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Touche Hombre New Menu Launch: Event

13 May 2015

Touche Hombre Melbourne is one of the established members of the Melbourne Mexican food scene, having survived the passing of the wave of Mexican food that passed through Melbourne to recently celebrate its 3rd birthday. To coincide with the anniversary, the menu was relaunced, with a number of favourties remaining, some old favourites returning and some new options making their first appearance.

The City Lane was invited by Touche Hombre to sample some highlights from the new menu and, seing as it was Cinco de Mayo, to have a few drinks. Despite having been in Melbourne for as long as we have, Touche Hombre is actually one of those places that’s always been on our list but we’ve never tried so we were happy to visit and see what the venue was all about.

The interior is fitting for the CBD, laneway corner location of Touche Hombre. Exposed brick and concrete, Mexican inspired street art, and a very decent old school hip-hop playlist combine to make for a funky venue. With all of the exposed brick and concrete and quite loud music you’d think having a conversation would be a problem but surprisingly Lauren and I were able to speak to each other quite easily from across the table.

We noticed some quite thick layers of foam beneath the table and asked restaurant manager Rich Hands if this was for soundproofing. He told us that indeed it was, as when he first took over as restaurant manager the place was far too noisy – between the tables, roof insulation and a few other improvements they were able to get things to the stage where the music could be played loud but people could still hold conversations.

Drinks wise things are as you would expect. A range of Mexican beers, tequilas and mezcals along with the usual range of spirits and wines for those so inclined. While the range of tequilas and mezcals isn’t as extensive as that of the other main Mexican restaurant in the CBD, Mamasita, there’s still a lot to satisfy those who fancy a drink.

There are a variety of Mexican cocktails on offer – I went for the Tommy’s Margarita and also tried the horchata cocktail. Both were nice, but the Margarita was my favourite.

I also tried a tequila, the Cabo Wabo which, as the waitress (who had a good knowledge of the tequilas on offer for someone who had just started working at Touche Hombre) explained to me, was actually owned by Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar.

It was nice and light and not too boozy tasting, a long way away from the cheap tequila that many drink in their teens and then forever associate with the spirit.

Attention has also been given to those who don’t want to drink on the night, with a range of mocktails on offer. Lauren tried and thoroughly enjoyed the Tropical Punch Mocktail – Pineapple, Grapefruit, Citrus, Cranberry & Passion Fruit.

The menu contains a range of favourites – the tacos and tostadas that you’d expect for example plus some interesting not strictly Mexican dishes but rather Mexican inspired dishes. As long as it’s tasty, we say experimentation is all good.

Spicy Lamb Ribs With Merquin, Coriander & Honey

The lamb ribs were one of our favourite dishes of the night. They were spicy, but not overly so and the honey was really apparent but not to the extent that it overpowered any of the other ingredients. The lamb was really tender and the fat melted in our mouths. A must try.

Fried Chicken With Habanero Cream & Lime

The fried chicken was another winner. This was actually gluten free, as the coating made use of maize flour instead of wheat flour. What this meant was that the super crispy coating had a noticeable corn flavour to it, almost popcorn like. The habanero cream added a subtle kick to each bite and the lime finished things off nicely. A great take on a simple dish.

Tacos

The first of the tacos, the Chimichurri chicken with Egmont cheese, toasted pepitas, coriander aioli was our favourite of the two. The chicken was nice and tender and the flavours combined well together. The toasted pepitas added a nice textural element to the taco. There were quite mild however there was a nice range of hot sauces on the table for those so inclined.

The second taco was called Mejilla, which literally translates as “cheek”. Accordingly, it was comprised of slow cooked pork cheek, habanero cream and BBQ corn salsa. We were told that this is one of the favourites on the menu. While the flavours were spot on, the pork cheek was quite fatty and, unlike the lamb ribs it wasn’t the melt in your mouth kind of fat. I’d have to go back and try again to confirm if it was just the ones we ate – I’m thinking that the pork that we got wasn’t cooked as slowly as it might usually be.

