Little Bluebird

On a rainy & cold Winter's day, I decided to venture out for a cafe lunch. After consulting The Age Good Cafe Guide 2012 I chose the place I was to go: Bluebird Espresso.

The place was picked as the food sounded good, and any place with Bluebird in the name sounds adorable! (So yes, that's how you professionally pick a place to eat...) I noticed it was in Collingwood, and it is located up near the Hoddle Street end of Johnston Street. The exact address: 
134 Johnston St,  Collingwood VIC 3066.

Not being too familiar with the area I only knew it was close by The Bendigo Hotel - which is funnily enough, NOT in Bendigo but directly across the road from Bluebird Espresso. I stepped inside the place and instantly was hit with warmth. It is a cosily decorated place. On each table sits a solitary bright coloured tulip in a teeny vase. The place is cheerful and neat and gives off a friendly vibe. After consulting the menu I chose a cappuccino (Espresso Syndicate) which I promptly gulped down, delightful!

I chose to eat: Toasted cornbread with avocado, bacon, green tomato salsa & cheese. It was phenomenal. All the flavours really worked well together, and the sweetness of the cornbread really hit the spot. I'm a huge fan of sweet & savoury meshed together so the bacon and cornbread together was a dream to my taste-buds. The size of the dish was a nice portion that made me feel pleasantly full. I wanted to have a dessert after, (The Portuguese tart was screaming for me) but I decided to pass and enjoy on my next visit.

Bluebird Espresso serve breakfast all day which I adore when eating out - it gives me many options and I'm a sucker for breakfast foods at any time of the day, any day of the week! In short: Bluebird Espresso is a great little place to stop to re-fuel and will leave you feeling very content.

Holy Feldman's!

On Queen's Birthday eve just past, I ventured out to Fitzroy to catch up with friends & enjoy some sweet soul tunes. I was promised good pizza and beers and I was not disappointed! The place I went to was Feldman's. Part bar, part restaurant and part cosy hangout, this place felt inviting once I stepped in the door. There was a bit of a wait for a table so at first chance possible, the nearest spot was grabbed. The girl working there informed us that there would be a wait on the pizzas as it was extraordinarily busy and there were two big groups on tables nearby that had just ordered. We ordered our chosen pizzas, and a mini bowl of popcorn was set down by the staff for us to snack on in the meantime. I thought this was a cute, kitschy idea and it immediately answered my question of why the place smelled like delicious buttery popcorn when I walked in. 

After a 30 minute + wait my pizza arrived and I was shocked by the size. I'd picked the:

 Pumpkin, gorgonzola, pine-nuts, rocket, and shaved parmesan pizza (less the pinenuts as I am allergic!).  The pizza was HU-MONG-O! I quickly set to work, devouring slice after slice.

 

The photo doesn't do the pizza justice, this size could definitely be shared by two people! I ate all but 2 slices so the pizza defeated me, as hungry as I was, but it was great. $17 was the damage and I thought was the appropriate pricing for this baby as it was huge, I'll say it again, HUGE.   

With the Sydney & Melbourne Pizza Festival 2013 (http://pizzafestival.com.au/) currently happening (Melbourne: June 10th to 30th 2013) and Feldman's featured as an event restaurant on the 23rd June, I would strongly encourage everyone to head there for a delicious hearty pizza. Bellissimo!

Queen's Birthday with Jack & Daisy

This week started off the best way: with a public holiday! I'd already planned out my brunch place after consulting Broadsheet Melbourne's "Who's Open Over Queen's Birthday" article. I chose a place situated in the west (West-side is best side) called Jack & Daisy.

Now I'll admit every time, (EVERY TIME) I thought of the name I broke out into an off key version of Jack & Diane by John Mellencamp. Actually, I'll pop in the YouTube video for you perusal right now - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h04CH9YZcpI You're welcome!

Okay...so this has gone completely off the topic. I'll get back to it. We arrived at Jack & Daisy (152B Cumberland Rd  Pascoe Vale) around 11amish, hungry and ready to devour something brunchie. Firstly I enjoyed my (Coffee Supreme) cappuccino that was delightfully frothy and caffeine filled. I ordered the pancakes, a favourite of mine that is my go-to when I want something sweet for breakfast. They did not disappoint. The stack of pancakes covered with a generous serving of berries on top and finished with a dollop of lemon cream. Well. 

 

Look at it! What a beautiful sight. I'm a sucker for food presentation so while I found the plate it sat on was way to big in comparison for the pancake stack, geez did it taste like pancake Heaven. The berries were the perfect taste, not too tart and didn't make the bite too heavy in association with the cream. And the fact the cream was lemon infused? Excellent. I felt this was another goal kicked for breakfast/brunch dates and I won't hesitate to go back at a future time to try another dish from the menu.

Paco's delightful Tacos

Let's jump straight into it: as a food lover I usually rely on recommendations and my own research when I chose somewhere to eat. In saying that I purchase The Age Good Food Guide, The Age Good Cafe Guide, and The Age Cheap Eats diligently every year. If there's one tip I can give to people it is to immediately buy these books.If you don't own them you need to get up, go to your closest news-agency or to: http://theageshop.com.au/content/books/gjgdvk
To me, these are my bibles. I am constantly flipping through them and exploring new areas.

I'll start off with a review of an easy, no fuss place. This place is Paco's Tacos. Since the love of Mexican food by Melbournians only seems to grow and grow we are lucky enough to have many wonderful new Spanish and Mexican restaurants set up shop all over the CBD and beyond.
Paco's Tacos is the brainchild of the amazing MoVida team, and they are located adjacent to MoVida Aqui - Level 1, 500 Bourke Street, Melbourne. They're open weekdays and on Wednesday to Friday they stay open until late. The thing that drew me to this place was their $6 tacos. I was looking for a quick, easy and cheap place to go on my lunch-break and decided to try. Though their menu includes corn, nachos, salsa & chips etc., I decided to get the Pulled Pork and Pineapple Salsa taco. Of course to accompany this I needed to get my favourite lime Jarritos soft drink but there's alcohol available if you're that way inclined or having a tough day in the office!

The taco was delightful. The pork and pineapple went hand in hand and tasted lovely on a warm Spring day. My taco took only a few minutes to create and the atmosphere is fun and light-hearted. The only regret that I had is that I only ordered one. Next time for sure I will order two or get something else offered on the menu because everything sounded great. I should also mention I have a few food allergies (allergic to all nuts and all seafood) and the staff there were excellent in letting me know what food I was able to safely eat. Paco's Tacos is a wonderful and no frills mini Mexican joint!

First post

Hello, here I'm writing the first post of my foodie blog! Here you will find reviews, musings, and general chatter on all things food. Specifically, food in Melbourne. Food is something I hold dear to my heart - we need it to live but mostly I adore it because it brings myself much happiness. The culture of Melbourne and eating out in one of our many cafes, restaurants or bars go hand in hand. The city of Melbourne is a massive culinary hotspot. You can have an English breakfast, a French inspired lunch, and a Turkish dinner and all in such close proximity to one another! I hope whomever is reading this finds this blog an enjoying read and maybe even helps them to decide on where they will go for a great meal.