The Other Daze - 'Lunch at Hophaus'

When? - 9th of September, 2015

Where? - Southbank Promenade, Southbank

Website? - http://hophaus.com.au/

It was too good of a weekend in Melbourne to waste cooped up in the house, so on Saturday morning Reviewer Nikki and myself headed in to the city for some general wandering around in the sun. We were in the vicinity of Southbank when my stomach started to rumble, so we ventured to a spot in Melbourne I've been to quite a few times for beers - but rarely for a feed - Hophaus.

If you haven't been before Hophaus is a pub on the second floor of Southbank Promenade that specialises in Bavarian beer and food, and with over 30 taps you're sure to find something to wet your whistle.

Hophaus opens at 11:30 on Saturday, and we rocked up at about 11:25, meaning the doors had just opened and we had the pub to ourselves, allowing us to score primo seats out on the balcony on this glorious Melbourne day...

Which afforded us this glorious view over the Yarra (if you squint, and have really good eyesight, you can make out Arbory across the way, the subject of one of our other Other Daze outings)

With so many beers to choose from its hard to narrow it down to just one (its before noon, can't hit it too hard yet), a flick through the menu and we settled on the Weihenstephan Hefeweizen - a smooth, full bodied and easy to drink with strong notes of citrus - Perfect for a warm spring day

I was very tempted to get the $16 stein of Bitburger Pils, which is what I'd normally get on my visits to Hophaus, but again, it was only 11:30 and didn't want to feel like a complete drunk while ducking out for a quiet brunch.

We checked the menu, and I spied my target -

While reviewer Nikki kept things a little on track for a website called "ParmaDaze", and opted for the schnitzel

We kicked back in the sun and awaited the arrival of our meals...

Hophaus is a spot you can easily lose yourself for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon, as before I knew it I was halfway through my beer with a delicious looking bratwurst sitting in front of me...

This thing was so good I could've easily downed another. the sausage was flavourful, the sauerkraut was fresh and crisp and the smokiness of the cheese paired fantastically with the curry ketchup (which was a revelation on its own ... Why can't Rosella sell bottles of this?!)

Now I get to talk about one of my favourite things that they sell at Hophaus, the Fried Potato Salad, which comes as a side to most of the dishes on the menu.

If you haven't had it before, the best way I can describe it is "freshly cooked, hot salt and vinegar chips", and if you've had them before you'll agree with me. the potates are sliced wafer then, deep fried, seasoned, topped with vinegar and served piping hot. It's probably the unhealthiest "Salad" I've seen in my life, but damn its tasty.

Now, on to Nikki's schnitzel -

While it looks damn tasty, our naive parma-addled Australian brains assumed "Schnitzel" meant "chicken schnitzel". The menu doesn't actually specify what kind of meat is used in the jäegerschnitzel, and additional research shows there is even debate amongst the German cuisine folks as to whether it should use pork or veal.

It was enjoyable, and tasty - the mushrooms and other toppings were piled sky-high and delicious - However we were expecting chicken (our mistake, I know), and not knowing exactly what meat the jäegerschnitzel was (in the end we decided it was pork... I think), took away from our enjoyment of it a little.

EDIT 1/10/15 - WE'VE JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT, DUE TO THIS REVIEW, THE FOLKS AT HOPHAUS HAVE AMMENDED THEIR MENU TO SHOW THAT THE jäegerschnitzel IS, IN FACT, A PORK SCHNITZ, THUS DOING AWAY WITH ANY AMBIGUITY. GOOD STUFF LADS!

In the end we downed our meals with gusto, I debated ordering another brat but decided another beer would probably go down just as well - which it did, then continued our day with full bellies.

Hophaus feels like a modernised version of Hofbräuhaus, good food and beers without the pageantry you find there. The bratwurst was fantastic and the fried potato salad is to die for, if it weren't for the "mystery meat" component of the jäegerschnitzel I'm sure we would have enjoyed that immensely as well. I'll definitely be back at Hophaus as it is fast becoming my go-to spot for any occasion that I find myself at Southbank. Worth a look.

The search continues...

#241 - 'The Brandon Hotel'

When? - 10th of September, 2015

Where? - 237 Station St. Carlton North

Price? - $21, $15 with a pot on Saturdays

Website? - http://brandonhotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Stefo

I love a good hidden gem, and this pub has done such a good job of being a hidden gem that I had no idea it was there until a few weeks ago.

Tucked away in the back streets of Carlton North, the Brandon Hotel is a stones throw from big name spots like the Great Northern Hotel or The Dan O'Connell, the Brandon is a spot for the locals. A no nonsense, friendly, welcoming spot that you'd be happy to call your second home - My kind've pub.

We arrived at around 7 o'clock and headed past the abundance of street-side tables and into the main bar, at first glance it seemed like the main bar is all that the pub was, but when we headed around the back what seemed like a pokey little hole in the wall opened up into a very spacious dining room - complete with double sided fireplace and even a cosy little beer garden complete with outdoor fire and dart board.

We scored prime position in front of the fireplace, grabbed a few pints and settled in.

Yep. this is a cosy pub, with such a friendly atmosphere - You don't see an Android: Netrunner tournament happening in too many Melbourne pubs, yet at the Brandon it made perfect sense. I liked this pub already, lets hope we weren't disappointed by the tucker. We checked the menu...

And ordered our dinner.

The tap list is small, but skews to the crafty. The chalkboard on the wall implies that they rotate their taps at least semi regularly.

I stuck with the Cavalier Blonde for the night - Was a tasty, sessionable drop that I'd be happy to have again.

No more than ten minutes after ordering our food arrived from the kitchen -

My first point will probably be my major criticism for the entire meal (I normally try and start with a positive, but lets get this one out of the way) - The schnitzel was quite small. Not criminally so, but for a full priced parma we've come to expect something bigger - the size of the Brandon's parma was probably on par with the "small" parma option at our recent review of the Cherry Tree Hotel.

It's saving grace would be that it thickened out to a respectable size and was a quality, pure white bird - well cooked and not overly crumbed.

Enough of me whining - the toppings of this parma were choc full of flavour. There was a lot of tasty cheese through the cheese blend (it may have been all tasty, but I can't be sure) so be prepared for a parma with some bite. The ham was flavoursome and made its presence known, and they weren't tight with it at all. The napoli was canned, but it had a very distinct flavour, in fact, halfway through this parma we realised that it was all very familiar.

Why?

It tasted like the Jimmies parma. Granted we've reviewed 240 parmas since we last had it, but the kick of the tasty cheese and that very distinct napoli flavour were extremely reminiscent of the parma we still consider the best we've ever had. Sure the schnitz was half the size, and there was only one kind of salad - but I'd remember those topping combinations anywhere.

The chips were great. Beer battered pub chips, well cooked and served (mostly) out from underneath the parma itself. The serving size varied a little from plate to plate, with reviewer Stefo drawing the short straw and only getting a handful, yet I had a decent serve.

It was good to get a garden salad with plenty in it. Decent serve of lettuce with plenty of tomato, cucumber and onion through it tossed it a flavourful balsamic dressing. Not the best we've ever had, but definitely nothing to complain about.

For $21 I'm willing to give this parma a pass, sure it was a little small but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in flavour, and I didn't walk away from the table hungry at all. If I was at the Brandon I'd have no problems ordering the parma again. The pub has a different food special on every day of the week -

With Saturday being the day to stop in for a parma - That parma for only $15 with a pot is an absolute bargain and complete gamechanger, and definitely worth a drive to check out - Especially since Saturday parma specials are, if you'll pardon the pun, as rare as hens teeth.

It's times like this I wish we had a score category for atmosphere because I really enjoyed my time at the Brandon, its pubs like these that would factor in to my decision making if I were to move to a new area of Melbourne. If you're ever in the area maybe give the higher profile pubs a miss and head down the backstreets to try give this local gem a crack.

Pros

• Great flavours through the parma
• Didn't skimp on the toppings

Cons

• Relatively small schnitzel

Parma - 7.07

Chips - 7.33

Salad - 6.33

Value - 6.67

Total - 6.89

The search continues...

The Other Daze - 'Lunch at the Dude Food Man'

When? - 5th of September, 2015

Where? - 191 Buckley St. Essendon

Website? -Visit the Dude Food Man on Facebook

I awoke on Saturday morning with a hankering ... A hankering for a good burger.

I considered visiting one of my favourite spots in the Essendon area - Demazzi Stonegrill, but as I've already done a post about them I figured I'd expand my horizons a little, head down Buckley Street and check out Food-truck-turned-permanent-store the Dude Food Man.

I shot out some messages to the review team to see if anyone would be up for joining me and Reviewer Fridge was on board, I headed to Essendon and (after a quick pint or two at The Linc) wandered down and met him at the Dude Food Man.

The shop is barebones and simple - but everything you need. A counter for ordering and some tables both inside and out. The sun was doing its best to peek through the clouds so we opted on an outside table, then headed inside to place our orders. The menu, like the shop itself, is quite simple - but once again, contains everything you need...

I went with the Ultimate Double Cheese & Bacon Burger, while Fridge went for the Southern Fried Chicken burger, and we both gave in to temptation and went for the mac & cheese slappers on the side.

We went outside and waited for our tucker, about ten minutes later we were delivered the goods...

nawww, they make a cute couple, don't they?

