Archive for November, 2009

Charcoal Lane

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

When you pay $14 for scrambled eggs and hash browns, you want everything to be close to perfect. Charcoal Lane (136 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy), a newish cafe/restaurant/social enterprise, ultimately fell short.

The scrambled eggs were well executed, reasonably fluffy and nicely seasoned. They were also listed as free range, and the serving was pretty generous. Even better were the hash browns, a mount of buttery, salty (but not too much so) grated potato.

scrambled eggs from Charcoal Lane
Apologies for the photo, taken after I’d started the dish

The dish was let down by the toast, which was made from thin slices of decidedly average bread. I wouldn’t quite say it was supermarket quality, but it was much too light and didn’t taste much like sourdough, as the menu promised.

My girlfriend ordered corn fritters, which came with a chutney, and were superb. The texture was just right, and you could actually taste the sweetness of the corn kernels.

The coffee wasn’t too bad, although I’m not too sure about the Bodum double walled coffee glasses my long black was served in. It did keep the coffee hot, but I don’t think it did the flavours any favours.

Charcoal Lane on Urbanspoon

Posted in Breakfast, Fitzroy | 1 Comment »

Barbagallo Trattoria e Pizzeria

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

With +39 Pizzeria & Degustation going gangbusters, there appears to be demand for good pizza in the Melbourne CBD. So, the opening of Barbagallo Trattoria e Pizzeria (103 Lonsdale St, Melbourne) seems like a no brainer.

It’s the new restaurant of Pietro Barbagallo, who started i Carusi fame, arguably the place that kicked off Melbourne’s pizza renaissance, so it’s a safe bet that the pizzas are going to be good, and they are.

The pizzas subscribe to the less-is-more theory, with minimal toppings. My salsiccia pizza was topped with passata, cheese, chilli, red onion and, of course, sausage. The flavours worked well together, but the passata could have been richer and the sausage could have been a little more multi-dimensional.

Salsiccia pizza

I also found the base a little bland, and worse still, by the time I had finished, it had turned a little soggy in the middle. To be fair though, it was only the first week, so it may be that they’re still getting used to the oven.

The biggest problem that I can see, however, is the pricing, with most pizzas sitting around the $18 mark. Given the Lonsdale Street location, I’d imagine they’re expecting to draw in the lunchtime crowd, but I think the pricing is a little steep. Drinks are also pricey, with pots of Trumer Pils costing $7.50.

WIth +39 serving up pizzas that are not only much cheaper (around $12), but also better in my opinion, Barbagallo Trattoria e Pizzeria still has a bit of work to do.

Posted in Melbourne (CBD), Pizza | 5 Comments »