Jeremy's gives Melbourne food a run for it's money

Last weekend when I was back in Brisbane to celebrate my birthday with old friends and see Fame with my parentals, I was delighted when Dad suggested doing dinner at Jeremy's Espresso Bistro in Albert Street, near the Brisbane botanical gardens. A family favourite for many years, Jeremy's never fails to impress me and stand out from what is unfortunately still a city with relatively sub-par CBD dining. I have eaten at Jeremy's for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the last few years since discovering it way back when I first moved to Brisbane for uni. Not once have I had an unpleasant experience. The food is outstanding and the service is beyond excellent.

On this occasion, we rocked up at an early 5.30pm with ravenous appetites after having a late Saturday breakfast and skipping lunch. We were welcomed immediately by our delightful waiter who had the thickest Italian accent I have heard. He ensured us the best seats in a cosy corner of the restaurant (I do love cosy corners!) and gave us his undivided attention all evening - I suppose one of the benefits of getting in super early! To start, I had a glass of pinot noir (I can't remember the rest of the details) and we were presented with a complimentary appetiser, a spoonful of tender marinated lamb and pinenuts atop a creamy parsnip puree. It was an explosion of flavour in one tiny mouthful...what a treat!

For entrees, we shared a plate of melt-in-your mouth seared scallops on potato blini with sauce veirge along with some crusty toasted sourdough, a generous helping of juicy kalamata olives and a fruity Italian extra virgin olive oil. As if on cue, our waiter launched into an animated story about his family's olive oil business back in Italy and his love of one of my favourite things in the world: olive oil with bread. Yuuuum. I could totally live off that delightful little combo. None of this butter business, I'm all about the olive oil.

Our mains were served quickly after, and proved yet again that Jeremy's can do no wrong. Dad and I ordered the special: Beef Eye Fillet with Truffled Mash, Roasted Beetroot and Beef Jus. The thick cut of steak was cooked perfectly medium rare - we suspected first in the steamer and then in the pan to seal in the juices - and the buttery mash had a beautiful, silky consistency that complimented the sweetness and texture of the roasted beetroot wedges. Mum, who has a restricted diet due to health issues, had a generous helping of Chicken and Vegetable Scotch Broth and an enormous plate of fresh and colourful stir-fried vegetables. Yet another reason I love this place: the staff don't cringe when Mum has to explain that she is unable to eat most of the items on the regular menu. Many restaurants put her in the 'too-hard basket' and she ends up going hungry to avoid making a fuss. But Jeremy's chefs embrace the challenge and give her extra special treatment rather than complaining that she is a difficult customer. By all reports, both her meals were fantastic.

For the final course, I lashed out and went chocolate-crazy with the Chocolate and almond brownie with Valrhona chocolate sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. It was as decadent as it sounds and every bite to die for. The brownie was moist with a slight crispiness on the outside, and the perfect nutty texture inside was just the way I liked it! The chocolate sauce had a very dominant cocoa flavour and virtually no sweetness at all. This was unexpected at first but after a few more mouthfuls I decided it really balanced out the sweetness of the icecream and brownie itself. Jeremy's is elegant and sopisticated without being pretentious. This combined with the relaxed vibe and friendly atmosphere makes this Brisbane restaurant a winner in my books!

Jeremy's Espresso Bistro
93 Albert Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
(07) 3210 6529‎

I love Leroy

If you’re anywhere near Acland Street in St Kilda and looking for a smashingly great breakfast, listen up! Nestled amongst this wonderful street of iconic, drool-worthy patisseries, wintry water of St Kilda beach and rows upon rows of shops to please your inner-hippy, Leroy Espresso is the spot to be. Even late on a Monday morning, the café was almost full and buzzed with great music and a laid back atmosphere. Our fellow diners appeared to be all regulars or at least young locals, which is usually a good indicator that a restaurant is doing something right. The retro orange booth seating was incredibly comfortable and fit in well with the arty, retro vibe of the place. Every inch of wall was covered with posters featuring upcoming festivals, movies and other cultural happenings. Despite the waitress taking a while to come back for our order after initially greeting and seating us, the fast, fresh and scrumptious food and well-made coffee certainly made up for any patchy service.

