A peanut butter injustice!

The Handsome Australian and I had the opportunity to take our little people to lunch at the local cafe today. We don't exactly live in a suburb that is overrun with first rate eateries. In fact, I can't think of a single one in a 2-3km radius. Most of the places near us are typical suburban cafes. Nothing fancy, prices are reasonable and the coffee is generally 'good enough'. As the Handsome Australian is a self professed "food snob", it takes a bit of convincing to get him to eat locally. He much prefers the inspired menus, award winning barristas and slick fit outs of the inner city eateries. Unfortunately, for the Handsome Australian, you can't be cool 100% of the time--especially when you have kids.

Our cafe of choice today is one frequented by the children and I on a regular basis. We pop in to have coffee, milk shakes and smartie cookies at least once or twice a week. It has a real neighbourhood vibe. We always know at least one or two other customers when we arrive. The kids love the place because there is a bucket of toys in a corner in the back and they spend the entire time playing with their mates while I catch up with the other Mums. It's not flashy, but it serves a purpose. It's a good neighbourhood meeting place for the desperate housewives of our little slice of suburban Melbourne.

So when we went today for lunch with the Handsome Australian, I tried to prepare him for what he'd find upon arrival. I told him the coffee wasn't going to compare to the ones he gets from the award winning barrista across the road from his City office. I told him the menu was limited and to be honest, I don't actually eat there, we usually just grab drinks and cookies. I wanted to lower the expectations as much as possible because when the Handsome Australian goes for a meal, he doesn't like to be disappointed. I thought I'd done a pretty good job of lowering the bar...

When we arrived, we found they had a kid's menu which was very reasonably priced (they aren't paying City rents are they?) with many options that our children would find appealing. After a brief discussion, our oldest decided she'd have a Vegemite sandwich and our youngest chose to have peanut butter and jam (or jelly for the Americans out there). The Handsome Australian and I chose a couple of foccacias and then we waited.

The waitress brought out the kids' sandwiches first. They are served on plastic kid friendly platters with cute pictures. They are cut up into bit size squares that kids can easily handle. So far so good. Then I looked over at the little man's peanut butter and jam and my jaw hit the floor. There were piles of margarine oozing out the sides of his sandwich. (Don't believe me? Have a look at the photo above? Large quantities of margarine clearly visible!!) This was a real, WTF? kind of moment. Who puts margarine on a peanut butter and jam sandwich? Isn't the butter in peanut butter implied? Do you need to add butter or margarine? Never in my 30ish years have I ever seen such a disservice done to the humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Who knew you could tamper with something so pure and simple? Wow.

Poor little man didn't eat it. I wonder why? I've never understood the Australians' need to put margarine on the bread of every sandwich they make. Surely common sense should prevail in a case like this. From now on I'll be ordering the peanut butter and jam sandwiches WITHOUT the butter!!!

Yes, this is a crazy, crazy place. Or perhaps this particular well meaning suburban cafe is a crazy, crazy place. One thing is for certain, after seeing this crime against peanut butter and jam, the Handsome Australian will never set foot in this cafe again. I guess I just didn't lower the bar enough...how could I have known?

Magnificient Melbourne

Is it possible to love a city? I certainly hope so, because I'm about to declare my undying love for the city of Melbourne. Here it is people--I LOVE MELBOURNE!! What's not to love? This city has it all and it has it in spades. The amazing food scene, however, is definitely the jewel in Melbourne's crown.

This weekend, the Handsome Australian and I were lucky enough to have someone mind our children over night so we could have an evening to ourselves in the heart of Melbourne. Even though we only live 16km (roughly 10 miles) from the CBD (Central Business District) we don't go into town too much for pleasure. The Handsome Australian spends plenty of time in the City for work purposes, but it's rare that we find ourselves unwinding in the city as we did this past weekend. What a weekend it was...

If I haven't mentioned it already, Melbourne has an incredible food scene. If there is a heaven for food lovers, Melbourne is it. There are so many restaurants here that I reckon you could dine in a different one for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and it would take you years before you tried them all. The restaurants here tend to be smaller than your average American restaurant and are for the most part locally owned and operated.