It's been a while since I indulged in a good burger, and hot damn I made the right choice in the Dude Food Man.

Biting into this burger was pure greasy heart-stopping heaven. The wagyu patties were grilled to a perfect medium (I'm normally a medium-well kind've guy, but I'll be damned if they didn't sell me on medium).

The double smoked bacon worked perfectly with the smokey BBQ sauce that really drove home the flavour. I didn't want it to end, and from the way neither Fridge and I were eating in complete silence, he felt the same about his chicken burger.

Next up were the sides, the Mac & Cheese Slappers

Much like the burgers, these things were a revelation, from the name of them I'm sure you've guessed by now what is inside these little deep fried cubes of heaven -

So cheesey. 

I don't know why but I had it in my head that you wouldn't be able to taste the mac and cheese in the slappers, that they would somehow taste different to a bowl of mac & cheese. I couldn't have been more wrong - these geniuses have come up with a way to portably eat mac and cheese without the need for cutlery (something I'm still waiting for someone to work out how to do well with a parma). Absolutely divine - between us we had three each, and was I not concerned another serve would drive me to an early grave I definitely would've headed back for round 2.

They also came with a dipping sauce that I can best describe as Big Mac sauce with extra spice - I haven't come across anything quite like it before, and it worked great with the slappers (I think it'd go great with a lot of things).

The only way they could improve the Dude Food Man would be to put in a tap or two so I could get a beer, although if I could get a beer there I'd probably never leave ... so its probably for the best that they don't.

Now I'm not pretending to be a burger expert - parmas are my game, and I'm sure some of the burger connoisseurs that will read this are probably surprised that I'm so vehemently endorsing this burger with little criticism to go along with it - but god damn, to quote Jules in Pulp Fiction... that is a tasty burger. Go check it out (As I said earlier they also have a food truck roaming around should you not be able to get to Essendon)

You won't be disappointed.

#240 - 'The East Brunswick Hotel'

When? - 3rd of September, 2015

Where? - 280 Lygon St. Brunswick

Price? - $24.50 on menu, we were charged $22.50

Website? - http://www.eastbrunswickhotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Shanan

update - 13/09/18 - After yet another change of hands we paid the East Brunswick a visit, check out the updated review here

The East Brunswick Hotel is a baby, possibly the newest pub we've ever reviewed on ParmaDaze. Their opening night was Friday last week, which means at the time of writing this review the East Brunny has been open for less than seven days.

When I heard that the old dive bar the East Brunswick Club had closed for renovations my interest was piqued - it was a good pub in a great location with a lot of potential, so I kept a keen eye on their facebook page and followed their progress - It was looking great. So when I confirmed this week that 1) they were open and 2) they had a parma on the menu we made it priority one to head up the Brunswick end of Lygon Street and check it out.

First up - as expected, the renovations are phenomenal -

The pub is unrecognisable to what it was. Now normally I'm not a big fan of a lot of concrete/tiles in pubs, but the East Brunswick manages to pull it off while still retaining a tonne of character. The exposed steel beams and floor boards on the roof are a fantastic look, and there are still highlights of exposed wood and brick all over the place to tone down the sterility that some of the other concrete-heavy pubs have *cough*Transport*cough*.

I figured as the pub is in its infancy, word of mouth hasn't really had time to spread yet, so I didn't worry about booking a table - Big mistake. Rocking up just after seven downstairs was packed to capacity. We grabbed a couple of pints of Coopers from the bar and headed upstairs to try and snag a table.

Upstairs is a completely different vibe from downstairs, you'd almost think you'd stepped into a different pub. Clean white walls, polished floorboards, a white marble bar and chandeliers hanging overhead - upstairs has much more of a classy cocktail bar vibe when downstairs is your local watering hole. We were lucky enough to snag a table, grab a menu and find our target...

I went to the bar and ordered our parmas, its worth mentioning that even though the menu shows the parma as $24.50, we were only charged $22.50. Not sure if this was a fault in the register or a misprint in the menu, but we were charged $2 less than the menu states.

The tap list isn't huge, but there's enough to keep anyone satisfied. Melbourne Bitter on tap, as is popular lately, Coopers, Doss Blockos and Carlton were available upstairs (with some craftier options in the fridge, I spied a Two Birds Sunset Ale at the very least).

After about a half an hour wait our parmas arrived from the kitchen...

The photo doesn't really do it justice, mostly because its hiding under a pile of salad and a soap dish of chips, but this parma is freaking huge. I was feeling peckish in the afternoon and grabbed a cheeky cheeseburger at about 4pm ... big mistake. This thing was gonna be an effort to get through.

The schnitzel was well cooked and juicy - Not as thick as we'd normally like it but not thin by any stretch. The crumbs were applied a tad liberally, but they were well herbed and seasoned - giving the schnitzel alone a fantastic flavour. I could have easily eaten the schnitzel on its own with no complaints.

One slight criticism would be that the excess crumbs made the bottom of my parma quite soggy - I prefer my parma with a good crunch, and this parma was mostly devoid of that, other than around the edges But again, minor criticism. An all round quality foundation for the dish.

If the schnitzel was great, the toppings were excellent. The napoli was home made and bursting with flavour, the fresh herbs throughout were clearly visible, including large chunks of almost whole, fresh basil leaves. The ham was applied liberally and the cheese mix was a perfect blend of the smoothness of mozzarella with a sharp, tasty kick. A fantastic bird.

The soap dish of chips however, were a bit of a low point. I can normally overlook "maccas chips" if they're done well (I'll have a bit of a whinge, but I can deal) - however these just weren't great compared to the phenomenal parma they accompany. Served warm at best and devoid of any seasoning (a bit of salt brought them back to life a little) they were a disappointing stumble in an overall great meal.

The leafy green salad was okay, better than the chips - not as good as the parma. It was fresh and crisp, with a tangy lemon dressing that I quite enjoyed - but I can never really throw my full support behind leafy greens. I need some onion, some cucumber ... some more.

We scored value on the $22.50 we were charged and not the $24.50 on the menu, and for that price I'll definitely be back to the East Brunswick Hotel. It's pricey for a parma, but I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for and this parma is quality all round - hell I'd even be happy to pay the full $24.50 for what we got. Definitely worth it. Normally when we get big parmas like this one we are very weary about them falling prey to Big Parma Syndrome and being bland and flavourless - This parma is the absolute antithesis of that, bursting at the seams with deliciousness (despite a small slip up with the chips).

Right out of the gate this pub has impressed me, from the decor to atmosphere to the food. Parmas aside there are some amazing sounding items on the menu that I also want to give another crack (a pulled pork burger with mac & cheese? Yes please!), so it won't be long till I'm back at the East Brunswick. 

Pros

• Huge parma

• Great cheese blend

• Amazing flavours

Cons

• Fries weren't great

• Salad was a tad boring

• Soggy crumbs

 

Parma - 8.83

Chips - 4.17

Salad - 6.67

Value - 7.33

Total - 7.17

The search continues...

Attempt #239 - 'The Cherry Tree Hotel'

[info]When? - 27th of August, 2015

Where? - 53 Balmain St. Cremorne.

Price? - $21 for 350gm, $18 for 175gm

Website? - http://thecherrytree.com.au/

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Matt S, Nikki, Pat, Stefo, Tony.

[/info]

When Reviewer Tony recently got a new job in Cremorne I had two questions. The first being "Where the hell is Cremorne", and the second being"any good pubs in the area we can try?". Our first attempt in finding Tony a good after-work pub was our recent trip to the London Tavern which, while being pretty good wasn't a home run, so when he suggested we try the Cherry Tree Hotel I was on board.

To answer my first question before, Cremorne is kind've between Richmond and East Richmond. If you head south from the pubs on Swan Street (The Precinct, The Corner etc...) You're in Cremorne before you hit the Yarra. A very trendy little spot filled with old warehouses converted into office spaces and old warehouses converted into apartments - and nestled amongst it all is the Cherry Tree Hotel.

Any pub with this over the bar is already winning points in my book

I liked the Cherry Tree from the moment I walked in. It's a laid back, no nonsense spot with a great "local pub" vibe. The front bar was quite packed yet still remained spacious and the dining area out the back had plenty of room to move.

We grabbed a seat in the dining area and checked the menu -

Two choices for parma size depending on how hungry you're feeling. Six out of the seven of us ordered the 350gm parma while Reviewer Nikki (who struggles to finish her parmas at the best of times) stuck with the 175gm model.

I was surprised that there wasn't any table service out in the dining room - I'm not complaining, as its much easier to split the bill when eating in a group if everyone just orders at the bar, but it definitely added to the laid back vibe of the Cherry Tree.

Now, before the parmas, lets talk about the beers. The Cherry Tree had an impressive range of craft brews available -

From the well-worn blackboard its pretty safe to assume these taps rotate quite regularly. I started my evening with the Boatrocker Ramjet - a 10% ABV whiskey barrel aged imperial stout that will put some hairs on your chest - A fantastic beer, but you couldn't sit on them all night unless you wanted to, ya know, die.

From there I moved onto the 4 pines with my parma (light and refreshing, a great palate cleanser after the Ramjet) and finished up the meal with a Matso's ginger beer - A great way to finish off a meal - and I barely scratched the surface of the Cherry Tree's tap list - Will definitely head back here and give it another look-see.