Tostaditos

We were given one of each of the tostaditos on the menu to try:

Blue crab / pickled chilli, lime, basil aioli
Chicken tinga / mango jam, coriander, chipotle mayo
Tuna / candied peanuts, soy, black sesame
Pumpkin / cashews, pepitas, jalapeño

We were 50/50 on these. The blue crab and the pumpkin were outstanding however the tuna and chicken tinga didn’t really do anything for us. Probably just a matter of personal taste where the tuna is concerned as neither of us are big fans of cooked tuns however where the chicken is concerned, I think some tweaking is still required to get it right.

Strawberry Parfait Sandwich

The dessert featured on the sample menu was the next one however because of Lauren’s nut allergy she was served the strawberry parfait sandwich with dulce de leche. Usually I give her a little “sucks to be you” and proceed to enjoy my superior nut based dessert but in this case, and to my surprise, I actually preferred her dessert.

The strawberry parfait was a kind of light and airy ice cream that somehow didn’t melt at all for the entire time it was on the plate. It wasn’t overly sweet and it was evident that real strawberries had been used. The biscuit was soft, almost cake like and the whole thing really came together nicely.

Chocolate, Chilli & Peanut Butter Parfait

While very nice, I was not as impressed by this one. The chilli was not noticeable in the slightest and the biscuit, while tasty, was very crunchy which made it a difficult dessert to eat. There was also something not quite right about the texture of the parfait. Given I’ve just made 3 criticisms of the dessert you might jump to the conclusion that I didn’t like this dessert. Actually, it tasted quite nice it was just the textures that we off. A softer biscuit and a denser parfait would be what’s required for this dessert to hit all the high notes.

On a whole I was glad that I finally made it to Touche Hombre. The space is brilliant and fun, and the service was great (for the first 15 minutes our waitress wasn’t aware that we were there as invited guests so we had the chance to judge service as if we had just walked in). The food contained both hits and missed but the hits were excellent and the misses, apart from the pork cheek, weren’t fatal. I’d be keen to go in again and try a few more of the things on the menu, which says all that needs to be said really.

Touche Hombre

233 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9663 0811
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://touchehombre.com.au/

Open
Mon – Sat: 12:00pm to late

Creamy Preserved Lemon Pasta: Recipe

Lauren

12 May 2015

This creamy preserved lemon pasta recipe was something that I created on a Sunday night after neglecting the usual weekly grocery shop. I needed to come up with something quick and easy using only the basic ingredients that I keep in the pantry and fridge. After running through a few flavour combinations in my head, I came up with this tasty dish which I’ll definitely be whipping up again.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes / Cooking Time: 20 minutes / Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 garlic clove
1 head bok choy
1/4 brown onion
50g pumpkin seeds
250g fusilli pasta
1 preserved lemon, diced
60ml cream
125ml white wine

Method

Boil a pot of water, add a dash of oil and a pinch of salt. Once the pot reaches boiling point add the pasta and cook as per the instructions on the packet.
Add the onion, garlic and bok choy to a frying pan and cook until they become transparent.
Add the preserved lemon, cream and white wine to the frying pan. Bring to the boil then decrease to a simmer.
Once the pasta has finished cooking, add the pasta to the frying pan.
Coat the pasta thoroughly in the sauce then remove from the heat.
Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and serve.

Notes

You can substitute the pumpkin seeds for pine nuts or toasted almonds if you prefer. It’s the subtle crunch that you want to add some textural variation.

You don’t need to use fusilli, but you want to be using a pasta shape that holds sauce well.

Longhorn Saloon / 5 Points Deli, Carlton

Paul

11 May 2015

Longhorn Saloon Carlton is the newest venture from brothers Will and Mick Balleau, owners of Collingwood’s Le Bon Ton and Richomond’s Chingon. Spread across 2 levels of the space that used to house German restaurant Mutti’s, is actually 2 venues – 5 Points Deli downstairs and Longhorn Saloon upstairs. When the venues first opened an effort was made to keep the menus quite distinct however this resulted in confusion, as what you could order depended on where you were sitting in the venue.

