Eating it up in Brisbane

A few weeks ago I took a nice little long weekend in Brisbane. I love Brisbane, its warm, the bogans are hilarious, and the seafood is everywhere! You can get a Morton Bay bug until 3am in the Queen Street Mall, and that is something Melbourne just can't compete with. 

One of the rather interesting places I ate at was Vapiano's . It was a combination between a trendy bar and fasta pasta. Its a concept, and for most purposes it seems to work well.

When you walk in you are given a card, which you swipe to purchase everything, and pay at the end. There is a line for the bar, a line for pizza, and a line for pasta. Tables are mostly communal, and I recommend finding a place to perch before braving the pasta line. 

And this is Vapiano's weak point. While I lined up for the pizza, my friend lined up for the pasta....she waited...and waited....and waited. The pasta is cooked while you are standing in line. But the pizza isn't. If there were less people in line, maybe the pizza and pasta would be in sync, but instead I sat at our table, all alone, for almost half an hour. The cute little pots of herbs on the tables kept me entertained for a few minutes though. 

The food is pretty good value for money, and everything tasted quite fresh. We had pesto, baby spinach and prawn pasta, and parmesan, prosciutto and chili pizza.  We stayed until they turned the lights out. 

Death by cupcake

It was my turn to volunteer for the monthly morning tea at work, so i whipped these bad boys up!

On the left you have coffee cream, and on the right you have earl grey. On the top left, is an example of how much butter went into them. Mmmmm, death by cupcake.

Small Block

Small Block is one of those places that sometimes I love, and sometimes I hate. 

I hate it when I have to sit on the stairs, in the way, waiting for a table. I love it when I have the day off work, and the staff is relaxed. I hate it when hipsters sit outside, sipping too slowly on their soy lattes, smoking their cigarettes, and taking up a table I could be sitting at. But can you really give a cafe a bad review because its too popular? Probably not, and I won't. 

On a rather lovely Wednesday I was feeling quite unwell. With hardly any will to live and no energy to cook for myself, I staggered down the road and ordered scrambled fetta and pesto eggs, latte and OJ. By no means was the cafe empty, but the service was quick. I am always amazed by the number of people who have nothing better to do midweek, at 2 in the afternoon, but drink coffee and eat eggs. Clearly I am jealous. But I enjoyed my eggs, and the coffee was and always is fab.

Best Sunday Roast in Melbourne - Contender # 1 The Gem

As winter rolls in my appetite for hearty warm meals grows. And so, my search for the best Sunday Roast in Melbourne begins. I estimate that I have at least 3 months worth of cravings up my sleave, and an eating partner with an insatiable taste for roasted meats.

The search begins at The Gem, 289 Wellington Street, Collingwood. The Gem is a little rough around the edges. The walls are plastered with gig posters and the pool table is missing a ball. All these things add to the warm, no bullshit atmosphere of the pub.

Onto the meal. For $18 you have a choice of roast pork or lamb, with veggies and Yorkshire pudding. The lamb is a good size meal, with juicy meat, gravy, roast potatoes, parsnip, carrots and peas. Best of all is the yorky pud. Yum, yum, yum. My fellow dinner says in summary, "at first I was mad that the pudding was soaking up all my gravy, then I took a bite and I was in heaven. Gravy heaven. I would come back for the gravy alone".

Now I don't know if the Gem is going to be the best roast in Melbourne, but for the first cab off the rank, the standard has been set. My only critique is that the potatoes could have been better roasted, and I am not a fan of frozen peas, ever. At $18, the Gem represents good value.

Have you eaten at The Gem?