Pizza D'Asporto

2-6 Ballarat Street
Yarraville
Victoria 3013

After watching a film at the Sun Theatre, we headed next door to Pizza D'Asporto. The venue is actually quite small, with a heated outdoor area featuring shared tables...

...and equally cosy interior. There is also another space upstairs, but that was occupied by a function on the Saturday evening we were there. We'd enjoyed coffees from the Kiosk at Williamstown beach, but hadn't tried the original branch in the Rifle Range shopping centre.

Given how busy the restaurant was, it turned out that the reservation was a good move, our spot was on the heated and semi closed in terrace on a large table shared with another 4 diners. Once we got settled we had enough room, and set about perusing the menu. Despite the indications that we needed to order at the counter, our waitress was happy to take our orders for food and drink.

Phil selected the pork and fennel ragu which arrived first, several minutes before our other dishes, It featured casareccie pasta with a braised pork and fennel ragu, and was enjoyed, although the rich pork flavours pretty much drowned out those of the fennel.

My Ortolana Pizza was topped with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, mushroom and olives. The base was great, authentic with big soft crust and a thin centre. The veggies were flavoursome and perfectly cooked.

The daily 'special' came with the better half's favourite, anchovies, along with olives, onions and fresh basil. The salty fish were noted as being particularly good.

Including 4 drinks, the bill came to $89. The service was great given the crowded venue, the only small gripe being the dishes arriving with a slight gap. There are so many great Pizza spots in the inner west these days, but this must be up there in terms Yarraville options!

 

Errols, North Melbourne

69 - 71 Errol Street
North Melbourne
VIC 3051

We booked a tables at Errol's using an online 50% off food offer for an early evening meal, on what turned out to be a pleasant Autumn day. We got a table outside on the street the establishment takes it's name from and a few of the the other alfresco tables were also occupied. The menu offered 'modern Australian with an Italian and Lebanese influences.

The 'Gourmet Bruschetta' was a little different to the traditional version, with the cherry tomatoes being halved rather than diced, no indication the bread had been rubbed with garlic or much olive oil. The spanish onion, bocconcini, basil, rocket and balsamic vinegar resulted in a different look and not what we'd hoped for.

The croquettes were filled with a combination of potato, dill and feta, on the side was a herb mayo and small green salad. The mayo looked a bit old and the croquettes a bit bland.

I ordered the Spaghetti Marinara which came with a fair amount of prawns, scallops, calamari, fish and cherry tomatoes. The thyme, butter and white wine sauce was a little heavy butter for my tastes.

The Lamb and Onion Agnolotti with mushroom and thyme jus was disappointing, the pasta was dry and hard, the filling tasted average as did the jus.

The service was efficient and friendly. The bill came in around $60 with a few drinks and the deal applied. Overall the food didn't live up to our hopes and I doubt we'll be heading back soon.

Clyde Park Pizzas

Food Stall at the Golden Plains Festival
Meredith
Vic 3333

The better half had previously enjoyed a visit to the Clyde Park Winery so I took the chance to sample one of their pizzas while we were at the Golden Plains Festival, near Meredith. We'd passed the winery itself on our drive on the A300 Geelong to Ballarat road.

The pizza's generally eschewed tradition, but I decided to stick with the original margarita. I only had a short wait despite the stand seeming reasonably busy. The  woodfired oven turned the simple combination of tomato, mozzarella, baby bo-cconcini and herbs into a tasty treat.

The only downside to the meal was the food envy resulted in not all of it remaining mine! Oh well it's good to share... If we see the tent or pass the winery again we'll be likely to try it again.

The European Bier Cafe

120 Exhibition Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000

I met up with some furthr colleagues at the European Bier Cafe as it was a convenient a location for us all.

We found ourselves a booth table ordered at the bar and then had a bit of a wait before the food started arriving...

My Margherita pizza was the first meal to turn up. The crisp scone dough base was topped with sliced tomato, buffalo mozzarella and a fresh basil oil/paste. The fresh flavoursome ingreadients lifted it above my initial assessment and it was hard to fault the value for $10.

The remaining meals arrived over the next five or ten minutes, and once they got their dishes everyone seemed happy, but I didn't get too many details so from here on in it's pictures only.

The pepperoni with salami, mozzarella and fresh parsley:

Nachos with cheese, jalapeños, sour cream and house made guacamole:

Onion rings:

The zucchini and eggplant lasagne with salad and chips:

Penne with pumpkin, spinach, red onion, garlic, pesto, parmesan, veg and cream:

In the end I had to dash off as we'd had a fairly long wait, but that would be only real negative about the meal. The European Bier Cafe is a good option for pub style food and pizza's at this end of town.

