A little slice of Fitzroy in Ascot Vale {Public Life review}

Just after moving to the inner North/West of Melbourne (from the hipster capital of Fitzroy no less), I came upon this sign

 That bit scratched out at the top (no doubt by a kindred spirit) says "Temperence Town".

Here's a close up of the worst part

The covenant was only lifted in 2002- getting a brand new liquor licence is not an easy thing and ten years is not a long time to overcome such a restriction.

Pretty concerning huh?

At the time (2012) there were great breakfast/brunch cafes (and some pretty super bakeries), but for drinking I ventured further afield.

However, things are looking up. Union Food and Wine has sorted some fine dining in Ascot Vale and late last year Public Life opened to look after the fine drinking needs of the locals.

These are a few of my fa-vour-ite things {Melbourne}

When I work in the the Queen Vic markets I often end up becoming the tourist information centre as well. This is in due to the corner location of the wine shop and the fact that we are actively offering wine tasting and so are pretty approachable. I love it when people ask for suggestions of what they should eat/drink/see in Melbourne so I thought I'd share some of my favourites here (warning that it is fairly North-centric)


Carlton Gardens
I used to walk through these gardens almost everyday. It is a beautiful oasis right on the edge of the city. Filled to the brim with possums it can be quite freaky at night as they all stop and watch you as you walk past. There is a fabulous water fountain on the edge of the gardens in front of the old exhibition building. A lovely park for a picnic.

 A close-up reveals that this little fella doesn't enjoy having water spat on his willy by a turtle.

Tasty tasty Taste {Taste Restaurant at Rutherglen}

In Rutherglen for the weekend and where to go for a special dinner? There are a few options in this little foodie orientated town but there was something about 'Taste' that caught my eye when I was researching a month ago. Open during the day for breakfast and lunch, it is a bright functional space that transitions from casual brunch to fine-dining dinner.

They do an $80 five-course degustation ($50 for matching wines) so our decision was easy. The wine list is largely local so it is a nice opportunity to try some Rutherglen wines at the same time.

Fast Food Fave!!

Whilst this isn't a restaurant review blog sometimes I am just going to post stuff about some of my favourite places that you really should try if you are nearby. Tonight it is my go-to fast food New York Minute

Right on a main road and with a very simple cafe fit-out you could be easily forgiven for passing them by. We first tried this place after walking past it on our way to a wine bar and then deciding we should fill our bellies on the way back. Whilst clean and comfortable it isn't super-cosy so we usually get take-away now (unless we are walking past, it isn't somewhere you would necessarily "go out to dinner" to).

Whilst the decor is simple the food is AMAZING and very affordable. Tonight the Bookworm had a New York Mac- this is one of those meals where he tried it once and now can't think about having anything else, it is THAT good (I had it once too I admit and it defeated me, but was very tasty).  I had a beef burger and we shared a large chips.

New York Mac $10

The New York Mac is like a Big Mac on roids, super saucey with their own special sauce

Diet days

Despite the advances in medical science, I think healthy eating is becoming more difficult than ever. Yes, there are all the unhealthy treats but even foods labelled as healthy rarely are when you read the ingredients. It is also difficult to lose or maintain weight when we are all so busy all the time. Fitting in exercise and (in my case) watching portion sizes when you are tired and hungry and LOVE food is a big challenge.

Dukan or Dukan't

I am not really a fan of diets. I believe in just eating well and exercising regularly. Unfortunately life gets in the way and sometimes the regular exercise falls away leading to a couple of extra kilos that requires a bit more effort. This time last year I went on a calorie control diet to lose a few kilos gained after injuring my back. It worked and I lost 3-4 kilos but had to stop because I always become obsessed with the numbers. I had quite severe anorexia as a teenager. I started on calorie control and eventually cut down to about 500 calories per day. I can recognise those tendencies coming back when I am watching numbers too much.

The Bookworm has been threatening to do the keto diet for a while. He wants to lose a couple of kilos and get match fit for a course he is doing in a few months time. He likes the idea of high protein for muscle growth and I think has mental images of eating plates piled high with cheese and bacon keto-style. I have my concerns about the long-term effect of these high fat diets so I haven't been too encouraging.

I read a column recently about the Dukan Diet. It seems to allow extreme weight loss (not that we need that) but the things I like about it are:

1. High protein

2. Low fat

3. Only a short period at the beginning with any significant vegetable restrictions and then some flexibility after that

4. No counting calories

5. Has a plan for long term achievable results.

So we tried it. On Monday we started a 5-day protein only Attack Phase, I later revised it down to 3 days after entering my data on www.dukandiet.co.uk this is how it went:

Caramelised fennel salad (and beef ragu lasagne)

It is too cold for cold salads at the moment so I am exploring the warm ones.

I found a recipe for a potato and beef ragu lasagne and wanted a salad that would go well with so I went searching for inspiration.

I love fennel so I got some but the tender little baby fennels weren't available so I bought a giant big one and decided to caramelise it a little to make it a bit more tender (and warm:) and went from there.

Muesli Bars

When I was little my mum used to make homemade muesli bars. 'Little lunch' time would arrive at school and everybody else would be pulling out their Uncle Tobys muesli bar with the fancy packaging and the chocolate drizzle and I would have a homemade number wrapped in foil because my mum thought the bought ones were full of sugar and not healthy. Fast-forward 20 years and I agree.

Recently I got the recipe from her and made it up and gosh they were delicious. No doubt they were a lot healthier and less processed than the commercial ones but they were still had a bit of processed sugar and delicious butter. So here is a homemade muesli bar for the 21st century encompassing our society's hatred for refined sugar and dairy (not my hatred I hasten to point out but I do try to not eat too much refined food).

Rosé Champagne

After reading Jay McInerney's "The Juice", a collection of wine essays he wrote for the Wall Street journal, I had to try a Rosé Champagne. 

I need to clarify a few things here; when I talk about Champagne I am talking about sparkling wine made in Champagne, France, under the rules of the appellation. Calling anything else Champagne is ignorant and something we are really very guilty of doing in Australia. Call it bubbles, call it Australian sparkling, I don't care, Yellowglen Yellow is not Champagne. If you've never had a glass of Champagne, do. Do it now.

Starting

So, I am starting a blog.

Nothing unusual really as there are very large numbers of people with a blog, or who start one at least. Also, I am excellent at starting things. I am also not too bad at finishing things but I am relatively hopeless at any kind of long-term continuing-on with things. Still, one must start.

I decided to do this because I am not the sort of person who coasts along in life. I don't really coast along in anything. Definitely not a coaster. I am potentially entering a period of reduced work hours,  stress and increased time for non-work pursuits and I know that unless I give myself things to do that are at least slightly artistic I will spend my time doing random jobs and errands, over-organising the minute details of my life and checking Facebook.