EYƎOFTHƎGEYƎR | Film Food Literature

Dont waste your time reading this caption - just watch me talk to myself while I am alone in my room.

This is a video from last week when I spent 24 hours in Melbourne with my girlfriend.

SpudBar 5/1/2012

Info:
www.spudbar.com.au

226 Swan Street, Richmond VIC

Ph: +61 3 9421 6033
Email: richmond@spudbar.com.au

Woooohoooo, okay holy shit guys, before we begin I just want to say that this is by far my favourite restaurant I have had the pleasure of eating at since I have started doing these reviews. On the 5th of January, KTB and myself visited a place called Spudbar in Richmond, Melbourne. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it since it is only melbourne based so far (I didn’t ask if they had plans to expand up to QLD anytime soon, but I really should of). First off let me start by explaining what spudbar is..

KTB explained Spudbar to me as: “A place where they give you some potatoes and then put some healthy ingredients on top of the potatoes”, which really doesn’t sound like the best restaurant at all, although be honest, KTB pretty much explained it perfectly. The shop is located right on Swan street which is prime real estate. Surrounded by upmarket cafes and retail shops it seems a strange little restaurant, completely out of place surrounded by the espresso bars.

Spudbar is a rustic little shop, decorated with a real farm style - old rusty chairs and little metal tables around woodpiles and sacks of potatoes. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is what I can only really describe as earthy, it seems like everything is off the farm and a little dirty or weathered (but in a good way, not literally covered in dirt).

As you walk into the store you are greeted to a large menu mounted to the roof overhanging a very subway-esque ordering bar with a whole slather of fresh ingredients sitting in little tubs. I wasn’t really sure what to expect because of how it was explained, so I blindly forged ahead and ordered the first thing that caught my eye; Homestyle Bolognaise (and KTB ordered the Hawaiian).

Watching the staff make our meals was a little underwhelming, first they added a layer of potatoes on the bottom of a large bowl. From there, they added all my ingredients heaped up to the brim which included; carrot, corn, peas, mince, bolognaise sauce, basil, a little bit of onion and on the top a large spoonful of sour cream. When I was handed my meal I actually asked them: “Is this it?”. I didn’t really get it, all they did was heap a whole lot of vegetables and some meat into a bowl and then hand it to me. It wasn’t deep fried, it wasn’t microwaved or wrapped and put in a takeaway bag, it was actually a huge bowl of fresh ingredients in a homestyle meal with real cutlery, and thank GOD FOR THAT. In this world of fast-food, and takeaway everything it was really quite refreshing to be eating something as honest and REAL as spudbar.

Look how massive KTBS Hawaiian one is!!!!

I feel like i’ve given away how I feel about spudbar quite a lot already, so let me just finish up by reiterating and say honestly how AMAZING the food is. It sounds pretty boring just a bowl of vegetables, but eating something like spudbar which is so delicious, healthy and tastes nothing like “fast food” or any shitty takeaway was a really amazing change. The vegetables were so fresh and delicious, and served with the hot bolognaise and spuds really turned it into a delicious meal. Just be warned about how FILLING spudbar is, I almost didn’t finish my meal and really started to struggle towards the end.

I don’t know about anyone else, but after I eat any crappy takeaway I just feel awful. One of the best parts about spudbar was that after I walked out of the restaurant, I felt good. I felt really full, but satisfied and healthy. It didn’t feel like i’d just eaten a crappy burger but something homecooked which ruled so much. If spudbar ever exists in QLD, every single person needs to experience it.

Food: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10

This is part two of the interview series I posted the other week featuring James Franco.

Crust Pizza - 4/1/2012

Crust Pizza shop is located in Essendon, Melbourne. Ktbs roommate had suggested we go get dinner from there one night, so on her suggestion we wandered down and checked it out.

As far as pizza shops go, the range of pizzas were pretty impressive. The shop itself however was nothing out of the ordinary and didn’t really invite customers to sit and enjoy their meals. The menu was full of absolutely every pizza you could think of, ranging from the traditional meat-lovers and supreme to deep pan rectangle pizzas with a whole array of toppings. KTB’s roommate suggested the vegetarian pizzas were the best, so we ordered a sweet potato pizza with a bottle of sparkling mineral water.

