Melbourne Patron

I am fonda Mexican. Boo-doom-TISH! Side wall of Fonda Mexican, Richmond Actually, I'm not that fond of Mexican. I used to be very anti-chilli - thankfully, not the case anymore, although I still prefer other people to cook with chilli for me, rather than cook it myself. Plus, Australia wasn't so fortunate in the '80s and '90s as it is now, with such a large spectrum of international cuisines available to us - so I never grew up eating Mexican food. Then, when I did, it was mainly crappy Tex-Mex: lots of heavy, fried, oily, cheesy stuff that actually barely resembles Real Mexican food. Only in the last few years have Melburnians been privy to (hopefully more) genuine Mexican flavours - and fresh ingredients - through the likes of Mamasita , Chingon , Acland St Cantina , and Fonda Mexican . So, I'm coming around. :) Fish taco from Fonda Mexican, Richmond In 2001, David Youl and Tim McDonald opened the original Fonda Mexican at 248 Swan Street, Richmond...

It has been months since I ate at Tonka (20 Duckboard Place, Melbourne). My work crew chose it as the venue for our 2013 Christmas lunch, and the photos I took have been lying in wait (taunting me!) ever since. It's not that I didn't want to write it up; but I've had a backlog of posts to write - and the delay possibly also says something about my reaction to Tonka: I didn't need to rush the write-up, because I knew it would still be there. Like its sister restaurant, the excellent Coda , Tonka boasts that X-factor: a mixture of classiness, cool design, warm service, and of course, high-quality, original food, accompanied by perfectly matched drinks. Tonka's take on food is widely seen as 'Modern Indian', although it's more Modern Australian/Indian, with touches of other influences. As one workmate put it, this place gives us "a fine dining version of Indian". In any case, it seems to have filled a gap in Melbourne's dining scene t...

My Mum's meatballs are pretty awesome. Mine are... okay. Considering they are effectively just lumps of meat, it's hard to see how anyone could turn them into AMAZE-balls and make a whole restaurant out of them. But add Wine, and I'll give anything a go.* The original Meatball & Wine Bar on Flinders Lane opened roughly a year and a half ago (? CITATION NEEDED! -- oh shit, this isn't Wiki ) to a strong reception, and still seems to be going well. I have heard a few "Meh, it's okay"-s, but equally as many, if not more, positive responses, and was keen to sample these balls. (By the way, it's near impossible to write or talk about this place without sounding naughteeeeee... but you can have a lot of fun with it.) Fortunately, MWB recently opened a second venue at 105 Swan Street, Richmond - so close to my work, I had no more excuses not to play ball. (Okay, that was bad, sorry.) I don't know what the city venue's like, but the ...