Not only do we have a large quantity of restaurants here, but we are spoiled for choice. The variety is endless. I can't think of a particular cuisine that Melbourne doesn't have covered. You name it and there will be someone here flying the flag for that particular culinary faction. We've got absolutely everything under the sun.

What this all means practically speaking is it's almost impossible to choose a place to dine here in Melbourne because there are so many tremendously good places that offer truly unique experiences that you can never be sure you've made the right choice. The Handsome Australian and I have been to plenty of fabulous places here in Melbourne, but we've been back to very few of them. Why? If it was so good, wouldn't we go back all the time? We can't because everywhere you look, there's another place to try. We often talk about returning to certain places, but then we decide that if we keep going to the same places, we'll never discover anything else. What a problem to have. This was the very problem facing us this weekend in the CBD.

Melbourne's CBD is a groovy maze of little lane ways and major streets all jumbled together. You really never know what you might find around the next corner. In some cities, these lane ways would be dark alleys that no one would enter, but in Melbourne, they serve as the hiding places of some of the hippest, liveliest places to dine. The CBD at night has a very warm vibe and the possibilities are endless.

The Handsome Australian likes to do his homework before a big night out. He is a huge fan of the Age Newspaper's Good Food Guide. This book is written by many of the food writers that work for the Age Newspaper. They review a selection of Melbourne restaurants and give them ratings. The Handsome Australian loves the The Age food critics and refers to the The Good Food Guide as the bible of the Melbourne restaurant scene and its co-editor John Lethlean as "the oracle". If John doesn't like a place, you'll be hard pressed to convince the Handsome Australian it's somewhere worth visiting. That man's opinion carries a lot of weight in our house.

So where did the Handsome Australian choose to go on our night away in the city...you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out! Stay tuned.

Noosa is nice...

Having never been to Noosa before, the Handsome Australian and I have been quite pleased with what we've found here. Noosa and the surrounding area of Noosaville is a lovely little beach side village where there is something for everyone. As I've mentioned before, the Handsome Australian is a bit of a foodie, so the restaurants of Noosa were of particular interest. After that, it was pretty much the beach.

One morning we tried breakfast at Berardo's on the Beach. This restaurant with a refreshing atmosphere sits right on the Noosa Beach Boardwalk. What that means for it's diners is amazing views of the beach right from your table. The location is second to none in terms of closeness to the beach and having a great view--unfortunately, the food didn't rate and the service left us disappointed. The photo below is the Big Breakfast at Berardo's (it'll cost you $19 AUD): two poached eggs, bacon, hash brown, grilled tomatoes, and local sausage. Nothing special about this breakfast, except the fact that the bacon was way overcooked. If you like it crispy, then perhaps Berardo's is the place for you.After breakfast, it's always lovely to spend a bit of time on the beach. Noosa's beach is a nice one. The sand is soft and clean and has a whitish tone to it. The water has a beautiful crystal blue colour. This happens to be a long holiday weekend here in Noosa this weekend, but you can see from the photos, there is still plenty of room on the beach. That's another thing I love about Australia--even during busy times, there is literally no one here. World's best kept secret I reckon...either that or it's outrageously expensive to get here so no one bothers. Either way, it just means more room for the rest of us!

This photo is of a rocky outcrop near some parkland along the beach. The Handsome Australian and the little ones had a terrific time searching the rock pools here for sea creatures. They spotted lots of things--small fish, sea anemone, crabs, and the list goes on. It was better than a visit to the aquarium.

Ahh....Noosa....

We went to a cafe called Aroma's one day for lunch. Aroma's is located in the heart of Noosa's famous Hastings Street (which is the main strip that runs through the village). Aroma's is said to be styled after a Parisian cafe with all the chairs facing outward toward the street. It's apparently Noosa's see and be seen place to go. We had a late lunch there one day and we weren't disappointed. The photo below is the Spiced Prawns salad. It was, in a word, delicious. It did take awhile to order our food here--you have to go to the counter to place your order--but once our order was in, the food came out quickly and efficiently. The coffees were good here too and met the Handsome Australian's very high coffee standard. The four year old was impressed with the design the barista managed to make in the latte cream. That's generally a sign of someone who knows what he's doing and according to the Handsome Australian, this guy did. A good coffee makes the Handsome Australian very happy. We like it when he's happy.