The pizzas were ready within 10 minutes which absolutely ruled because we were starving. They came out looking amazing and so FRESH! The one really awesome thing about this place is that you do not feel like you’re eating pizzas at all, no dripping oil or grease — this might have been only because we ordered a vegetarian pizza but either way, it was just pure fresh ingredients put together in front of you.

Eating the pizza, I had a few thoughts. One was about the ingredients being so fresh, and another was me (as a meat eater) thinking about how good the pizza would be with some pepperoni on it. Personally I don’t go out of my way to eat vegetarian meals that often, but this pizza was actually quite delicious as it was. I mean, deep down I wished we got some sort of meat based pizza just because thats what I would usually order, but I actually did enjoy it a lot. Like i’ve already said the ingredients were super fresh and amazingly cooked. The pizza dough was quite thin and wasn’t overcooked, something I really enjoy. I don’t like pizzas with a huge base because I always get full really quickly.

The general atmosphere of the store was actually pretty lame. It was obvious that they hadn’t designed the store for customers to sit down and eat in-store when we realised that they had only been playing ACDC “Back in Black” on repeat the entire time we were there. All in all it was a decent meal from a decent shop, definitely nothing to rave about, but I couldn’t complain.

I had a few basic criticisms for the store itself, one was the price of the pizzas - they were all quite expensive (I think this was mainly because this was a “gourmet” pizza shop - but still, it’s just pizza dude!) and I think they could of been a little cheaper. We ordered the large size and it was $21. I also would of liked the store to be more “sit down” friendly the streets of melbourne seems to have a really nice atmosphere and because of that, no one is really in a rush to get home, I think they really could of made a good restaurant - but they just settled on the takeaway pizza store instead. Other then that, the whole experience was good. Not Incrediblebut good. The staff were friendly, the food was fresh and came out quickly.

At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a quick meal (that’s more healthy then a normal pizza), on a friday night with a beer at home, then Crust is a winner - just watch your wallet.

Food - 8/10

Atmosphere - 6.5/10

Overall - 7/10

motherkruubes-deactivated201202 asked: Your blog is yummy! (: thanks for the follow :3
Thanks! No worries, I really like your blog!

pleaselookaftermyghost asked: came across your post about misty's diner in the melbourne tag. i'm a waitress there and i remember you that night! you should definitely send some feedback to Misty too, she loves hearing from customers :)
Oh wow thankyou for your message, i’m just curious as to how you found my blog?? I was actually thinking about emailing the restaurants i’ve eaten at and reviewed - i’ll email Misty today. Is there a specific way to pass on some feedback?
Thanks for this message it has really honestly made my day, and I LOVED eating at Mistys - so amazing! Please tell everyone working that night thanks for a delicious meal!

Misty’s Diner 3/1/2012

After posting a photo of Soda Rock Diner on my facebook (which you can find down in the links below if you want), we were told about another American style diner just around the corner called Misty’s Diner. As we were walking through Prahran again on the afternoon of the 3/1/2012 we decided to visit it since it was only a block away. The strange thing about Mistys is that it is a Diner/Car wash. Straight up it doesn’t really put out the best mental image to begin with, my imagination went straight sweaty hairy italians (I don’t know why since it’s an american diner) washing cars and then dripping sweat over all our food. However it turned out to be a lot better then it sounded.

We arrived at Mistys around 7:30pm after walking a few blocks in the opposite direction - thanks heaps google maps. One thing I personally love about Melbourne and for the LIFE of me cannot understand why QLD doesn’t have it, is daylight saving. We were turning up to restaurants at 8pm at night and sitting outside eating delicious meals in the sun. Even now as I write this at 8pm the sun is still streaming through the open bedroom window.

(I know its dark in the photo above, it was just as we were leaving at about 9:30)

Walking into Mistys diner was an assault on your eyes, but in an awesome way. The counter was stacked full of delicious american sweets and drinks, and the place was decorated exactly like I expected — number plates, photos of elvis and hot rods, american flags decorating every spare inch of wall space and even the waiters and waitresses dressed in pink and black with big name tags. The best thing about it, and the thing that gave it a really authentic feel was the fact that most of the people working at Misty’s were actually American! The owner, who’s name was… wait for it.. Misty, was a real over the top American, walking around tables slapping people on the back asking how the meal was going - it just gave it a really awesome feel walking into a restaurant where everyone is enjoying everyones company, and not just the people they arrived with.

