We’ve all got to eat so it might as well be good! I’ve been a restaurant critic for almost 20 years, and have been writing a weekly restaurant column in Melbourne’s Sunday Age since 2006.
My approach is to always take a restaurant on its own terms: there’s no point slamming a burger joint because it doesn’t have white tablecloths. I try to be constructive in my criticism and I’ve always got the diner in mind: there are many places you could choose to go. Why should it be here?
What's the sound of Thai food? If you're at BKK, the easygoing bar/restaurant off Chapel Street, it's the crunch of betel leaves, herbs and peanuts, the clack of chopsticks as you try (and, if you're me, fail) to pick up slippery rice noodles and the preoccupied "mmm-mh" when someone asks you if the food is tasty.
You know those people who touch food and it turns to gold? Mama Manoush's Elizabeth Kairouz, 50, is one of those culinary alchemists. She'll tell someone a recipe, exactly, and they'll follow it assiduously, but they always say the same thing: "It just doesn't taste like yours." She shrugs. "What can I do? I tell them, 'Take my hand.' That's the only thing that's different."
Apricot chicken. Vol au vents. Everything tuna. Fondue. Should retro dishes be brought back to centre stage or relegated to the menus of history?
While we had a cake in the oven I grabbed the lovely Sophia from Thermomix Baking Blogger for a chat about sourdough, a topic that's close to both of our hearts, but can seem very spooky and mysterious if you've never encountered it before.
Listen to my chilli chat on the radio, learn some hot and spicy chilli facts and check out some of my favourite chilli recipes.
Tolarno Eating House and Bar Back to restaurant reviews 42 Fitzroy St. St Kilda, VIC 3182 My score: 3.5/5 Fitzroy Street is on the up and ...
Gourmet Paddock's interior features an elevated wine rack stocked with local drops. Photo: Paul Jeffers Back to restaurant reviews 2 8 Russell St. Balnarring, ...
The central bar dominates the pub. Photo: Paul Jeffers Back to restaurant reviews 43 Victoria St. Footscray, VIC 3011 My score: 4/5 I didn't ...
Buzzing: the cafe inside the sprawling LaManna supermarket at Essendon Fields. Photo: Eddie Jim Back to restaurant reviews 10 English St. Essendon Fields, VIC ...
