"V"............ is for Venezuela

 So now we are getting to the pointy end of 'Alphabet Eats' as the alphabet challenges us with really interesting letters!

Luckily SONDIDO provided us with some Venezeulan fare and drinks.

A cool July evening still saw many diners eating al fesco at the Gertrude St Fitzroy restaraunt. Mr and Ms X however squeezed themelves into the tiny eatery and sat on the bar stools, side by side watching the passing parade along the street whilst being able to keep an eye on their vehicle that was so close they could almost touch it! You gotta love accessibility!

Considered the most typical food of Venezuela, AREPAS are a daily ritual that hasbeen partaken for centuries. Maiz (corn) is one of the most beautiful gifts of the Americas (North, Central and South) to the world.  So, we had an *AREPAS DE QUESO —

Cheese Arepa / Two arepas filled with Fresco (mild and milky) cheese and of course, Mr X chose the ROPA VIEJA – AREPA — “Old Clothes” Beef / A secret Venezuelan recipe.- you got it, MEAT filled.

 They were ok, just, hmm, cheap, hmmm nothing really eventful so we soldiered on to main course with of couse some meat filled EMPANADAS 

Even though Argentina and Chile are the true EMAPANADA experts, you guessed it, Venezeula has its own too. These were baked and filled with beef and spinach. They are better eaten in the dark, as you can see.

 As is traditional in the Alphabet Eats experience, dessert needs to be considered. Sometimes dessert can save a score and maybe this is what Venezuela needed to regain some footing on the leader board. Now Ms X was gravitating towards tasting the Raspberry Brownie that she found was on the menu but the waitress did guide her to the authentic AREQUIPE OR BOCADILLO CON QUESO — A classic duo: Caramel with Fresco Cheese. Oh dear. I think this may have affected the score in a negative way Not Ms X's favourite at all.

Score:                            MS X                   MR X

Ambience                        6                      7
Parking                           10                   10
Service                            8                      8
Value                               6                      5
Food                               5                      5

TOTAL: 70

U is for United Arab Emirates

The hardest part about this night was finding a restaurant starting with "U", but of course, the "United" part of world countries handily came into play. And UAE was it.....located in Thornbury and a a little treasure in the north.

A convenient car space across the street had us crossing the road to a cafe-like facade hiding an interesting middle-eastern decor. Immediately a native waitress approached us, ushering us to a table beside an open kitchen with a glass partition between ourselves and the chefs. And choosing from the menu wasn't too difficult either, so we were seated and ordered before the rain had even dropped off our noses. (The other reason it didn't take long to order was that alcohol was no-where to be seen. Welcome to the UAE!)

Entree consisted of lamb cutlets with chaboula and babaganouj, beetroot and dukkah dips with flatbread (the photo shows how good the dips were....we took it AFTER we'd eaten it).And the cutlets were even better. Easily a main course serving.

Main course consisted of a spice lamb pizza with rocket and yoghurt sauce, and felafels with quinoa tabbouleh, hummus, pickels and yoghurt sauce in a flat-bread bun. As perusual, Mr and Mrs X shared their meals and were both impressed with the aromatic Middle-Eastern flavours. By this stage the glasses of water were going down a treat, and before we know it Mrs X's sweets had arrived..... pistachio cake with an orange syrup. Through sheer will power and dogged determination she manage to polish it off. You have to admire here stamina! before we knew it, we'd eaten and were off. A great restaurant if one was to go off to a show or movie. And the prices were great too.

                                   

                                  Mr X        Mrs X

Accessibility                 9                9

Service                          7                6

Food                              7                6

Value                             7                6

Ambiance                      6                5

                                      36              32

                                      TOTAL - 68

"T" is for Turkish

This Alphabet Eats experience was to be a little different. Two visitors to our town (one Dutchman and one semi- expat) treated your bloggers to a night out however the proviso was that they would choose the "T" for us. Always the risk-takers, your bloggers took a step back and let them decide the cuisine and the venue.

116-136 Cecil St, South Melbourne

Despite it being a warm balmy night in Melbourne, the Alphabet Eaters opted for the air-conditioning instead of the outside table. Melbourne was in the midst of what was to be a 3 day melting pot so relief was welcomed.

How long do 5 people really need to decide on their menu choices? When participating in alphabet eating, the rules often need to be reminded and/or reviewed which is often challenging. 
To share or to order solo is always debated. The outcome is always the same however the discussion process always occurs.


This discussion did take place however over a jug of PIMMS and a couple of Turkish beers which perhaps prolonged the decision making.

First up was a dip platter with fresh Turkish bread.
It's gotta be said that no matter what the cuisine, a dip platter is always a winner. Mr X did make his usual observation that the dips always outlast the bread.

