The Independent

Gembrook.

What’s that you ask? 

It’s actually a town in Victoria. About an hour away from Melbourne. I assume most of you aren’t familiar with it, but since Brad’s family moved out that way mid last year, I’ve come to know the area relatively well, and as I’ve mentioned in Instagram snaps before, it’s absolutely lovely escaping out to the (semi) countryside every now and again.

Really good restaurants near his parent’s house though, are a little less frequent than in the heart of Melbourne. I’ve become quite fond of the General Store in Emerald for breakfast, and the Yarra Valley isn’t far for a lunch trip. But dinner? Where to go?

Well, we’re actually super lucky, because the Independent is literally a 3 minute drive from Brad’s parents house. And it’s a gem. I can’t believe how long it took me to drag Brad there with me!

Step in, and suddenly, you don’t feel like you’re an hour out of town. You could be in Fitzroy, or Northcote, but with much higher ceilings. The space feels like a lofty warehouse, slicked up with simple and clean decor, but with a personal touch; blackboard specials, friendly staff and a very low key and relaxed atmosphere. 

When we arrived, I realised Brad and I hadn’t done a dinner date night for a while, and the Independent was really the most perfect spot to break the date night drought. 

A pint of The Independent’s own lager for Brad (that’s actually brewed by Coopers) and a glass of Argentinian red for me, which was young and vibrant, a little brash, but still very delicious. 

The menu looks at the best of the local ingredients season to season, and incorporating those with chef Mauro Callegari’s Argentinian heritage. The menu reads very much like your typical tapas menu, with a couple of smaller dishes to pick through, bigger sharing dishes, vegetables and desserts. 

Although there’s a $55 Chef’s Menu, which Brad’s parents have done and is an absolute feast…I couldn’t resist piecing together a menu for ourselves instead, so went entirely ala carte. As per usual really!

The first thing on my agenda? The morcilla of course! Crumbed, fried and served on a chickpea puree with tomato and chilli, these started the night on a very, very good note. The black pudding itself wasn’t very fatty, or strong in iron flavour, instead, there was a lovely heat and richness in flavour. 

The carrots come smoked with maple syrup, making them slightly sticky and sweet, with chilli and peanuts over the top. Yum. Tender, but not soft, the maple syrup really brings out the sweetness, but without it coming across sugary, with the lovely warm and earth smokiness coming through. Could have eaten these forever. 

The Provoleta (provolone) - baked cheese and chimichurri, was different to what I expected, almost like snails with herb and butter sauce…just without the snails and a lot more cheese (which I’m totally not complaining about)! This came hot, bubbling away; the chimichurri was lovely and rich with lots and lots of garlic. Good times.

Brad requested we get potatoes, and I’m glad he did. They were deliriously delicious, golden roasted potato gems which were so incredibly crunchy. With dollops of onion puree, garlic and thyme, this was a comforting dish, that was surprisingly elegant. 

For a bigger dish, we opted for the Pollo, aka chicken, with sweet corn off the cob and as puree, and palm heart. The chicken was deep fried, with a lovely crunchy crust and tender meat, the richness partnering well with the sweetness of the corn. I also loved how vibrant the dish was, such a lovely mix of colours! 

After letting the smorgasbord of food settle, I had to try some dessert, since I had seen plates pass our table through the night and been successfully tempted. 

I opted for the chocolate trifle, and man. What a dessert.

Served deconstructed, the trifle is an enormous plate of sweetness. I’m so glad we only got one between two, because this could have easily fed three people very comfortable. Since I’m a glut, and a sweet tooth though, I smashed through most of it anyway. 

Chocolate soil, berries, caramel, chocolate sauce, brownie chunks, honeycomb and light meringue pieces on the top. So much tastiness, and it was quite rich. I would almost say it was like a black forest cake, without the cake shape! 

By the end of the night, I was definitely not looking forward to standing up, positively rotund with a full and happy belly. Best of all, the bill was an amazingly reasonable $110. For all that food. 

So although it’s a bit of a hike for the average Melbournian, the Independent is definitely worth a visit if you’re remotely near the area. Although we went for dinner, I think this would be a lovely spot for lunch as well, lofty and bright, and it even has a lovely backyard area with space for the kids to play, with a bit of a herb and veggie garden going on as well. 

I for one, am certainly looking forward to many more visits…seeing that Brad does only live 3 minutes away.  

The Independent 

79 Main Street

Gembrook 3783

Sydney - Porteno

"Hey guys, I'm going to Sydney for a weekend, where should I eat?"

The one response that I got from absolutely everybody?

Porteno.

Porteno.

Porteno.

I couldn't quite understand. See, I'm the sort of person who doesn't really go out for grilled meat or steak, as to me, that's something generally that you can do at home on your own fairly easily. 

However, since Porteno, which is an Argentinian grill restaurant, was literally the only recommendation that I heard from every single person I asked (including Pete Evans!) I made the decision to make sure I visited when I was in Sydney with Ben. 

