From Anadolu Efes comes the Bomonti 100% Malt, a beer Paul found in Istanbul. He doesn’t rate it highly.
It’s perfectly acceptable, but you know, it is what it is.
– Paul
Bomonti 100% Malt by Anadolu Efes was featured in Season One, Episode Ten.
Hornbeer: Framboise
The Framboise from Danish brewer Hornbeer is a lambic-style beer, a raspberry. At an ABV of 6%, this beer kind of straddles the line between sour and sweet but does so in a very deft and confident way.
It’s super super sour.
– Chris
It’s sour, but stupidly sour … I like it.
– Jeff
It’s not over the top … It’s a beer that you would potentially have with food as well.
– Ben
It reminds me of drinking traditional lemonade. Would drink again.
– Gareth
Framboise by Hornbeer was featured in Season One, Episode Ten.
Amager Bryghus and Goose Island Beer Co: RyeKing
From Danish brewery Amager Bryghus comes the RyeKing, an American smoked stout made in collaboration with United States brewery Goose Island Beer Co. The descriptions online for this weren’t overly helpful for English speakers, but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
There’s a lot going on there. There’s coffee, there’s chocolate. It’s quite delicious. It kind of evolves on your tongue.
– Gareth
I really like that.
– Jeff
It’s quite superb really … but the aftertaste is very strange.
– Chris
It’s very subtle. Definitely a really good stout.
– Ben
RyeKing by Amager Bryghus and Goose Island Beer Co. was featured in Season One, Episode Ten.
Easeys, Collingwood
If you stand on the south side of Easey Street in Collingwood and look up towards the sky across the road you will see a somewhat strange sight.
Whilst you might be hoping that someone might have found an ironic way to imprison Myki ticket inspectors, the train carriages are actually the dining “cars” for new Collingwood burger joint, Easeys. Having opened a pop-up in the CBD in December 2014, they opened their permanent site in early May just across the road from outside the the Kustom Kommune (home of Ironbark BBQ which we reviewed recently) – burger entree followed by beef brisket for main course anyone? The dining space is split into two levels, a bar downstairs and with more tables in the train carriage on the roof.
Unfortunately Easeys is only licenced to serve alcohol downstairs prior to 6pm, on this occasion we were in need of “hair of the dog” so that is where we started our adventure. Back at ground level the entrance to Easeys gives the look of a much more conventional American-style diner down to the font used on the window to advertise their presence. Don’t be put off by the multiple folks armed with walkie-talkies in front of the staircase leading to the roof – they are tribute to the immense popularity that Easeys has generated in its early days of existence and are needed to ensure that people don’t climb five floors of stairs for nothing…
Once inside we found a hip, retro-style bar/diner that alludes to what is on the roof through the graffiti on the wall and the old Met train seats that are used as benches for the booths on one side of the room.
On the other side of the room are old school arcade machines offering games such as Galaga and Dig Dug that also function as tables with small stools provided as seating.
We are big fans of both retro styling and video games and really liked the feel of the general atmosphere of the downstairs dining area.
The drinks list comprised of a range of fairly standard lagers and pale ales on tap, including the Yenda Pale Ale by the Australian Beer Company (which is ultimately part owned Coca-Cola) and the “Gunslinger” Pale Ale by Tooroobac, as well as cider and a range of spirits. The beers are served in upcycled stubbies which were very much in keeping with the vibe of the place.
The menu, which is handily clipped to the table, is simplicity and flexibility personified – you start with the “Easey Cheesy” which is a basic cheeseburger with pickles, to which can be added an additional pattie, bacon, cheese and/or jalapenos. No salad or veggies available at Easeys which was a deliberate decision on the part of co-founder Jimmy Hulston, one which we highly approve of! Also available are a range of Australian-style sides (chips, dim sims and potato cakes) as well as donuts and pop tarts for something slightly more American.
As has become customary in Melbourne burger places a couple of hot sauces are also available for those who need an extra spicy kick. For those who arrive between 7am and 11am and are sufficiently brave there is also fried chicken coated with bits of Frosty Flakes, served with a side of deep fried pop tarts – which sounds delicious and terrifying in equal measure.