It was noted that the menu provided attractions for differing palettes. The two carnivores were obviously attracted to the meat platter: Karışık Izgara: Mixed grill of lamb, chicken, swordfish, Izmir köfte & sucuk sausage, served w rice & salad.

Our overseas guests however felt that the salad was average and that the meat platter was not in the same league as a typical seafood platter in terms of quantity.

  The omnivores were ready to spread their wings and enjoy what was on offer so selected the following dishes to share:    

Iskender – Traditional dish 
of sliced lamb baked w Turkish bread, red sauce & garlic yoghurt

• 
  

    Izmir Köfte- Handmade Turkish ravioli filled 

    w minced meat topped w yogurt & paprika sauce

     

       Mantı- Slow cooked meatballs w potato & sweet peppers in a tomato & herb stew, served w rice & yogurt 

Despite the waitress warning the diners that they were ordering a "lot of food", their hearty appetites and commitment to the task ahead saw empty plates at the end.
All agreed that the experience missed the "something" that would have made it outstanding.

Our guest scorers:

Scores:              Ms C                Mr P

Ambience            7                     7

Parking               9                     9

Service               6                     8

Value                 7                     7

Food                  7                     7

Total – 74

How did they match up to the alphabet-eats bloggers?

Scores:              Ms X                Mr X

Ambience            4                     6

Parking               9                     7

Service               8                     7

Value                 7                     7

Food                  7                     6

Total – 68

Gee Mr and Ms X are tough critics!

P.S. If you need to use the bathroom, it's off to the market you go.

·   

S is for Spanish!

When it came to the letter 'S', this blogger was sure of one thing........... Singapore Slings, Sri Lankan curries, Swiss fondue or Swedish meatballs were not going to cut the mustard. It had to be Spanish! Anywhere that combines Sangria and Paella has to get the nod. Just which one was the question remaining? Although initially it was tempting to go with the familiar 'Simply Spanish' in South Melbourne, one had to remember that this was not a game of Scattergories with double points being awarded for the multiple use of the letter S. So off to we went to:

First up, it was on Johnston Street and Mr and Ms X had to park a distance away... hmm, will that effect the 'accessibilty' scores?It was also raining- not a good start.  in addition to this drawback was the fact that it was extremely busy and with a late booking,these diners had to be accepting of a table in the corner, sort of 'semi-detached' from the other diners. But, we 'no complain' as this business is always a good sign. There was a 3rd diner along for the experience with us so a large jug of Sangria as well an Estrella beer was ordered pronto.

With a sangria under the belt, all was forgiven. As usual, the Alphabet Eats dining experience was derailed with the ongoing debate of share plates or individual meals. Mr X is not a big fan of sharing however this was the HOME of sharing. With TAPAS they invented sharing so Mr X was soon outnumbered when it came to a vote and as usual he would be glad of this!  

So the entrees were finally agreed upon:

Cordero :Lamb cutlets marinated in herbs and spices, garlic, wine and served with salsa Verde.                  

Croquetas de pollo :Chicken croquettes prepared with chicken breast   

Croquetas de bacalao :Codfish croquettes prepared with codfish and potatoes

  

They were all delicious however one entree arrived to our table having not been ordered: The Croquetas de queso azul y puerros : Blue cheese and leek croquet! The chef apologised for the mix up and invited us to enjoy them on the house.  More sangria and entertainment in the form of a Flamenco guitarist and dancer had the alphabet-eaters wishing they had packed maracas!

And so it was time for the Paella de pollo y chorizo* (Chicken and chorizo paella) Chicken and chorizo with green peas, capsicum, garlic, wine and

Spanish paprika. Tasty? Sure. The best? Not quite. These diners had enjoyed paella on La Rambla in Barcelona as well as la Village Way, so it did fall short.....or was the problem that they had over indulged on the tapas? Anyway, the sangria more than made up for any shortcomings.

Brindo por eso!

• 72 Johnston Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065

Scores:             Ms X                Mr X

Ambience         8                     8

Parking            6                     5

Service            8                     6

Value               7                     6

Food                7                     7

Total - 68

"R" is for Russia

The winter wait finally saw Mr & Ms X trek off to Elsternwick to the Nevski Russian Restaurant in Glenhuntly Road. With only Romanian, Rwandan and Russian to choose from, the choices were somewhat limited, and even though Latvian had been one of our previous visits, the largest country in the world got the nod.

The restaurant is named after the famous main boulevard of Saint Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt - home of their Chef and apparently a magnificent city full of culture, architecture and history. A warm atmosphere greeted us with the traditional way of combating a freezing Siberian winter - a fake gas fireplace, but the place was buzzing and several tables were actually conversing in the native tongue.