Anyway enough about the beers - On to the parmas...

The 350gm -

And the 175gm -

The schnitzels were a bit divisive, here at ParmaDaze we usually like our schnitzels thick, classically we go by the rule of "the less hammered, the better" as shown by our Best New Parma of 2014 winner The Wolf & I, which was pretty much a chicken breast that was crumbed without ever seeing a mallet.

The Cherry Tree went the other way - it was big in circumference, but hammered quite thin - not unlike the parmas you get at Mrs. Parmas in the CBD. It was a bit of a sticking point, but to be honest I didn't hate it - Although thin it was real chicken breast and the crumbing retained a solid crunch the entire way through. If I did have a criticism I'd say ease off on the mallet a little - If only to give the bird a chance to retain some of the juiciness you get with the thicker schnitzels, and maybe consider pan-cooking them instead of chucking them in the deep fryer.

If the schnitzel's thickness was a big issue the toppings definitely saved it - piled on thick and high with cheese, sugo and "Barkly's Bomba Ham" - which was quite tasty, although its flavour got a little lost amongst all the others as the toppings were all very flavoursome.  The mozzarella was cooked to golden-brown perfection and the sugo gave the parma some much needed moisture.

The chips were pretty good. A decent serving served almost out from underneath the parma - was no need to add extra salt as they were very well seasoned straight out of the kitchen. A great addition to the meal.

It's not often we see garden salads packed with this much stuff. Lettuce, cucumber, capsicum, tomato, onion and even beetroot - this was a packed salad. Fresh and crisp with a light baslamic dressing. As far as garden salads go this one was pretty good.

Looking at the Cherry Tree's website I can't see any mention of a meal special beyond a $15 pizza & pot, so parma night hunters are out of luck on this one. However I'd be happy to shell out another $21 for what I received. The ingredients were top notch and, despite a couple of stumbles, this was an all round pretty decent parma.

The Cherry Tree is a backstreets gem that I'd be stoked to call my local, and its definitely the best we've come across so far in our little "search for reviewer Tony's after-work pub" - if only for the fantastic tap list. Worth a crack if you're in the area.

[pros]

• Quality ingredients with a lot of flavour
• Great tap list behind the bar

[/pros][cons]

• Schnitzel was hammered quite thin

[/cons]

Parma - 7.20

Chips - 6.93

Salad - 6.93

Value - 7.21

Total - 7.09

The search continues...

Attempt #238 - 'The Tooborac Hotel'

[info]When? - 22nd of August, 2015

Where? - 5115 Northern Hwy. Tooborac.

Price? - $15 Pot & Parma Thursdays, $22.90 Standard, $35 "double decker"

Website? - http://tooborachotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Cale, Fridge, Lee, Pat, Shanan

[/info]

We first stumbled upon the Tooborac Hotel when we were on our way up to Echuca for our 200th parma weekend. I fell in love with the Tooby then and have been wanting to get back up and give them a proper review ever since, so when the opportunity came up on the weekend that landed five of the ParmaDaze review team in the Tooby's vicinity I jumped at the chance to get them on the board.

If you missed the 200th parma review the Tooborac Hotel is about an hour drive out of Melbourne, on the Northern Highway, about 15km south of Heathcote. Tooborac is a small town, with seemingly only a petrol station and a pub ... but what more do you need?

Footy on the TV, open fire and a game of pool. Doesn't get much better than this. 

Luck was on our side as the weather on the weekend was gorgeous, and one of the Tooborac's best features is it's beer garden, out the back of the pub is a massive open area with a stage, plenty of tables and even some outdoor taps for special occasions.

We pulled up a pew and checked the menu. Now the standard pub menu looks a like this -

With an extra something on a separate page (I'm thinking this is the "specials" menu) -

Now we were lucky enough to also get to select from the Thursday night parma night menu, which looks a little something like this -

Quite a selection! After much deliberation the five of us made our choices, as usual I opted for the classic, as a bit of a control parma to compare the novelty options to. We placed our orders and waited for our parmas to arrive.

Now while we wait, lets talk about the beer. Because not only is the Tooborac a pub, it is also a brewery, and a damn good brewery at that. We took the opportunity to take a wander through and see the brewing take place

Then headed back into the bar to have a taste of the finished product.

The beers are just fantastic (and beer never tastes better than when its brewed ten metres from where you're drinking it) The Tooby has their five flagship beers on tap as well as a couple of rotating taps for whatever they're tinkering with out the back ... these are my favourites, with the chilli-chocolate stout would have to have been my favourite for the day. Absolutely delicious.

Tooborac beers are popping up more and more around Melbourne, If you happen to stumble on to one I recommend giving it a go - You won't be disappointed.

Hold on ... I'm forgetting something here. Oh yeah! The parmas!

Back out in the beer garden the meals hit the table -

The Hot & Spicy -

The Bushman's -

The Meatlovers -

The Classic -

This parma started on a solid foundation. Pure chicken breast schnitzel, cooked to golden brown perfection and juicy as hell. Decent thickness and not over-crumbed, while big enough to cover an impressive portion of the plate. You're not walking away hungry from this parma, thats for sure.

Normally when I order the classic when everyone else is getting fancy looking novelty parmas I'm secretly jealous when their meals arrive on the table - but with the sheer amount of toppings on the Tooby's classic parma it looked just as fancy as the novelties! Shredded ham on a parma is a rarity, and even rarer is shredded ham on a parma that actually works,  but the Tooborac manages to hit it out of the park.

It's rare we come across a parma this generous with their toppings - and not just the ham, the cheese and napoli was also applied with gusto. Everything tasted great, and every mouthful was a delight.

The chips were okay, well cooked, well seasoned and there were plenty of them - but they were your standard pub chips. Better than maccas fries, thats for sure - but nothing to write home about, Pretty much everyone at the table said if they swapped these chips out for something beer battered (maybe even some Bad Boys) this parma would be up there with the greats.

The salad was served in a separate bowl beside the parma, a great move. It was on the smaller side, but there was plenty going on. Tomato, cucumber, onion, carrot and lettuce topped in a very flavoursome honey mustard dressing. Couldn't really ask for much more.

For $22.90 a parma I'll be back at the Toob, for the sheer amount of stuff on top of the schnitzel I think that is a perfectly reasonable amount to pay. Notch that down to $15 on Thursday nights and its an absolute winner.

We weren't in a hurry to leave on such a gorgeous day, so we kicked back and worked our way through the rest of the Tooborac Brewery's offerings (the Maple Cream Brown ale? also amazing).

I hate that the Tooborac is an hour drive away, although it's probably for the best as if it were any closer I'd probably never leave. If you're ever nearby I highly recommend dropping in for at least a beer and to take in the scenery. We're getting Grand Final Eve off in a few weeks right? How about on the Eve of Grand Final Eve you go for a drive and check out the Tooborac's Thursday parma night - you won't be disappointed.

[pros]

• Great pub
• Great beers
• Great parma (love the shredded ham!)

[/pros][cons]

• Chips could have been better

[/cons]

Parma - 8.60

Chips - 6.00

Salad - 7.40

Value -  9.00

Total - 7.92

The search continues...

Attempt #237 - 'The Shaw Davey Slum: Redux'

 

[info]When? - 20th of August, 2015

Where? - 171 - 175 Elgin St. Carlton

Price? - $12 Parma & Pot. All Day, Every Day.

Website? - http://theshawdaveyslum.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee & Nikki

[/info]

We have a rule at ParmaDaze that a pub isn't eligible for a redo for at least twelve months after the initial review. We actually came up with this rule because of the Shaw Davey Slum, as a couple of months after we gave them the lowest score we've ever given a parma, word on the grapevine came through that they had made some changes. I floated the idea of checking them out again and was shot down, with a lot of claims of "why would we want to go there again?!". I still wanted to check them out, so, as a compromise we came up with the 12 month wait rule ... and on June 6th of this year the 12 months was up (okay so we're a little late ... sue me).

It's worth noting that this is the first time in five years that one building has received three reviews. Once when it was Pugg Mahones, the first attempt when it became the Shaw Davey Slum, and now its redo - fascinating, no? As with all redos I'm going to be making a lot of comparisons to what it used to be like, so it might be worth reading the old review before starting on this one, but here goes.

We arrived at the Shaw Davey Slum and at first glance it looked pretty much as it did a year ago ... On second glance there have been some subtle changes. The candy jars behind the bar are gone, the wacky Austin Powers-esque uniforms on the staff are gone, even the old diabetes inducing cocktail menu has been slimmed down to something a lot more manageable  I used to say that the Shaw Davey Slum "looked like Sex and the City threw up in it" - and it still retains some of that whimsical charm, but I said at the end of the last review that they need to "dial it back" and it seems like they have done exactly that - its a much more muted experience that is less of an assault of the senses.

