Melbourne Patron

In early June, a group of friends and I spent the Queen's Birthday long weekend in Queenscliff, a 1.5 hour drive south of Melbourne. We hired a holiday house only a block from the main street, where we cooked, drank, and played a lot of poker. We also attempted to fish for squid off the pier, on the coldest and wettest day of the weekend; watched a steam train rejig its carriages at the historic Queenscliff station; took walks along the water and checked out the marina; and finished up the weekend at Point Lonsdale's spectacular lighthouse. It was the perfect winter holiday. Here are a few of my pics. Squid fishing Queenscliff pier shelter Water life A cold view Steam train at Queenscliff Station Steam train steaming Local boat dock Pelican, boat and bridge Suburbia Queenscliff Marina 360Q observation tower Point Lonsdale Pier Running on pier - older boy (1 of 3) Running on pier - older boy (2 of 3) Runnin...

I've lived in East Melbourne for six months and I am a serial weekend bruncher. My housemate and I are fortunate to have some excellent cafes nearby, including Proud Mary , Three Bags Full , Grocery Bar , New York Tomato and recent Victoria Street addition,  Little Big Sugar Salt . But one of my new favourites is South of Johnston (46 Oxford Street, Collingwood), more lovingly known as SoJo. SoJo is actually quite a bit south of Johnston Street, not just south of it, as the name would suggest. In fact, the restaurant site is just south of Peel Street, but I guess SoPeel doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Or North of Langridge... NoLang?! Mmmmmyeahsoanyway... Reasons I like SoJo It's walking distance from my house. Extremely important when you're a caffeine addict and have no car.  It's spacious, so although it gets quite busy, you never have to wait too long for a table. (Plus, my housemate has a magic touch when it comes to waiting times: n...

Most public holidays, the excellent publication Broadsheet kindly creates a list of venues across town that will be trading. At the time of writing, this year's list only seem to cater for Melbourne and Sydney (as per their website currently), but if you're in one of those cities and, like me, will require caffeination and at least one brunch hit while the Easter Bunny's in town, check it out. Broadsheet 2013: Who's Open Over Easter Melbourne Sydney

A former colleague of mine decided to celebrate her birthday with Sunday afternoon drinks on a long weekend. Drinks in the sun... with fabulous friends... and a Monday Public Holiday to recover... Hell, don't mind if I do! The birthday girl specified the Belgian Beer Garden as the venue, without realising that (a) there is another Belgian Beer Cafe  at Southbank, or that (b) the St Kilda Road venue that she meant had recently changed its name. Once it had all been clarified, she and about 20 guests found ourselves gathered at what is now known as the Village Brasserie (557 St Kilda Road, Melbourne).  It's a fantastic beer garden. Huge, set among neat lawns and tall shady trees, with long wooden benches, umbrellas, and a long, well-manned bar; all under the pleasant backdrop of a historic building that houses the restaurant. According to the website, the entire venue is under development with the aim of "expanding and creating a village with many new, exciti...