So on Mardi Gras night, rather than line up to see the parade and craziness on Oxford Street, we took ourselves to Surry Hills and lined up outside the restaurant around 5 or 10 minutes before 6pm, when they opened. We were surprised to see a fairly decent sized crowd by the time we got there!

I was half nervous that we wouldn't get a seat and be waiting for an hour as the first round of people munched away happily, but fortunately that wasn't the case, and as we were guided to our seat, I just got caught up in the buzz of the place as the senses all switched on. It was exciting.

There was the distinct and decadent aromas of meaty goodness grilling away, the buzz and chatter and the beautiful room with the high-ceiling that acted as a skylight giving warmth to a black and white themed interior. 

Can I just take a moment to talk about the interior and the atmosphere it evokes? It just worked. The combination of white walls, brick, checkerboard floors, black iron railings, the little window with a railing and some greenery which made you feel like you were outside trying to sneak a peek into some senoritas boudoir, I felt like I was somewhere in South America. Although I've never been myself, I've seen photos from my parents travel there some years ago, and I could just imagine the tables being cleared and an Argentinian tango starting up to an accordion. 

Ben and I were grinning like stupid kids, as we got swept up in the atmosphere and the excitement, noting that all the chefs had tattoos and looked like all the cool kids from Grease, with the waitresses also carrying a certain cool sassiness around with them as well. 

And can I mention, we were sitting right next to the traditional Asado? 

An Asado is essentially a pit of fire, where they have their pig and lamb, slow cooked over a wood fire for 8 hours. Yeah. Our mouths were watering the entire time we were there. 

We started our evening with a couple of aperitifs as we drooled over the menu. A Lillet blanc for me and possible some Montenegro for Ben? I don't remember. I do remember that these glasses were the most delicate and beautiful things I had held in recent times though. 

We ordered, got some serious meat knives, and made sure to apologise to any vegetarians who might see our Asado pit pictures on Facebook. 

Then we started with chorizo, their own housemade pork sausage goodness. I had never seen chorizo cut so generously, nor seen them so plump and seductive. Although these weren't spicy enough to be burning our ears off, there was definitely a nice kick of spices and warmth in the mouth. I died for the tender meat, the generous amounts of fat throughout and adored that there was so much flavour without being too salty. It was served with chimi churri, with is a classic Argentinian condiment which went very well. Brilliant way to start off our night. 

Our night was only going to keep going better as our mixed plate of Chanchito a la Cruz and Cordero a la Cruz reached our table.

8 hour woodfired big and 8 hour woodfired lamb.

Oh my goodness.

Where do I start? What do I say?

You've already heard me sing about the intoxicatingly delicious aromas of the meat, the result of the long slow cooking process. 

I don't think Ben and I could say anything as we took our first bites. Both the meats were so lusciously tender and juicy, but wholly cooked through. Mix that with a bit of crunchy skin and we're pretty much in meat heaven. 

I loved the rough chunky cuts, giving the pieces of meat we had a bit of body, to really appreciate how juicy this was, as they melted away in your mouth. Although we loved both, I did prefer the pork a little bit more, as I quite enjoyed that for the rather lean bits of meat we had, they were still so succulent, whilst Ben preferred the lamb, maybe because there was a bit more of a moreish fatty goodness to them? Who knows, who really cares, because if either of these showed up randomly in my life I would be a pretty damn happy girl. 

On the side, we enjoyed a white polenta with provolone cheese with barbecue radicchio, rosemary and an anchovy dressing. Goodness, so creamy and smooth, I was amazed to see the polenta like that! I could have almost just eaten on it's own, especially if it was a cold night out, it was just so incredibly comforting. 

To make ourselves also feel a little 'healthy' (or something) we had the Repollitos de Brusela Frito, crispy fried brussel sprouts with lentils and mint. Brilliant. Have never had brussel sprouts like these before, I adored the crunch and the freshness from the mint, but also the sauciness that the lentils sort of provided. Happy sighs…

Although we devoured our delicious treats with vigour, we eventually slowed down, determined to get through as much as we can and enjoyed a cocktail each (although I forgot what we ordered). 

You see those happy faces?

We were happy. Very, very happy.

However, we were not quite finished with Porteno yet. Dessert was still on the agenda!

Which is when we met the Leche Quemada, a burnt milk custard with peach and chocolate ice cream.  Oh goodness. The burnt milk custard was like sweet, smooth, caramel goodness with a thin sugary crust. Yahum. I loved the addition of the salty popcorn which just gave texture and depth to the already super chocolatey ice-cream. The peaches with passionfruit were a nice little touch of freshness as well. Oh joy. Happy joy. Can I marry a dessert? Although I guess it wouldn't pay the bills…

Ben and I agreed, Porteno was one of the best meals we had in a long while. Everything was just delicious and incredibly memorable. It was one of those meals with multiple moments of speechlessness, as we were just blown away by the texture and flavours. But it was more than food, there was just such a great atmosphere and a good feel vibe. Porteno have truly got it down pat.

So now, whenever someone asks me where to eat in Sydney, I'll sit them down with a cup of tea and tell them about this wonderful place I've eaten at called Porteno….

Porteno

358 Cleveland Street

Surry Hills

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