We wandered to the upstairs area and took our seats, having never been upstairs at the Slum before I was surprised at what a great spot they have up there. A big glass rooftop looks up at the sky (if it weren't past dark at the time we visited I'm sure it would have been a great view), with rusted corrugated iron walls, one section of the wall wallpapered with a Sherrin football pattern while the other displays a massive TV projector screen, and a third wall is completely dominated by a giant Aussie flag. If downstairs at the Slum was for the girls, upstairs is definitely the spot for the blokes. We grabbed a seat and checked the menu.

lets compare that to the menu from the first time around (I warned you, there's gonna be a lot of comparisons) -

Yep. This is definitely gonna be different to the parma from twelve months ago. If you've gotten this far and have been too lazy to read the old review, here is the summary of what we didn't like about the old Shaw Davey Slum -

• It cost $19, no chips or salad included, they were $7 extra each
• The "bacon bolognese" topping it seemed like a good idea, but actually tasted like burnt taco meat.
• The cheese was bland and tasteless
• Beer was served in plastic pots

Now since our last visit the Slum seems to have realised that they are two blocks from Melbourne Uni, and as such, seem to have shifted their focus to appeal to the starving uni student crowd. It's actually hard to keep track of all the drink and food specials going on, but here are the highlights (check the website for the rest).

• $12 Parma & Pot of Bowler Beer or Cockatoo Cider. All day, every day
• $2 pots or $10 Jugs of Bowler Beer or Cockatoo Cider. All day, every day
• $20 Bourbon & Coke jugs. All day, every day
• $7 Cocktails 5-8pm & 9-11pm All day, every day
• $5 Coronas. All d... you get the picture.

And thats just the tip of the iceberg! So much going on it's definitely worth checking the calendar before you visit as there are day-specific specials as well.

We placed our orders at the bar and kicked back with our free pots of Bowler. Taste-wise its about as good as you'd expect $2 pots would be (not dissimilar to the Railway's cheap jugs of house beer) but it does the job. The best part? It came in a glass. I've never been happier to get a beer served in a glass as opposed to the crappy plastic pots we received last time, we haven't even gotten our parmas yet and they're already kicking goals.

About 25 minutes after ordering our meals arrived from the kitchen, first (as is tradition with Redo's) lets take a look what came before -

And now, the new -

Quite a change as you can see! The schnitzel is much smaller than last time, understandable for the price. This parma has definitely slipped into the "budget parma" category - so you can mentally add "but its only $12 with a pot" after every criticism I give. As I said the schnitzel was smaller than last time. Not the thickest schnitzel but not processed.

The crumbs were still a bit soggy but I blame the napoli for that (more on that in a sec). It was pure chicken breast, well cooked and served piping hot. Not quite as juicy as I like it, slightly dry, but that shortfall was made up for with the napoli (again, in a sec)

Usually the first thing out the window when a pub tries to cut costs on a parma is the ham, which was nowhere to be seen on this parma. The cheese mix had a bit more bite than the cheese last time, a welcome improvement - although I think it could have used an extra handful. The napoli was quite sweet, which some may love and some may hate - if you hate sweet napoli you're out of luck as there was a lot of it on the parma, and the flavour dominated the entire dish (but as I mentioned earlier, compensated well for the slightly dry chicken).

Chips were included in the price this time around! Points right there. They still haven't deviated from the maccas shoestring fries but at least we weren't paying seven bucks for the privilege. There was a decent serving and they were seasoned quite well (I picked up some spice - possibly chicken salt?) no need for additional salting, however some of the stragglers around the edge were quite cold by the time I got to them.

The salad was quite simple - rocket and cabbage tossed in a balsamic dressing. It was flavoursome, but an extra ingredient or two (maybe some onion?) wouldn't have gone astray.

It's hard to keep track of the amount of specials we took part in on the space of one meal. From memory we had the $12 parma & pot, a bunch of $2 beers and a $7 cocktail (and trust me, they didn't skimp on the booze). We've been to a few pubs around Carlton that target the Melbourne Uni kids and this is definitely one to check out. It's not the best parma you'll eat, but its only $12 ... and its a hell of a lot better than the first time around.

I'll be back to the Shaw Davey Slum. I like everything they've done to the place since our visit twelve months ago. From the decor, to the specials to the parma itself everything is better - I'd say its the most drastic turnaround we've had between redos. Actually if you look at my list of gripes from earlier in the review -

• It cost $19, no chips or salad included, they were $7 extra each Fixed!
• The "bacon bolognese" topping it seemed like a good idea, but actually tasted like burnt taco meat. Fixed!
• The cheese was bland and tasteless Fixed!
• Beer was served in plastic pots Fixed!

Now the parma won't blow your socks off, but as I say standard "budget" parma rules apply. It's only $12 with a pot. If you're still hungry afterwards get another one, or another beer, or a burger (I saw a burger, they looked alright). Definitely one for the students to check out.

[pros]

• Fixed pretty much all of our criticisms from last time
• $12 with a pot, all day every day
• $2 pots of beer & cider

[/pros][cons]

• A little small
• Napoli was quite sweet

[/cons]

Parma - 5.55

Chips - 5.00

Salad - 5.50

Value - 8.50

Total - 6.02

The search continues...

Attempt #236 - 'The Sporting Globe - Watergardens'

When? - 12th of August, 2015

Where? - Watergardens Shopping Center. Station Street, Taylors Lakes.

Price? - $13.90 Regular, $15.90 specialty parma Wednesday special. Between $23 and $26 (depending on the parma) full price.

Website? -  http://www.sportingglobe.com.au/

Reviewers – Al, Elicia, Fridge, Frita, Janet, Lee, Nikki, Pat, Stefo   

UPDATE on the 7th of April, 2016 we visited the Sporting Globe in Moonee Ponds to try out two new additions to their parma line-up, which will serve as an addendum to this review ... Check it out here.

UPDATE 05/09/19 - We revisited the Globe to see what was new. Check it out here!

I've always had a soft spot for the Sporting Globe. Sure it's a corporate, concrete, soulless pub franchise, but they are designed as sports bars and you absolutely can't argue that they achieved their goal - Which is why the one in Moonee Ponds is still my go to spot if I want to catch a game over a few beers.

"Is this a redo?" you may be asking. Well sort of, but not really... this is uncharted waters. As I mentioned before the Sporting Globe is a franchise of pubs, now with six locations dotted around the state (Moonee Ponds, Watergardens, Fountain Gate, Geelong, Richmond & Werribee). Yes we have done the parma at the Moonee Ponds Globe before, but that was over two years ago and a fair bit has changed since then.

It's kind've like reviewing one Nando's against the other, sure there might be changes in two years, but between locations you'd expect everything to pretty much be the same. So to answer your question - I'm not sure, I'm not calling it a redo, but I'll put a note on the old review that this one is more current and probably more accurately reflects the state of the parma across all Sporting Globe's than the old one.

If you have been to any of the other locations you won't be too surprised when it comes to decor as they all look pretty much identical. Black walls, red highlights, concrete floors and TV's everywhere (even each booth in the restaurant has its own personal TV mounted in the wall). If you're a sports fan this is the spot for you. I will say that, while very similar, I enjoyed the aesthetic of the Watergardens location a little more than I did Moonee Ponds - the large outdoor decked area overlooking a water feature would be a great place to relax with a pint on a fine Sunday arvo.

So what has changed? First up, on our first visit to the Globe there were two choices for parmas, the standard and the "Buffalo" (seasoned with the same spice that they use on the buffalo wings). However now there are four options on the menu -

Not to mention when we arrived there was an additional sheet to the menu that I couldn't find on the website at all -

Quite a range! I also love the addition of the blue cheese dipping sauce with the Buffalo parma, a fantastic (and much needed) addition to that particular variety... However there has also been quite a price hike, in 2013 it cost $18.90 for the standard parma and $19.90 for the Buffalo - Damn inflation. Thanks, Obama.

But our wallets were to get a slight reprieve - As we were there on a Wednesday night we managed to get in on the Wednesday parma special -

$13.90 for the standard and $15.90 for the novelties, thats pretty much a $10 discount across the board, not bad at all! (However we aren't sure if the discount also applies to the "Parmacado" special).

We arrived just after 7 to an absolutely packed pub - The Sporting Globe is a big venue, and I doubt we would have gotten a seat if I hadn't called ahead with a booking, For a Wednesday night I was stunned at how busy it was, both in the restaurant and the public bar - Trivia was scheduled to kick off at 8pm, and it was in no way short of participants.

We took our seats, checked the menu and were almost ready to order when we got served, as one of the review team wasn't at the table we asked for another couple of minutes - a fatal mistake, as we didn't see the waitress again for at least another 30 minutes. I don't blame her at all, the restaurant was packed and she seemed to be attempting to deal with everyone on her own - I think another staff member or two on the floor was desperately needed. There was a slight snafu with an entree order of boneless buffalo bites getting lost, but as we moved from the pub area to our table after ordering (even though we did tell them we were moving) its hard to place full blame on the staff.

We ordered our meals, with a bit of variety around the table as to which novelty was ordered (with the exception of the Parmacado. Nobody got that), kicked back, and waited for our meals to arrive.

If you're after a beer the tap list at the globe looks something like this -

With quite a few more bottled options that tend more to the craft sensibilities, check the website for the full list.

Despite the wait to actually place our orders, the turn around time for the parmas themselves was pretty good - no more than a 15 minute wait and we were tucking in.

The Jack Parma -

The Buffalo Parma -

I could've sworn I had a photo of the Premiership parma, but apparently not - a couple of reviewers partook in it though.

Oh, and just an FYI that the following comments are based on the MVP parma, which I had ordered for myself.

