Cafe Paradiso

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I was at Cafe Paradiso with a couple of parents from Kiddo's school.  It's opposite the Rivoli Theatre at Camberwell Junction so in all respects a popular eating joint in prime locale.

I was a bit disappointed with the service.  Being a week night, it wasn't all that busy but we waited an eternity for the drinks to be poured.  One of the parents ended up walking to the counter and asking what the specials were before coming back to the table to recite it back to us as our waitress had gone AWOL.

My disappointment with the service was eclipsed by my disappointment with the food.  I ordered a wagyu burger.  Sounded good in theory.  However it was strangely gritty with each bite.  Try as I may, I could not identify the source of the grit.  I hoped to God it was sand on the lettuce but deep down, part of me was afraid that the grit is from the burger meat itself.  I was operating in denial and ate the burger on auto-pilot. The fries themselves were extremely salty and for once in my life, I did not finish my beloved pomme frites.

A suspiciously gritty wagyu burger

 A few quick pics of what the others had ordered:

Haloumi salad

Risotto

Soup of the day

In short, Cafe Paradiso - I will not be going back.



Until next time...

Miss Frank - Revisit

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Miss Frank is a short stroll from home and it's a handy place to have around the corner for catch up with friends as it does decent coffee and filling brunches/lunches.  Please see here for previous Miss Frank's post.

For brunch today I ordered the Schnitz Panini and it did not disappoint.  The lemony crumbed chicken breast came with a refreshing fennel slaw.  It was pleasingly jaw dislocatingly huge ($17.50)

And the thick cut chips that came with were seasoned with sea salt and yummy aioli.

My friend M and her little D, shared the Big Breakfast ($19).  It too came in a generous serve with the eggs separate (due to D's egg allergy).  It was a heaping helping of spinach, thick cut bacon, Italian sausage, toast and two sunny side ups.

The above was washed down with coffees and a freshly squeezed OJ for little D.

Whilst the muffins and sweets looked ever so tempting, I had absolutely no tummy real estate left after that ginormous panini.  So for next time...

Huxtaburger, Collingwood Edition

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Huxtaburger, a burger joint that does six types burgers simply and tastily.  I am going out on a limb here as most people in Melbourne seem to be in love with Huxtaburger -  I did find their burgers tasty, I did find their burgers juicy but it was too greasy for me. I  suppose it would make great hangover food.  For a comparable price, I would much prefer the wagyu burger at Cafe Vue, same great taste without the grease.

I ordered the "Huxtaburger" ($9) with an extra $3 for a gluten free bun.  This came with beef pattie, mustard, mayo, tomato, cheese, lettuce, pickles and I opted out of the tomato sauce.

Kiddo had the "Rudy" which is the kid's burger ($5).  It had pattie, tomato sauce, mayo, lettuce and tomato.  It is a good value kid's burger from a price point perspectivee.  The large order of chips was $3

The pick of the bunch would have been the "Bills" which is the same as a Huxtabuger with the addition of bacon, egg, pineapple and beetroot on a brioche bun ($12)

Huxtaburger has a loyalty program if you are into that type of thing - eat nine burgers and the tenth one is for free.

In summary, I probably would rather a healthier Grill'd burger or wagyu burger from Cafe Vue, so no, whilst it was very tasty, I would not go back again unless hungover.



Until next time...

Cafe Vue @ Heide

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

It was a beautiful Autumn Sunday which got us all inspired to go for a traipse to the Museum of Modern Art at Heide.  Nothing better than a feed up at Cafe Vue then a walk around the parkland to chillax and admire the sculptures.  It was good timing that Rick's BBQ was in operation at the time of our visit.  We sampled a few things from the BBQ and kiddo had the standard kid's picnic lunch box from the cafe.  Continue reading...

5five

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Eaton Mall in Oakleigh on a Sunday is quite the unexpectedly happening place.  After a very satisfying visit to Meat Me Souvlakeri a few weeks back, we decided to stroll down the mall again to see what else takes our fancy.

This time we went to "5five".  At first I was a bit reluctant to dine there.  After all we are in the Greek heartland in Oakleigh and it seems like a cop out to eat at a burger place.  But I'm glad we gave it a shot.  This is what we ordered:

A main sized calamari salad to share as an entree.  This was totally divine.  The calamari was nice and tender and in satisfyingly big chunks.  The crummage was light and well seasoned.  It seemed like a popular order for other diners as well.

Ok, so we got a bit carried away with the calamari....kiddo also ordered it as part of a kid's meal.  It came in a dinky little chip basket with fries.  She was very happy with it and vacuumed the whole thing up.  It's nice to see a place use real calamari for the kid's meal and not reconstituted faux calamari.

I ordered the chicken parma which was a big tender piece of breast.  It was surprisingly juicy and the Greek salad was very much appreciated as a side.

Last but not least, in a burger joint, you have to order the burger.  This is the "classico" and came on a brioche bun...yum!  They had the tiniest wee pickles. It was a juicy patty and the relish had a nice buzz.

I gather 5five does a lot of the baking on site.  They had a mezzanine section in which a few staff members were busy baking cakes and desserts.  Here is their dessert cabinet - very drool worthy.  If I wasn't so stuff from downing that big chicken parma, I would have loved to try their eclairs or carrot cake or vanilla slice...

The staff were really friendly and even though the place was very busy during Sunday lunch, they still made the time to chit chat.  On a side note, the above meal cost $68 to give you an idea on the costs.

I will definitely be going back.  I've decided I would try their sliders and maybe chase that down with a strawberry tart on my subsequent visit.  Forward planning!



Until next time...

Grill'd Burgers

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I ofttimes feel a bit guilty eating a juicy burger but my guilt is somewhat assuaged when the burgers are from Grilled.  Why?  Because some of their burger offerings have salsa instead of mayo.  Also I'm rationalising that their chips are thicker cut - less surface area to volume ratio ergo less surface for oil absorption.  Look, I may be drawing a long bow on the last one but I'll convince myself of anything to eat their yummy rosemary speckled chips.

My relatively guilt-free order is generally the El Hombre burger (see above and I could not help myself by posing it with an hombre).  This is a chicken breast with salsa, black beans, tortilla, cheese and avocado.  I have mine on a wholemeal bun to earn brownie points towards eating a vast amount of chips.  The beans are quite spicy but it works well as the grilled chicken breast is quite bland.  I like the tortilla chip inside the burger - it's a bit different than your average hamburger.

Kiddo has the 'Mini Me' pack which consist of a wee sized beef burger. Although you could opt for a chicken one.  But frankly speaking, their beef patties are tastier than their chicken breasts.  I just ordered a chicken burger because of the aforementioned guilt factor.  Kiddo usually inhales her meal.  It also comes with a small serve of thick cut chips with rosemary salt and a juice box or water. It also has a small box of colouring pencils and an activity sheet. We also ordered in addition to this, a herbed mayo dipping sauce for the chips.  Seriously good.

It comes in fairly sturdy hence transportable takeaway box / bag.  Perfect for those, can't be bothered cooking nights.  Lego figurines not included :)

I should add that they have gluten free buns as well as salad options.



Until next time...