Huxtable Restaurant

There are quite a few places in Melbourne that I have been meaning to visit for some time and one of the places on this list is Huxtable Restaurant. One of the reasons for this is that their menu is based on the way I like to eat, divided into Bites (small individual portions) and "To Share" (larger, more substantial dishes designed for sharing). I like shared plates because they mean that you can try several different items as a group and everyone gets to try them all (if they want). So when a Saturday came up and there was not much else going on, we got a group of 4 together and headed down to Fitzroy. My good friends A & R and L (I promised I'd use their initials).

All being (relatively) adventurous eaters, we were eager to try a good mix of dishes from the menu and to start with we liked the idea of the Jalapeno and Cheddar Croquette.

 

Deep fried cheesy spicy goodness is the best way to describe these, although I would have liked more of a kick from the jalapeno, it was crispy on the outside and gooey and soft on the inside. All in all, a good mix of textures and flavours.

Next I chose the Rice Flour Crusted Oyster Po'Boy, Iceberg, Sriracha Mayo. This I really enjoyed, the oysters were deep fried and crispy and the lettuce was a nice and fresh and helped balance some of the richness of the fried oysters and mayo. Speaking of the mayo, that was definitely the star of this dish for me, smooth and spicy with some of the kick I missed from the jalapeno (sriracha is a Thai hot chilli sauce). I'd definitely go back for another one, but be warned - if you don't like oysters, so wont like these (as my friend A found out) as even with all the flavour from the mayo, the oysters still stand up for themselves.

So far you might be mistaken into thinking that Huxtable serves only American flavours, but you'd be wrong as they do cover a wide variety of cuisines and show a lot of influence from all around the world. The next dish showed a bit of Japanese influence - the Tempura Eggplant Prawn Fritter, Shiso. I really like deep fried eggplant, it turns almost into a delicious, savoury fairy floss and the combination of this with prawns was something I wouldn't have put together, but worked really well. The tempura batter was light and crisp.

 

Next up was the most controversial dish of the day, with R, L and myself all wanting to try it, but A was dead set against it. We didn't mind, that just meant more for us! Here it is, Veal Tartare, Soft Boiled Egg, Soldiers. I've had a few different tartares and this was definitely one of the better ones, a bit on the acidic side, which I quite like and plenty of onion and herbs too.

 I'm not sure if R chose the next dish because she wanted to bring something healthy to the meal or not after all the fried food, but I'm sure glad she did. Quinoa w Zucchini Flowers, Pomegranate, Goats Cheese was a great combination, every element was distinct and stood out on its own, but together they were really good. The fresh spring taste of zucchini flowers balanced by the creamy tartness of the goat's cheese and the occasional burst of brightness as the pomegranate seeds popped in the mouth was a great foil to the rest of our rich menu choices.

Next in line is the Roasted Duck Breast, Soy Braised Daikon, Sour Plum. Before this dish, we were discussing how we all liked the food and what might be our least favourite dish. I was struggling to come up with one dish that was any less than the others, all the dishes had been very good and well prepared. Then this dish came out and I finally had one. It looked awesome and while the duck was cooked well, the fat crisp and rendered, it was slightly overcooked for my taste. The whole dish had good elements, but overall the impression I got from it was bland. I expected more as I'm a big fan of duck, but I wouldn't order this again in a hurry.

 The last dish I want to talk about was the Korean BBQ Pork Ribs, Spicy Slaw, Chilli Gherkin. The skin on the ribs was crisp and the meat was sweet and delicious. The "Spicy" slaw was not so spicy and the "Chilli" gherkin had a distinct lack of heat. Even without the implied heat, this was a very good dish and who doesn't love pork?

Overall, Huxtable does things very well and the food is great and varied.  I don't know if the chef is holding back on the heat deliberately, but with so much influence from around the world I would expect a bolder hand with the seasonings. Especially when dish components are described as spicy or chilli, we know what to expect when we order it, in fact in most cases it's why we order it. Why not deliver?