The schnitzel was decently sized - One of our review team tipped us off that the Globe used smaller sized schnitzels on the parma night but this didn't seem to be the case (he must've just gotten a bad one) as they were all fairly decently sized. Pure chicken breast, juicy and well cooked. I would've loved a little more heat through mine as it felt as if it had been sitting for a little while the others were prepared. Not over-crumbed but lacking any real crunch - yet it's hard to complain too much for the price.

The toppings were a mixed bag. They weren't at all tight with the ham and it was quite flavourful, and the cheese blend was probably the best part of the dish. Great coverage with the tang of a sharp tasty cheese, yet retaining a creaminess that I couldn't quite put my finger on, until I remembered the promotional post I did a while back for Philadelphia. Very similar flavours coming through and I'd be surprised if that Philly (or something similar) wasn't in the cheese blend.

The napoli, or lack thereof, was this parmas biggest problem. If I wasn't expecting it to be there I would have thought this was just a ham & cheese schnitzel. I don't know if it all absorbed into the crumbs (hence the lack of crunch) or the kitchen just ran out, but this parma was criminally lacking in the napoli department.

The chips were great, perfectly cooked and seasoned with a fantastic flavour. My one complaint was that there wasn't nearly enough of them - in fact if I had to pick anything that was a smaller serve than the Globe's parma on a regular night, I'd have to say they've cut back on the chips (or the kitchen was running low ... its hard to say).

The salad was decent. Props for them for putting it in a separate bowl but the innovation pretty much stops there. It was perfectly fine, but nothing to write home about, and the dressing, while abundantly applied was a little sweet for my taste.

Wednesday parma night is a perfect time to try this parma, as its too damn cheap to really complain. The Sporting Globe can get pretty pricey when you're not eating with the specials (and they have a lot of them), so its best to check your calendar against the 7 day lineup on the website before heading down to see what deal you can get... It's worth a crack if you can get it cheap.

As expected the parma at the Watergardens Globe is pretty much identical to the parma at the Moonee Ponds Globe, so I think its safe to call this a redo for all intents and purposes. If I came back I would definitely try one of the novelties, I've had the Jack parma in the past and would have to say its my personal favourite of the four, with the Buffalo coming in a close second. Reports of the novelties were favourable around the table with the exception of the Premiership, which seemed to not be as well received as the others.

We finished our meals and headed into the pub to catch the tail end of the trivia comp. The questions were fun, a lot involved visual cues from the many TV's dotted around the room and there was even a beer skulling comp or two thrown in for good measure, To be honest I was a little disappointed we were too busy eating parmas to participate as it seemed like a damn good time.

Pros

• Great value for money on Wednesdays

• Delicious chips

• Good variety in novelties

• Solid cheese blend

Cons

• MVP had shocking lack of napoli

• Understaffed

Parma - 6.72

Chips - 7.89

Salad - 5.78

Value - 7.94

Total - 6.94

The search continues...

Attempt #235 - 'Smokehouse 101'

Where? - 101 Rosamond Rd. Maribyrnong

Price? - $20

Website? -  http://www.smokehouse101.com.au/

Reviewers – Pat, Lee, Nikki, Stefo

When I first saw that an American BBQ joint had opened up in Maribyrnong I checked the menu as, well, I love American BBQ. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that, as well as American BBQ, Rosamond Road's Smokehouse 101 also has a pretty tantalising parma on the menu. Seriously, look at this grab from their menu and tell me your mouth isn't already watering -

You had me at Southern-fried chicken, and it just gets better from there. I had to try it so last night we loaded up the parma bus and headed over to Smokehouse 101.

A stones throw from Highpoint Shopping Centre, Smokehouse 101 is a small little café-like establishment that you probably wouldn't look twice at driving past, but pop a U-bolt and check it out, because once you open the door and the heavenly scent of barbecue smacks you in the face you will know you've come to the right place.

Smokehouse 101's BBQ menu is the epitome of "dude food". Ribs, brisket, pulled pork. Meat stacked on top of meat with a side of meat. We placed our orders and waited for the parmas to arrive.

As I mentioned, Smokehouse is a rather small little spot, but they make good use of the space they have. There's a couple of tables of on-street dining for when the sun comes out, quite a café feel up the front (which, from what I hear, has live music on the weekends) and tables out the back. It's cosy, but I never felt cramped. (and the comic book motif around the tables in back is right in my wheelhouse - bravo)

As for beers there are no taps at Smokehouse 101, however the range of bottled beers was quite impressive for a relatively small spot -

There was a bit of a wait before the parmas arrived, but you know what they say, "good food takes time to prepare"...

First lets get one thing straight - this is not your traditional parma. I'd go as far as to say its one of the most unique parmas we've had this year. The closest thing I could compare it to would be (unsurprisingly) a "meat lovers" or "BBQ" parma.

The southern-fried chicken breast was absolutely divine. Well cooked, pure white, juicy chicken breast. Thick and flavourful. Actually, the word "flavourful" just doesn't cut it - this chicken had so much flavour I could easily enjoy it without toppings. One complaint? It was a bit salty ... and you might start seeing a theme emerge with that last sentence.

Next up, the toppings, and hoo boy - Smokehouse 101 does not skimp on the toppings. As you can see from the above cross section the parma was topped with slabs of thick-cut maple glazed bacon.

If it were possible to overdose on flavour I would have come close last night. Absolutely fantastic. The Smokehouse hot sauce had a bit of a kick, but was more like a smokey barbecue sauce than anything else. The two cheese blend had great coverage, and tied everything together well. But once again, the bacon and smokehouse sauce was slightly too salty for my taste.

The picture above is a little misleading - there were plenty of chips (most of them were hidden underneath the parma, but were rescued shortly after taking the photo). Very well cooked, crunchy and fluffy with plenty of spicy seasoning. However I think you can guess what my one criticism is going to be...

The coleslaw was pretty good. A mouthful here and there was a great way to cleanse the palate of the flavour OD that was the parma. It was fresh and tasty - maybe a little heavy on the mayo, but a solid side to the meal.

“Ease up on the salt and you’ve got a winner. Solid”

— Pat

“This was like no other parma we have ever had. so take note parma fans... Definitely worth a try”

— Stefo

“The first few mouthfuls were delicious! However it was quite salty, which made it hard to finish”

— Nikki

For an even $20 I'd definitely come back to Smokehouse 101. I may have mentioned the saltiness one to many times as it was only a minor issue - but with the chicken, the bacon, the sauce and the chips all being quite salty they compounded on one another. Back it off just a smidge and it'd be perfection.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it - I'd even go as far as to say its the best BBQ Meat lovers parma I've ever had, but it's not a parma for the faint of heart. The next time you find yourself at Highpoint give the food court a miss and duck up the road to Smokehouse 101 - You won't regret it.

Pros

• Southern-Fried chicken breast was fantastic
• Maple glazed bacon is even better
• Pure chicken breast, quality ingredients all put together very well.

Cons

• A little heavy on the salt

Parma - 7.63

Chips - 7.38

Salad - 6.28

Value - 7.13

Total - 7.21

The search continues...

Attempt #234 - 'Aviary Hotel'

When? - 30th of July, 2015

Where? - 271 Victoria St. Abbotsford

Price? - $25, $1 extra to add jalapenos

Website? - http://www.aviaryhotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Fridge, Kylie, Lee, Nikki, Shanan, Stefo, Tony

I have racked my brain trying to remember how the Aviary Hotel landed on our list of parmas to try - I have checked my "suggested parmas" email folder but there is no mention, nor is their on any of the social media sites I frequent - It just sort of ... appeared.

Looking at the website earlier in the week I had a feeling this was gonna be a good parma. The vibe of the place seemed very similar to the Wolf & I, winners of our Parma of the Year award for 2014, and I did find one Instagram photo of the parma, in the background, behind a steak - and even then it looked good.

So we loaded up the parma bus and headed up Victoria Street, just beyond the bridge at North Richmond Station. Luckily I called ahead and booked a table as the pub was packed when we arrived at 7 on a Thursday. As predicted, the pub had a good vibe - It's not overly spacious, but there's enough room to move. A cosy fireplace crackled away beside the dining area and out the back was a very impressive beer garden, packed with both heaters and patrons on this chilly Melbourne evening.

We took our seats and checked the menu, there were a bunch of enticing options, but we knew why we were there...

Screen shot 2015-07-31 at 9.07.51 AM

After last week's Mexi-parma at Lost & Found I wasn't going to double up with jalapenos two weeks in a row, so I opted for the standard parma, as did reviewer Nikki - the other 5 did get the jalapenos, and reviewer Fridge went completely hardcore and got double jalapenos, a brave man.

The tap beer list won't blow your socks off, but its decent. Stone and Wood on tap is all I really need to see when I walk into a pub, other than that there was White Rabbit Dark Ale, Little Creatures Bright, Kirin and Boags, with a bunch of other stuff available in bottles - You'd have to be damn picky not to find something to wet your whistle at Aviary.

There was a bit of a wait for the parmas, I wouldn't say it was a bad wait, but there were definitely some worried glances towards the kitchen door, I'd say about 30-35 minutes all up.

