EASING BACK IN ... AND THE ITALIAN CONNECTION

There has been a fair amount of single survival (with the emphasis on survival) going on since the last posting … including revisiting the pub up the road for a steak that I have labelled the best pub steak I’ve ever had.
No such luck this last time. The eye fillet was not on the menu (it’s not the be-all and end-all of flavour, that’s the realm of porterhouse) … that’s not to say that there was anything wrong with the aged beef on the night … it was well on the good side of OK, it just didn’t live up to the wrap that I’d given to the friend with whom I had dinner. The sides, including the house-made chips got a huge thumbs up.
It was grand prix time in the area and the joint was busy early on, but soon became a quiet suburban pub, something missing from most similar establishments and something that stands The Montague apart. If you get a chance, try it. It’s friendly, has good tucker, a good wine list, the staff is great and it is, well, good. It’s on the corner of Park and Montague streets in Albert Park.
One area of this blog that I have to get cranked up is the recipe section. I have collected so many over the years and they should be shared. Just getting the time and the inclination to do it is something to be worked on. Promise I’ll have a crack.
I seem to be working lots … I’m having all sorts of trouble starting work at 8.30am each day (instead of 9.30), not least because I get out of bed before seven. I normally only recognise one 8.30 a day and it’s not the first one. But such is life at Crikey.
And there is still a getaway on the agenda … just a few days before the Easter break … to hopefully get out of town to recharge the batteries … God knows, they need it. Dunno where yet, but something will give along the way.
I was having a glass (OK, a bottle or so) at Lina’s, my local wine bar a week or so ago, and I mentioned to Ben, the manager, that he should listen to my friend, Andrew (McUtchen), strut his stuff. Andrew is a singer par excellence, who literally made the last dinner party at my house one of the great nights of all time. The man is a TALENT.
I finally took a CD there to give Ben a listen. A few days later, he sent me a message that was nothing short of a rave.
There’s good reason for Ben’s attitude. Young Andrew is very, very good. He writes songs, plays all the instruments, sings … sheesh … the first time I heard him sing was when her lived in the house behind mine and he was sitting on a kitchen chair on the footpath, can of bourbon and Coke at his feet, playing guitar and singing … sweetly. He’s a class act. Reckon his website is http://www.andrewmcutchen.com/about-us/ … visit please.
For what it’s worth, Andrew is playing Lina’s (search the web, it’s in Albert Park) on May 1. Be there because it will be worth listening to.
I managed to spend some time with the same Andrew this past weekend (OK, it was Friday) who was nominated for an award at the Quills … the Melbourne Press Club’s night of nights.
Reckon the night may be my swansong, in terms of awards nights … enough is enough, although it was a great night, in terms of catching up with some friends from many and varied pasts.
Great to see Jill Baker, formerly of The Age, win the journalist of the year (read gold Quill) for her amazingly personal piece on how cancer turned her life upside down.
I remember drinking with Jill in a bar at her farewell … she was leaving The Age … and I cried because she was going. There aren’t too many bosses who have that affect.
Lots of good people on the night.
A 3.30am homecoming wasn’t the ideal preparation for a day of proof reading for a job that had to be finished at the weekend, but there you go. What does any self-respecting person do when they arrive home at that time … they pour a glass of red. Good thing too.
I managed to get through the proofing on Saturday and even fitted in a trip to the market to buy flowers and food ... not necessarily in that order.
A bottle of chianti saw me out on the Saturday night, again, not the ideal preparation for working in the AM of Sunday.
But it worked OK.
On Sunday morning I actually hooked up with my friend Jane (she’s a very good wine writer), who manifested on Twitter.
Check these two tweets.
First it was: Fantastic day spent at Villa Mathilde in Campania ¬-- tasting/drinking fiano, greco di Tufo, falanghina & aglianico not all at once
Then she followed up with: Dinner Da Dora in Naples drinking Mastroberardino greco di tufo '10 - very snappy, delicious drink. all good on this greco tour of Campania.
I fired off a tweet to her, suggesting that life was pretty kind. Like she said, “someone has to do it.” Sure.
It has been a while since we’ve shared a glass of the fruit of the vine and in a couple of weeks when she gets back to the fair land of Oz, we have a date.
Dinner with Jane is always good and I’m looking forward to it.