It’s been about a year since I started this blog, and over the past three months I’ve been posting sporadically, if at all. I do have around 30 posts sitting in drafts, but I’ve just been so busy out there living life – work, sport, play – that I haven’t had a chance to write up all that many.
I have also really been getting into the fun of cooking at home – and, conversely, felt more and more embarrassed about whipping out my iPhone to take photos of the food I’m eating when I’m out and about. It feels like I’m disturbing the natural flow of the meal by stopping people from digging into their delicious looking dinners as soon as they arrive!
Plus, I read a lot of other food blogs focussed around restaurant reviews, where their photos are far, far better than mine. You know, for a start they’re taken with proper cameras with SLRs, and I seem to have lost the battery charger for my digital point-and-shoot camera, so I’m already starting on the back foot!
So…. what does this all lead to? I’m seeing a sign here about where I’d like the blog to be focussed in its second year of life!
Originally I thought perhaps I’d write restaurant reviews that relied on the strength of the words to describe what was going on, rather than beautiful pictures (play to my strengths!). This would be more like a traditional newspaper review, where the sole photo that runs with the story is typically an interior shot of the restaurant, or one ‘signature dish’. I’m not dismissing this option – if I go out for a meal that really strikes me as amazing, or interesting, or just god-damn awful, I will probably still write about it.
However, I think for The Second Year my primary focus will be on experimenting in the kitchen, with others’ recipes but also my own, and documenting the results. Whether this turns out to be an electronic version of my handwritten cookery notebook, or merely a bunch of celebrity chef recipe reviews “Jamie, I couldn’t achieve that in 15/30/60 minutes!”…? Time will tell!
I hope my regular readers will enjoy the journey (yes hellooo Mum!) and I think with a narrower focus it will be less of a time commitment for me to post regularly.
So – I have December to clear the backlog of restaurants! Expect a few posts with photos to filter through soon, but here’s a few I’ve been to recently and didn’t take any photos:
- Lupino (Little Collins Street, CBD) – great, not-too-expensive Italian food with lovely service and delicious chewy bread. Had been raved about by coworkers but it took me this long to get there. I had a lamb backstrap special that was TDF. And they gave us a whole bowl of fresh chillies in oil to spice up our food if we wanted.
- Firechief (Camberwell) – amazing variety of pizzas, I had crudo – prosciutto, mozzarella, basil, tomato from the woodfired oven, also had a selection of “Australian favourites” (done well) for Mr B, plus super convenient to the Rivoli if you’re combining with a movie – just make sure you leave plenty of time as once the place fills up service can get a bit slow. Can be filled with families with loud children. I’d liken it to a posh, delicious version of Sofias with 100% less food poisoning worries.
- Payom Thai (Vermont) – nice local Thai food, friendly service & lovely decor, BYO but does charge a bit for corkage (although to be fair we did have six bottles of sparkling sitting on the table) just be careful about parking your car in Canterbury Road because a friend came back to find all four tyres slashed and the car keyed on both sides! In sleepy Vermont/Mitcham!
- Senoritas (Meyers Place, CBD) – great tacos, fun drinks (say yes to michelada!) and really nice internal decor based around the Mexican Day of the Dead. As I spent six weeks in Mexico once it does feel SO expensive but it also makes me happy that Melbourne is finally giving me food of the standard I ate when I was over there, so I’ll suck it up and pay the price. Plus, have you seen the prices at Taco Bill recently? That place is not cheap! Well, the food is.
Fresh Bread 