dish it up
The Age
Friday August 28, 2009
Larissa Dubecki shares herfavourite dining momentsof the month. Scallops at Delizia CucinaThere's a very good argument that Richenda Pritchard, chef at the loveable but assured Seddon bistro she co€‘owns with front-of-house doyenne Deborah Cole, isasingular genius when it comes to braises, but adish like this proves she has more than one trick up her sleeve. It's a scallop duo: a finely minced sausage on afennel and lime puree, and a single whole Spring Bay specimen,roe still on, baked and served on the shell withgarlic butter. There's a whole lot of bivalve love goingon, but the bridge between the two versions isapunchy little shaved fennel and finger lime salad. Delizia, si, grazie mille.Price: $17. 160 Victoria Street, Seddon, phone 9687 9397.Salami and cheese at Giuseppe, Arnaldo&SonsYou've got to love the so-called "salumi" cabinet at GAS. The moodily lit glass case of hanging bits of cured porker looks, not unreasonably, like an object of worship. Co-owner Robert Marchetti is responsible for the cured meats, and the menu will tell you they're made from Black Berkshire pigs that led a happy free-range life before being turned into, in this case, thick-cut, soft slices of traditional salami served on waxed paper. Order up accompanying cheese, like the northern Italian hard variety Montasio Stravecchio, and a glass of soave and these two dishes become a meal in themselves.Price: cacciatore (salami) $12; cheese $18. Crown, Whiteman Street, Southbank, phone 9694 7400.Pho at Co Do There are as many versions of pho in Melbourne as there are lovers of the noodle soup that doubles as the unofficial Vietnamese national dish, and while aficionados might split into various camps (beef versus pork versus chicken, spicy versus soulful, pizzle or no pizzle) you've got to hand it to Victoria Street's Co Do for straddling the great divide. Itdoesn't stand out for its decor (the usual laminate, plus it's painted lurid pink) but their pho bo - that's the beef one - is a stand-out on a street where good pho isn't hard to find. The broth is peppery and aromatic, subtle and hearty, and there's a small mountain of fresh Vietnamese mint, bean shoots, chilli and lemon for customising.Price: $8.50. Co Do, 196 Victoria Street, Richmond, phone 9421 2418.Eggplant fritters at Markov PlaceThe ultimate drinking food must, by definition, lend itselftoconsumption with one hand. It must also includeafair whack of salt and fat and, with abit of luck, at least one element that helps alleviate the guilt overdefying the good advice of the medical fraternity. Carlton's Markov Place offers some damn good fries with aioli, buttheir eggplant fritters tick every box. Foursandwich-sized triangles of thinly battered, not-too-oilygoodness containing an unctuous filling ofeggplantand oozing goat's curd, with a minty, herby mayoand some wedges of lemon. Humble yet, when theoccasion is right, perfect. Price: $15. 350-352 Drummond Street, Carlton, phone9347 7113.
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