Today, there’s one menu for the whole venue which for the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to as Longhorn Saloon only. The only real difference now is that the upstairs doesn’t open until the evening.

The fit out is reminiscent of Le Bon Ton with good use being made of affordable materials in way that comes together as a cohesive whole. Exposed brick and wood, pressed tin which looks like copper and lights with exposed filaments. It’s both on trend and has the requisite American influences without feeling like it’s trying too hard. Quite simply, the place has character.

The drinks list contains a very decent selection of whiskey and bourbon, along with the usual range of spirits, beer and wine. The wine list was what surprised us the most. It’s very focused and contains only a small number wines, each good quality selections of the style they represent. This approach means you spend less time messing about trying to decide what to have – as you’ve chosen a style of wine that you like, you’re going to get a good one.

Moving back to the menu, it’s a sort of steakhouse meets New York style deli meets American comfort food greatest hits. The influences of the Balleau’s 2 venues is immediately apparent when looking at the menu, with a Southern flavour winding its way throughout the menu. In fact, the Le Bon Ton cheeseburger is on the menu and is called just that. The fried chicken tenders from Le Bon Ton also make an appearance on the menu, and of course, there are the steaks.

Fried Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy ($16.00)

The fried soft shell crab po’ boy contains Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Fresh Dill & Cucumber Tartar Sauce. A good amount of crab is in the sandwich and the ingredients are proportioned well so that nothing overpowers anything else. Held together by a soft roll, it’s comfort food done right.

Five Points Deli Corned Brisket Reuben ($16.00)

The rather sizeable Rueben is one of the highlights of the lunchtime menu and is a classic Reuben – Dark Rye, 5 Points Corned Brisket, Sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, Russian Dressing. There’s no doubting the quality of the ingredients here – the corned brisket is brilliant and I enjoyed the sandwich but I think the proportions could be played around with a bit. Perhaps a bit more dressing or a more pickled sauerkraut. Get that right and this has the potential to be Melbourne’s best Rueben but at the moment I’d say the Rueben from Bowery To Williamsburg has the edge.

Spicy Hot Jerk Chicken Wingettes ($12.00 for 12)

These spicy hot jerk chicken wingettes were served with a side of Green Goddess Dressing, the 1970s favourite that seems to be experiencing a comeback of sorts in 2015. The “spicy” in the description is no joke and these things pack quite a bit of heat so the emulsifying properties of the avocado in the dressing are appreciated once your mouth starts to burn. They’re not “oh the pain, I’m dying!” hot but yeah, you get the idea.

Creamed Corn & Bacon Grits ($9.00)

This dish was the surprise package of the night. We ordered it without really knowing what to expect and it turned out to be a very good choice. The creamed corn had just the right texture to it – very creamy and full of substance and the bacon grits were nice and smoky, adding a nice taste and textural variety to each mouthful.

Smoked Pastrami Poutine ($16.00)

It’s really hard to find proper poutine in Melbourne. In fact, I’ve yet to find poutine that uses ? curd as the best in Canada do. In Melbourne cheese itself is used which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because let’s be honest, cheese is great. The best poutine I’ve had in Melbourne is from Fitzroy’s Kodiak Club and I have to say that the Longhorn Saloon version matches, and perhaps even eclipses that version.

It contains pit smoked pastrami, grilled onions, stringy mozzarella and brown gravy. It’s a ridiculously unhealthy, ugly looking thing that tastes absolutely divine.

It’s impossible to visit Longhorn Saloon and not make comparison to Le Bon Ton. This is not a bad thing as the elements that have come across from ?’s sister venue are the ones that work. Food wise, my comment from the Le Bon Ton review also holds true for Longhorn Saloon. Apart from the Pastrami there wasn’t anything on the menu that I’d say was the best version of that item that I’ve had in Melbourne but all of us at the table thoroughly enjoyed everything that we ate. It’s a space with character, tasty food and drinks, and staff who are are friendly and manage to walk the line between professionalism and fun with ease.

