Melbourne Patron

Collingwood's newest 'it' place is another one hidden in the guts of the suburb. No shiny Smith Street lights for this dark horse. Le Bon Ton  (51 Gipps Street, Collingwood), which takes its name from an old-time New Orleans phrase, laissez les bon temps rouler ('let the good times roll'), is a curiously appealing mixture of the moodily subtle and brightly obvious. Owned by two American brothers, Will and Mick Balleau (old hospitality hands, with their Richmond venture Chingon ), and assisted in the kitchen by another two American brothers, Jeremy and Christopher Sutphin (ex- Fog ), Le Bon Ton is a venture in Belle  Èpoque- e ra romanticism. The décor is impressive: exposed brick walls, polished cement floors, a bar overlaid and finished with bright copper and wood panelling, ornate touches in upholstery and lighting, and an astro-turfed courtyard with beautifully-strung fairy lights (and she's SOLD!), with the operational smoke pit to one side. ...

Long overdue for a catch-up, my chef-ex-housemate and I met for dinner one cold evening in July. Naturally, being interested in food, he's a good one to take to new restaurants, and I'd heard The Town Mouse (312 Drummond Street, Carlton - in the old Embrasse site) described as a cool little local. Cool, indeed, it is - a far more modern, schmick affair than the comfy, chilled-out "local" I'd envisaged. It didn't match my expectations, but that's not to say it wasn't pretty excellent. I arrived early and waited for a bit under a heater out the front. The fairy lights overhead added a magical touch (but then, I'm a sucker for pretty lights) - as did the gold lettering of the restaurant's signage. Through the window, I could check out the goings-on inside: it seemed very clean, bright, and not overly busy, but it was early yet. By the time we left, it had filled up completely. A central bar in a strange, rounded, sort of kidney s...

Aside from MONA , two areas of Hobart that people kept recommending were Battery Point and Salamanca . Since we were staying in the CBD within walking distance from both, we were easily able to check them out. On our first night in Hobart (after the exhausting but illustrious start to our trip - and a two-hour nanna nap!), we decided to check out the Shipwright's Arms Hotel in Battery Point, or " Shippies ", as it's known to locals. A traditional-style pub, Shippies is best known for its link to the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race : it has long been a favourite with crew members and spectators alike. Sadly, it was too dark outside and too packed inside for me to get many decent photos. The front bar is very old-school, with a wooden centre bar, brick walls, sporting paraphernalia and TV screens - and, when we entered, it appeared to be men-only. (Had we unwittingly stepped into the nineteenth century?! Should we have worn our bonnets and corsets, and carried em...

The first thing any Adelaidean will tell you about the Fringe Festival is that "The Garden" is an absoulte MUST. A sectioned-off part of Rundle Park at the north-eastern corner of the CBD, The Garden of Unearthly Delights  (cnr East Terrace & Rundle Road) is essentially the hub for All Things 'Fringe'. Here, for the duration of the Festival, you can buy or collect tickets, attend shows in any one of the on-site 'venues' (mainly tents like you'd find at a circus), buy merchandise, get a food or drink fix, shop at market stalls, attend events, lounge around on the grass or chairs and watch people or the free entertainment, take the kids on rides... and the list goes on. The Garden is set up like an old-fashioned fair: elaborately decorated caravans housing food stalls, games and tickets; various stages and 'big top' style, colourful tents; wooden painted signs, flags, mirrors and coloured lights. It is loosely divided int...