Out with the old in with the new!
Pistachio is no longer trading! Why?? It's all still there but they
just aren't opening the doors anymore. Apparently they are paying their
lease so it's not even available to potential new businesses.
I went into Pistachio twice in its lifetime which I think must be approx' 4
years (let me know if you know different). On both visits I felt the
lack of atmosphere, but I did think that was just because there was no
one else in there but me. The breakfast was great and very reasonably
priced.
So Why didn't it work??? What do I think?
I think that Pistachio did not stand out on Charles St. The frosting on the glass
prevented you from seeing what you were walking into, and when you did
walk in (if you did, as obviously a lot of you didn't) there was no
bright welcome, no joy! What other reasons are there for a cafe to
close it's doors.
Please let me know what you think!
MONICA
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Co Klat
Co Klat is trading! On Friday I was in the village and I saw a couple of young girls walking around offering free samples of chocolate. YES FREE! So what would any sane woman who loves chocolate do? I followed them to the source. The source is Co Klat. It's a little chocolate shop which also sells waffles, muffins, coffee (illy) and of course chocolate drinks. I didn't sit down, I thought I'd buy a few samples and take them home to indulge. The average chocolate is $1.70.
There are all different flavours, some alcohol, some child friendly. Mint,
raspberry, orange, praline, caramel etc. My first impression is I'd
like to try more! I'd like to go there for dessert or for an iced
chocolate and spend more time over tasting the chocolate.
I was told by Paul who works there that they buy the chocolates from a family in
Caulfield who have been making them for more than 30 years. What's interesting about this shop is that it is the first shop in the new block to open. The New Block being the recently built one behind the Sun Theatre. It's exciting, waiting to see what else will open there. Let's hope that this new building and the businesses within it will be a success.
MONICA
There are all different flavours, some alcohol, some child friendly. Mint,
raspberry, orange, praline, caramel etc. My first impression is I'd
like to try more! I'd like to go there for dessert or for an iced
chocolate and spend more time over tasting the chocolate.
I was told by Paul who works there that they buy the chocolates from a family in
Caulfield who have been making them for more than 30 years. What's interesting about this shop is that it is the first shop in the new block to open. The New Block being the recently built one behind the Sun Theatre. It's exciting, waiting to see what else will open there. Let's hope that this new building and the businesses within it will be a success.
MONICA
.
.
.
.
I know where I'll be heading tomorrow. I had seen them setting up but didn't know it was going to revolve around the greatest substance the world has known! I'm assuming they're all low fat and will make us slim and beautiful! By the way where are the chocolates you bought for me to try??
Rachael
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Snippet
CUTLER AND CO
55-57 Gertrude St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9419 4888
I will be very short and sweet on this one. Last night I went to Cutler and Co for dinner. It was my girlfriend's birthday and she had 8 people in total at the table. All went very well, food great, service great, atmosphere great, all living up to what had been heard or read about, UNTIL, YES UNTIL we got the bill. On the bill they had charged an extra 10% because there were 8 people on the table. When questioned about this the waiter said that 8 people was considered a large group and a large group made it harder for the kitchen staff and they needed extra waiting staff. What a load of BALONEY. What sort of Pansy’s are working in the kitchen that they can’t cope with a table of 8. Extra waiting staff???? MORE BALONEY. In a restaurant you allow staff for the amount of seats, the size of the tables makes no difference as at the end of the day the restaurant can only seat so many people. So disappointing! As Derryn Hinch would say SHAME SHAME SHAME!
Monica
What I would have given to see your face when they told you that!! It makes me laugh just thinking about it. Wish I had been there.
Rachael
55-57 Gertrude St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9419 4888
I will be very short and sweet on this one. Last night I went to Cutler and Co for dinner. It was my girlfriend's birthday and she had 8 people in total at the table. All went very well, food great, service great, atmosphere great, all living up to what had been heard or read about, UNTIL, YES UNTIL we got the bill. On the bill they had charged an extra 10% because there were 8 people on the table. When questioned about this the waiter said that 8 people was considered a large group and a large group made it harder for the kitchen staff and they needed extra waiting staff. What a load of BALONEY. What sort of Pansy’s are working in the kitchen that they can’t cope with a table of 8. Extra waiting staff???? MORE BALONEY. In a restaurant you allow staff for the amount of seats, the size of the tables makes no difference as at the end of the day the restaurant can only seat so many people. So disappointing! As Derryn Hinch would say SHAME SHAME SHAME!
Monica
What I would have given to see your face when they told you that!! It makes me laugh just thinking about it. Wish I had been there.
Rachael
TOUKS
77 Charles St Seddon 3011. VIC
(03) 9687 7194.
Touks is the 1st restaurant/cafe to stay at this address. Before Touks
there was the Charles St. Bar and before that there was ... oh, can't
remember, but what I am trying to say is that there must be something
good at this place because it has succeeded where others have failed.