Longhorn Saloon / 5 Points Deli

118 Elgin Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9348 4794
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.longhornsaloon.com.au/

Open
Tue – Sun: 11:30am to 4:30pm; 5:30pm to late

Saint John Craft Beer Bar: Review

Jeff

9 May 2015

Melbourne is generally recognised as the standard bearer for the craft beer movement in Australia, with an ever increasing range of venues becoming available for the beer nerd in all of us ranging from small bars dedicated to craft beer, to microbreweries serving their own beers, bottle shops with a few taps and large pubs with a strong tap list. However, this does not mean that our brethren from the other states have been standing still, and in fact a side benefit of the proliferation of craft beer venues in Melbourne, combined with our already strong small bar culture, has been its clear influence on the evolution of the scene in the other major cities.

Whilst the list of microbreweries hailing from Tasmania is relatively short, the level of quality has always been good, with Moo Brew having some of my personal favourite beers in all of the categories that they brew in (their seasonal imperial stout is particularly special) and less well-known breweries such as Morrisons and Seven Sheds also producing some tasty brews. However, it has often been lamented that the quality of establishments serving craft beer in the Apple Isle has not been at a commensurate level. In order to challenge this perception I took the opportunity on a recent work trip to Launceston to fire up the Now Tapped app and see what the city had to offer which showed up one venue just south of the main drag, the Saint John Craft Beer Bar.

My first impression was of a very “Melbourne” craft beer bar – the closest comparative would be the recently opened Beer Mash, with beer taps on the wall and a very impressive selection of bottled beers available for consumption in the venue or for takeaway.

Being 12:30pm on a Thursday the bar was empty besides my colleague and myself so I struck up a conversation with the bartender (Luke Dempsey, co-owner) and on explaining to him by initial impression of the place he took it as a compliment! It turns out that they have taken a lot of their inspiration from the Melbourne scene, having made trips across the strait to Good Beer Week for events at venues such as Atticus Finch and the The Alehouse Project. On this front I would take my hat off to Luke, Ryan and Tim for a job well done – the bar has an excellent vibe with the pipe construction of both the bar and the high benches giving a hip-industrial feel and the set up with beer taps on the other side of the wall from the beer cool room ensuring that the drafts are served fresh from the keg with minimum chance of being affected by travelling through the lines.

A “cool” space is all well and good, but what really matters is the beer right? Well on this front Saint John Craft Beer bar did not disappoint either with the tap list when I was there comprising a solid selection covering a range of styles and nationalities – when the Stone & Wood Pacific Ale is the “stock” beer it is going to be a good day.

No review of a craft beer bar would be complete without a short review of the craft beers themselves – I didn’t have a lot of time to kill before I had to get back to the airport but I did manage to have two beers (having not swotted up on by Taswegian beer terminology I had to sheepishly order a “small” when getting my first beer). It was a somewhat miserable day outside so dark beers seemed called for.

Beer #1 – Dark Hops, by Beer Here

At 8.5% ABV and 85 IBUs this was probably not the right beer to start with having not eaten anything since the night before, but when there is a dark beer by the Danish legends Beer Here on tap it is hard to say no. A black IPA that pours with a light brown head, it had a lovely malty/chocolaty taste that offsets the bitterness quite nicely (as opposed to the very smoky taste of other black IPAs, e.g. the Kooinda Black IPA) resulting in an easy drinking beer that could fool you into thinking it is sessionable – which would probably have been dangerous if I had time to drink a few more of them. Have had before and will definitely have again – 4/5

Beer #2 – Irish Stout, by Morrison Brewery

Morrisons is a local brewery, located just 3km north of Launceston. Their Irish stout was very true to style, dark with a light coloured head, some malt notes and a bitter finish. I must say that I’m not a massive fan of this category of beer (my palate much prefers the American style stouts that have coffee and/or chocolate flavours) so I wasn’t overly impressed. I found this one a bit watery and oddly more bitter than the Dark Hops. Wouldn’t go rushing back – 2.5/5

There is no a kitchen however a local food truck called Eats with Beats turns up on Tuesday to Saturday evenings to provide both food and tunes. They also have a private room called the Barrel Room which can be hired for private functions and also plays host to the regular special events that are held at the bar such as whisky tastings and mini-beer festivals.

