Melbourne Patron

Heading towards the Palais for a Neil Finn/Paul Kelly concert, we wanted to grab a bite to eat in St Kilda first. Being somewhat broke, I wanted somewhere near the theatre, cheap and filling. A quick Google search revealed the convenient proximity of Joe's (formerly Greasy Joe's) - a St Kilda institution that I'd never been to. Joe's Bar and Diner  (64-66 Acland Street, St Kilda - near the McDonald's!) was rebranded from "Greasy Joe's" just recently, and now seems to be aiming for a clean, fun, American vibe. Burgers are a large feature of the menu and, happily, they hover around the $13 mark. Between 4.30 and 6.30pm is special time: any beer and any burger for $15 - apparently served with chips, as seemed to be the case when we were there. I don't drink beer so couldn't really take advantage of the deal, but I think my chips were thrown in as a gesture (or by accident). I went for something different: the "Lady of St Kilda...

My little sister had just arrived in town from Sydney with two friends, and I wanted to have a girly gasbag over dinner whilst showing them somewhere 'Melbourne' and funky. I picked Belle's Diner  (150 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy), which has been open for maybe a year (in the old Dante's site) and been quite a hit so far. It's slipped right in with Melbourne's 'Americana' craze: burgers, ribs, fried chicken, French fries... basically kitsch comfort food. But rather than overdoing the retro, Belle's Diner is very clean and fresh - a modern take on the prototypical diner. Located right in the guts of the ever-cool Gertrude Street, slowly building into an empire of awesome, it was going to be pretty difficult for Belle's to fail. We arrived at 7pm-ish on a 39-degree day, and it was surprisingly easy to grab a booth. But after five minutes there, we realised why: no (or poor) air con! Ohhhh. Nevertheless, we were seated and had wine and food wai...

On a 39-degree day, two days before Christmas, I wisely set out on foot (!) to find a half-decent cafe in my new 'hood. The one I'd aimed for, New York Tomato, was shut (boo hiss) and the next closest I knew of (proximity being the key factor when walking in 39-degree heat) was Three Bags Full (39 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford). Technically, I'd walked through three suburbs to get there (East Melbourne, Richmond, Abbotsford), so I was pretty adamant I wanted a table, water and caffeination ASAP. Fortunately, being on my own meant no waiting time as it is much easier to seat one patron than two, even at a place as regularly busy as Three Bags Full. (I should drop a 'four' in here somewhere, but frankly my brain won't extend that far today.) Happily seated at the window in brisk air-con with ice water at hand, I started feeling better. Much more so when my delicious 45ml shot coffee arrived, neatly accompanied by a sugary shortbready biscuity thing (possibly for...