Matthew and Carrol Thurley obviously know what they are doing. The restaurant looks great, modern, airy(the garage style doors are great for these wonderfully unseasonal hot spring nights we are having) and it has what a lot of other restaurants in SKY don't have and that is SPACE. You can easily wheel your pram in here, you can sit down without fear of sitting on someones bag or skirt and you can get to the bathroom without having to hold in your stomach as you pass through tables.
On my first breakfast ever at Touks I found it really difficult to decide what to order. The menu is lovely. So many delicious items to choose from it took a while to make that most important decision. However as it was the first time I thought it would be a good idea to try my standard brekkie. It's like my benchmark now. If they can poach an egg well that is always a step in the right direction. For a twist to the norm I added the 'many ingredient beans' as a side. It was
delicious. Perfectly cooked, everything on the plate was delightful.
The cost of a brekky here is on scale with most other cafes in SKY. Eggs and Toast $9 and sides 2.5 - 3 . I was a bit disappointed to see no muesli or porridge choices on the menu but at the same time I understand that just because every other cafe is doing that doesn't mean that they
have to as well. As my younger kids were with us this particular day they had the toast with rhubarb jam, they loved it . But the Prize of the day went to the Ricotta Pancakes with orange blossom cream. It was light and fragrant and melt in your mouth stuff. Highly recommend this
dish. Lovely cup of tea and I have heard that the coffee is okay here.
Touks is only open on weekends for breakfast, after some research I found out that on Sundays Emma Mackay is the chef for the day. Emma used to run the Commercial in its HEY DAY when the food was Top Class but is now a mum of three. Not only does she doing the cooking on Sundays but she supplies Touks as well Petit Tou (review to come) with her magical cakes. And if that is not enough (with three children in tow) she runs a cooking school for children (contact Touks), which apparently is fabulous. Emma also has recently been seen on Ian Hewitson's television cooking show as his pastry chef , what a busy lady! Touks is more about dinners than it is breakfast, but they still do a mean one so I would recommend getting down there on the weekend and trying it out.
MONICA
I haven't had a chance to go to Touks for breakfast in ages - I'm a fan of their hot chocolates which come with a variety of different flavoured chocolate buttons. Such a lovely idea.
Rachael
(03) 9687 7194.
Touks is the 1st restaurant/cafe to stay at this address. Before Touks
there was the Charles St. Bar and before that there was ... oh, can't
remember, but what I am trying to say is that there must be something
good at this place because it has succeeded where others have failed.
Matthew and Carrol Thurley obviously know what they are doing. The restaurant looks great, modern, airy(the garage style doors are great for these wonderfully unseasonal hot spring nights we are having) and it has what a lot of other restaurants in SKY don't have and that is SPACE. You can easily wheel your pram in here, you can sit down without fear of sitting on someones bag or skirt and you can get to the bathroom without having to hold in your stomach as you pass through tables.
On my first breakfast ever at Touks I found it really difficult to decide what to order. The menu is lovely. So many delicious items to choose from it took a while to make that most important decision. However as it was the first time I thought it would be a good idea to try my standard brekkie. It's like my benchmark now. If they can poach an egg well that is always a step in the right direction. For a twist to the norm I added the 'many ingredient beans' as a side. It was
delicious. Perfectly cooked, everything on the plate was delightful.
The cost of a brekky here is on scale with most other cafes in SKY. Eggs and Toast $9 and sides 2.5 - 3 . I was a bit disappointed to see no muesli or porridge choices on the menu but at the same time I understand that just because every other cafe is doing that doesn't mean that they
have to as well. As my younger kids were with us this particular day they had the toast with rhubarb jam, they loved it . But the Prize of the day went to the Ricotta Pancakes with orange blossom cream. It was light and fragrant and melt in your mouth stuff. Highly recommend this
dish. Lovely cup of tea and I have heard that the coffee is okay here.
Touks is only open on weekends for breakfast, after some research I found out that on Sundays Emma Mackay is the chef for the day. Emma used to run the Commercial in its HEY DAY when the food was Top Class but is now a mum of three. Not only does she doing the cooking on Sundays but she supplies Touks as well Petit Tou (review to come) with her magical cakes. And if that is not enough (with three children in tow) she runs a cooking school for children (contact Touks), which apparently is fabulous. Emma also has recently been seen on Ian Hewitson's television cooking show as his pastry chef , what a busy lady! Touks is more about dinners than it is breakfast, but they still do a mean one so I would recommend getting down there on the weekend and trying it out.
MONICA
I haven't had a chance to go to Touks for breakfast in ages - I'm a fan of their hot chocolates which come with a variety of different flavoured chocolate buttons. Such a lovely idea.
