Month: March 2016

An evening of storytelling at Moth StorySlam

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Last night we sat down to an evening of storytelling at the Moth StorySlam. Taking over the back room of Howler in Brunswick, there was not an empty seat in the house, as the audience prepared to be entertained by those wishing to share their most personal, intimate tales. If you’ve never been to a Moth StorySlam, we’d highly recommend it. Each month the audience is given a theme where anyone and everyone can prepare a story to tell on stage. Audience members put their name in a bag at the start of the night and one by one, their names are drawn from the bag. The stories need to be true, must be on topic and must be your story to tell. No stand-up routines, essays or how-to’s – and in case you forget the rules their up on the wall where storytellers wait when they are called up to the stage. This month’s theme was lost and storytellers had 5 minutes to ‘prepare a five-minute story about life sans GPS. Tales of the …

Pretty Mama

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Tucked away off the main street, Pretty Mama is a little hard to find, but definitely worth the hunt. Opening just last month, the Carribean grill restaurant breathes life into the ‘New York’ side of the city. Michael Cotter (Gumbo Kitchen food truck and Po’ Boy Quarter) and Shae Silvestro (Brooks Der Raum) are the brains behind Pretty Mama collaborating with Head Chef, Clinton Gresham (Cobb Lane Bakery, Mamasita) and what an outstanding job they’ve done. If you didn’t already know, we used to be a regular at Gumbo Kitchen – and it was definitely one of our favourite food trucks when they were around – so we knew we were in for a treat when we heard about Pretty Mama. Chatting to Michael after the meal, we could see his passion for New Orleans and southern food which was shown through each of the dishes. We went with the waiter’s recommendations and ordered a few of each of the smaller dishes plus a main dish, none of which we could fault. The jerk chicken was …

Brunswick Music Festival

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The Sydney Road Street Party is back this weekend, closing off most of Sydney Road (between Union to Victoria Street) for one giant block party! There’ll be everything from the hottest local music, dance, food and market crafts showcasing the best of the Moreland district! With its strong migrant-culture and explosive artistic population, this community is an inner-city hotspot that perfectly illustrates the bohemian and multicultural heart of Melbourne. When: Sunday, 6 March Where: Sydney Road, Brunswick Visit the website here. 

Frozen at Ice Bar

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Love a themed bar laced with killer puns?  We do, which was why we were pretty excited to get the opportunity to check out Ice Bar Melbourne in it’s newly opened Fitzroy location. Starting our adventure in the front entry, we were definitely digging vibes of a vintage Antarctic explorers hut with rows of warm, comfy overcoats and shelves of faux fur lined boots lining the walls. Once you are fully rugged up, the team then take you through the freezer doors into a small winter wonderland where you can meet a frozen three-headed dog named Fluffy (Harry Potter fans get the reference…), play a game of Eskimo Jenga, or make like we did – and go nuts taking photos…  and that’s before you even remember to order a drink from the Jack Frost guarded bar.  The drinks menu itself is perfect for those who, when faced with too many choices, crumble under the pressure to make a choice. It’s perfectly balanced with the basics, plus some killer ‘ice-themed’ cocktails (and for the kids, who …

Moomba Festival

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Melbourne’s longest-running and largest community festival happens annually on the Labour Day long weekend. It’s all about ‘daggy’ family fun in the nicest possible way. Check out the Birdman Rally – people do really throw themselves off a bridge into the Yarra River using various homemade flying contraptions. There’s also music, water-skiing on the Yarra, skate park workshops, fireworks , a carnival in the Alexandra Gardens and the traditional Monday street parade with a ‘Moomba King and Queen’. It’s all free too, which is nice on the wallet. When: 11 March –  14 March Visit the website here. 

Red Spice QV

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Recently our We Know Melbourne team got to sample the new season’s menu at Red Spice QV (only 5 minutes walk from the Swanston and Welcome Hotels). Red Spice combines influences from locations as diverse as Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Burma and pairs them with the flair and expertise of head Chef John McLeay. A delicious tray of lamb bao John was present at this exclusive tasting and helped to explain how he arrived at many of the creative dishes on display. Highlights of the new menu include the pulled lamb bao with coriander and house made mayonnaise. However our personal favourites were the prawn fritters with chilli jam on deep fried betel leaf. Amazingly tasty and refreshing! Where: Red Spice QV

House of Crabs is coming to Melbourne!

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Sydney favourite, House of Crabs is coming to Melbourne this month opening up in St Kilda’s Newmarket Hotel. It is a bibs on, eat with your hands, share-between-friends affair that pays tribute to American-style crab joints. The menu will be a blend of American style seafood – think Coney Island mixed with Louisiana –  choose from crabs, prawns and mussels with Cajun, Creole, Spicy Malay, Singapore and Lemon Pepper sauces. To round off the menu there’ll also be snacks like  Lobster Fries, Buttermilk chicken bits, soft shell tacos and fried chilli squid. If you’re after something more sizeable, cruise over to the grill and sample Caroline style chicken, St Louis pork ribs, Balmain Bugs, Scotch Fillet or a Whole baby snapper with a side of Smoked sausage, Edamame, ‘Sizzler’ cheese bread or Smashed corn with Dorito crumbs. The drinks list will also be southern style with New Orleans classics likeHurricanes, Peach Cobblers, Alabama Slammas and Blackberry Mint Juleps alongside a tight selection of very sinkable beers and Jersey Shore-esque (extra, extra large) frozen Margaritas. The …

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

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Melbourne foodies, get ready for a gastronomical heaven at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival kicking off later this week. Since launching in 1993 with a modest program of 12 events, the festival has grown to over 200 events with something for everyone’s taste. Here’s our pick of the top events you can’t miss which you can still get tickets for: River Graze – 4 March – 6 March Sample the River Graze, kicking off the 2016 Festival’s Opening Weekend. Graze your way through the weekend along the Yarra River with a variety of culinary hot-spots, free entertainment, regional flavours, and water ferries to get you from one spot to another. Gourmet Cinemas – 2 March – 6 March If there’s two things that Melburnians love, it is food and film so when they’re combined, it’s the ultimate Melbourne experience. Each  Gourmet Cinema session will be presented by one of five iconic Melbourne restaurants (Epocha, Le Bon Ton, Mamasita, European and Baby), who will curate a cinematic food journey inspired by a film favourite (The …