Complete Mess

So....without further ado, I'm going to be completely naughty and sneak this post in without Chee Chee's consent or notice, about something I did with someone else, at a place that may or may not be in the CEG at all. I'm breaking all sorts of rules here...but I just can't hold this post in any longer!! (Sorry Cheese!)

It was a dreary Melbourne winter Monday. One of those chillingly spectacular days....concrete coloured skies, part time showers, and a wind that could make your ears drop off. Ahhh....but here's the thing; this is the heart of Melbourne. A bitter sweet coffee wedged between frozen fingers. Coat lapel and collar flipped. And a Marlboro stuck to your bottom lip. Frosty wind glazing your eyeballs. It is an indescribable feeling and atmosphere to anyone who is not from/living in/lived in/visited Melbourne.

What does all this have to do with this blog? Well...I'm just getting warmed up [pun intended]. The point is that my Monday started just exactly as it should in Melbourne. 30 years and still in love with this city. This is how I spend every morning...and this particular morning prefaced a progressively awesome day [despite having to work the 9 point 5 hours].

Come 6pm sharp I was standing on the corner outside the building....finished work....having a replenishing cigarette. It was dark and I was waiting for Jeremy to come so we could go for a bite. Before Jeremy arrives, an embarrassing and food-irrelevant situation occurs....blah blah blah....those who want to know shall have to ask me directly.

We walk up towards a place on Bourke Street that I had heard of, told Jeremy about, pretended to know about it, and later admitted that I had never actually been before. We arrive almost at Spring Street and there's a bunch of empty chairs and miniature tables, and a couple of towering mushroom heaters. Ah, yes....we're in Melbourne (as if I'd forgotten). Do a 180 and it's an old, crummy little townhousey thing with cracked white paint flaking off the cement walls. A tiny little sign says, "The Mess Hall". We walk in to a tiny little room where half the space was taken by the counter and coffee machine. There were a handful of miniature "two-seater" tables, and a giant table (reminiscent of a giant wooden chopping block). Sat down and ordered from the mini-menu. Yes, everything seems small...but that's ok...I'm small.

Fresh beetroot discs, stacked in a mini-mess, with crumbled goats cheese and sauteed wild mushrooms. BAM! Spinach gnocchi mud-wrestled in a bed of sweet, laurel scented, pork ragu. BAM! This was thoroughly the best $30 (per head) I'd spent. Wow...I can't even write about it....it's a happy little moment dancing in my head now.

In short....this was an amazing place. Even if it's just for a coffee and a stare at the mesmerising, pixie-like, waitress in army fatigues. There will surely be repeat visits.

Btw, don't get the wrong impression...it's called "Mess Hall" and the pixie-chic wears fatigues...but the atmosphere is far from "army" and "mess halls". It's cozy and delicious.

I had better close this post and hope it's not too out of line. Thanks Jeremy for a good night, and sorry Chee Chee for breaking the rules of this blog. (We both know that I'm the more likely one to break rules...so...here it is)

Huge.

Hockaloogie

So...exactly one week after visiting Hako (on Little Collins St), this blog has begun. Now to backtrack to last week...

Excited and jovial...Cheese and I, with Cheap Eats Guide in hand...headed to Council House 2 for a quick briefing and coffee. After much deliberation and page flicking, we settled upon Hako as our first destination from the Cheap Eats Guide (from here on in, known simply as the CEG).

Baffled and a little lost, we finally stumbled upon the mess-hall-style restaurant. We were greeted and seated at our miniscule table by a motherly [possibly] Japanese lady. What to drink? We decided to go something Japanese...as we were in a Japanese restaurant afterall. What the hell! EBISU! I welcome change to the usual [boring] beer selection.

Still feeling a little uncomfortable and "new" to the surroundings, we open our menus. The waitress, who is of African-possibly-Jamaican decent, had long unwielding dreadlocks down to the small of her back. She informs us that it's wise to choose a selection of entrees as opposed to getting an entree and main.

Scanning down the menu, the prices caught my attention. Not that they were horrifically high, nor was it because I am frugal...but I immediately questioned why his restaurant had been listed in the CEG? Anyway...not to worry.

The food came promptly and we ate. In the sea of cluttered plates on our miniscule table, one was screaming out at me. The pork belly. I heart pork belly. Everyone hearts pork belly. (Except for Chee Chee because she's a vegetable.)

I'm going to cut this short. One, because I'm at work and should not be blogging. Two, because I'm rambling. And three, because as nice as the meal was...it was not outstanding, with the exception of pork belly...but that might just be because I like anything with pig fat.

We'll go back there one day. But not by recommendation of the CEG. Nice, but really, technically not a "cheap eat".

Huge.

PS: The Asahi's we had at Robot after dinner was more exciting. And I'm not just saying that because the bar owner's sister was giving me "the eye". ;)

Solarino (lunch 1/5/10)

A welcome spot to rest the legs after a mammoth Saturday morning CBD shopping effort - and not a bad place to people watch either. When we stopped there around 1-ish there wasn't much in the sandwich counter for us vego types, except one lonely pumpkin piadina that was sold from right under my nose! I opted for the goats cheese omelette (pretty good) and Eug had the spaghettini with asparagus, chilli, egg, garlic and other fun stuff. The pasta was definitely tasty, although there were some random bits of mega-saltiness involved. javascript:void(0)