The schnitzel was bigger than it looks in the photo. It was thick, the purest chicken breast, juicy as hell and served piping hot. It was conservatively crumbed (the crumbs were slightly soggy) however it was beautifully spiced. I don't know if it was lemongrass or straight up lemon juice, but the schnitzel had a very strong lemon tang that worked fantastically with the dish. There was a slight bit of schnitzel nudity but I completely didn't care as the schnitzel was so flavoursome on its own. A fantastic foundation for a parma.

The toppings were phenomenal. (yep, I said it, phenomenal) We haven't had a parma as bursting with flavour as this in quite some time - the house smoked ham was an absolute champion - teeming with smokey goodness that worked wonders with the lemon zest of the schnitzel. The cheese blend was great, golden brown and delicious (although I could have used a little more) - the biggest weakness was the napoli, I think the crumbs soaked up a lot of it and left it with a little less napoli sauce than I normally like - but this isn't a big complaint, as there was more than enough flavour to go around without it.

The chips were probably the weakest element on the plate. They weren't bad, but compared to how great everything else on the plate was I felt like they missed an opportunity to really bring this parma to the next level. Standard pub chips were well seasoned and well cooked (and plenty of them served mostly not underneath the parma so they stayed good and crunchy)

The salad was a breath of fresh air. Reviewer Stefo hit the nail on the head when he dubbed in "Sal-slaw", a hybrid of a garden salad and coleslaw. Like the parma it was full of flavour, fresh and delicious. If the parma wasn't so great I'd say the sal-slaw was the best thing on the plate. One of the better side salad's we've had in a good long while.

I'd normally turn my nose up at a $25 price tag ($26 with jalapenos), but the parma at Aviary was good enough to warrant the price tag. Care has gone into this parma, from the lemon zest in the crumbs to the house smoked ham. The ingredients were all top notch and I would have zero qualms shelling out another 25 clams to try this one again.

I feel like if Aviary had've sided the parma with a quality beer battered chip we'd be looking at a new listing in our top ten. It was quite possibly the best parma we've had so far in 2015 and its gonna be a tough one to beat before the awards in December. I was on the fence about getting the extra jalapenos with my parma as, well, jalapenos are delicious - However (although I like that they have the option to add them) I'm glad that I didn't get them - it just didn't need it, this parma is so bursting with flavour that the addition of jalapenos would have confused things. In saying this, they were pretty much universally well received around the table, so go with your heart on that decision. Jalapenos or no, Aviary Hotel is definitely a parma worth checking out. Give it a crack.

Pros

• House smoked ham had amazing flavour
• Top quality ingredients all round
• "Sal-slaw" was amazing

Cons

• A little light on the napoli
• Chips weren't up to the standard of the other elements on the plate

Parma - 8.36

Chips - 6.64

Salad - 8.64

Value - 7.71

Total - 7.94

The search continues...

Attempt #233 - 'Lost & Found Bar & Tattoo Studio'

When? - 23rd of July, 2015

Where? - 524 Macaulay Rd, Kensington

Price? - $22 for all varieties, $15 parma n' pot on Tuesday.

Website? - http://www.lostandfoundtattoo.com.au/

Reviewers – Cale, Lee, Nikki, Stefo

When you hear that a nearby tattoo studio is now serving parmas, thats something that sticks in your mind.

I can't remember where I heard it exactly, but I remember following Lost & Found on Facebook a couple of months back, just to keep an eye on what they were putting out - and sure enough, every Tuesday they would post pictures of some tasty looking birds to promote their Tuesday $15 parma & pot night. At the time I thought they only did parmas on Tuesdays, and with our parma night pretty rigidly set at Thursday it was a tough one to get too, until I found out that my assumption was wildly incorrect, the parmas at Lost & Found were available every night (albeit not as cheap as Tuesday). So last night we loaded up the parma bus and headed out to see what Lost & Found Tattoo Studio has to offer.

If you're concerned that you'll be eating food watching a 19 year old girl wince in pain as she gets a butterfly tramp stamp don't worry - the Tattoo parlour part of the pub is upstairs and away from prying eyes - In fact if the sign on the door didn't say "tattoo parlour" I would've had any clue that there was one up there.

It sunk in as we pulled up out the front that we had been to this pub before, back in 2012 when it was known as Tonik. The parma that night was disappointing, I really hope that the building had lifted its game.

We sat down and checked the menu - apparently we had some choices to make ...

Now I'm normally a parma purist, but I'm also a sucker for a Mexi-parma. I rationalised that two of the review team were getting the traditional, so I could also sneak a taste of theirs to get a better view of what was on offer (and I really wanted the El Dorado)

As for beers Lost & Found has three taps on offer, with some interesting craft beer choices available. From what I gather they rotate whats on tap semi regularly, but available to us last night was Cavalier, Kettle Green Hemp Ale, and (my personal favourite for the evening) A Rocks Brewing Co. Convict Lager. All running at $10 a pint. Delicious.

Before we get to the parmas we started out our meal with a cheeky entree to share, we went with the poutine ($12), which is "cheesey chips and gravy" to the lamen...

I've had chips & gravy hundreds of times in my life ... how has it taken this long to realise that we should put cheese on top as well! That's been staring us in the face. A great start to the meal.

About 20 minutes after ordering our meals started appearing from the kitchen, now as per usual, with a bunch of parma options comes a bunch of pictures. First up is the Da Vinci (standard parma) that Reviewers Cale & Nikki partook in...

Next up is Reviewer Stefo's Captain Cook (pineapple and swiss cheese) -

And finally, my El Dorado -

Lets start with the schnitzel. Pure, white chicken breast. Thick as buggery in some parts and perfectly crumbs. The crumbs were probably slightly overcooked if I had to pick faults, but the chicken beneath remained juicy as hell and piping hot throughout the meal. Novelty toppings aside, the schnitzel was a fantastic foundation for whatever you put on top.

Now for the toppings - The El Dorado was a fine example of a mexi-parma. The salsa smacked you in the face with flavour, the jalapenos gave it one hell of a kick, and serving the guacamole and sour cream on the side was a fantastic decision, as on top of a hot parma they would quickly turn into runny mush.

As promised I stole a couple of bites from Reviewer Nikki's Da Vinci and it definitely held its own up against the more exciting novelties, it was damn tasty. The napoli was definitely the star, chunky and full of flavour. I'm gonna come back to Lost & Found and will have no qualms trying the Da Vinci when I do

The chips were ... good. After raving about the parma so much in the previous paragraphs it's hard to get too excited about what were basically standard pub chips. (plus coming off bad boy chips last week is a tough act to follow). There was nothing wrong with them, they served their purpose perfectly - but they weren't exciting. The El Dorado was served with corn chips as well, which was a nice touch ... I'm not quite sure what I was supposed to do with them as I'd used all my guac and sour cream on the parma and just wound up eating dry corn chips - But I appreciate the effort.

The salad was crispy, fresh and full of ingredients. Garden salad in a separate bowl with plenty of onion, carrot, cucumber and tomato - I hope you like dressing, as there was a hell of a lot of it ... almost enough to turn off some of those who don't like their salad drowning in dressing, luckily I'm not one of those people.

For $22 I'd happily have the parma at Lost & Found again, no question. $15 parma & pot Tuesdays is just icing on the cake - you can't afford not to try it at that price!

It's been a few months of mediocrity on ParmaDaze, and Lost & Found was the breath of fresh air we needed. When you hear "food in a tattoo parlour" the word "quality" doesn't instantly spring to mind, but this definitely was. Lost & Found is a quirky, cosy little spot definitely worth your time, give it a crack.

Pros

• Great range of quality novelty parmas
• Standard parma holds its own against the novelties
• great quality ingredients all round

Cons

• Slightly overcooked crumbs
• Salad could be considered over-dressed to some.

Parma - 8.50

Chips - 5.75

Salad - 6.25

Value - 7.50

Total - 7.30

The search continues...

Attempt #232 - 'Jimbo & Rex'

[info]When? - 16th of July, 2015

Where? - Crown Casino, 8 Whiteman St. Southbank

Price? - $24

Website? - www.crownmelbourne.com.au/jimbo-and-rex

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Stefo [/info]

**EDIT** 10/08/15 - In possibly the quickest time from review to close, Jimbo & Rex has now closed its doors permanently, Like the Pub at Crown which once stood in this spot, the Jimbo & Rex parma is no longer available.

You might remember our review from last year where the restaurant "Cotta" at Crown Casino claimed themselves to be "The home of the parma", a ridiculous claim and a bland parma (really only worth it for the "$24 parma & jug" deal, which I don't think is even a thing anymore.

Well, a 60 second walk from Cotta, in the spot where The Pub at Crown used to stand, is Jimbo & Rex. In my daily online searches for parma related happenings I came across a photo of the J&R parma and it actually didn't look half bad - Surprising, as a decent parma within Crown had been notoriously difficult to find. We loaded up the parma bus, grabbed some cash for the blackjack tables and headed to Jimbo & Rex.

Compared to The old Pub at Crown Jimbo & Rex feels a lot smaller and cramped, mostly because the space was split in half to make room for Man Tong Kitchen. There is a small area at the front that has a bit of a pub vibe, but most of the space is taken up by tables and booths for diners.

At 7pm on a Thursday this place was packed - We were lucky to get a table. I'd say you'd be wise to make a booking if you plan to eat here but I'm pretty sure they only accept walk-ins. We took our seats and checked the menu -

Hmm. Sounds alright, lets hope they can deliver on their promises (and a $24 price tag is writing a rather large cheque - lets hope they can cash it).