After lunch it's back to the beach for some more fun in the sun. The Handsome Australian loves the beach. He loves the sand, the surf and the thrill that comes with swimming in the ocean. Unfortunately for him, I grew up in the desert where there was no water for miles. I have no idea what to do with so much water. So I leave the ocean swimming to him.

All that sitting on the beach can make a girl really tired and even a bit thirsty. Good thing a hot steamy latte isn't too far away. Check out this beach side espresso bar where you can saddle up with your speedos and get your afternoon caffeine fix.

Yes, it really is all about the beach here.

Oh yeah and the food. This is what's left of our dinner from Holy Mackerel Fish and Chips shop in Noosaville. This box was filled to the top with fillets of fish, calamari, fish bites, potato cakes and hot chips (that's Aussie for french fries). This is probably some of the best fish and chips I've ever had in Australia. It was well done and nicely packaged in the big cardboard box. This box full of fish and chips known as the Family Pack costs about $35 AUD. It was enough to feed the four of us and then some. There was plenty left over.


And finally, it's nearly time for sunset at the Noosa Yacht Club.
Ah, yes Noosa. A lovely little holiday destination. The Handsome Australian and I would highly recommend it.

Brekkie

As I explained in my previous post, the Handsome Australian loves his food and he takes great excitement in seeking out the good food of the world. His most recent obsession has been finding the best breakfast in Melbourne. So each weekend we gather up our brood and head out to a different restaurant to see what they've got to offer. It's become a weekend ritual of late. All of these breakfast outings have led me to observe that Australians do breakfast quite differently than we do in the USA.

First of all, most cafes have a specific breakfast menu. Unlike the USA where there are specific breakfast restaurants like IHOP, LePeep, Village Inn, Waffle House, and a myriad of others, Australia doesn't have a particular chain restaurant you identify with breakfast. (In fact, while we are on the subject, Australia doesn't have that many chain restaurants period.) This makes choosing a place to go for breakfast slightly harder as there are many, many cafes and restaurants here and a large number of them have breakfast offerings.

Since each restaurant sets it's own breakfast menu, the items you'll find on offer vary from place to place, but there are some recurring themes. Eggs are always on the menu and are offered in a variety of ways: fried, poached, scrambled or in omelet form. From my experience, Australians seem to prefer their eggs poached (this of course is a wild generalisation, but that's what I've observed so we'll run with it) and they will eat them with a variety of accompaniments. Each restaurant usually offers a list of breakfast accompaniments and the most common are: grilled tomatoes, grilled spinach, baked beans, bacon, sausage, grilled mushrooms, smoked salmon, ham, or hash browns. Some cafes will have a set menu item that includes eggs your way plus a set selection of accompaniments for a set price or they may just have the eggs your way and allow you to choose the accompaniments and charge you for each selection separately.

Besides eggs, you might commonly find a toast offering. Generally it seems to be raisin toast that is on offer. Another popular item is a toasted sandwich or croissant with ham and cheese.There may also be a muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit and for the naughty among you--pancakes. Only the Australians seem to find it appropriate to serve ice cream on pancakes for breakfast. As you can imagine, our four year old LOVES pancakes for breakfast and orders that each time we go out. They may also be served with fresh fruit or with maple syrup.

You can guarantee there will be espresso coffee so you can get a Latte, Cappuccino, Machiato or whatever your little heart desires. If the place is really good, they'll have freshly squeezed juices--orange, apple, carrot, pineapple, etc, etc, etc.

Are you getting hungry reading this? I'm getting hungry just writing it...enough about my descriptions though, a picture is worth a thousand words...

This is known as 'The Big Breakfast' and at this particular restaurant it included: 2 eggs your way (the Handsome Australian has them poached), 2 sausages, grilled mushrooms, bacon rashers, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, two pieces of thick toast (this isn't Wonder Bread y'all) and a little bit of tomato chutney on top. (There was also an unimpressive hash brown in that empty spot next to the toast, but the Handsome Australian quickly passed along this substandard morsel to fellow diners with less discerning tastes--our children) The Handsome Australian calls this 'heaven'.

What do you think? Would you give it a go? I do every weekend!