Ciao Bella, Balnarring

2998 Frankston-Flinders Road
Balnarring
Victoria 3926

We popped into Ciao Bella in the afternoon to check it out and booked a table. The small frontage hidden behind the greenery disguises a deceptively larger space inside, as well as a covered outdoor area.

Most of the tables were taken when we arrived around 7pm on a Saturday, the interior had a casual rustic feel. As well as the main menu there were specials on offer.

We ended up sticking with the pizzas on the main list. The Ciao Bella features portobello and brown mushrooms, mozzarella, Fontina cheese, Parma prosciutto, truffle oil and thyme.

I went for the traditional Napoletana with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, black anchovies, black olives, oregano. The base thin and crisp around the edges benefiting from the wood fired oven. The quality of the ingredients resulted in explosions of flavour.

The service was very quick, with our meals arriving within about ten minutes of ordering, I guess thay were ready for the number of patrons! The bill came to $64 including a couple of drinks and we'd happily return if we were in town again.

Ristorante Da Angelo, Battery Point, Hobart

47 Hampden Road
Battery Point
Tasmania 7004

We'd heard that Ristorante Da Angelo was something of a Hobart institution so we thought we'd give it a try on a recent visit.

Down stairs was a a bit of a warren of smaller interconnected rooms, including a front waiting/bar area bedecked in photo's of clients, including a few well known faces. We were upstairs, in an area which a couple of groups and a few smaller tables ate while we were there. The décor certainly supported the idea that they had been open for a while!

We kicked off with the bruschetta pizza bread which was topped with fresh tomato, basil, garlic, and cheese which easily staved off the hunger pangs before our mains arrived.

I had the Spinaci, spinach and potato gnocchi served with napoletana sauce. The housemade gnocchi were light and the sauce complimented them well.

The macaroni puttanesca, with its garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, chilli, napoletana sauce was also a winner. The classic dish had all the right ingredients combined perfectly.

A bonus was the BYO option, which we took advantage of. The food bill came in at $57.50 and we were well satisfied. The service coped with busy restaurant easily and was very friendly, we even had a chat with t he owner on the way out. If you are looking for classic Italian in Hobart, Da Angelo is the  Ristorante for you!

Fox in the Corn

4 Droop Street
Footscray 
VIC 3011

After meaning to visit Fox in the Corn since it opened about a year ago we finally made it down on an early Autumn Friday evening. The street frontage is fairly unobtrusive, with subtle branding on the windows.

Inside there are a combination of wooden booths along with some longer timber tables in the center.

The bar at the back features a pump with 8 craft beers on offer and views into the kitchen. The beer menu featured many more ales.The food menu featured a range of pasta which can be served with a variety of sauces, mix and match style.

We shared some of the mixed local Mount Zero olives as an entrée. This ended up being a good call as our mains ended up taking around 45 minutes to arrive.

The fresh cherry tomato with buffalo mozzarella, basil and olive oil with the linguine which lived up to expectations.

I had the oven roasted vegetables on linguine with napoli sauce, panko and parsley. The roasted veggies and sauce combined to deliver a punch of rich organic flavours.

The long wait for our meals cast a shadow over our experience at Fox in the Corn, but the rest of the service was friendly and helpful. The mains start at under $20 for a filling dish and the beers were ranged from $8. The environment was quite noisy on a Friday evening and it would be a good to spot to dine with a group when it is lively.

The Mess Hall

51 Bourke Street
Melbourne
Vic 3000

We visited the Mess Hall on a warm summers evening and momentarily thought about sitting outside....

...before heading inside to stick with the table we'd reserved towards the back of the establishment.

The skylight ensured we had a bright spot to dine in.

A window and door provided views back into the kitchen area.

There were some interesting specials on offer in addition to the Northern Italian influenced menu.

We shared the Polenta chips with aioli and a sprinkle of parmesan for entree, and all enjoyed them.

I went for the beetroot, pea, goat cheese and pinenut risotto which gained a vibrant colouring from its key ingredient. The flavours were more subtle, which was probably a good thing!

The handmade tagliolini with blue swimmer crab, rocket, garlic and lemon zest came had plenty of seafood, the picture doesn't quite do it justice. It was certainly happily devoured.

The slow cooked ox cheek was super tender and richly flavoured. It came with a cauliflower puree  and gremolata.

The service was friendly and relaxed all evening. The bill came in at $133 including a few drinks, which seemed fair given the quality of the meals and we would happily return to