La Tortilleria

La Tortilleria
72 Stubbs Street Kensington VIC 3031
 


Long time no blog! A small hiatus from writing but that doesn't mean I've been away from eating.. Visited the west side with my mates for a birthday dinner at La Tortilleria. If you haven't heard of these guys, they hand grind their own corn flour in-house, using the traditional Aztec "Nixtamal" process. This creates a delicious, fresh and gluten-free tortilla, ready for filling.



We ordered the tasting plate for 3, plus some empanadas and some Jarritos (Mexican soda). The empanadas were spicy, and the deep fried tortilla was deliciously crispy and offset the soft meaty filling.



The first of the tasting plate had plain cheese quesadillas, guacamole and chicken sopes (thicker tortillas like a big biscuit).



This was followed up by delicious pork and medium rare beef tacos. Both these dishes were on the less spicy side, but with the DIY salsa and chilli sauces provided you could flavour it as you wish.



The total was $90 with soft drinks for three of us, yet I left feeling like I could still fit dessert in. Still satisfied with the meal. The atmosphere was just like a street stall, very friendly staff and authentic street food.

I would be tempted to go back and grab a kilo of tortillas (45 pcs) for $15 to make my own amazing feast at home.

Urban Coffee Farm and Brew Bar

Urban Coffee Farm and Brew Bar

Queensbridge Square, Melbourne VIC 3000 

As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2013, Hassell have created a fantastic pop-up garden cafe with shipping containers and wooden pallets. Perched on top of the parking entrance to Crown in Queensbridge Square, this little oasis in the city is the meeting place for all things coffee. A different cafe brews up $3 every day, and a different bar mixes up coffee inspired drinks each night. 

 

Melbourne's love affair with coffee is most evident here, packed to the brim with people squeezing in for the "tasting flight" - for $3 you can taste 3 single estate espressos grown in different regions, to understand the difference between different environments. To further the educational trend, at 4pm every day there are coffee workshops from coffee brewing techniques and cupping sessions. See the MFWF website for more details. 

We grabbed a coffee (from the guys at Monk Bodhi Dharma) and headed up the steps through the 100+ Arabica coffee trees - transplanted from Rosebank Road Coffee Estate in NSW. As you walk through the trees, you can learn about the process of coffee getting from the source to your cup. 

  

The coffee farm is up until 17th of March, so get down to Southbank and enjoy a coffee and learn all about it! 

The Moat Bar and Cafe

The Moat Bar and Cafe
Basement @ The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000



I visited The Moat with the Dinner Club, just a small restaurant/cafe/bar below The Wheeler Centre (State Library). I featured this place in my recent coffee list, but had never visited for dinner. The dark ambience along with the red carpet and shelves full of books make you want to find a couch in a corner and read books, drinking coffee all day.



The menu is mainly based around share plates, so we picked a few to go around.

Canadian scallops wrapped in pancetta on apple purée, black fermented garlic, apple and hazelnut salad


Mojito cured ocean trout with a red egg, finger lime caviar and Valencia orange jelly


Farmer's Plate – Mount Keira cured lamb, chickpea purée, cheese, cucumber and apple relish, olive bread


Ben wasn't being adventurous so he picked the Moat-made meatballs in a rich napoli sauce, with grana padano and crusty bread. Plus a beaker of beer!


All in all, a tasty meal but not entirely filling - especially for the price, however, it would be a nice place to meet up with friends for pre/post show drinks and tapas.