Rachael
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
PLUDO
98 Ferguson St
Williamstown VIC 3016
(03)9397 2591
Open Tue-Fri 7:30am-4pm; Weekends 7:30am-4:30pm
WELL HELLO RACHAEL!
Finally you have a voice!
I Hear what you are saying but I don’t get it, because YES I am huge foodie. I love FOOD! I think about every meal that I eat. I get so excited about food that even choosing a cereal in the morning for breakfast is a major executive decision. One that I relish. I think about morning tea, I think about lunch, I think about afternoon tea, I think about dinner and dessert, then I think about supper. So NO I don’t look like Monica in the picture, how could I after all this food, but YES I am as anal as the Monica in this picture about the food I get served.
Now, when I pay for food I do want it to be good, very good in fact, but if for instance you or any friends were to invite me to their house for breakfast I would love everything that was served to me because it would be rude to say otherwise. And Hey it’s a free feed! (Nobody will ever invite me now!)
Moving ON
You would think that living in SKY the options are endless and they are, but sometimes it’s nice to step outside the box and do something a bit different. So today we went to Williamstown!
Growing up on the other side of Melbourne I had never ever heard of Williamstown . It’s amazing how this seaside gem is kept a secret to the rest of Melbourne. It really is a beautiful inner city suburb of Melbourne, with much to offer. There are many cafes, restaurants and pubs in this area but to be honest I have never found any that stand out. Until today that is. Obviously I had just not been going to the right places because Rachael introduced me to Pludo. What a DELIGHT! Gorgeous! So Cute! Actually I think Pludo fits in better at SKY than at Willi, it actually has a sky feeling to it!
It is quite small, seating about 20 people, with quite a small menu. There is a lovely young girl behind the counter who has a 50’s look about her. The whole place has that feel to it. There is a great big surfboard up on the wall which puts me in beach mode (luckily the beach is about a 5 min drive from here). They have a very cute display of a few homemade goodies. I ordered the house Muesli and at 12.50 I was thinking this better be good because over in SKY I know I can get really good muesli for about $8 Good? This was Sensational! It was like having a healthy sundae for Breakfast! Dried cranberries, figs, almonds, pistachios amongst other muesli goodies topped with Gippsland Yoghurt and house preserved strawberries. The most divine ingredient however was the unprocessed corn flake. This was heaven, it added a crunch to the muesli like no other.
Lovely old fashioned, mismatching teapots and tea cups pouring lovely cups of tea. Just delightful. $3.20 for a pot of tea, very reasonable.
Notice Rachael, I hadn’t had one glass of wine to be able to say all those nice things. It was just that the owners of Pludo got it so right!
MONICA
Williamstown VIC 3016
(03)9397 2591
Open Tue-Fri 7:30am-4pm; Weekends 7:30am-4:30pm
WELL HELLO RACHAEL!
Finally you have a voice!
I Hear what you are saying but I don’t get it, because YES I am huge foodie. I love FOOD! I think about every meal that I eat. I get so excited about food that even choosing a cereal in the morning for breakfast is a major executive decision. One that I relish. I think about morning tea, I think about lunch, I think about afternoon tea, I think about dinner and dessert, then I think about supper. So NO I don’t look like Monica in the picture, how could I after all this food, but YES I am as anal as the Monica in this picture about the food I get served.
Now, when I pay for food I do want it to be good, very good in fact, but if for instance you or any friends were to invite me to their house for breakfast I would love everything that was served to me because it would be rude to say otherwise. And Hey it’s a free feed! (Nobody will ever invite me now!)
Moving ON
You would think that living in SKY the options are endless and they are, but sometimes it’s nice to step outside the box and do something a bit different. So today we went to Williamstown!
Growing up on the other side of Melbourne I had never ever heard of Williamstown . It’s amazing how this seaside gem is kept a secret to the rest of Melbourne. It really is a beautiful inner city suburb of Melbourne, with much to offer. There are many cafes, restaurants and pubs in this area but to be honest I have never found any that stand out. Until today that is. Obviously I had just not been going to the right places because Rachael introduced me to Pludo. What a DELIGHT! Gorgeous! So Cute! Actually I think Pludo fits in better at SKY than at Willi, it actually has a sky feeling to it!
It is quite small, seating about 20 people, with quite a small menu. There is a lovely young girl behind the counter who has a 50’s look about her. The whole place has that feel to it. There is a great big surfboard up on the wall which puts me in beach mode (luckily the beach is about a 5 min drive from here). They have a very cute display of a few homemade goodies. I ordered the house Muesli and at 12.50 I was thinking this better be good because over in SKY I know I can get really good muesli for about $8 Good? This was Sensational! It was like having a healthy sundae for Breakfast! Dried cranberries, figs, almonds, pistachios amongst other muesli goodies topped with Gippsland Yoghurt and house preserved strawberries. The most divine ingredient however was the unprocessed corn flake. This was heaven, it added a crunch to the muesli like no other.