The waitstaff were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and were happy to make recommendations. When it comes to the decor, even though the floor is stone or concrete, the furnishings are well designed to keep the noise level down. The layout feels good and there are several different seating options available - stools at the bar, or high tables and stools near the window which are great for people watching, or normal tables at the back. I would definitely go back again, as there are still a good number of dishes I would like to try.

A Day At The Museum

One thing you may not know about me is that I'm not a big fan of museums and art galleries. They're fine in their own way, but I wont go out of my way to visit them and it is with some measure of satisfaction I am able to say that in my travels through Italy, France and Spain I have not spent a single Euro on entry fees/tours to any museum or art gallery. Sure, I did visit a few churches, but not any that had an up front charge.

Having said that, there is one museum which I not only visited, but to which I made repeat visits and happily handed over the ever diminishing notes from my wallet to be a part of what was going on inside.


Followers of this blog have probably very astutely translated the above sign to Museum of Ham, and if you haven't already guessed, I'm a big fan of pork products (I know, some of you may be shocked). So this was certainly not a place to just walk past and ignore. So I'm thinking maybe this is a museum which shows the history of Jamon and the production process that goes along with it. Not a bad idea, but taking a look through the front window reveals a more practical and exciting interpretation of the term "Museum".

Glimpses of hams of all types entice me to take a closer look, the aromas practically wafting me in like a cartoon mouse at the smell of a particularly delicious cheese. In this case, however, there was no large cartoon cat standing just behind the cheese ready to pounce.

Just hundreds and hundreds of legs of jamon. Everywhere I look, more porky goodness and I'm not the only one drawn to this hall of ham on the over 30C degree summer day, far from it. Space is at a premium, with a deli counter on the left selling all kinds of porcine produce and a bar on the left selling cold beer and food, it's easy to see why this place is always packed with people.


Fighting for my place at the bar, I order a cerveca (a glass of beer that costs 1 Euro). When you order a cerveca at Museo Del Jamon, if you don't order any food, you are given a plate with a snack from the selection sitting around the bar. This may include a couple of small empanadas (pasties), olives, small cuts of various hams, etc. I'm not sure if it was deliberate, but without my asking, the server gave me a different snack every time I ordered a beer.

It may not look like the most appetising plate of food in the world, but a few offcuts of ham and other meat products is a great accompaniment to a cold beer. So for lunch, I asked for more of the same.

Served with a generous hunk of bread, or the house tomato bread if you want to order it at an extra charge, this is a satisfying and delicious lunch filled with the smoky goodness of pork.

Other great value meals on offer are Bocadillo del Jamon (a bread roll with jamon as pictured above), paella or many other options you can see on the sign above the bar. There are several of these places scattered around Madrid and I would love to see them scattered around Melbourne some time soon.

Once again, my thanks to all of my readers who have stuck with this blog and for the fantastic feedback you have been giving, there are one or two posts left from this amazing journey (including what was possibly the best meal of my life) and after that, who knows what is next for VoraciousGrazer, stay tuned.

Mercado de San Miguel and Restaurant Botin

I'm sure I have said it before, but one of my favourite things to do is visit markets. Not only does it give you a great idea of what is fresh, local and in season, but seeing what locals are buying and cooking is a great way to understand the cuisine of a new place. So that's what I decided to do next in Madrid.

I had heard about an old market that had been closed down and renovated to be almost like a food court, but with a great selection of fresh produce to choose from. The Mercado de San Miguel is based on an idea I haven't seen before.


No row upon row of the same thing over and over again, but a spacious area designed for eating and selecting food from one of the specialty providers that surround it.

Mostly there is one of each type of stall, there is a seafood bar selling fresh and cooked seafood.


Another stand sells oysters, priced by size and shucked to order.


Not far away is a deli that sells small rolls with various jamons and other meats for 1 Euro each.


A cheese stall not far away sells samples on bread for 1 Euro each and there are a couple of wine shops selling wine by the glass. This is a great way to put together a lunch full of variety and try several different things.



You then take your plate and find a seat at a table or bench (or wherever you can) and enjoy your food.


For dessert you have a couple of options, there is a cake shop selling some great looking slices of cake and a selection which makes it very hard to make up your mind.


Also, for all my chocolate loving readers, there is a whole shop full of it.


