Restaurant Review: The Black Toro

Location: 79 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
Phone: 03 9561 9696
Link: http://www.theblacktoro.com.au/
Cuisine: Mexican, Spanish
Overall Impression: 7/10 

One of our favourite restaurants in Glen Waverley, the Black Toro is a modern Hispanic-themed restaurant that serves delicious food.

2013 Melbourne International Coffee Expo [23rd to 26th May 2013]

This year, the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) brought together the World Barista Championship, the World Brewers Cup, the inaugural Global Coffee Review Symposium and Australia’s largest dedicated-coffee trade show. 

Over the four days, in addition to hosting the most high profile coffee competitions in the world, MICE brought together the region’s industry leaders to educate, inform and do business. Events included roasting workshops, café tours, and endless networking opportunities to meet and greet the world’s top coffee industry personalities and decision-makers.

2013 World Barista Champion Announced

A few minutes ago, World Coffee Events (WCE) announced Pete Licata from the USA, the champion of its 2013 World Barista Championship hosted at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) in Melbourne, Australia.

Restaurant Review: Sugardough Panificio & Patisserie

Location: 163 Lygon Street, Brunswick
Phone: 03 9380 4060
Cuisine: Coffee, Modern Australian, Bakery
Overall Impression: 6.5/10

Sugardough is a lovely café in Brunswick.

Restaurant Review: Virginia Plain (now known as Mercy bar + eatery)

Location: 31 Flinders Lane,  Melbourne
Phone: 03 9290 0400
Link: http://virginiaplain.com.au/
Cuisine: European
Overall Impression: 7.5/10

The fruit of Marco Santucci’s vision, Virginia Plain is anything but.

Mexi-Mart

Location: 2 Acland Street, St Kilda
Phone: (03) 9536 1175
Food-to-go menu: http://www.aclandstcantina.com.au/pdf/ASC_TOGOPosters.pdf

The Acland St Cantina Mexi-Mart is a brilliant new one-stop shop for lovers of real Mexican food that are in the mood for a night in.

Event Review: Pork and wine night at David’s

To pay homage to China’s favourite meat, David’s in Prahran put together a menu celebrating all things pork.

Touché Hombre launches ‘Livin on the Vedge’ Mondays

Vegetarians rejoice! Touché Hombre has just launched ‘Livin on the Vedge’ Monday nights with a menu featuring tasty new vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes.

A selection of our favourite places to celebrate the end of a working week...

As we draw near to the end of a working week, we thought we should share some of our favourite spots for Friday night celebrations...

Restaurant Review: 400 Gradi

Location: 99 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Phone: 03 9380 2320
Link: http://www.400gradi.com.au/
Cuisine: Italian, Pizza
Overall Impression: 8/10

No stranger to the Melbourne foodie scene, 400 Gradi is one of the best pizzerias in Melbourne.

Launch party - The Grain Store

Location: 517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9972 6993
Link: http://www.grainstore.com.au/
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch, European, Coffee

With a name that pays homage to the days when many buildings in the area held grain shipments, The Grain Store is a lovely cafe tucked away on Flinders Lane.

Friday nights @ Acland Street Cantina

Location: 2 Acland Street, St Kilda
Phone: (03) 9536 1175
Link: www.aclandstcantina.com.au
Cuisine: Mexican
Overall Impression: 9/10

A sexy, gritty space devoted to the worship of Mexican food and drinks, combined with tunes from resident DJ Happy Juan, means Acland Street Cantina (ASC) presents a seductive Friday night proposition.

Shinssi Hwaro Korean BBQ Restaurant

Location: 535 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9670 2466
Link: http://www.shinssi.weebly.com/
Cuisine: Korean, Barbecue, Buffet
Overall Impression: 6/10

Shinssi Hwaro offers reasonably priced and authentic Korean Barbeque.

Restaurant Review: Chinta Blues

Location: 6 Acland Street, St Kilda
Phone: 03 9534 9233
Link: http://www.chintablues.com.au/
Cuisine: Malaysian, Asian
Overall Impression: 6.5/10

Chinta Blues is a popular Malaysian restaurant in St Kilda with a band of loyal followers.

Breakfast @ Cumulus Inc.

Location: 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9650 1445
Link: http://cumulusinc.com.au/
Cuisine: Coffee, Wine Bar, International
Overall Impression: 7.5/10 

Lisa, Alice, Mr Alice, Grace and I were due for a catch up. This time around we decided to meet bright and early for breakfast on Saturday morning at Cumulus Inc.

Event: Pork and Pinot dinner @ Middle Park Hotel

Middle Park Hotel is kicking off the Winter Wine Series with a William Downie Pork and Pinot dinner on Tuesday the 14th of May.

Di Bella Coffee Roasting Warehouse

Location: 19-21 Leveson Street, North Melbourne
Phone: 03 9329 2973
Link: www.dibellacoffee.com.au
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 7/10

One of my favourite places for a short macchiato, Di Bella Coffee Roasting Warehouse is an excellent cafe with a wonderful vibe. 

Event: David's Pork and Wine dinner

To pay homage to China’s favourite meat, David’s in Prahran has put together a menu celebrating all things deliciously pork. At just $75 per person the dinner will feature five courses with matching wines selected by Bibendum Wine Co.

Restaurant Review: Suri Suri

Location: 601 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9629 9797
Cuisine: Japanese, Korean
Overall Impression: 6/10

Suri Suri is a relatively new Japanese/Korean restaurant located right next door to the very popular Brim CC Cafe.

Event review: 2013 Melbourne International Coffee Expo

In the midst of the excitement building around the World Barista Championships that will be held in Australia for the first time in history, Gastrology bloggers were invited to a one-of-a-kind presentation last night to witness what makes Matt Perger Australia’s top barista.

Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shop

Location: 151 Chapel Street, Windsor, VIC 3181
Link: http://www.benandjerry.com.au/

Brilliant variety of delicious Ben and Jerry's ice cream!

Restaurant Review: Meetbowl

Location: 95 York Street, South Melbourne
Phone: 03 9696 4412
Cuisine: Indonesian ,
Overall Impression: 6.5/10

It’s Indonesian-style fast food - simple, MSG-laden but delicious. Meetbowl is great for a really (really) casual meal with people you don’t need to impress.

Restaurant Review: Monkey Bar

Location: 10 King Street, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9614 5354
Cuisine: Asian, Thai, Malaysian
Overall Impression: 5/10

Average and well-priced Malaysian fare without any frills.

Restaurant Review: Shnitz in the CBD

Link: http://www.schnitz.com.au/

Location: 203 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9606 0388 ,
and
Location: Level 2, Dining Hall, Shop K264, 211 La Trobe Street,  Melbourne
Phone: 03 9606 0388