Lovely old fashioned, mismatching teapots and tea cups pouring lovely cups of tea. Just delightful. $3.20 for a pot of tea, very reasonable.
Notice Rachael, I hadn’t had one glass of wine to be able to say all those nice things. It was just that the owners of Pludo got it so right!
MONICA
Quite frankly I am just relieved that my suggestion met with such a positive response! Phew! If anyone else has a cafe suggestion, let me know, the pressure is getting to me. I think Pludo has changed ownership and I'm so pleased it still retains the lovely feel it has always had. It's one of my personal favourites.
Rachael
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Taj Palace - An Institution
We are lucky in S.K.Y. to live right next door to Footscray.
Tonight we focus on an Indian restaurant – The Taj Palace! It is an institution! It has been in Footscray for 22 years and we have been visiting it for the past 10.
Now I know other Melburnians may make jokes about Footscray, but what they don’t know is that Footscray has some of the best restaurants in Melbourne.
If you look in cheap eats this year there are almost a dozen entries. Not all suburbs can boast this! What is amazing is that it is a combination of Melbourne’s latest migrant groups that fill this suburb with such delectable choices. Indian, Vietnamese and Ethiopian.
.
Tonight we focus on an Indian restaurant – The Taj Palace! It is an institution! It has been in Footscray for 22 years and we have been visiting it for the past 10.
(228 Nicholson St Footscray VIC 3011(03) 9687 1020)
I’m not sure how we knew to go but it’s one of those local legends that just gets passed around. I love the chef with the curly moustache, who waves when you walk in. I use to wonder how he knew us but then I realised he waves at everyone. A great gesture. A good way to make your customers feel special. Apart from noticing the chef you can’t help notice the pink tablecloths. They remind me of a wedding I went to years ago. MMMMMmmmmmmmm. Really though, what we go there for is the feed. Yummo! Bhaji, Butter chicken, tandoori mushrooms, naan bread, plain, garlic or paneer, rogan josh, vindaloo, I’ll stop now because I can tell that you are drooling. If you haven’t been there before, get yourself down there, it is great Indian food.
Monica
Well, well Mon, I am very impressed - you loved everything about the Taj Palace, not that it doesn't deserve it. Do you really mean to say that you couldn't find ONE thing to suggest? Maybe you are just more mellow after a few wines! For a fabulous, reasonably priced dinner in modest surroundings the Taj is definitely the place to go, they also do kick arse take-away.
Rachael
Seddon Deadly Sins -
Walking in to SDS this time was a bit of 'WOW, it’s changed.'
Yes folks they have redecorated and I like it!
Lots of wood and lots of workspace for the boys. A fantastic new cake fridge with a great display of cakes. Fantastic improvements. As usual Simon and the boys were hard at work. They really give you good service, very attentive, I also like that.
One of my pet hates is having finished my breakfast, and my first cup of tea, and then not being offered another cup of tea. Often R and I sit and sit and wait and wait. And eventually one of us will go and order it. We shouldn’t have to go, they should be coming to us! And at SDS they come to you. Excellent!
That’s all the good news and now the not so good.
As I said in my first review I think the food is fine, but sadly this time round I was far from impressed. I had the muesli, at $7.50, this is quite a bargain compared to other muesli dishes in SKY. Unfortunately it was not really worth $7.50. It just wasn’t up to scratch. The actual muesli itself was okay but it was topped with fresh fruit.
Another pet hate is fruit cut up too early. If I order fresh fruit I want it cut to order. Do you know what happens if you cut fruit too early before serving it, it goes brown. Yes, you can stop it from going brown by adding lemon juice but you can still tell it was cut earlier (or at least I can, I am pretty fussy though). At Seddon Deadly Sins on that day I was served uneven chunks of browned fruit on top of the muesli, it just put me off .
Sorry Boys, you need to do better than that! Most other cafes in Sky are serving poached, baked or compote of fruit. Perhaps you should consider this if you don’t have time to cut up fruit to order.
Monica
.
Jeepers Monica!!! Talk about a fruit Nazi! Glad you've never been to my place for brekky - I think I'd just hand you the fruit, a good sharp knife and make you do it yourself! I'm thinking maybe you need to order something less healthy in the first place - I had a chocolate and fruit muffin, delicious, probably highly fattening, and bloody good.
By the way everyone - I have been silent too long! I have decided it's time to add my 2 cents worth for those of us who aren't foodies, don't really care if our fruit is fresh or poached and like desserts for breakfast! So watch out Monica - I'm here to pig out on pancakes, and shout you down when I think you're being harsh. (Mind you I tend to agree with you 90 per cent of the time but that's no fun!)
Cafe looks fabulous boys - well done.
Rachael
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