This market is reasonably expensive as far as markets go, but this is more like a combination of a market and a food court which sells incredibly fresh and high quality food.

The next restaurant on my list is, according to Guinness World Records, the oldest operating restaurant in the world. Casa Botin in Madrid has been operating continuously since 1725, almost 300 years. Their specialty is cochinillo asado -Roast Suckling Pig, something I was very much looking forward to.


Walking into the restaurant is almost like walking back in time, they obviously focus very much on keeping the feel of history and tradition alive.


As delicious as that jamon looks, I wasn't here for that. Walking down the stairs into one of the various dining rooms, I had to watch my head on the low ceilings. Looking at the menu, the house menu of Gazpacho, Suckling Pig and Ice cream seemed like the way to go.

The bread and Sangria arrived first.


The gazpacho came out as a bowl of plain, cold soup and the waiter brought around a tray of garnishes to add to it, including cucumber, peppers, tomato and bread.


Bursting with bright, fresh, summer flavours, this was a great cold soup and a delicious was to start a summer dinner in Madrid.

Next came the star of the show, the suckling pig.


Tender, juicy and full of porky goodness, simply prepared in a way that has stood the test of time. No fancy embellishments or showy techniques, just a fantastic, fresh ingredient allowed to speak for itself....and yes, I did eat the tail.

There was also a live band which found their way down the narrow staircase to play and sing during the meal.


For dessert, the menu says dessert is simply "ice cream" and I wasn't expecting much, but whatever was in the chocolate topping they used on it, it was surprisingly good. Unfortunately the photo came out blurry, so I'm not posting it here. Needless to say, I very much enjoyed this meal and if I had more time in Madrid, I wouldn't mind a return visit to try the Roast Baby Lamb or the Baby Squids In Their Own Ink. Another dish on the menu which is worth a mention is the Baby Eels, a traditional Spanish dish of baby eels quickly fried in a small pot of olive oil with garlic and a small dried chili is one of the most expensive side dishes you will see at around 130 Euros per serve. This is apparently due to the rarity of these eels.

Another great day in Madrid and it's not over yet, look out for more updates coming soon.

Madrid

The last stop on my European journey is Madrid. Looking back over my trip, there were many highlights, no regrets and still one more week in a country that had already been the location for many great experiences. I was hoping that Madrid would continue this trend. Looking at the weather forecast, it looked like my entire stay in this city would be in the 30s. Hot and sunny, a great buffer between me and winter in Melbourne.

I was staying only a few steps from the Plaza Mayor, one of the large plazas in Madrid and a focal point for tourists and street performers alike.


The capital of Spain is well know for its food culture. Even though it is far from any coast, fresh seafood is flown in daily from all over Spain and other produce is available in abundance. While each region of Spain has a unique food identity, Madrid seems to be the place where everything comes together. Even though Valencia is known to have the best paella, I had heard that there was a restaurant in Madrid which was famous for their paella and so I had to give it a try.

The restaurant is La Barroca and is famous for....well, I better let them tell you what they are famous for.


There are several different types of paella on offer here, many with seafood, but I decided on the Valencian, which is with chicken and rabbit.


A very basic, traditional version of the dish, this was not bad, but not fantastic. All the flavours were there, but perhaps I should have had the seafood after all as this just seemed a little too simple.

The next restaurant on my list was one that until recently had two Michelin stars. This last restaurant is La Broche and was started by Sergi Arola and his executive chef at the time was Angel Palacios. They worked together in El Bulli and left to start La Broche. Recently, Sergi has left to start another project and Angel has become head chef here.

While getting a reservation for El Bulli is almost impossible, the influence of what is being done there is possible to see all over Spain. Therefore at La Broche I expected to see modern techniques used to present traditional flavours and maybe a few surprises thrown in for good measure.


The cool, modern exterior leads into a cool, modern, white interior which I found a little sterile, but that may have been due to that fact that I had booked a mid week early dinner (9:30pm) and was the first customer there. Some other customers did arrive later, but only 3 or 4 tables were occupied.


To begin, a snack was placed on the table.