There was even a piano-accordion player strutting his stuff in the

corner. A nice touch.  A waitress with a strong Russian accent showed us to our table and presented us with our menus. Ms X took a while to pick out her international vino...a Barossa Valley favourite. Funny, I'm sure there's a Barossa Valley somewhere in  Australia as well! Mr X supported the Russian cause by selecting a Hebckoe beer, a Pale Lager brewed by Baltika Breweries in St. Petersburg.

Entrées consisted of Piroshki s Myasom, a house-made baked pasty filled with minced beef, and Blinchiki s Myasom, thin crepes filled with minced beef and pan-fried in butter. Again we shared the meals and again had similar opinions of each one. The words "peasant food' were mentioned on the back of the menu, and that's probably what we got. Tasty, simple but probably a bit bland and a bit too expensive for what we got.

Main course arrived soon after. A plate of Golubtsi contained minced beef with herbs, spices & pilaf rice wrapped in cabbage leaves, then oven baked in a tomato & sour cream sauce, and Sibirskie

Pelmeni, which are Siberian meat dumplings filled with beef & pork mince, served with fresh dill and sour cream. (eating the Siberian Dumplings took me way back to my Year 11 literature studies, when we had to read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". I'm pretty sure his Siberian Labour Camp Dumplings included fish eyes and stale bread - which might have been slightly more tastier than what we were served up!). We left at least half the dumplings for the next intake of prisoners.

Ms X then decided she needed sweets to soothe her peasant palette and chose Kroshka, an apple & raspberry crumble with vanilla ice-cream. Mr X went for another Hebckoe.

An interesting night, but probably too expensive for the fare that was served up. Russian Fries never arrived and had to be re-ordered (but at least they didn't charge for them), our water finally turned up after entrees and the dumplings were pretty ordinary. A 'close-talking' waitress also added to the disappointment.



SCORES                          Mr X              Ms X

Ambience                            6                     6
Parking                                6                     6
Service                                4                     6
Value                                   3                     5
Food                                    3                     5

TOTAL: 50

"Q" is for .......

"Q" is for .......hold on......wait for it......wellllll......I'm afraid you will have to wait until the weather gets a bit warmer.

No more clues, but the anticipation is building!!!!

                                  

P is for Portuguese

The list of "P" countries is not an elaborate one, but it was easily solved when Mr X stumbled across a relatively secluded eatery called the Madeira Restaurant, located in beautiful Bay Street, Brighton and specializing in authentic, Portuguese Cuisine. (Madeira, is an island, which is part of Portugal and is located in the Atlantic Ocean, and is the place where their food and it’s inspiration comes from).

After a smooth drive along the esplanade we located a car park relatively close to the restaurant, although the parking is a somewhat tough assignment in the area, especially with so many eateries on offer. A warm greeting from a friendly waitress and an intimate table in a crowded space was a bit of an overwhelming introduction, as the table beside us was filled with a large group of (we guessed) Portuguese revellers who were out for a good time. We had no hesitation in quickly ordering BEFORE this group put the chef behind the eight ball! But a packed restaurant was a very encouraging sign.

An entrée of Bolo do Caco (homemade Madeiran Garlic Bread) and Chorico (Portuguese smoked sausage, warmed in a garlic butter sauce and served with a side of bread) appealed to our senses. Mrs X decided on a Portuguese sangria for the palette, whilst her off-sider picked a Sagres, followed by a Superbock (the former a pale Portuguese lager beer and the latter a strong pale lager). The Sangria was described as fruity and slid down easily, whilst the beers were surprisingly mild and tasty.

The entrees soon arrived, and whilst the garlic bread was wholesome, it was the Chorico which hit the mark. Very tasty and appetising and blended well with the bread.

Main course for Mrs X was a chicken espetada , which were char grilled chicken breast fillets on a large, vertical skewer attached to a chain skewer, with traditional Madeiran Style Trinchado sauce, and savoury rice. More resembling an ancient Portuguese torture device than a cooking implement, the amusing sequel was watching Mrs X carve the meat from the suspended device! Mr X ordered a delicious chicken peri peri, which was half a chicken char grilled, served with chilli sauce and a Madeiran Trinchado sauce complete with chips and a side salad.

A very filling meal saw us both decline the invitation to explore the sweets menu, (but a quick McDonalds drive-through saw us load up with a chocolate sundae and a mini ice cream cone for the trip home). Our friends beside us had a great time and fortunately the act of eating (especially form those unusual skewers took their mind off talking and the culinary ambience returned.

I think I would fail miserably if I had to sit for a Portuguese Naturalisation Test, as my knowledge of Portugal and everything associated with that country is very limited (was Vasco Da Gama Portuguese?), but I am quite impressed with their flair for cooking. Maybe a visit to Nandos will soo be on the agenda.

Scores:                         Mrs X                Mr X

Ambience                        8                        7
Parking                            8                        8
Service                            8                        8
Value                               6                       7
Food                                6                        7

Total - 73