The range of beers is pretty much what you'd expect from a Crown restaurant

Nothing too adventurous, I went with a pint of Ruby Tuesday - It went down well, but something more challenging would have been lovely.

After about a 15 minute wait our parmas arrived...

Now I've mentioned in the past that I don't mind stacking the parma on top of the chips if the size of the plate calls for it, but this was just ridiculous. There was more plate empty than there was with food on it. I quickly rescued the chips from under the parma and tucked in.

The schnitzel wasn't great. It was dense, dry, and horribly over-crumbed. It was thick, but so dry that thickness was hardly a positive. Very shaky foundations on this one.

Luckily, however, the schnitzel quality was probably the weakest part of the dish, as the toppings were outstanding. Not at all tight with the ham, great coverage of cheese (although the straight mozzarella could have had a bit more kick for my liking) and the slow-roast napoli was rich and flavoursome. They may have had a shaky start with their schnitzel, but they were doing their darnedest to make up for it with some quality toppings.

Ever since we discovered them back in 2012 we have been on the hunt for the elusive Bad Boy Chips. And yes, dear readers, these were bad boy chips. As good as ever. Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, perfectly seasoned and golden brown. As is standard when we come across bad boys - The only complaint is that there just aren't enough of them.

The salad looked great in the separate bowl it was served in, and the first two mouthfuls were fantastic. The well dressed cucumber, onion and tomato atop the lettuce leaves was a delight. Unfortunately after those mouthfuls it was a bowl of boring lettuce, all the good stuff was on top and gone in seconds. All up a decent salad, but nothing amazing.

For a parma in Crown $24 is a tad pricey for my liking, especially for the quality of chicken we received. For $24 I want the purest, juiciest, freshest chicken breast - Not the oversized chicken nugget we were served (okay thats a bit harsh ... but only a bit). From what I can tell Jimbo & Rex don't offer any sort of parma night that I can see - But Crown's specials change all the time, so its worth keeping an eye out.

Would I go back to Jimbo & Rex? Maybe for a bowl of chips. They're trying their hardest to make do with what they have, but until they can improve the quality of the schnitzel its not quite worth it. I will say I enjoyed it more than the parma at Cotta - So one recommendation I can give is that if you're on your way to the self proclaimed "Home of the parma" maybe take a detour and visit Jimbo & Rex instead - if only for the bad boys.

[pros]

• Tasty toppings
• Bad boy chips

[/pros][cons]

• Poor quality schnitzel
• Expensive for what was received.

[/cons]

Parma - 6.88

Chips - 8.38

Salad - 5.63

Value - 6.25

Total - 6.80

The search continues...

Attempt #231 - 'The Celtic Club'

When? - 9th of July, 2015

Where? - 316-320 Queen St. Melbourne

Price? - $21.50 ($15 Parma's of the World & Pot Tuesday)

Website? - http://www.celticclub.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Stefo

UPDATE 24/08/18 - The CELTIC CLUB is no longer, IT HAS PULLED UP STUMPS, MOVED TO NORTH MELBOURNE AND BECOME 'CELTIC AT METROPOLITAN'. Click here for an updated review

When I was a fresh-faced eighteen year old I got a call from a friend of mine. He had nothing to do, I had nothing to do, so we figured we would go down to an Irish pub and find out what all this "Saint Patrick's Day" hoo-haa was all about. Which Irish pub did we pick? The Celtic Club.

Innumerable pints of Guinness later and we were in love, clearly this was the best pub in the world. We were gonna sign up as members, and be back to this glorious watering hole every week at least. Despite being nowhere near where we lived it was going to be our new local.

Fourteen years later we walked into the Celtic Club for the second time... We kind've dropped the ball on our big plans. But this time we had a new objective - The parma review.

Rare for a pub, the Celtic Club has information pamphlets scattered around the pub, one of which I grabbed on the way out - so who better to tell you about the Celtic Club than the Celtic Club themselves! -

"Located in central Melbourne, the Celtic Club is Australia's first Irish Club and has a reputation for providing a warm and hearty welcome since 1887. Irish and other celtic groups at the Club continue to grow.

Music sessions are a regular feature at the Celtic Club as well as cultural and heritage events.

Restaurant and function facilites are also available"

Man ... that makes my job so much easier. Why can't more pubs do that?

The Celtic Club is a traditional Irish pub - If you've been into an Irish Pub in Melbourne you pretty much know the score. Dark carpet, dark wooden bar, plenty of nooks and crannies to hole up in and nurse a pint of Guinness. As soon as we arrived I remembered why we liked it so much fourteen years ago ... and I won't lie, by the end of the meal I was considering signing up as a member again.

We grabbed a table in the dining area, checked the menu...

Note - I edited this image as the menu on the Club's website still has it listed as $19.90, which is incorrect. I'm pretty sure it was $21.50 ... Might have been $21.60.

And we placed our orders at the bar.

Plenty on offer in terms of beers, Pints of 150 Lashes were going for $8 on Thursday so I partook in that special with gusto, but other than that 12 taps throughout the pub offered pretty much any style you would be hankering for, with another 14 bottled options if the taps don't tickle your fancy.

A couple of the review team ducked into the Pokies room to lose a few bucks and after no more than 15 minutes our parmas arrived from the kitchen.

As you can see I drew the old "two smaller schnitzels combined with cheese and ham" card. I'm not sure whether this is a bad thing or not, Glass-half-empty people may say that the chicken is overall smaller, but the eternal optimist that I am prefers to think of it as I got two parmas when everyone else only got one. Bonus.

The chicken was well cooked, juicy and piping hot - There were some issues with the crumbs falling away from the chicken itself, but nothing too annoying, the crumbs were thin and the chicken was relatively thick, which is all that matters.

There was plenty of mozzarella cheese, but I think it could've used another few minutes under the grill as it wasn't quite golden brown. The ham was a lovely touch and they weren't at all tight with it. The napoli sauce, however, could have used a little more love. There was barely any on the parma and the nap that was present didn't really add anything to the dish. That would probably be my complaint overall actually - Technically it was a decent parma, but it just lacked that "oomph" to carry it over the line. I don't want to say it was bland, but I'm having trouble coming up with a less harsh sounding word.

From the wording on the menu I was expecting McDonalds style french fries, so when the parma arrived nestled on a bed of proper chip-style chips I was pleased. They were well cooked and a decent serving, but completely unseasoned and required a heavy pour from the salt shaker to bring them to life.

The salad looked promising, plenty of ingredients and a big serve, bright and colourful on the plate - but in the end it wound up falling kind've flat. The lettuce was a little wilted and it could've used a splash more dressing. It wasn't bad, but nothing spectacular either.

For $21 I'd consider having this parma again. They run a $15 "parmas of the world" with a pot on Tuesday nights that I have heard is quite tasty - And I think some novelty toppings is just what this parma needs to get it to the goal, Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area (and for $15 with a beer you can't really go wrong!)

I need to live up to 18-year-old-me's promise and head to the Celtic Club more often as its a cool little spot, and I'm honestly surprised it has taken us this long to check it out. If you're in the area (especially on a Tuesday) I'd say its worth a crack, if only to enjoy the ambiance of one of the coolest Irish pubs in the CBD.

PROS

• Piping hot
• Plenty of cheese and shaved ham
• Proper pub chips instead of fries

CONS

• Not enough napoli
• Toppings a tad bland - definitely one for novelties.

Parma - 6.5

Chips - 6.17

Salad - 5.67

Value - 5.83

Total - 6.13

The search continues...

Attempt #230 - 'The Daylesford Hotel'

[info]When? - 5th of July, 2015

Where? - 2 Burke Square, Daylesford.

Price? - $26

Website? - http://www.daylesfordhotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Cale, Emma, Fridge, Grace, Hayden, Kylie, Lee, Mel, Nikki, Nugget, Shanan, Stefo, Tim & Tony. 

[/info]

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, I think I brushed on it on our review of the Old Hepburn, but I love Daylesford.

A bit of backstory - My family owns a property at Daylesford, so as a kid I spent almost every weekend between the ages of zero to sixteen in that town. Then from the age of eighteen (well, seventeen, but shhh) it became the go-to place for weekend drinking sessions with my mates.

So, in very large part, I grew up in Daylesford. I've seen it boom from anonymous country town to the powerhouse weekender that it is today - and the Daylesford Hotel (or "Toggies" as I always knew it growing up) has been a big part of those memories. I remember having chicken kiev's followed by brandy snaps with my parents in 1993, and I remember games of pool with my mates, rocking out to Rage Against the Machine on the video jukebox in 2001.

The Daylesford Hotel has been on my list of pubs to review since the inception of ParmaDaze, but the logistics of getting a big enough review team up there on a weekend has always been a bit of a sticking point - So when I had a bit of a birthday shindig up in Daylesford last weekend it seemed like the perfect plan. Drinks on Saturday night, parmas on Sunday morning. Wanting to make a bit of an event out of it a few of us took the Friday off work and made it a long weekend (you can check out some snaps I took along the way over at the ParmaDaze Instagram).

