DOC - Main Street Mornington

Where DOC Mornington is now, some run-down old buildings were. These had no place in Toorak's southern campus: Mornington. Now with million $ apartments above and on the ground floor a gastophile experience no hard core diner could prepare for. DOC is in Main Street Mornington down the salt water end. It is just over the road from Brass Razoo.

A modern up-market, up-beat restaurant which "spits" Italian in your face. The food is Italian, the goods (sold in-shop) are Italian, the waiters are Italian the music is CRAP! Let's get the yucky bits over and done with first. Try sitting in a knockout Italian restaurant, in a prime Mornington location, waited on by gorgeous young Italian men, eating traditional Italian food and listening to techno crap up loud. YUCK!! Did I put you off this place, please don't let me. Now for the nice bits.

The decor of the restaurant is modern. The kitchen is within sight of most customers. I like the feeling of knowing where my food is coming from. The restaurant is as much about preparing and server food as it is about selling it. The range and variations of food products sold is beyond description. But think imported Italian. Go to the "store" and take a look for yourself and while you're there, have a meal.

My wife and I ordered pizza. This is served as a genuine Italian pizza which most Australian men describe as too thin. Pizza is meant to be a thin dry crust with a smattering of spicy, aromatic ingredients. NOT TWO INCHES OF HAM AND A SHIT LOAD OF OTHER INGREDIENTS. Sorry I feel strongly about this. Unfortunately this genuine style Italian pizza needed a nappy change. The base was far too wet. Not only my pizza but other pizza lovers suffered the same fate. A dry crispy base please. Mine was the mushrooms and truffle oil. A great pizza spoiled by a wet ass!

Service is good but you will find yourself shouting above the noise of other customers and techo-crap-rap-syncopated-noise competing with conversing humans. How about some soft jazz, Italian style music or NONE! Oh, I said I would get the yucky parts over first. Wines are good but not a huge selection. Beer, Peroni of course.

Go there, be knocked-out by the sheer mass of product held within the store, try the food and the young Italian men and decide for yourself. Book though, many love it already. DOC or not? You decide.

Note: My wife re-visited here with a group of friends and had an awful experience.It was noisy and the piazzas were embarrassing. Try it yourself. Some of our very respected friends love it here and go regularly so it may just be us. But I doubt it.

Montalto - Red Hill Morington Peninsula

This would be one of the few restaurant/wineries I have been to where I really did feel like I was in another country. Montalto is a massive estate combining open outdoor eating, alfresco, wine tasting, indoor fine dining and an extensive sculpture park. Once I sat at our out door table, amongst the vegetables and herbs we were about to be served, I just had this over-whelming feeling I was in the south of France or Tuscany region Italy.

We secured a table early (11am) by putting coats on the table (there is no booking, be early) and ventured into the tasting room. There was many whites and reds ready to sacrifice themselves on your pallet. And try all five of the olive oils and olives. I settled on a Sav blanc and my wife a Pinot. Back to the tables for lunch.

You need your imagination to picture sitting "in" a veggie and herb garden of glorious colours and smells. There is no other word for it. You "smell" curry sage and fresh green, healthy looking veggies in very much a provincial French setting. You are in another country and you are looking across many acres of rolling vines of green and brown coloured from autumn's icy touch. Your vista vanishes into the rolling hills beyond the valley. Mist veils the vines and the hills themselves are capped. Big white brollies provide some shade from the odd sprinkle of rain or hot sun.

Pizza is very much the selection for the outdoor diner. And though the pizzas were satisfactory they are not mind shattering. The selection of olives we had prior to the pizza were delicious. You must try the olives. Once fed and watered take the walk through the sculpture park. The trek is steep and stony. Take a pair of walkers for the culture tour. Don't miss the art, some is excellent.

As a complete package Montalto is hard to beat. My wife and I have been to France and Italy and the Montalto experience is as close as you will get to country Europe. If you sit indoors you will miss the smells, the cent and sense that you are somewhere else. In the herb garden your body may be an hour from home but your heart and mind will be in another land. Travel there.

Crown Promenade - Melbourne

I have stayed at the Crown Promenade on a number of occasions and have always found it a great experience at a reasonable price. What I call reasonable and you call reasonable may vary immensely. It is definitely affordable at $375.00 a night including the best breakfast you will ever have and valet parking.