Learn the Lingo

brekkie = breakfast

Food Lover

The Handsome Australian loves his food. His food isn't just any food though, it's really, really good food. In fact, when I first met him, I dubbed him a "food snob". He used to take me out for dinner in Buenos Aires (where we met) and make me walk from restaurant to restaurant studying each menu until he found a place that he felt was 'worthy' of dining in. I was never sure what the Handsome Australian was looking for when we'd walk from place to place reading each menu carefully. He couldn't really explain it either. He just said, "I want to have a great meal. I'll know the place when I see it."


Eventually, he'd choose a place and we'd have dinner. Most of the dinners I had with the Handsome Australian in Buenos Aires were quite memorable--the food was really good and generally quite different from the status quo cafes you found on every corner. I tried to understand why his standards were so high and how he knew exactly what he was looking for. The more I got to know him, the more I learned about his family. The Handsome Australian comes from a long line of restaurateurs and so it turns out, he's been around the food and hospitality business his whole life. A lifetime of experience had helped him hone his senses and he was able to recognise a promising place when he saw one.


Before I met the Handsome Australian, a restaurant was just a restaurant and food was, just food, really. The more time I spent with him though, I began to see the subtle differences that he could see and I too began to seek out that something special every time I dined out. This search for really, really good food has become even stronger now that we've spent more than a decade together.


While I credit the Handsome Australian with introducing me to the world of restaurants that take food to the next level, I also credit his hometown in raising my expectations when it comes to dining. Melburnians are absolutely spoiled in their choice of eateries. There are multitudes upon multitudes of places to dine here and the standard is extremely high. So high in fact, that the industry is fiercely competitive and a restaurant won't survive if it doesn't deliver quality food in a unique way.


The variety here is amazing as well. Any genre of food you might be interested in be it Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, Lebanese, Turkish, Greek, Italian, Malaysian, Moroccan, and the list goes on and on--is available. The biggest problem you'll face in Melbourne when it comes to dining out is choosing a place to go. A nice problem to have--my stomach certainly isn't complaining.

The barbie...

Trying to shake off the winter blues, the Handsome Australian and I decided that tonight would be a good night for a barbie (that's Aussie for barbecue). We've had very chilly winter weather of late mixed with a fair amount of rain (Which we are not complaining about btw. After 7 years of drought, we'll take every precious little drop, thank you very much!) and that's made it difficult to be outside cooking on the barbecue. Today, while still chilly, was a relatively dry day and so we decided to take the leap.


During the summer months, I'd guess our family would have a barbecue about once a week. When it's winter time though, barbecues are few and far between. That is what made tonight's barbecue so special...it was the first one we'd had in months! We had originally planned this barbecue for yesterday, but the weather got the better of us and we had to postpone. This postponement was not well received by our sausage loving four year old. She had been looking forward to it all weekend apparently.


Tonight, her sausage loving prayers were answered and the Handsome Australian cooked a barbecue for one and all. As he was outside throwing another shrimp on the barbie (oh no, not really because we don't call them shrimp here we call them prawns and while we do sometimes put prawns on our barbie we didn't this evening because the boss wanted sausages remember?) I began to contemplate the barbecue and all it's meanings. Pretty deep right? I know, I like to consider the BIG issues...


In Australia, you can invite someone around for a barbecue at your house. You might say something like, "Mate, we've decided to have a barbie on Saturday come 'round if you can." When you arrived you might ask, "G'day. How are we? Where's the Handsome Australian?" To which I'd respond, "He's out back by the barbie." Which means you'll find him outside near the grill. That means that a barbecue or barbie is an event here as well as the name for the grill itself.


In America, particularly in Texas, the word barbecue brings to mind a particular style of preparing the meat by smoking it. In this case, the meat itself is known as 'barbecue'. The Australians don't call the food cooked on the barbie, 'barbecue'. Having lived here for eight years, I honestly can't remember how you would be invited to a barbecue in the USA. Would you tell someone you are having a barbecue? Even if you didn't plan on smoking the meats? Or would you say you were 'cooking out'? Do you refer to the grill as the barbecue? Gut instinct tells me no, but I can't be certain.


So this intense philosophical thought about the word barbecue has led me to a much deeper conclusion...in my mind, the lines between Australia and the USA have become quite blurred. This isn't the first time I haven't been able to remember how things are done in the USA. In some cases I'll be thinking of a particular item or a word and I won't be able to remember if that is the Australian or American version of the particular item/word. Having two cultures so deeply embedded in your psyche can be very confusing sometimes.