Easey Cheesy with Bacon and Jalapeños ($10.00) and Large Fries ($6.50)
As we were well past breakfast time we decided to go for an Easey Cheesy with bacon and jalapeños added and large fries on the side.
While we really liked the space that Easeys have presented we were unfortunately a bit disappointed with the burgers themselves. The beef pattie was juicy and had good flavour but we found the bun to be a bit chewy and “meh” in terms of taste and also a little cold as well.
In addition we found it a bit difficult to detect the taste of the bacon or the jalapenos in the burger – the latter because there were not many peppers on the burger. The burger is not that big, which is fine given the price, but if you are hungry we would also recommend adding a second pattie and/or some sides.
After finishing our burgers we took a walk up the staircase (take the door to the left of the entrance to the ground level bar) to the rooftop dining area.
The first thought that came to our minds after reaching the train carriage dining area was “cool”. The inside of the carriage has been restored and brightened up (we don’t ever recall an old school Melbourne train looking this nice) while still retaining the feel of the old trains with the use of restored seats as benches for the dining tables, as was the case downstairs.
Although the area is relatively small, capacity has been managed well with the number of tables kept relatively low so that the area does not feel that crowded and there is plenty of room to move around (we were not the only people taking photos in the place and we never found ourselves falling over other people).
The outsides of the carriages have been also custom painted in the graffiti tag style. The graffiti artform is something that is close to the hearts of both of the co-founders and also adorns the walls of the internal staircase leading to the roof and it is intended that the space will be used to showcase the work of local and international artists.
In addition, there is also an outside dining area on the roof situated between two of the train carriages where you can eat your burger while having a view to the south towards the city over the diverse concrete jungle that is Collingwood.
In the end we were found in a quandary in forming a final opinion on Easeys. On the one hand, we think that the space is amazing and this is definitely the sort of place where we would bring visitors to Melbourne. On the other hand, whilst the burger was certainly not bad it was not amazing either and there are superior burgers out there.
This said, we did visit on the 3rd day of operations and we understand that the cook was a friend of the owners rather than a professional chef so we will likely give Easeys another go at a later stage when they have secured a permanent chef.
Easeys
48 Easey Street
Collingwood
Victoria 3066
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9079 5942
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://easeys.com.au/
Open
Sun – Thu: 7:00am to 11:00pm
Fri – Sat: 7:00pm to 1:00am
S01E10 – Season 1, Episode 10
PODCAST | In this Good Beer Week-themed episode, Chris suffers from tap rage, Jeff goes to more events than are scheduled, and guest hosts Ben and Gareth fight their respective hangovers to try and make up for any lost Good Beer Week time. Paul leaves us a message too, we assume from Istanbul but definitely very far away from Good Beer Week.
We also take on the Danish invasion at our beloved Park Hotel in Werribee, debate which of beer’s most famous twins is better, and try to mention Good Beer Week as often as possible.
Featured beers: Bomonti 100% Malt by Anadolu Efes (drank by Paul, while in Istanbul), Framboise by Hornbeer, and RyeKing by Amager Bryghus.
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Say Hi To Our New London Contributors
Hi everyone, a few weeks ago The City Lane moved into a new phase, and I introduced you to our new contributors. Well I’m happy to announce that after my recent visit to London I’ve got 3 new London based contributors to introduce to you. Paul, Felicity and Genevieve are all united by their love of good food and the city in which they reside and I’m sure you’ll love reading what they have to say. Without further ado, here’s a little bit about each of them.
Paul Mete (Contributor, London)
Paul relocated to London from Australia 8 years ago and still hasn’t lost his zest for exploring new restaurants across London. From street food to fine dining, Paul likes to try it all.
Paul is working his way through the alphabet of addiction, but seems to be firmly stuck on “B”. Burgers and beer are his forte and in fact recently Paul started brewing his own beers. The first batch was very well received, albeit by his not so sober guests.
