Neils gift to the world

Every now and then a product or piece of produce comes along and just blows me out of the water. I’m glad to say I’m far on dry land after trying Neil Prentice’s Wagu Bresaola. Fed on grass, these gorgeous cows are treated like gods and taken very well care of. It really shows that a happy animal makes bloody tasty meat.
I was recently given some… and by “some” I mean 2 whole kilograms of happiness (of which I only have about 10 slices left).

 I really love breasola when done right but often find it a little tough and underwhelming and the last few tastes of bresaola I had that stand out above the rest was at Cutler & co., Cumulus Inc., Church St. Enoteca and Osteria la Passione. In a desperate search to find that happy spot again I looked far and wide, coming close but never reaching that same flavour and texture.
Until now.

I was searching for the happy place but have ascended to heaven.
Not only does Neil’s Bresaola taste as good, it pretty much picks up all other bresaola’s and kicks their arses like chuck Norris at your average bad guy convention.
The beauty of this bresaola is the melt in the mouth texture. It sits (and I know this is a massive call) on par with Jamon Iberico, which is the greatest cured meat on earth. That’s right I went there.
It’s that melt in the mouth fat which, when simply touched, leaks its sexy wagu fat and shines as bright as the sun.

The taste was nothing but a gorgeous salty, creamy, beefy flavour and a mouth feel that coats the palate like a rich parfait, or big red but delicate like a pinot and leaves you wanting more and more.

The best way to eat it: slice it very thin, let it come to room temperature and eat plain. It needs nothing else, savour it in its entire glory. However, if you wish to, grate some fresh Horseradish (please don’t use jarred horseradish as it doesn’t even come close) but other than that let it be.
Sit back and bask in the glory that is the perfect bresaola.    Well maybe The only improvement that can be made is a cheeky glass of Neils own wine or if you really want to raise the bar maybe some Barolo.

Eat or die,

Mat

Current music: Bad brains: The regulator

Drinking: Mauro Veglio – Dolcetto d’alba 09- top drop.

if this isnt a endorsment i don't know what is

full disclosure:
I was not paid for this, it was simply that i love this and i want everyone too as well

read more about Neils great products here

go bug Neil for some here

A quick bite.

On Monday I was in need of a place where I could get a quick and tasty meal(we had about a hr spare) in the St Kilda area with Danielle recently after we ventured up to golden fields and then discovered it was sadly closed. Despite our disappointment we managed we to pick ourselves up and head a little bit down the road to the much hyped New Market Hotel. Sadly I haven’t had the best experience with hyped up Mexican inspired food in Melbourne so I was a little on the sceptical side. Lucky for us , it was awesome and rocked our socks off. The service was casual but still professional and the fit out was also very cool. The food reflected the vibe of the place, fun and casual with a bit charm and was a great example of some smart cooking. We didn’t have long so we could only order a few dishes.

We started with 

 Morcilla & chicharones bocadillos, sunny side quail eggs, piquillo peppers & crispy jamon $14

 Loved this combo of pork, pork and more pork, throw in a quail egg and between some bread you cant go wrong.mmm crackling 

Soft tacos with wood roasted bone marrow, chimichurri & ranchero style brisket $16

In a corny movie style moment, “you had me at bone marrow” this taco was my favourite of the 2. The rich bone marrow topped with a cleansing chimichurri and melt in your mouth brisket, wrap it in a taco shell, whats not to love

Soft shell crab tacos with guacamole, shaved fennel, spicy corn & tomatillo salsa $17

I go weak at the knees for soft shell crab and this is one example that had me crippled. Crispy crab banging guac and moreish sauce.

BBQ Corn on the cob with chilli & queso fresco $6 ea

 

A great little side some BBQ corn on the cob it was juicy sweet and a little spicy, maybe a little too spicy for danielle as she instantly turned a little red. Shes such a wuss. 

Well I can happily say that Newmarket hotel lives up to the hype and I will be returning to eat my way through the whole menu.

Mat.

Any other recommendations for mexican in Melbourne?
I have had a few banging tacos from The Table recently as well but more on that later

black gold at St Ali

I’m the first to admit that I may have a slight weakness for truffles, actually a massive weakness. It’s that sexy heady aroma that brings me to my knees ,like smelling a good burgundy I could sniff it for a few hrs before even consuming maybe even concocting some sought of bucket to head truffle sniffing device which I guess would be great on trams or the peak hour train instead of smelling the armpit of everyone around me I’m in sniffing heaven. 

Ms paint at its best. It’s like chroming but for rich people

So needless to say that when I heard Melbourne fringe food festival will be hosting a truffle dinner and it will be cooked by none other than Matt Wilkinson I wanted in.

