For the Love of Pizza

There is a delicious takeaway pizza joint near my place called For the Love of Pizza. It's the sister shop to Meine Leibe in Northcote, which is dine in only and situated further up the road amongst the funkier section of High Street. I have tried two pizzas on their menu thus far and both have been delicious. Why? Well a nice thin chewy base and a delicious napoli sauce is always a good start with pizza and this ticks both boxes. Also the toppings are fresh and not too applied too sparingly or too heavy-handedly.

The pizzas I sampled were the 'New Salami' - tomato, mozzarella, salami, red peppers and black olives (chilli optional) and the 'Ham and Pineapple' (original name, I know) - tomato, mozzarella, ham and pineapple with fresh basil. But being original is not what this business is all about, it's just about making good pizza and making their customers feel welcome. The pizza blokes make a point of remembering your name and saying good bye to you in a sing-song voice as you leave the shop. It's tongue in cheek customer service but I don't blame them for the cheekiness, not when the pizza is this good...

For the Love of Pizza

487 High Street

Northcote VIC 3070

Ph. 9489 0703

The Fox Hotel

We spent a fun night at The Fox Hotel recently. It is one of those pubs you have probably driven past a million times but never ventured inside. It's location on the corner of busy Alexandra parade and Wellington streets, means that a lot of its clientele appear to be locals rather than passersby on a pub crawl.

The atmosphere inside the pub is cosy but exciting at the same time. The pub is owned by 3 woman and the all-girl bar staff are attentive and warm. The pub has a wide variety of beers from all over the world. I drank Budejovick (a Czech imported Budweiser) whilst I was there, and it had a nice deep 'hoppy' flavour.

To eat, I ordered porterhouse steak with mushroom sauce, mash and salad. The steak was about $24.50 which I thought was very reasonable. My dish had a nice flavour, the steak was cooked well (medium rare) and the salad was fresh with a tasty dressing. Overall, I was enjoyed the dish considering the price, however it did lack a bit of oomph. I think a different sauce on the steak may have helped, as the mushroom sauce was a bit bland.

Others on the table ordered beer battered baramundi, dusted with lemon myrtle and served with chips, salad & wild lime tartare ($17); salt and mountain pepper squid w chips, salad and wild lime tartare ($17) and the vegetarian of the group ordered a vegetarian burrito. The burrito was reportedly very nice, however it was served with plain white rice, whereas a spicy mexican style rice may have been a better accompaniment. Overall, everybody seemed to enjoy their dinner, especially the salt and mountain pepper squid.

We had a few more beers and then a few of us ordered dessert. There are only two desserts on the menu, and we ordered 3 of the same dessert - fried apple gyozas rolled in cinnamon sugar served with caramel sauce and ice cream ($8). (In case you are not familiar with gyozas, they are Japanese dumplings. They are most usually savoury but can be made with sweet fillings also.)

The desserts were wolfed down, the lucky owners moaning with pleasure as they devoured the plates. Due to their reaction, I was begging to try some and finally my sister relented and gave me her last bite of gyoza. I was surprised by the deliciousness of the dish. The sweet but tart flavour of the apple was balanced perfectly against the slightly oily pastry of the gyozas and the sweetness of the caramel sauce and ice cream not to mention the slightly gritty texture of the cinnamon sugar. I am definitely going back to the Fox if only to order this dessert for myself.

In fact, I am definitely going back to the Fox Hotel due to the ambiance and the fantastic selection of beers. Also I should mention that the music was refreshingly different, with lots of old skool fifties and sixties and just some plain good nineties music, like PJ Harvey. At times I felt like it was my iPod playing. There is also a pool table, plenty of seating and a dance floor in the back room. The clientele seem very cool, but in more of a grungy Melbourne way, than a superficial Chapel Street way. All in all, an awesome pub!

The Fox Hotel
351 Wellington St

Collingwood VIC 3066

Ph. (03) 9416 4957

http://www.thefoxhotel.com.au/

Mixed Business

My sister and I ventured to a lovely cafe this morning called Mixed Business. It's in Clifton Hill in an intriguing looking shop. It follows the current trend of discreetly signposting cafes, so that it is almost impossible to tell that it is an eatery, if it weren't for the chairs and tables outside.

There was a slight wait to be seated but we were directed to a bay window to wait on a padded seat on the windowsill. (If you have to wait a while, they bring you coffee in the meantime.) The cafe was very busy but it's a nice big space with ample tables and chairs, so you don't have the claustrophobic, 'I'm in the way' feeling that many poky cafes have these days.

First up we ordered coffee and it was delicious. My latte had a nice head of foam and the coffee itself had a well-rounded roasted flavour without being too bitter. We had to wait a little while for the coffee (and the food) but the waiting staff were polite and friendly and apologised for the delay.

Next I had poached eggs on sourdough with pancetta, parmesan and roasted tomatoes. The ingredients were bursting with flavour inside my mouth, especially the perfectly roasted and sweet flavoured tomatoes. (I asked the staff where they bought their tomatoes - Mecca greengrocers on Queens Pde.) Also the combination of the parmesan, scattered basil leaves and pancetta was a beautiful marriage. And the eggs were perfectly poached, with a wonderful gooey middle.

My sister had a hot bread roll filled with olive tapenade, tomato, spinach, avocado and goat's cheese. She said she could taste each flavour distinctly, and the ingredients were fresh and delicious.

Overall I was incredibly impressed with the food and it is a far superior cafe to many others in the local area. I will definitely be back and I can't wait to try the other dishes on the menu. Also it was reasonably priced with the bill coming to $28 for two coffees and two plates of food.

Mixed Business

486 Queens Parade

Clifton Hill VIC 3068

ph. (03) 9486 1606