Felicity Spector (Contributor, London)
Felicity is a television journalist based in London who’s worked all over the world for the UK’s multi-award winning Channel 4 News, since 1989. She has a masters in US politics from Harvard – but seamlessly combines the serious stuff with a passion for food, mostly vegetarian – as well as cakes and desserts.
She has been a co-ordinator judge in the Great Taste Awards for eight years, and is constantly tracking down the best cakes, tarts, cookies and puddings – a journey she never wants to end.
Genevieve Waldron (Contributor, London)
Genevieve caught the travel bug as a student after spending a semester living with a family in Spain. Ever since she dreamed of living and working abroad and 3.5 years ago, she made the dream come true, relocating from Chicago to London.
Genevieve loves the variety of food and cultures in London, and meeting friends from all of the world has opened her eyes to so many amazing experiences. When not exploring the best of what London has to offer, Genevieve loves taking advantage of exploring Europe on her doorstep.
Classic Garlic Bread: Recipe
Let’s be honest, everyone loves a good garlic bread recipe. It’s a simple, guilty pleasure that many of us like to indulge. The simple combination of butter, crushed garlic, parsley and salt, generously lathered atop a good quality slice of crusty bread is unbeatable. We’ve experimented with a few combinations of the key ingredients and think we’ve found the right proportions for the perfect classic garlic bread recipe.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes / Cooking Time: 5-8 minutes / Serves 6
Ingredients
- a pinch of salt
- 50g butter cubed, at room temperature
- 6 slices crusty white bread
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 15g dried parsley
Method
- Preheat your oven to 220oC fan forced.
- Mix together the butter, garlic, parsley and salt.
- Spread the garlic butter evenly over all 6 slices of bread.
- Place the bread on a lined baking tray and place in the oven for 5-8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
If you want to add a twist to the classic recipe, try sprinkling some grated parmesan cheese over each slice of bread before putting them into the oven.
Grain Store Unleashed, Clerkenwell
LONDON | Grain Store Unleashed Clerkenwell is a short-term concept being run at boutique hotel The Zetter by chef Bruno Loubet. It’s a companion restaurant to Loubet’s Kings Cross restaurant Grain Store, with a focus on vegetables (although there’s still meat). The audience is those people who enjoy meat, but perhaps think we eat too much of it and have no problem with great vegetarian food. Fans of Yotam Ottolenghi’s cooking and philosophy will feel right at home.
The space is suitably light, bright and homely, and fits with the overall philosophy of the venue.
The food is very experimental, with dishes like pickled flowers, kohlrabi and broad bean ravioli, and white chocolate and parsnip pudding just a few of the options on offer. We visited for breakfast, and were keen to see how the experimental lunch and dinner options would carry over to the breakfast menu.
Mango, Coconut & Lime Smoothie (£4.50)
This one speaks for itself – summer in a cup with a good balance of key ingredients combining perfectly.
Curly Kale, Cucumber, Apple & Lime Juice (£4.50)
Again, a really simple drink that’s light, refreshing, healthy and well balanced.
Pea Pancake With Poached Egg, Crispy Pancetta & Balsamic Syrup (£7.00)
The pea pancake had a really nice density to it and combined well with the perfectly poached egg and the crispiness of the pancetta. Delicious.
The Works (£10.50)
The works is the Grain Store Unleashed version of the full English breakfast and is the perfect example of how the best quality ingredients can elevate the most traditional of dishes and bring out something unexpected. Two free range eggs of your choice (in our case poached), Applewood smoked streaky bacon, meaty Cumberland sausage, black pudding, grilled tomato and roasted field mushroom. Great British produce combining to make the perfect great British breakfast.
Crushed Avocado On Grilled Sourdough With Condiments (£6.00)
As with everything else on the menu, it’s all about the quality ingredients with this dish, and here’s an option that’s as simple as it gets. Just what you expect, and that’s not a bad thing.
