james test

The December evening that we shared we Krusty and Jason was clearly one to remember, as I post about the third Fitzroy establishment that they introduced us to. Polly is a distinctively atmospheric bar on Brunswick St, all crimson walls, heavy curtains, gilded mirrors, antique furniture upholstered in velour and very dim lighting. On a Saturday night there can be a 15-deep line of hipsters waiting for their piece of the action, but 6pm on a Friday is NOT cocktail hour in Melbourne. And the cocktail list is the best reason to be here. Pages and pages of adult liquid desserts. Exhibit A: my Turkish delight, containing crème de cacao, cherry brandy, liqueur de roses and absolut vanilla. Michael ordered a more balanced (but no less potent) Damage Control, consisting of coriander, mint, ginger, lime, vodka, lychee liqueur, limoncello, cranberry juice, and a lot of crushed ice. If you’re after something to soak up the alcohol, the menu offers everything from chips and aioli to Grand Ma...

On the same street as Michael’s workplace is Books for Cooks, a shop devoted entirely to books (both new and second hand) about the preparation and consumption of food. I thoroughly enjoyed the 45 minutes (and $57) we spent there before it closed for the night. It was quiet, neatly arranged, and had a couple of comfortable chairs to sit in while we perused their wares. Although I disliked them until I was about 21, I now love well-cooked mushrooms and I thought this would be just the place to find a recipe book dedicated to them. Indeed, there was a small shelf with at least a dozen mushroom themed books! As I leafed through them I was disappointed to find that most were rather meat-heavy and had only a couple of recipes that I was interested in trying. Not so "Mushrooms on the Menu”, a 1993 British book with many meat-free tapas and light lunch ideas. It’s rare for me to be enthused about a cookbook without large colour illustrations of the dishes, but this one succeeded. ...

On this Thursday, Michael booked some last-minute tickets to see cult-rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Athenaeum Theatre. It was an almost flawless mix of professional theatre and angry glam rock attitude. I find iOTA’s music and vocal stylings a little pretentious and over-dramatic, and for this reason he filled Hedwig’s tight little dresses incredibly well. (He also had great legs.) But before we would see more of iOTA’s crotch than I could ever have imagined, we needed a quick dinner. We met up with Mike and Jo-Lyn and walked a couple of blocks away from the theatre to Flora. Despite being in the midst of three meals of Michael’s Mangalore , I was keen to visit this Indian restaurant because the Cheap Eats guide promised laminex Bollywood mayhem. There were indeed bright lights and clean laminex, and a hot-box with about 8 curry choices (3 vegetarian) and a few deep-fried appetisers. It seems that you must rely on the chef’s choice of curries in the bain marie, ...

When we left Brisbane, Cindy was given this book as part of her going away present and I finally decided it was time to try out one of the recipes. Most of the vegie recipes seem to be intended more as side dishes than as fully balanced meals and I think the idea is to make a couple of different dishes and feast on the variety. However, given it was a school night, I decided just to adapt the Cauliflower and Potato Mangalore in the book into something with a few more colours in it. This was all further complicated by the presence in our fridge of a big pile of roast vegies from Cindy’s crazy cooking weekend . Anyway, let’s just jump straight to the recipe. Michael’s Mangalore Ingredients Vegie oil 1 can of coconut milk 1 tray full of roast vegies (carrot, potato, pumpkin, turnip and mushroom) A big handful of green beans (trimmed) A head of broccoli (cut into florets) 1 large onion (chopped) 5 cloves of garlic (crushed) A 2-inch piece of ginger (minced) 1 teaspoon of tamarind conc...

On Sunday night we entertained some fellow Queensland transplants with homemade pizza. Mike and Marissa were fellow maths/ecology students at UQ, also now at the University of Melbourne. Mike’s girlfriend, Jo-Lyn, contributed beer, red wine, sharp conversation and steered us away from too much geek-talk. I started making the pizza bases a few hours before their arrival. My favourite recipe uses dry yeast and requires an hour or two of resting, so you really need an afternoon at home to flit between dough-making and other activities. On weeknights we usually go for wholemeal pita bread instead unless I’m ‘working from home’. This recipe is adapted from one that appeared in the Australian Magazine last year. The base is quite thin and crisp, but using wholemeal flour gives a bit of substance as well as nutritional value. Pizza Dough makes 2 pizzas Ingredients: 1 packet (7g) dry yeast 1 cup warm water 3 cups bread flour salt ¼ cup olive oil extra flour Combine the yeast and water in...

On Sunday afternoon Michael and I took a walk around Carlton and Brunswick after a weekend spent largely indoors. The calendar and the trees have announced that spring is here, but the weather is still just as often cold and windy as it is sunny and cheerful. After about an hour of pounding the pavement and 28 hours without eating out, we convinced ourselves that we could indulge in a hot chocolate at Koko Black. (This is where Michael bought my bet-winning chocolate .) Uncharacteristically it was Michael who chose the traditional hot chocolate while I elected for the additional caffeine hit in a mocha. They were creamy and frothy, Michael’s being particularly sweet, without being sugary. Koko Black also has an extensive array of desserts, cocktails and specialty chocolates, all rich, indulgent, and priced accordingly. It’s very popular, often crowded with people waiting for a table, and consequently doesn’t have the sophisticated atmosphere that the décor and music suggest they’re...

We started this Saturday morning with some deliberation about which meal we would allow ourselves to eat out and, unable to delay gratification, chose breakfast. Michael’s two picks from the Cheap Eats guide were packed out and instead we visited wwwash, an internet café and laundromat on trendy Brunswick St. It’s spacious and comfortable with low lighting that doesn’t seem quite right on a sunny morning; hip and modern with a bit of homely clutter. Their menu consists of half a dozen delicious-looking breakfasts and a further dozen sweet and savoury crepes. We each took a sample from the crepe list, Michael’s filled with wild mushrooms, ricotta, spinach and oregano ($12), mine with banana, roasted walnuts, honey and yoghurt ($7). The crepes themselves were excellent: thin, hot, crisp but flexible. Not even remotely rubbery. The savoury mushroom filling had the balance of flavours just right. I enjoyed the banana and walnuts, but the honey and yoghurt less so. I think that’s mor...