There’s a rumour that Melbourne hospitals lay on extra staff in the Emergency Department at this time of year. Yes, it’s tomato season and given our vast migrant population, there will invariably be a few home-bottling and canning disasters. Every Italian family will be firing up boiling vats of tomatoes in the backyard, and making a day of it. Think of Looking for Alibrandi. Young and old they’ll all be there; along with food, wine, music and arguing, making the perfect […]
Drinks
Get boozed-up here. Try a relaxing tea or a buzzing coffee
Proud Mary. Great coffee and tea
I‘m starting to judge cafes by their espresso machines. The more serious the machine, the better the coffee. So when you walk into a cafe and you see a six group Synesso longer than a coffin worth some $40,000 and you know something special is going on. It sorta trumps even St Ali’s $30,000 Slayer which is pretty awesome but only has three groups. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8bkRs77uX4] A Synesso in action. And I can tell you it’s official: Today coffee – and […]
The big De Bortoli salami making porkathon
Giving birth to salami. Even before all my dirty pork talk on Twitter I was typecast as the salami guy. During the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival I hosted a discussion on salami with the big sausages from Don. It got messy with a late night on the town with a few of us and a couple of wide-girth extra spicy salami. Then I’m invited to the salami making day at De Bortoli in the Yarra valley with guest, fellow […]
Stuff white people like: the very special food and beverage edition
Admit it, these apply to you too. The other week Christian Lander the author of the blog and now best selling bookStuff White People Like was in town. Basically Stuff White People Like is a bit like Top Trumps for White People. I’ll trump you some Murray River Salt and an Ortiz anchovy over your iodised salt and a pilchard. The same goes for my imported Arneis ($75) over yours from the King Valley ($20). Bearing in mind the readership […]
11 ways to spot a food wanker
Typical. Just as the world peaked Paul Levi, the man who had no small part in bringing us the slightly dubious word “Foodie”, launches the Gastrosexual, a man with more dazzling kitchen tools than penile length. I’ve never had much truck for foodies (although a few of you are okay). I’ve met too many who know nothing whatsoever about food. If you would like to see this variety you only have to watch Masterchef which is packed full of wannabes […]
11 reasons to avoid Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc
Not sauvignon blanc grapes Some say that the grapes are trodden by the feet of hobbits. Others that it is simply made with their pee. What can’t be explained what magic has been invoked to make a New Zealand wine has become the most popular quaff of the Aussie – Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc from the Marlborough region. Marlborough sauvignon blanc is becoming more popular by the day. In 2008 sales increased by 52.3% in 2008 and 143% in the […]
Love poems. For cannibals or vegetarians
I love you he said with his tongue in her cheek Adrian Henri Perhaps you don’t love me at all, but at least you sew the buttons on my coat which is more than my wife does. Adrian Henri There are fascists there are fascists pretending to be humanitarians like cannibals on a health kick eating only vegetarians Roger McGough Vegetarians Vegetarians are cruel, unthinking people. Everybody knows that a carrot screams when grated. That a peach bleeds when torn […]
Indian wine whine
Wine with Indian food? Even seasoned food writers seem to think you can’t eat anything spicy – let’s call it curry – without an ice cold glass of lager. Certainly normal punters think it’s laughable. Last year in my mum’s Indian local, out of 150 curry munchers only myself and a blond hairdresser were spotted with a glass of wine, white dare I say. The problem in India is that wine is expensive. Actually that’s not the only problem – […]
Are you a happy little glutamate?
There is a buzz around right now caused by monosodium glutamate (MSG), or whatever you prefer to call it. The savoury flavour otherwise known as umami was named 100 years ago after first being isolated from seaweed in Japan in 1907. Even if you think you haven’t tasted umami or glutamate you probably have and it has probably compelled you to shove even more food in your willing cake hole. Chinese food has a bad reputation for containing MSG – […]