I'd explore this idea a bit further except I smell sausages...

Learn the Lingo
barbie = barbecue
barbecue = the event and the grill itself
shrimp = prawn
g'day = hello

Celebrating your culture...

Today the Handsome Australian and I bundled our little ones in the car and made the trip to our favourite Lebanese Bakery in Melbourne. For those of you who haven't been lucky enough to visit Melbourne, the food scene here is incredible. I've never been to another city which had such a large variety of food on offer at such a high standard. Melburnians take their food very seriously and the hospitality industry here is highly competitive.

In a lot of ways, Melbourne restaurants remind me of the ones you'd find in New York City. Most restaurants are small typically seating between 50 to 100 diners at one time. You won't find a lot of chain restaurants or franchises here either. That's not to say that these types of places don't exist, but they are certainly outnumbered by the individually owned and operated restaurants. This guarantees that most restaurants you go into here are unique, both in their decor and menu selections.

With a multicultural population, Melbourne has a little bit of everything. There are neighbourhoods where certain cultures are concentrated and you'll find restaurants, grocery stores, and retail shops all catering to that particular segment of the population. In some cases, it can feel as if you've actually left Australia and stepped on to the streets of Vietnam, or Lebanon, or China--depending of course on which neighbourhood you are in.

Our jaunt this afternoon took us to the predominantly Middle Eastern neighbourhood of Brunswick and the lovely shops and restaurants that line Sydney Road. Sydney Road is home to all things Middle Eastern. If you want good Turkish food, it's here. If you are after fresh Lebanese bread, it's here. If you want Halal meats, it's here. I would argue that anything you need to cook a Middle Eastern dish could be found in the shops that line both sides of the street.

Our destination today was A-1 Lebanese Bakery. The name is somewhat misleading because A-1 Bakery is not solely a bakery, it's much, much more. It's also a fully stocked Middle Eastern grocery store where you can find a plethora of goods including a variety of nuts, rose water, or apple flavoured tobacco for your arguile. If being a bakery and grocery store wasn't enough, A-1 is also a cafe which serves Lebanese baked goods (obviously), as well as traditional sweets and coffees.

The Handsome Australian is of Lebanese heritage and he loves to visit A-1. The staff there are almost entirely Lebanese and the clientele are a mix of local Lebanese and those 'in the know'. We fit both bills I suppose--the Handsome Australian is a local Lebanese and because of him, I'm in the know! It's good to know, really, really good to know.

Today we feasted on a bounty of baked delights. At the heart of our meal was the small, thin pizza crust type pastry topped with a variety of toppings. The two most typical toppings on these 'Lebanese pizzas', as we describe them to our young daughter, are the Lahme and the Zaatar. Lahme is minced lamb with a touch of tomato and spices on the thin pizza base. Zaatar is a herb mix, that has been described to me by my mother-in-law as a wild oregano, mixed with olive oil on top of the pizza base. It tastes quite tangy and is definitely a take it or leave it flavour--meaning you either like it or you don't.

Over the years, A-1 has become quite creative with their toppings and today we had one of everything on the menu. It was a great way to sample the new combinations as well as enjoy our old favourites. We couldn't finish everything we ordered, but these pastries pack up nicely and can be reheated at home later. That's dinner, sorted.

As we waited for our food to come out, the Handsome Australian delighted in showing our children the photographs of his mother's village in Lebanon that grace the walls of the bakery. They were duly fascinated and should probably get used to such geography lessons, because I'm sure the same one will be repeated tirelessly each time we visit the bakery. The Lebanese are a very proud people and the Handsome Australian isn't an exception.

We are so fortunate here in Melbourne to have such wonderful little gems just a short drive from our very doorstep. It's yet another thing that makes life in Melbourne very interesting indeed.

Learn the Lingo
flavour = flavor
lahme = minced lamb pizza (in this case--more generally it means 'meat')
zaatar = mixed herb pizza (in this case--more generally it refers to the herb mix itself)
arguile = ancient water pipe used to smoke flavoured tobaccos
Melburnians = people who live in Melbourne