On the far left is a bowl of spherified olives. They look like olives but when you bite them you realise that they are liquid made from olives and then formed into a spherical shape by a chemical process. You get the flavour and shape of the olive, but the texture is purely liquid. The third from the left is Chicken Crackling, the crispy deep fried chicken skin is delicious and crunchy.

The first appetiser course came out in a covered bowl and as the bowl was placed in front of me, the lid was removed and a billow of smoke wafted out. This was Smoked Mussel.


Served on a vegetable "charcoal", this was an interesting dish to watch unfold in front me, but unfortunately the smokiness was so strong that it overcame the whole dish and that was all I could taste.

The second appetiser is called Pizza Margherita.


A playful take on the traditional combination of dough, cheese, tomato and oregano, the base is a cracker with a slice of cheese on top. The red ball on the left is tomato flavoured and tastes a lot like the red sprinkles on Barbeque Shapes (YUM). On the right is a ball of what I assume is oregano foam, because once you break the surface, a green foam comes pouring out. This was fun and tasted great, giving me high hopes for the rest of the meal.

After this came Truffles, Ham and Corn.


A beautifully presented dish reapeating the theme ingredients in several ways, a corn puree, single piece of popped corn, served on a polenta base with paper thin crackling and a small cube of grilled ham. While this was great to look at and try to work out all the different elements, unfortunately it was lacking in depth of flavour and seemed a little bland.

Following this was a cold Strawberry Gazpacho.


A strawberry soup with a prawn in the middle, you'd expect it to be sweet and served at the end of the meal, but instead it was savoury and really brought out another side of the flavour of the strawberry.

The first of the main courses is Ox Crab.


Wrapped in a crepe made from soy milk curd is a gentle, smooth crab filling. Not strongly flavoured with crab, but the texture is silken and decadent.

The fish course is Salmon with Aniseed Flavours.

This is a great way to explore the different ways two tastes can work together, the salmon is perfectly cooked and combined with ingredients which each have a different type of aniseed flavour, including fennel and aniseed flowers.

Sirloin and Garlic is the meat course.


The meat is cooked medium-rare and falls apart at the slightest touch of the knife, tender and juicy. Once again, as with the previous dish, this is an exploration of different ways of preparing garlic to go with the beef. Half a blub of oven-roasted garlic, grilled garlic shoots, a garlic puree and a garlic custard are all on the plate. This was my favourite dish of the meal by far and the taste of the garlic was not overpowering at all, in fact I was trying to get all the different garlic elements into one bite with the meat and when I did it was still not too much garlic.

Dessert time already? The first dessert is a combination of Lemon and Green Tea.


The stick on top is made of green tea and it has a very strong, refreshing taste, the sorbet and gel disc are lemon flavoured and all served on biscuit crumbs. As a palette cleanser this works well and leaves me ready for the sweeter desserts to come.

The second dessert is called Tribute to Principe Biscuit.


Now I've never had or seen a Principe Biscuit and I can't even name all the flavours here, but it was sticky, sweet and delicious with lots of chocolate.

Lastly is a Lemon Jaconde Cake.


A jaconde is a type of sponge and with almond cream and ice cream, this was a delicate, airy and while not bad, not anything amazing as far as taste goes.

Another thing worth mentioning is the coffee selection.


With so many different types of coffee to choose from, coffee connoisseurs would be happy with this list. For me it was too much choice and a random selection, so I chose the Arabic.

As petit fours after the meal, the waiter comes around with a cars filled with six different containers with chocolate inside and asks which I would like to try. You can probably guess my answer already, so here are all six.


Some are filled with lemon sherbet, some with almonds, but the two that stand out are the popping candy inside dark chocolate and the cocoa covered corn. One of my brothers favourite snacks is something called corn nuts, large deep fried kernels of corn coated in a dusting of salty flavouring. The cocoa covered corn is basically the same thing and reminded me of corn nuts in a big way.

At the end of the day, I had a good meal at La Broche and the techniques on display were modern and skillful, but something seemed to be missing. Perhaps an over concentration on the techniques themselves and not enough attention to flavour balance is to blame, but dishes like Sirloin and Garlic are standouts for me.