Situated at the beginning of Whiteman Street just a few minutes’ walk from South Bank you may not be on the strip but you are so close you can smell it. Rooms are spacious and extremely well appointed. No you don’t get the marble bath in the basic rooms as you do in Crown towers but the bathroom is more than big enough and well appointed. No there is no TV over the bath as in Crown Towers but there is a big screen TV at the foot of the bed.

I arrived just after 12pm on my last stay and was asked if a room with a bay view from the 12^th floor was suitable. And if it was I could move in right away. BAY VIEW ON THE 12^TH FLOOR. Yes thank you. Generally check-in is from 2pm but if a room is ready from 12pm on, it’s yours. Late check-out at 11am. Check-in was quick and painless and right from the moment I arrived in the car the staff were out to please. Yes I’m paying for it but the staff are serious about good service. But in a fun way.

I ventured into Melbourne for lunch and had a delightful meal (scallop risotto and a house white) in Hardware Lane with my son. Then back to the room to bask in the tranquillity and opulence. I have to admit I’m a would-be-if-I-could-be-but I-can’t-be although I can enjoy the Promenade. To avoid the sting of the Promenade’s costly wines from the mini-bar I selected a very nice red from a bottle shop near the bottom of Queens Street. A red, a shower and a read on a king size bed with 180 degree bay views. Love’n it.

Of course there are the usual shampoos and soaps but a small tube of tooth paste would have been nice. Plenty of towels, a well stocked mini-bar a stunning view of the bay and city and all the mod-cons. It just needs you to make the stay perfect and perfect it was.

Due to rain I ate at the Mesh Restaurant in the Promenade. I almost need another blog entry to describe what I ate, how good it was and how much I ate (guilty). The floor manager came over on a few occasions to ask if I needed anything. They do care. Breakfast had me back in the Mesh Restaurant for some more gastronomic indulgence. Service, food, wine, ambiance, class, distinction, location-the Crown Promenade has it all. Spoil yourself and do it often and make sure you feel guilty when you leave the restaurant. With all you can eat and an extensive choice of beautiful food, I did both times. Guilty!

Pelican - St. Kilda

After a night at an exhibition in Melbourne my wife convinced me to drop by St Kilda and take tapas and a drink at Pelican, 16 Fitzroy St. St. Kilda . Cathy had dropped in here once before and said I would like it. I was not prepared for the spices and delights which awaited me. Pelican is a modern wine bar/hotel but is just a little tied and needs a freshen-up. Though modern it is quite cosy inside and also has some very nice outdoor, on the street, dining and wining areas. Smokers gather here so if you don't like the smell of smoke, stay indoors. There are lots of nice areas to sit so things aren't all that bad.

We arrived late, about 10pm, but this was no problem for the staff. All service is at the table and within minutes I had glorious drinking Belgium beer and my wife a Cab-Merlot. We ordered three tapas and though the waitress felt we needed a forth, three turned out to be perfect. The tapas consisted of a potatoes in paprika, Moroccan meat balls and a mushrooms dish. Diced potatoes in paprika, who would have thought? This dish was divine, and had me ambush the chef to identify the spice. The meat balls were, as was the potatoes, lightly spiced and yummy. So too the mushrooms. The whole three dished were very enjoyable. I want to do it again!

Service is excellent and the staff friendly, including the ambushed chef. The music, for a pleasant change, was modern and thankfully not techno, dance, trance, rap or electric crap as can be served up far too loud by far more expensive eating houses. How you are meant to enjoy food and conversations in some bars and restaurant with loud inappropriate music playing is beyond me. But not at Pelican. The music just added to an excellent experience and a great late night chill-out. Not expensive and extremely enjoyable. Fly in or drop by.

Beretta's Hotel - Langwarrin

The term "pub meal" is used quite a lot in the Australian language with reference to food quality. It is quite often a derogatory term. Because the basic "pub" meal is just that: basic! But can one hotel/pub stand out and shine when a lot of the others serve just plain bad food. By the way I don't consider a Chicken Parmigiana a rare delicacy.

Lucky for me the Langwarrin Hotel or Berettas is just down the road. The meals at the "langy" are better than the pub meals you will receive at other local hotels in the area. They are restaurant quality. Not fine dining at a pub price but good tasting and good size. To top it all off the service is very good to, pleasant and friendly. The nice part about the langy is the kids free area. This allows a couple of adults to dine and wine away from children. The langy is a family hotel but does provide for those who want a quiet meal, away from children and some of the noise.

