

A week or so later I had plans to head there one Tuesday evening but disaster struck, there was a little write up of the bar “Gigibaba” in the espresso section of The Age. The article noted that Gigibaba was the new outpost for Western Australian wunderkid Ismail Tosun and that the place was already “pumping”. Of course, I rued the fact that the article came out the day I planned to go – fearing that I would have no chance of bagging a seat (no reservations allowed). I ended up arriving at the bar right on 6pm that evening and managed to have a fabulous meal there. It was incredible to watch the conga line of patrons arriving, only to be turned away as the place was heaving. A gushing review a week or so later served to compound the hype, guaranteeing that it would be almost impossible to ever snag a table.

Fast forward 12 months and Gigibaba is still pumping, although the excitement has waned somewhat. The restaurant closed inexplicably for a few months, with a note on the door saying that Tosun had been called back to Turkey for business. Now that the restaurant is open again, I thought it was about time to give it another try.

We arrived at about 7.15pm on a Saturday night and were lucky enough to immediately grab the last available table. The place was a buzz of activity, people crammed in around the bar and jammed around tiny tables. Dark and moody, some music was playing in the background but it was largely overwhelmed by the excited chatter of the patrons.

Hungry after a drinking session at Bebida (love the half price happy hour) we ordered a swag of dishes that were promptly demolished. First up, a fresh and zingy broadbean salad:

Broadbean salad

Dressed simply in olive oil and white vinegar, the broadbeans were mixed with spring onions, fried garlic and coriander. I absolutely love broadbeans (as I gushed about in a previous post) and the simple accompaniments here served to highlight their freshness and flavour.

Our next arrival was a cauliflower and pomegranate salad and some olives:

Cauliflower salad and mum's olives

The cauliflower salad was stunning. It consisted of cauliflower and chopped parsley studded with pomegranate seeds and raisins. The dressing contained hints of cinnamon which worked so well with the sweetness of the raisins. It was a favourite. The warmed olives were equally delicious; flavoursome, moist little mouthfuls.

We then had some halloumi and dates:

Halloumi and dates

Sure it didn’t look that attractive, but it tasted great (reminiscent of the saganaki with peppered figs I had at Hellenic Republic). The sweetness of the warm, sticky date worked so well with the rich saltiness of the halloumi – yum!

Our lamb cutlets arrived next and were crammed into the centre of our overstuffed table:

Lamb cutlets

The cutlets were moist and soft, simply flavoured with lemon and oregano. Given their tenderness we surmise that they had been marinating for a very long time before they came to us.

Our next dish was a pan fried Red Emperor fillet:

Red Emperor

This was another simple dish that was perfectly executed. The fish was moist, with a seared skin, accompanied by lemon and parsley. Absolutely delicious.

The last dish of the night was good, but probably the least successful dish of the evening:

Spanner crab and fetta tart

The spanner crab and fetta tart was perfectly formed and had a gorgeous burnished exterior. The inner part of the tart was a light, molten mixture of cheese, which was nice, but we couldn’t taste the advertised crab. The tart was topped with witlof and avocado, which added a fresh element to an otherwise rich dish.

While Gigibaba offers a range of little sweet morsels for dessert, we ended our meal here and headed to Cutler & Co for dessert at the bar (we split the ice-cream sandwich with salted caramel and the violet ice cream, chocolate ganache, sour cherry – yum!).

All in all, it was an excellent meal. I think Gigibaba earned every inch of the hype but I am glad that it’s now that little bit less stressful to get a table. I won’t leave it so long to come back again.

Details

Gigibaba
102 Smith St Collingwood
Ph: (03) 9486 0345
Open Tue-Sun, 6pm-11pm

Dishes range from about $6-$23. Note that servings are small, so you could end up having an expensive night if you are really hungry.

Looking for a post-work tipple and eat, we settled upon the recently opened Izakaya Den, a new outpost from Simon Denton & Co. from Spring St’s Verge. Izakaya Den is modelled on a traditional Izakaya, being a casual pub-type eatery found in Japan.

Izakaya Den lurks beneath the Postal Hall at the corner of Russell St and Little Collins. After finding our way downstairs we were surprised to find a cavernous space with an industrial feel thanks to the exposed ceiling and hard surfaces.

The drinks list comprised an impressive array of sake together with a good selection of beer and wine. We ordered a bottle of Los Hermanos savagnin, one of the wines subject to a recent identity crisis (growers thought that the grape was a Spanish variety, albariño, where it was actually the French grape, savagnin).

The physically hard to manage menu (it kept rolling back up)

The food offered at Izakaya Den was described to me as “Japanese tapas”, which really got my back up – the use of the term ”tapas” to describe any small shared food is a pet hate of mine. Nonetheless, we chose a selection of plates to share as we quaffed our savagnin. The menu is divided into a number of sections, including small, grilled, hot, cold and vegetables.  First up, we ordered grilled broad beans, potato croquettes, kingfish sashimi, crispy tofu and miso soup with sandcrab:

Grilled broad beans, potato croquettes and miso soup with sandcrab

The stand-out was the kingfish sashimi (sorry, not pictured), it was fresh and zingy, served with daikon in a sesame oil sauce. The fresh grilled broadbeans and flavoursome miso were also great (though the miso was sans silken tofu, which is my favourite). Not as impressive were the potato croquettes (which were a little bland and served with a very faintly wasabi flavoured mayonnaise) and the crispy tofu (which was unpleasantly fridge-cold – though to be fair it came from the ‘cold’ section).

We had another look at the menu and ordered a couple more dishes (hampered somewhat by overzealous wait staff who kept asking if we wanted more before we had decided anything). This round we ordered chicken kaarage and fried sweetcorn, which was served with a green tea salt:

Sweetcorn and chicken kaarage

These two dishes were excellent. A real surprise was the sweetcorn, with the green tea salt adding an interesting element to the dish. Chicken kaarage is usually a winner in my book and Izakaya Den’s version was served hot and fresh, although a little dipping sauce or mayonnaise on the side would have elevated the dish.

Overall, a successful night out. As I was leaving I was a little disappointed to see a list of specials had been projected on to the wall at the front of the bar, which were not mentioned by to us by the wait staff. Nonetheless, I will be back, particularly to sample some food from the grill and some of the larger dishes.

Details

Izakaya Den
Basement
114 Russell St
Melbourne 3000 VIC

Ph: (03) 9654 2997