recent offerings

I have been very slack in maintaining this blog. Very slack indeed. I do hope to keep it going as freshly as possible now and here is the latest installment.

MEAT – Adrian Richardson.

Being a carnivore is something I manage to do extremely well. Inhaling pig and duck until my face hurts is a pleasure that I would never surrender. I know that the life of a vegetarian is one that espouses healthy living and a love of all things non meat but I am unashamed in my love of anything that once quacked or oinked.
Recently, one of my favourite Melbourne chefs who knows much about the offerings of the flesh and its treatment launched a book titled Meat. Adrian Richardson from Carlton’s La Luna is passionate, opinionated and dedicated to flesh. He spent time as a vegetarian and yet this book reflects his long held belief about how knowing about meat, what to do with it and how to treat it, forms part of our culture. Too often we choose bad or incorrectly labelled meat, or we choose meat for entirely the wrong type of dish.
This book is filled with Richardson’s knowledge of beef, pork, poultry, venison and other carnivore’s delights. I highly recommend the Twice Cooked Pork Belly with toffee crisp crackling or his roasted duck with pomegranate glaze. I also have finally got an idea how he makes those delicious little pork and fennel sausages. This book is worth the purchase price simply for that recipe alone. It’s a great thunking tome of a book, with beautiful photography and a fresh look at the way to purchase, cook and eat meat.
For those that love a bit of meat as much as I do, this comes very highly recommended for you or as a great gift for the silly season.


Bistro Flor – 555 Nicholson Street (corner McPherson St), Carlton

What do you get when you cross a composer of international music with a visionary chef?? You get Bistro Flor, a new name for an old established eatery in Melbourne. Known to many as Tansy’s, (or at least those old enough to remember), this new French Italian inspired eatery has seen some changes, and this one is definitely for the better.
The food is spectacular, and has both brunch and dinner menus available. Dinner is fantastic and the service matches the exceptional food on offer. House cured duck breast is perfectly sweet and is served with pistachio, quince paste and goats curd cream. Grilled octopus, kipfler potato and cherry tomato salad with baba ganoush or Tuna carpaccio with ruby grapefruit and caper citronette are exceptional ways to start. Followers that cover the farineaux (rice and pasta) and something more substantial were also very good. My mate raves still about the Provençale-style seafood stew with charred crouton and saffron rouille for the intensity and simplicity of the dish. Ocean trout with fennel, currants, pinenuts and white anchovies and Confit duck with endive, pear and walnut salad were also sampled and apart from some minor faults here and there, we were incredibly impressed.
Sides and desserts make up a great dinner menu and the wine list sparkles with a collection of Australian and International offerings that suit the food so very well. It’s always difficult to re open somewhere that was once boasted as the best going around at the time, but what Chef Matthew has achieved already is something to boast about. For locals who know the venue and people seeking out somewhere new, the fact that it is gay owned and operated should also provide further incentive to have a gay old time at Bistro Flor. Check it out, it’s worth the approx $60 per head for any occasion.

De Bortoli Gulf Station Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is another of the things that makes me moist on most occasions, and it is not a cheap wine to produce. Best varieties come from cold climate locations, and I am afraid that I have found something that I am loathe to share. I am sure the more I bang on about it, the more difficult to buy or expensive this wine is going to become. However, Matt Skinner rates it highly (he was Jamie Oliver’s Sommelier) so good enough for him, then good enough for me.
Steve Webber and Young Winemaker of the Year, Bill Downie are at the helm of this wine, and they have created a brilliant pinot noir. It is a ballsy pinot that is very well balanced. It is a dark almost plum colour and the earthy nose is also loaded with spice and fruit. With some mild tannins to kick in at the end of the palate, the remainder is intense and shows the best of the variety. It ‘s a Yarra Valley wine, so if you don’t believe me, get down to the valley or pick up a case at your local off license.