The bar has been open a bit over a year now and Luke tells me that the locals have been very supportive of the new venture which gives much hope for the development of the scene in Launceston and Tasmania more generally. If you are either a resident of or visiting Launceston I would definitely recommend giving Saint John Craft Beer Bar a visit, sampling some of their beers on side, and grabbing a few takeaways to enjoy at home.

Saint John Craft Beer Bar

133 St John Street
Launceston
Tasmania 7250
Australia

Telephone: 0424 175 147
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: http://saintjohncraftbeer.com.au/

Open
Mon – Sat: 12:00pm to late
Sun: 2pm to late

Tucker Street Product Launch

Lauren

8 May 2015

We don’t write about new product launches too often at The City Lane but occasionally we receive an offer to try something and we think it warrants a piece. Tucker Street is a newly launched Melbourne based online company that offers customers a choice of meals from a constantly rotating selection. Once the order is complete, customers receive a delivery of ingredients along with a detailed, easy to follow recipe card for each meal. Everything is measured, cut and portioned straight out of the box.

Tucker Street focuses on using fresh, high quality, locally sourced produce to inspire their menus, which change regularly in sync with seasonality and availability. The City Lane was sent a box containing the ingredients and recipes for 3 meals, which Lauren cooked up for dinner over the course of 3 consecutive days. The meals were:

Coconut Poached Barramundi
Duck and Pomegranate Salad
Roasted Cauliflower and Quail Egg Angel Hair Pasta

Coconut Poached Barramundi

The Barramundi fillet (the photo above also contains the duck breast we used in the next dish) and all the ingredients were fresh and packed in a cooler bag with an ice pack. We were very impressed by the quality of the ingredients.

We were quite surprised to see that ample fish sauce was provided. Quite often it is excluded in dishes as it is pungent and often unpleasant to those who aren’t used to the smell and flavour. The combination of the fish sauce and the hot spicy powder give the dish a very authentic Asian flare.

Another thing that surprised us about this dish’s authenticity was the use of spice. The recipe instructed us to add the entire spice powder mix however we would recommend adding it with caution. We (Lauren and Paul) both like spicy food however Paul struggled with the level of heat in this dish. This was even before the chilli garnish had been added. As a new company though the team at Tucker Street are still learning and we imagine that in the future there might be some sort of note section or info box on the recipe card giving people a heads up on a few taste aspects of the dish that individuals might want to modify.

In any event, the Coconut Poached Barramundi was an authentic, tasty dish and we would happily make it again.

Crispy Duck and Pomegranate Salad

The Crispy Duck and Pomegranate Salad was deliciously light and tangy. Tucker Street have taken the classic pairing of duck and orange and elevated the flavours by adding pomegranate and toasted hazelnuts into the mix.

Duck can be quite oily if cooked incorrectly however the cooking method specified on the recipe card ensured that most of the fat was rendered out, ensuring the lightness of the salad was retained. Another really tasty option that we’d cook again.

Roasted Cauliflower and Quail Egg Angel Hair Pasta

The Roasted Cauliflower and Quail Egg Angel Hair Pasta was the only dish we tried that didn’t quite hit the mark. The nutmeg overpowered the other components making the flavour profile a little mono-tonal. It wasn’t bad by any means, but compared to the other 2 which were brilliant, this one fell a bit flat.

