mmmm, melbourne (food part 1)

As a New Yorker, I hate and love to say that I'm a food snob. Everyone in New York calls themselves a foodie, which I refuse to do since the argument has been made that everyone on earth is a Foodie. We all love food and must to survive... big, giant, DUH. I don't call myself a "sleepie" because I love sleep and know the best kinds of beds. Foodie is also not a job title, people... do you think Adam Platt tells people he's a foodie when they ask what he does? NO - he's a professional restaurant critic. Back to my point - regardless of being a "foodie" or not, if there is one thing we know, it's that New York has the best cuisine in America - HANDS DOWN. Therefore I am a snob about it. If you don't agree, you have never visited. If you have visited and don't agree, your tour guide/friend was clearly terrible and took you to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Times Square. No other explaination. And before you come at me with all sorts of nonsense about the best BBQ place in Texas or the best cuban place in Florida - I'm saying as a whole New York food is head and shoulders above any other city. GAH, you're not even fighting me and I can already feel the backlash.

So, I was more than pleasantly surprised that Australia has RIDICULOUS food. I even found out that when people travel to New York they expect the food to be BAD - whaaaa??? Yeah. So, confusion aside here are my top picks! (and one miss):

MoVida (Melbourne) - spanish amazingness

After a failed attempt to go to a recommended spot, Mamasita (the line was out to the street), we ended up at MoVida. It's busy with a post-work, yet cool crowd. We waited about 10 minutes before being seated at the bar. They really hit the nail on the head with their spanish tapas style menu. We nommed on a spanish pork + pepper sandwich, a beetroot salad, an out of this world spanish meat board and various other delicious things. PLUS, a really nice rioja to tie it all together. As far as the location - while it is downtown, it's tucked away on this cool little side street, so it doesn't have the corporate vibe that might normally go with downtown resto. GO. Go, now!

Pelligrini's (Melbourne) - Hole in the wall Italian

After a SECOND failed attempt at Mamasita's (ughhhh! conquest for next time), we went with our back up recc of Pelligrini's. I honestly wasn't sure if we made a mistake when we walked in. It's a dingy little diner style restaurant. No one offers to seat you and there are no menus handed out. The noise level is a bit above minimum as almost everyone has their head down in their pasta bowl with a pink drink to their right. Whatever, we were starving so we gave it a shot. Turns out the pink drink was watermelon juice and they serve some of the best lasagna I've EVER put in my mouth (and again... coming from someone who is well versed in an Italian kitchen). I can see how it does get negative reviews - it's not a normal restaurant experience. You go in, you eat, you pay, you leave. No fluff. I don't know about the rest of the "menu" - but a stop in is well worth it for the lasagna. 

29th Apartment (St. Kilda, Melbourne) - bar food perfection

On one of our only days off, we wandered down to St. Kilda to walk around the bay. We were there at an odd time, but were STARVING. Our eating schedule is severely off due to our non-stop travelin. It can be a real hassle. We found a spot that was JUST opening and sat down at the bar to grab some food. Turns out they were going for an "American" vibe, which I still find funny since very little cuisine is really ours. We got a dip plate, a caramelized onion pizza, and a burger. ALL exceeded expectations! It tried to be messy, I could tell, but they were just too good at putting it all together. The decor tried to look like a messy New York apartment with oddly match furniture. For the most part, it succeeded. They also were setting up to have a vintage/young designer market that evening - so bummed I couldn't stick around for it. Looked like some amazing stuff. Ch ch ch check it if you have the chance and tell me how it is!

Papa Gino's (Lygon Street for Italian food, Melbourne) -  OUR MAJOR MISS

One of our first recc's in Melb was Lygon street for a Little Italy type atmosphere. We were DYING for some good pasta, so we were all about this experience. Except... it sucked. The pasta was overcooked, the parm was terribly breaded, the sauce was potentially from a jar, the antipasto left a lot to be desired. MAJOR BOMB. To sum it up, here is how my wonderful partner in life described the meal (to our server, much to my dismay).

Server: "So, how was it?" (hands us the bill)

Ron: "Average; I'd say mediocre at best"

 - Insert me with my head down looking anywhere but at this poor server - 

Server: "Oh..."

Ron: "I mean, I'm from New York - we have the best Italian food outside of Italy there"

Server: "So... it wasn't good."

Ron: "No... um, just... no. Sorry, man"

Gotta love him for speaking the truth! 

That's it for now. Be back soon! Commence the comments!

love,

b