Melbourne- Odds and Ends (The Food and Drinks)

I didn't photograph all of my food during the trip, but I did get some good snaps during my last week in Melbourne. If there's one good thing about being in a big city, it's that you can find all sorts of food. 

One of the days while Al was at work, I moseyed over to Spud Bar for lunch. There are lots of locations around Melbourne, and there are two in Western Australia (I'm not sure if those locations are near Perth). Here, everything revolves around the potato, and everything comes out fast. However, you won't find your potato deep-fried in oil like so many fast food places. Instead, you can choose from dozens of healthy toppings and menu options. You can also sub a sweet potato if you desire. 

I ordered the Tuna Melt, which was shredded cheese (but not an excessive amount), tuna with spring onions, corn and egg mayo, shredded cabbage, carrot, peas, and tzatziki sauce over a baked potato. I didn't know how these flavor combinations would go together, but I really enjoyed it. The cheese wasn't overpowering, so it didn't compete with the tastes of the tzatziki and the tuna. I was also full before I even finished half of it. 

The front windows to the restaurant were removed since the weather was so nice, so I sat at the bench along the front and felt just like I was sitting outside. I also enjoyed my book. 

A few days later, I walked to the edge of the city to meet Al for a drink after work. We went to Riverland, which is my favorite pub in Melbourne. They have a huge beer garden that looks out onto the Yarra River, and it is always packed with people with good weather. There were no chairs for the two of us, so we sat on a bench. 

After that, we took a tram closer to his area so that we could eat dinner. I told him that I saw some hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurants that looked really good around there, so we chose one of those called Ecco. As I suspected, it was perfectly Italian. They asked us if we wanted sparkling water or still water (they will always ask you that in Italy), the decor was very simple (just like a restaurant in Italy), and the pizzas were just as authentic as any good pizza you could eat over there. 

I ordered a wood-fired white pizza called Bresaola e Miele Tartufato, which had fresh mozzarella cheese, bresaola (cured beef), grana padano (a hard cheese similar to parmesan), arugula, and truffled honey. It was one of the best pizzas I've ever had. The combination of the truffled honey and cheese could have been enough to make me go back for this every night. Also, like most thin-crust Italian pizzas, you can eat the entire plate without feeling stuffed. 

Al got a basic margherita pizza with prosciutto. He also finished everything that he ordered without feeling too full. We felt the way that we should feel: satisfied. 

The next morning, we took a day trip to the Mornington Peninsula so that we could visit the T'Gallant Winery for lunch. It took us a little over an hour to get there from Melbourne. 

I was so excited to get there and have a relaxing lunch with Al while looking out onto the vineyards, but I soon learned that that was impossible. T'Gallant has a cellar door, but their main attraction is their restaurant that caters to people of all ages. As soon as we got there, we were dodging small children, strollers, swarms of family gatherings, and a lot of hungry people waiting in line to order their food. Unfortunately, it was not the idea I had for an afternoon at a winery. 

We couldn't find anywhere for the two of us to sit outside, so we sat in a depressing dining room off to the side of the kitchen. While Al held our seat, I went to order our food. I waited in line for twenty minutes, and I quickly learned that I wasn't able to stand anywhere without being in somebody's way. I couldn't begin to count how many times I was asked to move. It was extremely irritating, but I was eventually able to get to the front of the line and order. 

Al and I split a large pizza. Half was zucchini with pine nuts and arugula (mine) and the other half was a margherita (Al's). The food was good, but I still can't say it was worth the aggravation (nor was it as good as the pizza from the night before). 

We visited the cellar door for a quick wine tasting after lunch. I enjoyed the wine (and also bought two bottles with a 50% discount thanks to Al), but the person pouring our wine didn't talk to us at all or give us much attention. He was busy talking to another couple, and it didn't seem like he wanted us there. That was a bit of a bummer. 

I wish that it could have been a better experience. I would have liked it a lot more if it wasn't so touristy. I loved, however, that their wines have Shakespearean names such as Romeo and Juliet. Their labels were gorgeous, but I think I'd rather to go a retailer than have to go back there again. Maybe it was just a bad day to go there. 

Afterwards, we drove to Arthur's Seat, which is a hill that overlooks the ocean. We walked out to the popular lookout point. It was very pretty, although it would have been better if there were not so many trees in the way. Luckily, we ended up seeing some perfect views of the ocean on the way down the hill. 

That's all for Melbourne recaps!