We haven’t yet had the chance to eat at Grain Store Unleashed for lunch or dinner, but after our great breakfast we’re keen to get back soon, and soon it will have to be – come 31 July 2015, this experiment comes to an end.
Grain Store Unleashed
St John’s Square
86 Clerkenwell Road
London EC1M 5RJ
United Kingdom
Telephone: 020 7324 4455
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.grainstoreunleashed.com/
Open
Mon – Sun: 7:00am to 10:30am; 12:00pm to 2:30pm; 6:00pm to 10:30pm
Good Beer Week 2015 Is Here!
The Collective celebrates drinking a lot of beers, and Good Beer Week 2015!
The Brunswick Beer Collective started as a silly-sounding idea, conjured up by three idiots after a long drinking session. As a result it wasn’t a surprise that the first few episodes were a bit rough, but we have somehow made it to 9 episodes over the space of two months and in the process have sampled 18 beers from 16 breweries, spanning 12 styles. We’d like to send out a big thanks to all of our listeners, followers, likers, and posters on social media for your support and feedback over the episodes so far. It’s been a fun journey, and every week is a step towards more coherence.
More importantly though, it is mid-May, which can only mean one thing: Good Beer Week, the booziest, and therefore happiest, week of the year is almost upon us. This year’s program once again is a step up from 2014 with over 250 events taking place at over 180 venues across Victoria. Although Paul will be Iran and as a result not drinking at all, we (the remaining idiots, Jeff and Chris) will be more than making up for his absence and flying the flag for the Collective at the following events:
- Saturday 16 May: The Wild Wild West at The Junction Beer and Wine Hall in the afternoon, followed by the Evil Twin Takeover at Carwyn Cellars in the evening.
- Sunday 17 May: Moon Dog vs Lazer Pig at the Lazerpig Pizza Parlor at lunchtime, followed by The Danish Invasion at the Park Hotel in the evening
- Monday 18 May: Pint of Origin USA at the Great Northern Hotel
- Tuesday 19 May: Victoria vs The World Showdown at the Terminus Hotel
- Wednesday 20 May: Pint of Origin NZ at The Alehouse Project
- Thursday 21 May: Viking Beer vs Pig at Atticus Finch
- Friday 22 May: Brewer’s Brains at the Fox On Montague
- Saturday 23 May: The Danish Invasion at the Park Hotel (part 2) in the afternoon, followed by GABS in the evening
If anyone out there happens to be at any of these events, please let us know and do come and say hi, take a selfie, and talk beer with us – we might even buy you one! If you need further inspiration check out Jeff’s picks from the program here, and here (hosted by our parent site, The City Lane).
Have a very merry Good Beer Week!
Cheers,
Jeff, Chris, and Paul (who will be looking on forlornly via social media)
The Vertue Of The Coffee Drink, Carlton
The Vertue Of The Coffee Drink Carlton is a new cafe by Mike Cracknell, who has been involved in Melbourne’s coffee scene for a while now, and roasting beans under the Vertue name since 2013. Cracknell had been wanting to open a cafe for a while but had been waiting for the right space.
One term that can often induce cringing is “Melbourne” as a descriptor. That bar is so “Melbourne”, this place is so “Melbourne” etc. It’s become a lazy term used to describe things that can often be found anywhere else in the world so what I’m about to do kind of disgusts me but here goes. The location of Vertue of The Coffee Drink is very “Melbourne”. It’s located in an old building that was originally used as a stables and more recently a house. How do you access it? Down an alleyway behind a Shell petrol station.
Oh no, you’re thinking, with an expectation of the other stereotypes associated with lazy “Melbourne” descriptior. Never fear, as the location is the only thing that fits the sterotype. There is no unwanted attitude and there are no desperate attempts to be “on trend”.
Head chef Matt Green’s menu contains a variety of options that are more focused on being good then being on trend. Sure there’s qunioa (although arguable that’s not on trend any more) and chia seeds but nothing feels like it’s on there just for the sake of it. If you see something that’s currently all the rage on the menu it’s becuse it genuinely adds something to the dish.