We grabbed some menus from a man named “Elvis” and moved outside to were it was nice and sunny to check it out. The menu was easy to read and put in some simple categories - making it real easy to navigate. The prices for most things were fairy expensive (15 dollars for a side of chips) but then again, these meals were huge servings. I ordered the Smoked Meatball roll with a Cherry Coke, and KTB (my lovely girlfriend) ordered the Bowl of Chili Con Carne and Dr Browns Black Cherry Soda. The wait time between ordering and getting the meals at the table was pretty standard, not that quick, but nothing to complain about.

When the meals arrived however I was actually surprised about how SMALL my meal was. It made sense now why “Elvis” was so confused when I refused to order a side of chips (because I was expecting the roll to be massive - amateur mistake). KTBs however was enormous - exactly the size I was picturing the meals to be. Although I have to admit I was disappointed at first at the size of my meal (to be fair it was probably my own fault, I think I ordered the smallest meal on the menu) that immediately changed when I took my first bite. The roll was filled with meatballs, meatball sauce, BBQ sauce and cheese - nothing groundbreaking here, but a combo that you know is going to work. The first thing I noticed with my first bite was that the roll was amazingly crunchy and the bread inside so fresh and light. The meatballs were amazingly fresh and delicious, although they were pretty plain by themselves and didn’t really have any herbs inside them. (Theres one thing you should know about my eating habits is that I love anything with meatballs in it, so expect to see a lot of meatball dishes). The one criticism I had for my meal was that it did have a bit of BBQ sauce overload, one bite I took was literally just a drink of BBQ sauce which wasn’t the most delicious thing I’ve ever had..

Ktb was struggling with her meal so I had a little taste, and the Bowl of Chili con carne was amazing! It was a mild spice but had a heap of flavour, and a tonne of beans which absolutely rules in chili con carne. I can’t really say much else about it since I didn’t have too much, but the bite I took was perfect.

Since my meal was so small, I decided to order some dessert. We settled on ordering the Texas brownie which was a brownie with a layer of peanut butter on top, a massive slab of vanilla ice-cream all covered in chocolate topping (holy fuck!!) and to top it all off, an Oreo Mocha thickshake. The desserts came out really quickly and they looked delectable - fattening as hell and full of sugar but fuck how could you seriously resist this:

The brownie was so intense, a full on assault of your tastebuds. It was an incredible combination with the ice-cream and peanut butter but it was very VERY rich, and needed something to balance it out, maybe some raspberries or something to eat between mouthfuls of brownie!

The Mocha thickshake was just as intense as the brownie, the straw was like a funnel it was so thick. It was creamy and had an awesome coffee aftertaste which is something I find a lot of mochas don’t have, a lot of mochas seem to focus way too much on the chocolate side of things and forget that it is actually a coffee. This was something the Oreo Mocha excelled in - it was an awesome combo having the biscuit chunks and the mocha blend but one recommendation i’d suggest is that you don’t order it straight after a huge meal and dessert, maybe have it just by itself since its basically a meal in a cup - albeit not a very healthy meal.

Overall the diner topped off an amazing day and was an exciting and quite different place to eat. Misty really brought the diner to life with a Burger challenge that she let diners compete in, the general rules being: “If you finish the challenge burger in an allotted amount of time, you get a shirt and a photo on the wall”. She really made it a spectator sport by using a mic to announce the time and trying to get the whole diner to cheer and clap which made it quite a fun dining experience. The diner itself is located right of Chapel street, which all you Melbournites know is a good place to be. Mistys was a fun place to dine, with an awesome atmosphere - dining to the likes of Elvis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash can never be a bad thing.

Food: 8/10

Atmosphere: 9/10

Overall: 8.5/10

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Dont waste your time reading this caption - just watch me talk to myself while I am alone in my room.

This is a video from last week when I spent 24 hours in Melbourne with my girlfriend.

SpudBar 5/1/2012

This is part two of the interview series I posted the other week featuring James Franco.

Crust Pizza - 4/1/2012

Misty’s Diner 3/1/2012

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