This one also took 40 minutes to cook while the other two dishes only took 20 minutes. Given that one of the key selling points of the Tucker Street service is that those with busy lives can cook great meals quickly, the recipes that can be on the plate and ready to eat in less than half an hour have a big advantage.

Overall we can comfortably say that the Tucker Street recipes fulfilled their stated aim of providing easy to make meals that are full of flavour and use high quality ingredients. While there are still a few niggles that need to be ironed out, our overall impression was very positive.

It must be noted that the meals can be pricey, ranging from $12-18 with a minimum of 4 recipes per order. Having said that though, the serving sizes are very generous. All of these recipes were designed to feed 2 however we found the serving sizes were enough to feed 3 comfortably.

Tucker Street currently delivers only to the Melbourne Metro area.

Good Beer Week 2015: Preview (Free Events)

Jeff

7 May 2015

The excitement about Good Beer Week 2015 continues to build as the highly anticipated date of 16 May slowly rolls towards us. Yesterday we gave you our picks of the ticketed events on the program that are still available and today in Part 2 of our Good Beer Week 2015 preview, The City Lane’s “Chief Beer Guy” Jeff discusses the highlights of Good Beer Week 2015’s free events.

Pint of Origin: New Zealand

102 different beers. 9 days. Need we say more? Probably not, but we think it is safe to say that Alex Summers has put together probably the most impressive tap takeover ever in the Melbourne craft beer scene. Extending to 17 taps, the Alehouse Project will be showcasing the very best that our friends from across the Tasman have to offer with a different brewer featured on every day of Good Beer Week.

Things kick off with Panhead Custom Ales and Liberty Brewing at the opening party and finish with Renaissance showcasing on the final Sunday. With the huge variety of brewers and styles that will be on offer you could easily spend the entire week ensconced in the bar, and daily food specials mean that you won’t run out of different ways to line the stomach. The ones you really don’t want to miss here are the 17 tap takeovers by Garage Project (Wednesday 20 May) and Yeastie Boys and Tuatara (closing party – Saturday 23 May).

Pint of Origin; New Zealand

When: Daily

Where: The Alehouse Project, 98-100 Lygon Street Brunswick East

The Danish Invasion – Norse Ale Gods

With breweries like Evil Twin, Mikkeller and To Øl, some of the most interesting, delicious and intense beers in Europe (and the world for that matter) hail from Denmark. During Good Beer Week the Park Hotel in Werribee, another of our favourite craft beer spots and the premier craft beer venue in the West, will be rotating 30 different Danish beers through their taps and will also be running a degustation dinner hosted by head brewer Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø (book directly through the venue for that one).

Even if you don’t live out on the “west side” we recommend you make at least one trip out there as the beers are guaranteed to be absolutely epic – if you do be sure to also try the mac and cheese burger, it is a carb hit like no other.

The Danish Invasion – Norse Ale Gods

When: Daily

Where: The Park Hotel, 12 Watton Street Werribee

The Bacchus Flavour Train

The Queensland craft beer scene isn’t overly prolific, but what it lacks in quantity of microbrews produced, it makes up for in quality and of the breweries hailing from the north-east of our country Bacchus Brewing are one of the very best. They are not afraid to look to flavours such as bacon and maple or rocky road when brewing up new creations, resulting in a line of beers that are both tasty and differentiated from the pack.

This year Bacchus take over the taps at the very hip Deja Vu Bar in Melbourne’s CBD, a venue which has previously hosted Pint of Origin: Queensland and will offer specially made food for the event.

The Bacchus Flavour Train

When: Saturday 16 and Tuesday 18 to Saturday 23 May 2015

Where: Deja Vu Bar, 525 Lt Lonsdale Street Melbourne

Moon Dog vs Lazerpig

Moon Dog are probably the most innovative and experimental microbreweries in the country, having produced concoctions such as the Bad Boy Bubbly, the Peverse Sexual Amalgam, and the infamous Jumping the Shark (which results in nights that may or may not literally jump the shark).

