(almost) 48 hours of eats in Melbourne

WAY WAY back in December The Boy and I made a quick weekend trip down to Melbourne. Why? Well, to eat...of course!

We started the weekend off with dinner at one of our tied and true favourite places, Mamasita. I honestly don't believe we have Mexican as great as this in Sydney so we go almost every time we're in Melbourne. The corn, oh the corn!  I've written about Mamasita before so you can check it out over here...

Bowery to Williamsburg

Set in a sub-basement level space you can't help get the nod to all things New York Subway as you descend the stairs into the cafe.  Owned by the team behind our beloved Hardware Societe, Bowrey to Williamsburg is every bit as good as I thought it would be. The menu has a decided bent towards Americana (in a good way)...bagels, pastrami beef hash, lox latkes...and not a slider to be seen anywhere folks.

The Boy (of course) goes for the Big Breakfast and I cannot help but covet his slab of farmhouse, thickcut bacon that is hidden beneath all those eggs, tomatoes and spinach. Me, I wanted something lighter as we had a special lunch planned in the not too distant future. I ADORE onion bagels and when I found out these guys have them I was sold! Whack a bit of smoked salmon, scallion cream cheese and capers on there and I'm as happy as a pig in...an onion bagel!

Bowrey to Williamsburg is at 16 Oliver Lane, Melbourne.




Movida Next Door

We visited Movida about two years for my birthday and I whilst I thought it was...ok, I wasn't blown away. I totally thought Movida would totally rock my world and I walked away a bit flat. For starters, I think my expectations were too high, plus we didn't order very well (too many small plates and not enough biggies left us hungry...and broke).  The wait staff weren't particularly helpful in pointing our our ordering woes...and they weren't overly friendly either.

BUT I'm all for second chances and this trip I really wanted to lunch at Movida Next Door. AND I loved it!  LOVED IT!

Our waiter was super friendly and gave us great suggestions in ordering what turned out to be a specular and tasty lunch. I also loved the more relaxed feel of Movida Next Door as opposed to its  more dimly lit, slightly stuffy next door neighbour, Movida. This place felt light, airy, fun, modern and special....in a relaxed Saturday afternoon kind of way.

We ordered mostly from the specials menu - a lovely fennel salad; unctuous, fatty pork belly with a zesty apple salad; a sizzling pot of buttery tiger prawns; and a plate of massive, meaty field mushrooms.

Of course we had to order the bomba from the menu as it's one of the dishes that Movida is well know for - chorizo filled Catalan Potato Bomb with a spicy sauce. Delish. As was the Croqueta - a fried croquette of wild mushrooms that the waiter talked us into having for dessert.  This was an EXCELLENT lunch and I'd head back to Movida Next Door in heartbeat.







Movida Next Door is at 164 Flinders Street (cnr Hosier Lane), Melbourne.




Huxtaburger, Collingwood

What can one say about Huxtaburger other than "YUM"...oh, and "get in my belly" (and maybe "should I have a second burger so soon after finishing my first")?

This place is a well known institution for burger lovers.  We made our pilgrimage to the original store on Smith Street, Collingwood TWICE to worship at the alter of the best burgers around - soft buns people! SOFT BUNS - they really make or break a burger.

I'm not really sure I need to say anything about the burgers here.  I mean LOOK at them! LOOK! A picture really does paint 1000 words, especially if those words are just YUM repeated one thousand times.  And they burgers really are better than they look - so enough said really.

Oh, and crinkle cut chips? Still the best chips EVER I say.

Was this better than Shake Shack?  Hmmm. Yes...probably...maybe. The beef patty was so flavoursome and whilst the bun was quite sweet this was offset when you got a good mouthful of all of the burger ingredients.

Huxtaburger is at 106 Smith Street, Collingwood.



Jimmy Grants

To be honest, whilst Jimmy Grants was on my radar it wasn't at the top of my hit list for this Melbourne Trip. It was a case of too many great places to eat and not enough time or belly room.

And then my brain and my stomach had a negotiation and we decided that there was no problem having kebabs for lunch...no problem at all. I love that the souvas (aka kebab) comes stuffed with a few chips but the real winner for me was the grain salad - LOVED this so much! The salad was a medley of grains and lentils with toasted almonds, Spanish onion and parsley mixed through. The dressing was probably a mix of lemon and olive oil -- but so much better. And a fat dollop of Greek yoghurt on top was the icing on the cake for me.



Jimmy Grants is at 113 St David Street, Fitzroy/Collingwood.