panama dining room, fitzroy

It had been awhile since I last saw my friend Joanne, so we organized to catch up over dinner at the relaxed loft-style Panama Dining Room on Smith St, Fitzroy. We were lucky to get the only table left for Saturday night at 9pm when I called that evening. Quite a late one, but I guess it builds up the anticipation!

Our shared starter was one of the specials they had that night - I don't remember the description exactly but I think it may have been something along the lines of bonito fish on orange marmalade, avocado puree with a witlof and watercress salad. The different tastes and textures here were wonderful when eaten together. Sweet, savoury, tangy. Soft, creamy, crunchy. Definitely an appetizer that left us wanting more.

Our mains arrive. Mine was another special of the night, wagyu beef with potato rosti and spinach puree. While the rosti was decent and I liked the rich verdant taste of the puree, the wagyu was a disappointment. I must've gotten a bad cut of meat because it was stringy and chewy, which made it a struggle to slice and eat. I drowned my sorrows with sweet Spanish sherry, which is the best one can do under such circumstances.

On the other hand, the Kinkawooka mussels with Sardinian cous cous and saffron that Joanne received was excellent. The seafood flavours were beautiful in this one.

After thinking long and hard about which dessert we'd like to share, we enlisted the waitress for her assistance and with her help, settled on the sheep's milk yoghurt cake with rhubarb and ginger beer sorbet and a ginger florentine. This was delicious - the soft, warm and inviting cake was an exquisite match for the refreshing ginger beer sorbet.

I'm finding it a little difficult to conclude my thoughts on Panama Dining Room, due to the major issue with my main marring what would otherwise have been a completely fantastic dinner. I'm definitely open to going back again to give it another shot. If you've been there, let me know what you think!

P.S. Panama Dining Room, along with many other restaurants, are participating in StreetSmart Australia until the 24th of December. Eat out and leave a donation to support small grassroots organisations that help the homeless! Here is a link to the list of restaurants taking part in this event.



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naked for satan, fitzroy: pintxos & vodka

It was a cold and rainy spring afternoon when we decided to get Naked for Satan...

naked for satan

But for 50-cent pintxos, it's worth the trouble. Hell yeah.

introductory lunchtime special - 50 cents per pintxo. how good is that!

The curious name is an ode to Russian immigrant Leon Satanovich, who, legend has it, operated a vodka distillery in this very building during the Great Depression, and would strip down to just his underwear when working under extreme temperatures. For those in on this clandestine operation, the code phrase "Let's get Naked for Satan" was born. Good story, hey?

So what are pintxos? Apparently they're Spanish bar snacks - think mini tapas, but (usually) served on bread. These are secured with a toothpick, hence the name pintxo, or pincho, which literally means spike. You select the ones you want, buffet-style, and pay at the end of the meal according to the number of toothpicks collected. Drinks are ordered and paid for separately at the bar.

There was a good variety of cold pintxos at the counter - scallop on green pea puree, rice ball, mussels, crumbed eggplant on blue vein cheese, smoked salmon, field mushroom on carrot mash and more. From time to time the staff would also come by our table to offer us hot pintxos such as cheese and chorizo croquette (the only pintxo we had that came without bread), whitebait with aioli, and chilli and fennel sausage. We got ourselves a generous assortment of pintxos, all of which were packed with flavour, and I also tried a delectable green apple and cherry infused vodka. Yum!

pintxos and vodka at naked for satan

The pintxos here are normally $2 a pop, which I would say is a reasonable price in Melbourne, and at 50 cents they are a steal. Simon declared that if it were possible, he'd buy fifty dollars' worth of pintxos to bring home and eat them over the next three days! We also liked the decor of the place - adorned with the recovered distillery equipment, it was very industrial chic. Naked for Satan left us both very satisfied and I am sure we will return again for more.



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cruzao arepa bar, fitzroy: venezuelan charm

cruzao arepa bar

The first time I went to Cruzao Arepa Bar for their Venezuelan-style arepa (corn bread) offerings was in early August, when it was a young business of only a few days old. I had the chorizo arepa while Simon had the slow cooked black beans and feta cheese. Both were cooked to perfection; the corn bread had a lovely texture and the fillings were tasty. (Note: It made a good snack or a light meal, but someone a little hungrier will probably want to supplement their arepa with other items from the menu.) I also tried papelón con limón, a sugar cane drink which is different to the Southeast Asian version I'm used to, but nice and refreshing in its own way.

The second time I popped by for a takeaway by myself, and opted for the roast pork leg in garlic and red wine. I was kindly treated to more papelón con limón and complimentary tequeños (crispy cheese sticks) while I waited. The tequeños, oozing with warm cheesy goodness, tasted, to me, like a savoury version of churros, and were very good. I also noticed they now had $12 weekday lunch specials which consisted of soup, arepa and dessert, and vowed to return for that.

So here I am again with Simon, and this time I have a camera and a blog. (Insert evil laughter of choice.) Unfortunately, they had now swapped the dessert in the lunch special for a coffee or tea, darn it! I was too late, but the new deal is still pretty good.

We start off with the cruzao, which is a meat and vegetable soup. It is served with coriander to add as you wish, and a piece of a corn on a stick. It's a comforting soup that reminds me of something that would have been simmering away at the stove for an hour at home.

cruzao

I had the shredded chicken and avocado arepa this time.

arepa - shredded chicken and avocado with mayonnaise

Simon liked the black bean and feta arepa last time and he's sticking to it. I can understand why. We both rate this and the chorizo one our favourite arepas so far.

arepa - slow cooked black beans with feta cheese

Service here moves at a relaxed pace; the food is simple and down-to-earth. I may have a bias as I have a fondness for South American culture, but I like Cruzao Arepa Bar. Next time, I'll be trying their desserts!

Update: Have been back a couple times since - still haven't gotten around to their desserts! But the Fresca salad and the llanera arepa are my new loves.


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