Lazerpig offer a similarly creatively named array of pizzas ranging from the “Broc Steady” to the “Prawn Fraser” and during Good Beer Week you can enjoy a pot of Moon Dog beer and a pizza of your choice for $20. Definitely worth a look in while in transit between tap takeovers.

Moon Dog vs Lazerpig

When: Daily

Where: Lazerpig, 525 Lt Lonsdale Street Melbourne

Brooklyn Party

Brooklyn Brewery are one of the most well known American craft breweries and their beers are easily recognisable from a distance from their iconic base ball-esque logo. Once again they will be taking over the beer garden and back bar taps at one of our old favourites, the Great Northern Hotel, on Good Beer Friday and showcasing their latest seasonal releases as well as some old classics.

The GNH head chef will be firing up the barbie to complete what has become one of the great traditions of Good Beer Week and is always a fun night and worth checking out. The venue is also once again hosting Pint of Origin: USA which is always a great event where you can sample some of the very best beers from the other side of the Pacific.

Brooklyn Party

When: Friday 22 May 2015, 6:00pm

Where: Great Northern Hotel, 644 Rathdowne Street Carlton North

Good Beer Week 2015: Preview (Ticketed Events)

Jeff

6 May 2015

Good Beer Week has exploded in popularity since its beginnings back in 2011. The 2015 edition of what some consider to be the best beer week in the world runs from Saturday 16 May to Sunday 24 May, and involves over 250 events at 180 venues across Victoria.

With this many events on offer, many punters are left with a bewildering array of choice and even the very well laid out program can be daunting. In addition, a number of the events are have limited numbers and the popularity of Good Beer Week means that many of the most interesting events on the program sell out in the days following the release of the program which is a fate that has oft befallen us, as discussed in a recent episode of our spinoff project, The Brunswick Beer Collective.

All is not lost however, as there are still a number of very interesting events left on the program that are available to those who have left their planning to the last minute. Cue The City Lane’s “Chief Beer Guy” Jeff, who is here to help you pick the best from the rest. These are, in our opinion, the best of the ticketed events that still have tickets available as of today. Stay tuned for tomorrow, when our guide to the best free events at Good Beer Week 2015 is released.

The Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular

The granddaddy of them all, the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (or GABS for short) is the headline event of the Good Beer Week program. Held at the Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton, GABS is the ultimate beer tasting event, with 300 beers available to try including over 100 that have been brewed exclusively for GABS and that will not be available elsewhere during the week. Entry to the event gets you a tasting glass plus a booklet of discount vouchers (worth up to $500); individual beer tastings, paddles or full glasses can be acquired using tokens which can either be purchased in advance online or at the venue for $2 each.

Food will also be available using the token system and will be provided by well known local restaurants such as Huxtable and Meat Mother. This event is a must-do for anyone trying to improve their numbers on Untappd! If you are planning to head to this event then be sure to head to the GABS website or your nearest craft beer bar to grab a copy of the Official Guide which contains details of all of the beers that will be available, venue maps and more.

The Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular

When: Friday 22 and Saturday 23 May 2015, 12:00pm to 5:00pm; 6:30pm to 11:30pm; Sun 24 May 2015, 12:00pm to 5:00pm

Entry: Presale – $35 entry only/$54 with tokens; At the door – $43 entry only/$63 with tokens

Where: Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson Street Carlton

Victoria vs The World Showdown

The state of Victoria has a strong claim to be at the apex of the craft beer movement in Australia, and the Terminus Hotel is one of the premier craft beer venues in Melbourne, having has served as the home of Good Beer Week for the last two years. So, where better to see how the best of the best from Victoria against the rest of the world?

At this event you will drink four Victorian beers and four beers from the Rest of The World and vote on which are better in a knockout style competition until only one beer is left standing. This event was a huge hit last year and sold out fast but some tickets for this year’s event are still available and if at the end of the night you haven’t had enough you can try some of the other beers available as part of Pint of Origin: Victoria.

