Melbourne Patron

Good cafes are few and far between in Melbourne's CBD, so it is unsurprising that The Hardware Societe (120 Hardware Street, Melbourne) has created such a loyal following. Its name is regularly mentioned in foodie circles and it is often recommended to visitors. Having never set foot in the joint, I tried it for the first time this September, when my Dad and a business associate of his were in town. Perhaps it was the effect of all the hype - or I've been spoilt for choice by the hordes of excellent cafes in Melbourne - but although I found The Hardware Societe good, it wasn't amazing. Its location has obviously contributed to The Hardware Societe's success - halfway down a traffic-free laneway, bang in the middle of town, allowing for its regular queues to spill onto the street. I arrived at 9.45am on a Saturday to put our name on the list. The others arrived at 10am and we were seated by about 10.10am. Twenty-five minutes' wait... not too bad for such a rev...

Over the last few years, I have had the pleasure of attending the odd gig as part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival . I'm not generally a big listener of jazz, but I do enjoy it live - either a more traditional style, or something a bit more unusual and challenging. Years ago, after a relationship break-up, I took to listening to ABC Classic FM , which ran a late-night jazz show (possibly still does). In one particularly glum mood, I heard the alternately freakish and dulcet tones of David Liebman 's saxophone. It inspired me to buy one of the more unusual albums I own, a collection of his songs named after various colours (including the one I'd heard on the radio), aptly named Colors . It has kept me company in some of my oddest moods - because there is some music out there that magically fits those miniscule flashes of undefinable feelings that flit through our psyche. Ever since then, I have been much more open to trying different kinds of music, and in ...

There are some things you hear of and immediately think, 'Only in Melbourne!' Jafflechutes are one such thing. ...Jafflechutes, you say? What on earth are jafflechutes?! Well. Have you heard of jaffles? The toasted sandwiches that you make using an electric sandwich maker that squashes the sandwich's edges together, sculpts it so it kinda looks like a moulded cake, makes the outside all nice and toasty and crusty, and melts the cheese inside, so you end up with a hot, gooey, salty, hand-held piece of deliciousness? Now marry that with a parachute, and you have a jafflechute. Someone in this world not only had the amazing idea that a toasted sandwich could be thrown out a window attached to a parachute so it would float it down to its recipient, but then they actually put it into action. The someone was actually two people, Adam Grant and David McDonald, and the idea was born from Grant coming home one night having forgotten his keys. They were thrown down...

I'm so glad this is the only place I'm blogging about in this post, because FAR OUT BRUSSELS SPROUT, it deserves it. Gingerboy's main room: dark bamboo and changing colour end wall It was my birthday last week, and I am fortunate enough to work for a small company that celebrates its staff members' birthdays by treating us all to lunch. Having tried to coordinate previous birthday lunches unsuccessfully at Gingerboy  (27-29 Crossley Street, Melbourne), the anticipation (on my part, anyway) had been building for months. I really wanted to see why this restaurant so frequently tops 'best restaurant' lists in Melbourne. Surely it couldn't be that great?! I was dubious. I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. This place is fantastic. Or, to use an expression I'm rather fond of at the moment, it is AWSBALLZ. Again, housed on a laneway off the top end of Bourke Street (I promise I don't spend ALL my time in that part of town - sometime...