Drinks wise it’s what you’d expect at a cafe. A few juices, organic soft drinks, coffee and tea etc.
Mork Hot Chocolate ($4.50)
I’m a big fan of Mork Chocolate. A local company who produce chocolate from pure, high quality liquid cocoa and have a great ethical underpinning to everything that they do when it comes to the ingredients they source.
The Mork hot chocolate is exactly what a hot chocolate should be. It showcases the quality of the chocolate used and isn’t overly sweet, which allows the complexities of the cocoa bean to shine through. This is often lost in a hot chocolate and it’s always nice to see it done right. Just like good quality coffee, good quality hot chocolate shouldn’t need lots of sugar.
Dirty Chai (With A Shot Of Espresso) ($6.00)
My friend had a dirty chai, which is just a chai with a shot of espresso. We loved the presentation of the drink and my friend really enjoyed her drink which, just like the Mork hot chocolate, relied on the quality of the chai blend and coffee rather than excessive sweetness.
Green Goodness Juice ($8.00)
This combination of Spinach, Kale, Apple, Celery, Cucumber, Mint, Lemon made for a great green juice. A whole lot of goodness in one cup with the right proportion of ingredients that nothing was too overpowering – it didn’t taste “grassy” as these green juices sometimes do.
Chickpea Chips With Charred Eggplant, Preserved Cherry Tomatoes, Shaved Parmesan & Poached Eggs ($18.00)
We had been discussing options for dining out on the walk to The Vertue of The Coffee Drink in the context of a mutual friend of ours who doesn’t eat meat or gluten. While there are a lot of dishes that are excluded with these 2 restrictions in general Melbourne still offers a lot and this gluten free, vegan dish (if you exclude the eggs) is a case in point.
The chickpea chips were thick and tasty – creamy on the inside with a light crunch on the outside. They worked well when combined with the other components on the dish or alone. In fact everything on this plate worked both individually and combined. Nothing fancy at all, but a lot going on both texturally and flavour wise on this pate, with all of the 5 components of flavour present. A great dish.
Avocado, Ricotta, Popcorn, Lemon ($6.00)
We ordered this out of curiosity. When we asked what it was we were told that it was literally just a combination of the listed ingredients that “just worked”. When all 3 of us at the table ate it however we all agreed that while the individual components were tasty as one would expect with such a simple dish, there was something missing. It didn’t taste bad, but it didn’t really do anything for any of us. We all agreed that perhaps some salt, or a drizzle of olive oil is all that it would have needed to make the subtle flavours pop.
Smoked Ocean Trout With Curried Arancini, Soft Duck Egg, Mango & Chilli Jam ($21.00)
Things got back on track with the house smoked ocean trout dish. I’m a big fan of smoked trout and the fish that came out on this plate was delicious. Perfectly cooked, with just the right level of smokiness it hit the spot. The soft duck eggs were perfectly soft boiled and the curried arancini plus mango and chilli jam worked amazingly together. A brilliant combination of ingredients that balanced smokiness and sweet components.
Generally when I have friends visiting from Interstate or overseas I take them to my favourite spots, the guaranteed winners. Taking a friend to a new place that I haven’t tried is always a risk however The Vertue of The Coffee Drink was a risk worth taking. It’s a really great space, the staff are friendly and the food and drinks menu is simple and focused. It balances the line between doing what’s on trend with simple stuff that’s just good.
The glaring omission from my end was that I didn’t actually have a coffee from a place that places such an emphasis on the beans it sources and roasts but I can’t imagine it would be anything but excellent given my experience with everything else at the venue. I know where I’ll be going to top up the beans in my grinder the next time it empties. Oh and I might just have to try the meatball sub when I’m back too – somebody on the table next to us ordered it and it looked brilliant.
The Vertue Of The Coffee Drink
8 Raffa Place
Carlton
Victoria 3053
Australia
Telephone: (03) 8060 6987
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://vertuecoffee.com.au/
Open
Mon – Fri: 7:00am to 4:00pm
Sat – Sun: 7:30am to 4:00pm