They have a huge kids area, sports bar, smoking area, pokes room, decking area and general bistro. Brekky at the langy is not to be missed. Beretta's really tries to have areas dedicated to all requirements. The beer on tap is limited so big beer aficionados may not find strange brews on tap but many a bottle is held on the cool. Kids drinks are also well catered for. Wines, reds and whites are a plenty and at bar prices so it is not hard to have a cheap and enjoyable night at the Langy on minimal cash. I drink Fat Yak which is rather pricey but is very nice and on tap.

I drop in for the fettuccine carbonara and my wife the salt and pepper sqid. Many other nice meals are available so most tastes are catered for. In fact I would not be surprised if the langy does not cater for all tastes. Even yours.

Revisit: Back many times for great meals and drinks. Today fried squid, excellent and plenty on the plate.

La Bel' Amici - Frankston

This restaurant has now changed hands and is called "beach 162". A review will follow. 

There are a few good spots for brekky in Frankston and Mornington. Boys in Main Street Mornington is extremely good but always full (even a line down the street) or Boys at Manyung (at least not the cue). Both "Boys" are a little more expensive and harder to get into than La Bel' Amici . Once a nursery and now a cafe, situated on Beach Street Frankston, La Bel' Amici is quaint, inside or out and does a good brekky.
La Bel' Amici never stopped being nursery but that side of the business is taking a definite back seat. Also they display a little art work, from local artists and even sell some cheap, brand-name knock-offs! They combine a florist too. Not only the big breakfast but a full meal or just cake and coffee if you wish. The food is very good and the coffee always well made. I'm an Eggs Benedict man and though I prefer my poached eggs on grilled sower dough, Amici's version is excellent. My wife loves her mushrooms on toast. And don't forget the coffee. Did I mention the coffee. Well it's great.

La Bel' Amici has recently opened a wood fired pizza section and are now licenced. I've not tried their pizzas to now but should I, I'll fill you in. The out door front area, with its high trees, can suffer a bit from road noise though there is a high fence all around. Inside is my favourite but try both. There is street parking and parking out the back. Also out the back is the shabby remains of the nursery. The owners are lovely people and do their very best to ensure you will enjoy the Amici experience. And try the coffee. Did I mention the coffee. Well it's great.

Indian Mahal - Baxter

Lets start at the end. We had a fabulous two course meal and asked to settle the account. We offered our credit card and it came back for signing. We opened the small bill folder to find a mini Flake and Boost bar inside. Now that's a nice touch. Indian Mahal may not have the smartest looking restaurant, both on the inside and out, but the food leaves you hungry. Let me explain. The menu is so extensive and the food so very, very good you just HUNGER for more. But after a course or two, you're full.

We had heard for a long time that the best Indian was just out of Baxter. It looked just like a little take-away joint. Then you spy the white table cloths and table settings. No it's a restaurant. Inside the "shop" it could almost past for any Asian style eatery. Then you look at the menu which is extremely well arranged and very stylishly presented. It is almost an art work. The first page is about Nepal and how it dropped its century old boarders to unite with the rest of the world. I figure the food is based on food from Nepal. In the menu you will see (among many other selections) a Nepal page.

Just the different Breads (Roti), entrees and starters leaves your taste buds bursting and you are yet to select your main or mains!! I went for an old fav. Tandoori Lamb and my wife the prawns. The prawns were huge and not frozen before preparation. The lamb was soft, juicy and melted in the mouth. My wife's meal was rated "medium hot" mine "hot". A more accurate rating would have been medium and medium hot. If you want denture melting hot and spicy food ask the waiter for extra hot. They are happy to oblige. Be careful what you wish for.

Take the kid's piggy bank with you and your best bottle of wine. Indian Mahal is both very inexpensive and BYO. You want to try their wines and beers? They have a good selection of both. Ignore the plain interior of the restaurant. Try to ignore the big screen tele with the cricket on. It's not noisy inside and there is plenty of room between tables. Any back ground music or entertainment is kept to a minimum. Gaze at the menu and try to select from dozens and dozens of beautiful Indian dishes. You will have your fill and hunger for more. Best Indian food on the Peninsula. Period.