G is for..........................GERMANY

Gabon? The Gambia? Georgia? Ghana? Grenada? Guinea? Guinea-Bissau or Guyana?  All so hard to locate in cosmopolitan Melbourne.

As I pondered what it was to be I narrowed it down to three hopefuls.....Guatemala, mmm  think we might get confused with thinking we are up to M for Mexican. Greece was always possible but oh so predictable.

So Germany it would be as we carnivores were always up for some schnitzel. Off we went to MUTTIS ( a colloquialism for Mother’s Kitchen in Austrian-German) found at 118 Elgin St Carlton. From the moment we arrived, the staff were friendly and welcoming however Mr X always maintains that there can be too much cheerfulness at times. Having eaten in Germany itself  we were prepared for a lot of wood and things on walls. Mr X in fact didn't know what country Ms X had chosen until he read the menu. "Not authentic!!" I hear you cry but relax, this is a modern contemporary version and so cuckoo clocks and traditional dress were not necessary to get us in the mood. The lone large print of a German village on the wall did the job.
We decided to share an entree of Pork & Wild Fig Terrine - slow cooked, wrapped in speck, with polish pickle, radish salad, home made walnut & apple rye bread. We had taken 2 mouthfuls when our happy-happy wait staff checked in on us "How's the terrine?" Mr X was being tested early. The bread was still warm and the terrine was delicious. Glad we shared it as the serve was very generous.

As we waited for our mains to arrive, we watched the table beside us get served a huge leg of pork surrounded by crackling. Oh how the Germans and Austrians love their beasts.
Of course by this time it was time for the happy-happys to check in on us again and true to form, they told us that they were sorry that there was not enough room in their ovens for all the beasts that had been ordered that night (not just by us!) Lovely service Ms X acknowledged however Mr X was less than impressed as he hadn't even digested the terrine let alone start pining for the mains!

Ms X's Muttis Pork Schnitzel kipfler parsley potato, brown butter, garden greens, preiselbeer relish, lemon and M X's Slow Cooked Pork Belly with golden crackling, braised red wine cabbage, caramelized apple, and rahm kartoffeln didn't disappoint one bit.
The meals melted in our mouths.The accompaniments also complimented the dishes.  Mr X had to help out Ms X with eating hers and of course the happy-happys were very pleased to hear that we too, were happy when they checked in with us. Mr X had of course ordered his mandatory side dish of fries and they too were worthy of mentioning. They were beer battered and served with lemon aioli.... yummo.
So, dessert? Of course Ms X was going to partake as that is why she had off loaded some of her schnitzel. she had been reminiscing about former strudels, both here and abroad. If there was one piece of feedback for the happy-happys it would be about their strudel.

"Don't get me wrong, it was good but it could have been an even greater dish if the apple had been cooked a little more and diced, not sliced, Ms X said in a Matt Preston whisper. However, she just couldn't bear to pass that info on as they checked in yet again. Why take those smiles off their faces!

Food                 He 8   She  8
Ambiance        He 6    She  7
Service             He 7    She  9
Value               He  7   She  8
Accessibility    He  6   She  7   Total: 73

PS.  The place was full so make sure you book, and let's face it, Carlton is never going to bring good scores for accessibility!