All posts tagged: drink

Fat Tuesday

New Orleans Carnival

Po’ Boy Quarter joins forces with Ding Dong Lounge to present Fat Tuesday New Orleans Festival Melbourne on Tuesday, 9 Feb at Piazza Italia, Argyle Street in Carlton. New Orleans is known for it’s party vibe, delicious food, jazz music and of course a swinging good time, and this festival promises all that. The evening will showcase a rich smorgasboard of Southern food with Po’ Boy Quarter, Girl with the Gris Gris, Bluebonnet BBQ & Taco Truck cooking up all the traditional dishes including Louisiana Gumbo, Po’ Boys, Texas BBQ, Tacos and more. To get you dancing and swinging your hips, music will come from Adam Rudegeair’s Bayou Tapestry with Henry Manetta, Jazz Party, Horns Of Leroy, The Always for Pleasure Allstars with Kerri Simpson and The Gumbo Blues Band with Chris Wilson, Steve Lucas, Jerome Smith, Matt Dwyer and Ash Davies & Skyscraper Stan and The Commission Flats. To top it all off, there’ll also be a fortune teller’s booth and a costume competition that will culminate with the crowning of Melbourne’s very first King and Queen of Mardi Gras! Book your …

Your guide to Australia Day

Everybody loves a good party and this Australia Day there’s plenty of celebrations around town to  commemorate the first fleet of European ships that set foot in Australia and of course all things great about Australia. So whether you’ve got the day off (or for the lucky ones, the whole weekend), here’s your ripper guide on what to do this Australia Day. Australia Day Parade One of Melbourne’s favourite Australia Day activities, the vibrant Australia Day Parade sees thousands of people line Swanston Street each year. A family friendly event, the parade will see more than 100 community and cultural groups come together for this spectacular annual event. The Food Truck Festival The Docklands will come alive for Australia Day  events, activities, fun, food and fireworks throughout the afternoon and into the evening. 17 of  Melbourne’s favourite food trucks, (includingStreet Feast, C’est Chick, Nem n Nem, White Guy Cooks Thai, Real Burgers, Chilli Express, Kurbside Cravings and many more) will be coming to the party cooking up  everything from crepes and cakes through to burgers, bangers and Thai. …

Victorian Cider & Pork Festival 2016

Set amongst the vines at the picturesque Rochford Wines,  for the first time ever in Victoria – the Yarra Valley will play host to the inaugural Victorian“2016 Cider and Pork Festival” – to be held over the Australia Day Long Weekend. Celebrate the humble pig and crushed apple at this two-day festival where there’ll be more than 75 international and Australian ciders will be on showcase -with more than 15 local hero boutique cider producers in attendance, including- St Ronan’s Cider, Napoleone Cider, Punt Road Cider, Batlow Cider Co, Square Keg Cider, Hills Cider, Custard & Co, Daylesford Cider Co, Flying Brick, Sidekick Cider, Young Henrys and many more. To keep you from going hungry, there’ll also be 15 different food trucks and pop-restaurants showcasing more than  60 different and mouth-watering pork dishes from locally sourced produce and leading Melbourne restaurants. o If that’s enough to fill your day there will also be Masterclasses held over both days of the festival where you can learn about varying ranges of ciders from all over the world-including France, Australia …

Royal Croquet Club

The Royal Croquet Club are bringing their party back to Melbourne. Now in it’s third year, the festival is the perfect way to spend a warm summer’s afternoon, pimms in hand, croquet mallet in the other. This year’s food includes Mamasita, Lady Carolina, Ruyi, Gazi, Blue Bonnet Barbeque and everyone’s favourite gelateria, Pidapipo. There’ll also be live music from Alpine, GRMM, Running Touch plus more. When: December 10 -20 Where: Birrarung Marr Visit the website here. 

Juniperlooza: all of the gin

On the banks of the Yarra, sun shining in one of those ‘once a month’ beautiful Melbourne days, Pilgrim and Riverland Bars hosted a fun, laid-back festival affair – entirely dedicated to gin. I love gin, but I’m not what you would call a connoisseur – that’s what I really loved about Juniperlooza – you didn’t need to be going in, but, by the end of your experience you came out a little more cultured on the topic. Split across the two areas were 14 drink stands manned by local bars like the iconic Gin Palace, plus international, local and interstate gin distilleries – each with their own signature cocktail on offer, or, for those who wanted to keep it simple – the classic gin and tonic. The accessibility of chief distillers was a real highlight, listening as they proudly discussed their botanicals (one particular gin, from the West Winds Gin company – infused one of their navy-themed gins with Murray sea salt, one sip instantly made me crave seafood), the history of the term …