It was unlike most truffle dinners I have been too because it had a range of different truffles from varying states(nsw,tas,w.a). It started off with baskets filled with truffles being passed around so we could really smell the difference between states. The nsw was a lot less on the nose compared to the massive aroma of the W.A where the Tassie somewhat sat in-between these two but still packed a bit of a punch and would have no problem chowing down on these bad boys. Matt comes out and gives a little informative talk about truffles and a little story then shortly after an overwhelming aroma starts to fill the room and then the fungi high kicks in and for once I actually know what’s going on unlike most fungal highs I have had J.  A sexy little number of polenta,prawn,crab and a very generous amount of Tassie is micro planed across the whole dish, it’s a sexy yet incredibly complex group of flavours I loved the creamy polenta and the occasional contrast of the seafood in mouth but the truffle can still shine and become the hero of the dish rather then something floating along in the back needless to say each bite was sex in the mouth and I was having multiple orgasms (brb need to change pants). 

Up next was a tasty little dish of purple congo potato and some other potato I forget, capocolo ,golden deep fried but still runny quail egg(I think otherwise that’s some tiny fucking eggs)rocket pulled from matts garden that morning, tarragon emulsion and of course NSW shaved truffle.

Another simple tasty dish where the ingredients just spoke for themselves ,I loved the NSW truffle it had in my opinion the most flavour of all the truffles when eaten but maybe the weakest nose.

And now on to my favourite dish of the night also the most simple : One week WA truffle infused Brie de meaux, toasted sourdough

It’s just by simply cutting a big arse wheel of brie in half, slicing a shitload of W.A truffle put the other top on, leave for a week and serve.

Oh yeah look at that, its begging to be dug into, The reason why I loved this so much is it really took on the truffle flavour and because it the W.A truffles It had a huge aroma. Plus well its good brie and good quality bread what’s not to like, plus I had pinot so life was pretty sweet.

Last but not least we had a truffle taste test, it was conducted with scrambled eggs(easily one of the best things to do with truffles) and we all had to guess which piece was from which state. Sadly there was no prize for guessing them all correct as this truffle tragic had done.

My memory now is kind of fading on me as if I have consumed a bit of burgundy  currently but I think it went, W.A,NSW,TAS

Overall though I had a great night drink some tasty wine from Holly’s Garden, had great conversation and caught up with some old blogger friends.  Rumour has it that another truffle dinner is coming up the 14 or 15^th of July you better be quick though as this dinner sold out in about a day. Check  http://www.fringefoodfestival.com.au/ for details.

A fanboys dilemma

I'm often stuck in a difficult situtation when I'm planning a venture into the city for some breakfast, or lunch, on the days monday to saturday. The reason for this being that I'm always torn apart between breakfast and lunch as alot of the time i rarely eat breakfast in the morning because I'm A): to lazy to wake up, B): hung over and cant be fucked or C): because i know then i will be stuck in this difficult task... what is this task you ask? Well, simply, shall i go to Hardware Societe for breakfast or lunch? Because they stop breakfast at 11am :( (they do all day brunch till 2 on saturday). Now, if its one of the my days off from being a corporate slave, or I dont start working for the man 'til later that day, I usually won't rise until the bare minium of 10 am (and usually then I have to try to wake up my girlfriend to get her out of bed which takes another 30 minutes). So thus bringing me to the decision do i rush in for some god like eggs or do i causally stroll on in and enjoy a hefty lunch. When I do make that extra bit of effort though, its always worth it. Since my first visit to Hardware Societe, I was greeted by a big warm smile and friendly attitude. The fact that this hasn't ever changed is one of the things that keeps bringing me back on in. Every time i visit i feel like part of the family, they happily listen to my complaints about how seedy/tired im feeling without rolling there eyes like they just wish for me to shut up and order like so many other cafes. Then of course the main reason I return again and again is the food. The fare at Hardware is in a french/spanish bistro style which, of course, is music to my ears. Having pretty much eaten everything on the menu I can almost say everything is pretty kick ass, most of the menu often leaning to more rich and robust flavours but still with a few lighter options. I won't list it all as it has recently changed menu (and I also lost all of my photos from there) but I will give you a brief run down...
For breakfast make sure you order the eggs at least once! They do a few varieties (baked, poach, scrambeled) but I can't stop praising the omelet's they make, rich, fluffy, sexy and bursting with flavour. The confit duck omelet, yes i said duck, is a heartstoppingly decadent way to start your day and sure to bring a smile to your face. The fried brioche is also a star as well with a crisp outside and a buttery, bready goodness being trapped on the inside. You can see how it has become a favourite amongst their regulars, including my lovely lady.
fucking sexy
white truffle scented wild mushrooms




As I was saying though, due to my slackness and wine-o lifestyle, I usually end up at Hardware for lunch. This of course is not something to frown about, it's only something that makes you want to dance and sing.
Everyday they have changing empadnadas and tarts which are always too die for.


