Melbourne Patron

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...

When I first arrived in Melbourne five years ago, I became good friends with Meyers Place in the CBD. It housed favourite haunts of mine, Lane's Edge and Waiter's Club , plus the small-but-funky Meyers Place Bar , the Deco-style  Lily Blacks and, at the laneway's end, on Little Collins, the ever-charming Bar Lourinha . Corner of Loop building on Meyers Place Halfway down was a bar I could never quite recall the name of, dark grey and moody-looking, with a few outdoor tables hosting mysterious, straight-faced smokers. After a few nights out in the area, I ventured within its walls, and discovered a cool, dark space with unfailingly grumpy-looking hipster staff, low cushioned seating and sections that could be reconfigured via roller curtains attached to the ceiling. More often than not, a private function was taking place at the back, making use of a small screening room, or beats were playing late on Saturdays, with colourful graphics thrown around a large screen. ...

This joint is the kind of joint you call a joint. Know what I mean? It's only been open a few months, and it ain't much to look at from the outside, but inside it's retro, kitsch, fun and loud. A funky lil downtown craft beer bar and pizza joint. Bar, complete with booths and disco ball Fluoro numbers let you know when your pizza's ready   Frankie's Pizza is marked by a fluoro sign outside its bouncer-minded doorway at 50 Hunter Street, Sydney. It doesn't appear to have a website as yet, or even a phone number, so you'll just have to trust me on this. Head down a stairwell and you'll find yourself in a friendly-feeling, dimly-lit pizza restaurant with classic red checked tablecloths and a central bar. Pizza is by the slice or by the pie and it's pretty decent: Spinach pizza Can't remember... Something like Capricciosa? Through a side door is where the real party hides. A long, dark den serves as the main bar...