Melbourne’s newest food truck party

If you ever needed an excuse to visit the east side, this is it. This summer, Hawthorn welcomes The Early Bird, Melbourne’s newest food truck party. The trucks will set up on the  grass laid hot spot tucked away next to Auburn train station, and will be serving up Melbourne’s best breakfast, brunch and lunch options every Wednesday to Saturday. All the regular food trucks will be there including  Mr. Burger, Doughboys Doughnuts, Toasta Food Truck, BeanToMelbourne, Danger Dogs, Sliders On Tyres, Baskerville Jaffles and more. Bring your dogs, bring your bikes or bring your dog on a bike, The Early Bird  is pet friendly, bike friendly and family friendly. Finally if you don’t wait to wait in line for your morning coffee fix or lunch you can pre order it  by contacting Jamie@beantomelbourne.com.au.  When: 7am – 3pm, Wednesday – Saturday  (Friday night with licensed bar coming soon) Where: 10 Newburgh Place, Hawthorn. Next to Auburn Train Station. Visit the website here.   

Drink a drop with us at Wine on Wednesdays!

Wine, we all love to drink it, but do we know how to tell a good drop from a bad one? If you were to take a blindfold test, would you be able to tell the difference between a shiraz from a cabernet sauvignon, a riesling from the chardonnay? Meat Fish Wine have just launched Wine on Wednesdays where they aim to expand your wine knowledge, because let’s face it we’d all like that extra bit of help when you’re that person that has  to bring to dinner. The courses are designed for all wine enthusiasts, whether you’re a novice wine drinker or full-on wino. Moving through the 8 noble grapes (ten points if you can name them!), the course will discuss the origins of the grape, aliases, what it looks like, where it grows, the ultimate climate for best grape growth and how much of the grape is in production. To finish off the course, you’ll get to taste 6 wines typical of that grape variety. We Know Melbourne Giveaway: Want to enjoy some delicious …

A Forking Good Time at Taste of Melbourne

Last Thursday saw the kick-off of the annual restaurant festival Taste of Melbourne and we were there to sample the delights from Melbourne’s finest, as well as some notable chefs from abroad. Armed with empty stomachs, we headed straight to the South African Garden for a Masterclass with chef Benny Masekwameng, known not only for his culinary skills as Executive Chef for the Tsogo Sun Group,  but as one of the judges on the popular MasterChef South Africa. Chef Benny’s chosen recipe was a melting pot, borrowing flavours from across the globe. We were surprised to find that the hero of the dish was not the lamb chops or ratatouille, but a tie between the creamed spinach (the addition of peanut butter being key) and the crisp, deep fried mielepap cubes. Mielepap is Afrikaans for maize porridge, similar to polenta, and is a staple food of many South Africans. Next stop was Circa, the Prince for Cape Brim Ox Cheek, which (while being a bit on the small side of things) was cooked to perfection, …

Rizky’s Hip Hop High tea

Baby got back! Melbourne DJ and Radio Host, MzRizk is bringing her Hip Hop High Tea to Belleville this November. You may recognise the name MzRizk all the way back from 2013, when she had previously sold out two events of a similar kind and you may ask why wait another two years if she knew it was so good? Well, MzRizk has been traipsing the world in some far away places such as Turkey and Vietnam, looking for the cream of the crop, top teas and she’s going to share them all with you this Saturday, November 21 from 4pm – 6pm. Alongside MzRizk, Executive Chef for Office of Public Works (Section 8, Ferdydurke, The B.East and Belleville) Jarrod Moore and Belleville’s Head Chef Slash Vala have designed a delicious menu that puts a spin on traditional High Tea cuisine, including dishes such as Wizz Fizz Khalifa Donut with Blackberry Jam, F$@k Da Police Twice Cooked Pork Belly plus more. So set next Saturday aside and get ready to experience a blinging new take on high …

Summer Night Markets

If you want to taste a true Melbourne summer you have to visit the Queen Vic Night Markets at least once (or maybe more). Last Wednesday saw the launch of this year’s summers night markets and we were there to check it out. It feels like just yesterday when we were visiting the Winter Night Markets, and it was refreshing to see that stalls have been changed, adapting to foods craved during the warmer weather. Old regulars were there like 400 Gradi, Taki Balls, the Sangria stand as well as newcomers, Boss Man Food (we recommend the Goat Curry),  Estelle and the Raclette Cheese Stand. Open every Wednesday night from 5pm to 10pm , the Queen Vic Night Markets features over 50 exotic food stalls, live music and specialist trades. Where: Queen Vic Markets When: Wednesday nights, November 4 – March 30 We Know Melbourne tip: Get there early to avoid the lines.