Victoria vs The World Showdown

When: Tuesday 19 May 2015, 7:00pm

Entry: $59

Where: The Terminus Hotel, 492 Queens Parade Fitzroy North

To Drink a Mockingbird

Since opening in 2013 along the ever developing and increasingly hip Smith Street bar and dining strip, Saint Crispin has established itself as one of the leading casual, mid-range dining establishments in Melbourne and is a personal favourite of The City Lane. This event combines a five course meal designed by head chef Joe Grbac and beers from both sides of the country by Mash Brewing (Swan Valley, WA) and 3 Ravens (Thornbury, Victoria).

The cost of entry includes a masterclass run by both brewers which will include beers that are yet to be released. These two breweries have produced some of our favourite beers in recent years and the prospect of combining these with the always fresh and innovative output from the Saint Crispin kitchen makes this one of the most interesting beer degustations on the 2015 program.

To Drink a Mockingbird

When: Wednesday 20 May 2015, 7:00pm

Entry: $150

Where: Saint Crispin, 300 Smith Street Collingwood

Louisana Beer Dinner

New Orleans cuisine has been slowly creeping into the Melbourne scene under the shadow of the broader American food movement with venues such as Le Bon Ton, Po’boy Quarter and recently Girl with the Gris Gris setting up shop, the latter having taken a residence in iconic Melbourne live music venue the Ding Dong Lounge. Similarly, whilst it is usually the west coast of the United States that is best known for craft beer, the Louisana craft brewing scene is small but growing and this event brings together beers by New Orleans-based brewery Nola and a four course Cajun/Creole dinner prepared by Girl with the Gris Gris head chef Chris Weysham. Laissez les bons temps rouler – let the good times roll!

Louisana Beer Dinner

When: Tuesday 19, Wednesday 20 and Friday 22 May 2015, 7:00pm (Thursday sold out)

Entry: $60

Where: Ding Dong Lounge, 18 Market Lane Melbourne

Perfect Match Cheese & Beer

One normally associates cheese with wine however licenced fromagerie (as if we would have it any other way!) Milk the Cow look to push the envelope, offering cheese and booze flights that match cheese with not just wine (classic, fortified, sparkling or dessert) but also beer, cider, sake and whisky. At this event four chesses from of Milk the Cow’s range of over 150 will be paired with beers supplied by Heron Tower Beverages who distribute breweries such as Nail Brewing, Coedo, Rodenbach and Boon. If you love cheese and beer (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) then this event will be right up your alley.

Perfect Match Cheese & Beer

When: Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May 2015, 7:00pm to 10:00pm

Entry: $45

Where: Milk The Cow, 323 Lygon Street Carlton

Grain vs Grain

Regular readers of the The City Lane and/or listeners to the Brunswick Beer Collective would be aware that Shizuku Ramen in Abbotsford is well known for providing its customers with both excellent Japanese food and a great selection of craft beer and sake. It therefore makes sense that for Good Beer Week they are offering a dinner involving a selection of izakaya-style dishes, their signature ramen and a selection of desserts, accompanied Kikusakari sakes and beers by Hitachino Nest (which in fact began its life as the brewery which produces Kikusakari sake).

The innovation and creativity involved in the beers that will form part of this event are next-level, with promises of a sake and an IPA aged in the same barrel, a sake and a beer made from the same rice grain and the alcohol from a Belgian ale being used to make umeshu plum wine. This is surely one of the most unique events on this year’s program.

Grain vs Grain

When: Sunday 17 May 2015, 6:00pm

Entry: $115

Where: Shizuku Ramen, 309 Victoria Street Abbotsford

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggless Cookie: Recipe

Lauren

5 May 2015

This chocolate peanut butter eggless cookie recipe is proof that vegan food can be both tasty and decadent. It works well as the carrots keep the cookie moist while the crunchy peanut butter adds texture. The use of a hot sugar mix balances the cookie by providing a slight toffee taste.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes / Cooking Time: 12-15 minutes / Makes 12 cookies