My girlfriend L and I giggled at the huge bottle of Absolut vodka that was placed on our table – which we quickly discovered was a recycled vessel used to serve us our tap water. Clever, yes, but I’m glad I hadn’t had a big night on the vodka the night before or the mere sight of the bottle might have triggered more than just laughter! Out came two stunning looking serves of home made toasted corn bread, home made baked beans, poached eggs, rocket and crispy bacon. The corn bread was TO DIE FOR, the baked beans were rustic and perfect, the poached eggs perfectly gooey and void of any nasty vinegar aftertaste and the bacon was pure crispy goodness. My soy latte was fabulous too. I would love to go back to try some other items off the menu, but after one satisfying experience I can confidently say this place is great! Don’t be put off by its tiny indoor area – what it lacks in size, it makes up for in taste. Besides, I’ve always been a sucker for a cosy little corner in a retro orange booth.

Leroy Espresso
191 Acland St
St Kilda VIC 3182‎
(03) 9525 5166
‎

Pireaus Blues

Oh Melbourne, how I love you. Pireaus Blues is one of those quintessential Melbourne institutions that epitomises what this city is all about.. So impressive in fact, that I was busting to go back there again after my first amazing dinner there, that I revisited six days later. I just don’t think there is anything this good back in Brisbane. A couple of weeks ago, my friends K, S and myself arrived all rugged up on a wintery Saturday night. A short tram ride from the city, Pireaus Blues is situated in the eating and drinking cultural boiling pot of Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. We walked into the cosy, bustling restaurant with sunny yellow walls dotted with framed snaps and memorabilia. Each of the delightful wait staff greeted us with warmth and laughter from the tables of people echoed through the restaurant. Something tells me that this was a great find.

It was almost half past eight and the place was brimming with diners and exuded a fantastic, familiar atmosphere. I almost felt as though I had gatecrashed a big Greek family dinner. Well, that probably wasn’t such a great stretch of the truth. Pireaus Blues is one of Melbourne’s longest-running Greek restaurants and if there are two things I know about Greeks: it is their love of family and their love of food.

For meze (the Greek word for appetiser), we ordered the Pireaus Dips Platter which included five enourmous servings of Tzatziki, Beetroot, Taramosalata (fish roe & pureed potato), Eggplant and Skordalia (garlic & pureed potato) dips and a generous stack of traditional grilled pita. In the centre was a ramekin filled with Kalamata and Volo olives drizzled with Greek olive oil and oregano. All of that for only $19.95 and we hadn't even started on the entrees! The tzatzki was a stand out favourite on our table, with the cucumber's texture and the tangy lemon and garlic flavours really complimenting the creamy (goat's milk?) yoghurt. Tzatziki is often used as a sauce in popular greek dishes like gyros and souvlaki but it can also be served as a side for a meat-based dish. The tzatziki's acidity cuts through the fat of the meat, making it the perfect accompaniment to a perfect greek feast.

Next up, we had the Htaponi Sta Karvouna (Char grilled octopus), the Dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs) which came with a beautiful minted yogurt dip and a serve of one of the evening's entree specials: Seared Scallops in a red salsa. The virtually melt in-your-mouth tender scallops were perfectly contrasted by the classic aciditic tomato flavours and was my favourite pick of the entrees.

Despite being absolutely stuffed to the point of an almost unbuttoning of the jeans, we couldn't leave without trying the Paidakia. We decided to share one between the three of us, after realising we'd gone a bit overboard with the starters! All worth it though, of course! Out came our Paidakia: our main (and final!) course. This translated as Frenched Lamb Cutlets with lemon and olive oil dressing, served with zucchini, mushroom, fresh tomato and fetta and topped with a potato fritter. Oh. My. God. I never knew it was possible for lamb to taste that good.

Without a doubt, Pireaus Blues is the most brilliant dining experience I have had in Melbourne so far. On my second trip back there, I couldn't resist ordering those divine lamb cutlets again, just to prove to more friends how absolutely phenomenal they are. And they were exactly that, even the second time around. I also paced myself in the entree stakes this time and managed to squeeze in enough space for the Loukoumades, which are sticky little Greek Doughnut balls served with honey, cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Okay I'll admit, I am a huge fan of any kind of doughnuts, including those cheap and nasty ones from Donut King... but to make something so plain and simple into something so lush, left me delighted and left us all fighting over the last one! It may or may not have seen me waking up drooling after a recurring daydream about those sweet little suckers. Mmmm. Delightful indeed!

 

Pireaus Blues

310 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy

Melbourne

Ph: 03 9417 0222