Also there is a daily changing special... Steak Friday's, Paella Wednesday or Pork Tuesday's, there's always something new and mouth watering coming out of the kitchen so your tastebuds will never get bored. Some staples that have survived the changing menu though are grand things like the confit duck with is crisp skin and juicy and succulent flesh, it will make you punch yourself in the groin for not getting here sooner.
Your crouch is being punched right now isn't?



And if somehow you're still feeling a little peckish after all that, you could always pick up some of their amazing macaron's (which always have fast little feet for running out the door), they come in a range of delectable flavours and will give Adriano Zumbo a run for his money.
So in the end no matter what time I wake up and drag my self out of bed, I'm always happy to know that Hardware will be waiting for me, brekafast or lunch, with amazing food and service that always brightens my day. Like all great places, word always gets out quickly and Hardware is always packed (no reservation policy) but you should always be able to get a seat shortly if none are available. In the mean time you can always grab a mag from the magazine ladder and just be jealous of the venue and cry that your home doesnt look like it (see for yourself when you go).
In summary, Hardware Societe is an amazing little cafe which is sure to become a Melbourne icon in the cafe and resturant world, with its amazing quailty of food, value (very rarely anything goes above $15) and the great vibe it has, i recommend you go there before too much groin punching is needed.



Mat of course pays for all his meals at Hardware Societe because last time he tried to pay in monopoly money the cops where called.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Food I have been consuming mainly from Earl Canteen

I have recently been snacking,eating & drinking all Over the place in a panicked food frenzy as we all know it's the end of the world soon yes? yes? Damn it don't disagree with me I'm
Not crazy your crazy! Now hand me those Orc legs they gotta be in the oven soon before Gandalf the grey comes over and well we all know how tough Orc can be.Though What isn't tough is the recently opened Earl Canteen's heart stopping Pork belly(otaway free range) baguette it's probably the worlds greatest sandwich actually no not probably it is the worlds greatest sandwich go on,I dare you to find a better sandwich under $15
. The soft succulent,tender meat is so juicy you may question if you just had a accident,with the most perfect crackling which has the amazing snap and crunch that ascends you to heaven and back .It Reminds me of the Sunday roast I wish my parents had the ability to cook.


Besides the perfect meat you will also be cleansed by some wilted silver beet and satisfied by the fennel-slaw,this combo works like magic and I can't think Of anything to improve it well besides maybe some freshly shaved white truffle could add a touch of extra magic. At Earl they also have a range of other amazingly mind blowing sandwiches(confit duck anyone?) as well but for a fatty pork obsessed snobby goth kid like me it's hard to Choose anything over that pork belly greatness.In fact it totally hijacked this whole post which i initially had no intention of talking about the belly baguette but once again pork has overtaken my priority's in life (don't ask me about the summer 98). So get your soon to be extra fat arses down to Earl Canteen for some snap,crackle and pop while you can still fit into your pants.

Mozzarella salad

I love this recipe its so basic and simple and can be whipped out and made in just a few minutes. This could be after work,made as a snack a small simple dinner or entree preparing for a feast. I make this dish often in summer cause its not too heavy but still has a nice grunt to it without being too rich, also sometimes i just can't be fucked making something complicated after slaving away in the office.

What you need:

tomato's
basil leaves
Spanish onion
red wine vinegar
good extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
cracked pepper
and most of all buffalo mozzarella (can be found in most decent deli's and even the odd supermarket but be careful with supermarkets as they will often charge $10 for about 100g which is around double in relation to most delis)

steps:
cut tomato into around 50-100mm slices depending on taste
slice mozzarella into roughly same thickness as tomato
thinly slice the onion
ground up pepper and salt if you need too(i lost my salt and pepper grinders after moving so just been using mortar and pestle out of nothing but pure laziness)

then just layer them as follows:
tomato,mozzarella,basil leaf then repeat.
Place onion on edge of the cheese and will rest between that and the tomato
drizzle with olive oil and some red wine vinegar
season with a pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper.

Eat!!

If you want you can always add some prosciutto in between and it tastes damn fine too.

I have served this up with a pesto i made and also a little balsamic reduction they really work a treat with this too.