On Friday night we jumped in a maxi and were headed to try the new Burger and Rib joint, "The Galley Diner", however we forgot the cardinal rule of weeknights in Daylesford - The town pretty much shuts down at 9 o'clock. We drove past the Galley at about quarter to nine and the chairs were already stacked on the table. Okay, new plan ... lets head to the pub.

Although extremely tempting, we decided that getting a parma would be blowing the surprise for our scheduled trip on Sunday - So we restrained ourselves and went for burgers instead...

Sounded good enough to me, so for the first of two visits to the Daylesford Hotel that weekend, we placed our order...

Now, I am by no means a burger aficionado, but god damn that was a tasty burger. The patty, the bun, the bacon, the unbelievably crisp cos lettuce leaf ... it was delightful. We left the pub on Friday night both satisfied and with high hopes for what we would find on Sunday's main event.

Saturday came and went. Many beers were consumed and a good time was had by all. Sunday morning a (slightly seedy) group of fourteen hungry patrons headed into the Daylesford Hotel for lunch.

The 100+ year old pub has had a few facelifts in its time, but the latest renno's are nothing short of spectacular. The pub has a modern vibe while still retaining the cosiness and charm that I love so much. There are plenty of options depending on what you feel like doing with your time - With a spacious dining room, cosy lounge nook complete with couches and fireplace, an inviting front bar and even a neat little beer garden out the back (not to mention an amazing view of the town from the balcony upstairs).

Alright, enough about the pub - On to the parmas. We placed our order for fourteen birds and awaited their arrival.

The tap list is small, but there's something for everyone's taste (from Boags to Little Creatures you should be sorted) and if that doesn't satisfy there's a range of bottled beers from local Victorian breweries in the fridge.

Before too long the parmas started appearing from the kitchen.

Now, there was a bit of variance in appearance among the plates - pictured above is the parma that I received (you'll notice I had a nasty case of curly ham), however others were a little more lucky, reviewer Nikki's serving is pictured below.

Thats more like it! (however my comments will relate to my parma, the first one pictured).

As you can see this parma's biggest problem is readily apparent - it was overcooked. Such a shame, too as the chicken was thick, pure chicken breast, great quality with fantastic crumbs. Thickness of the breasts varied around the table, I think I got the unlucky draw as mine was probably the thinnest of the bunch (which, as you can see, is still pretty thick). But the well done schnitzel was definitely a let down. It needed to be juicy - unfortunately it was dry.

The toppings, however, did their darnedest to bring this parma back. Everything atop this parma was an explosion of flavour. I'm not sure if it was the ham or the napoli (my money is on the napoli) but good lord this was a flavourful parma. Just the right amount of saltiness with a perfect richness to the napoli without being overpowering (although my napoli also suffered a little from being overcooked, I would have liked more but it was still damn tasty).

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of fries with my parmas, but I will say that, for fries, these were okay. Served piping hot, beside the parma and with plenty of seasoning (plus with tomato sauce and a side of gravy supplied to those who requested it) they did a decent job as a side to this dish - Nothing to write home about, but nothing offensive.

The salad came off as a bit of an afterthought - It's not like they were hiding anything, the menu touts it as "salad leaves" and thats exactly what was served - lettuce leaves. They were tossed in a tiny bit of dressing but I would have loved some more - at the very least everything was fresh and crispy

Opinion of this parma wavered wildly amongst the group - some loved it, some were less than impressed -

For $26 I'd say this was a little pricey for what we received. Even if it weren't overcooked the $26 price point is reserved for the best-of-the-best. The pub offers a $20 pot & parma night from 6pm every Wednesday which is a much more appetising deal.

It's times like this that I wish we gave a score for atmosphere, as I love the Daylesford hotel. The staff were amazingly inviting, friendly and helpful, and the pub is the perfect place to stop in for a beer or two on the weekend and some quality pub grub. I'm hoping that we simply got a bad batch, perhaps a bulk order for fourteen parmas in the middle of the Sunday lunch rush was a tall order for a country pub. Would I have the parma again the next time I pop in? I'd consider it. Despite the aforementioned errors all the elements of a fantastic parma were there ... Although I'd have to think long and hard about my decision, as that burger was damned good as well.

[pros]

• Top quality ingredients
• Amazingly flavoursome toppings
• Fantastically friendly and inviting pub

[/pros][cons]

• Overcooked, dry chicken
• Afterthought of a salad

[/cons]

Parma - 5.95

Chips - 5.12

Salad - 4.52

Value - 4.98

Total - 5.30

The search continues...

Attempt #229 - 'Three Crowns Hotel: Redux'

[info]When? - 25th of June, 2015

Where? - 365 Victoria St, West Melbourne

Price? - $22

Website? - http://www.threecrownshotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Emmett, Fridge, Lee, Stefo, Tony

[/info]

I like to think that we do redo's semi regularly, In my mind its once every couple of months, maybe more - yet when I check the website for this post and see that our last redo was in October of 2014. I realise I really need to pull my finger out of my ass and get to some of the pubs we've already visited that are in desperate need of a revisit.

Our last visit to the Three Crowns was back in 2012, you can read all about it here, but the basic bullet points were this - We loved the pub itself but it took forever to get served and even longer to get our food, the parma was decent quality chicken but small and served rather burnt.

So when I got word from our friends over at Jimmy's Burgers that the pub had undergone a bit of a management and menu revamp I was keen to check it out! (granted that was sometime last year ... but these things just get away from you!)

So we loaded up the parma bus to head to our (shamefully) first redo of 2015 - The Three Crowns Hotel.

Inside the pub is just as we remembered. A welcoming, friendly pub any man would be proud to call his local. We grabbed a table out in the dining room (a stones throw from the beer garden) and checked the menu -

Sounds good!

First improvement over last time - We were served almost instantly, and the staff were more than happy to help with any odd requests (like two of the review team ordering a side of red wine jus for chip dipping ... no problems whatsoever).

One thing that hasn't changed about the Three Crowns is their quality tap list - It may be small, but there is a great selection for those who feel like something a little different. Last night we sampled the Mountain Goat Steam Ale (an old favourite) the Cavalier Pale ale and the Mountain Goat Fancy Pants. All delicious.

We ordered our meals and waited patiently, after about 25- 30 minutes our meals arrived...

Now, as per usual with redo's lets refresh our memories from the 2012 attempt with the "before" shot...

and (drumroll please) ... The redo!

Definitely an improvement. Before I even get to the parma look at that improvement in those sides! ... but more on those later.

Now. Yes it's improved, but the Three Crowns parma wasn't perfect. First up, the schnitz was pure, white, juicy chicken breast. It was well cooked and a fair chunk larger than its 2012 predecessor - But our main problem with the schnitzel on this parma was the crumbs, or lack of crumbs to be more precise. We've encountered this kind've parma only once before, at The Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford, where rather than your standard crunchy crumbs the chicken was coated in what I can best describe as batter, giving it the look and consistency of a piece of grilled flake from the fish & chip shop.

It's not a dealbreaker, but it is an odd thing to come across when you aren't suspecting it, and I'm gonna be honest, I'd prefer a good crunchy crumb to the battered version.

The "batter" was quite thin, that thickness you can see under the parma is just a couple of errant chips that got caught in the cross-section

The toppings were also a mixed bag, and probably my biggest complaint about this entire dish will come in the next paragraph, so be prepared. The ham was plentiful and I would have loved a bit more cheese over the top (another handful would have been perfect) - that was all rendered moot, however, by the shockingly overpowering napoli sauce. There was a lot of napoli that carried a very invasive flavour throughout the dish I couldn't taste the ham, I couldn't taste the cheese, I couldn't taste the chicken - All I could taste was napoli, to the point where we were making liberal use of the supplied hot sauces on the table (a nice touch, by the way!) to try and punch some sort on non-napoli flavour into the dish.

The chips were fantastic, definitely a beer-battered upgrade from the last time round, I'd go as far as to say they were the highlight of the meal. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, Everyone at the table wanted more by the time the plates were cleaned.

Swapping out the boring garden salad for a refreshing apple slaw was also a master stroke. It was unique and refreshing. Slaw done poorly can really kill a parma, slaw done well can raise it to new heights - A fine accompaniment to the dish.

For $22 I'd probably order this parma again if I were at the Three Crowns. I don't think I'd travel for it - but if I found myself at the Three Crowns on a lazy afternoon I would consider giving it another crack - There's a $15 Parma & Pot night on Monday that would definitely be worth checking out if you're a local.

While it still has a couple of issues the parma at the Three Crowns is a vast improvement on its 2012 ancestor. The pub is still a friendly, welcoming local that I'd be happy to return to any day of the week.

[pros]

• Amazing chips
• Refreshing and unique apple 'slaw
• Real chicken breast
• An improvement on what it used to be

[/pros][cons]

• Odd "batter" texture on the chicken
• Insanely overpowering napoli

[/cons]

Parma - 5.30

Chips - 7.64

Salad - 7.00

Value - 6.16

Total - 6.28

The search continues...

Attempt #228 - 'The London Tavern'

 

[info]When? - 18th of June, 2015

Where? - 238 Lennox St. Richmond

Price? - $22

Website? - http://thelondon.net.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Tony [/info]

When one of the ParmaDaze regulars recently got a new job in Richmond he charged us with a task - Find a good parma close to my work that I can use for after work parmas & drinks.

After a bit of Googling I came across the London Tavern. On paper it has almost everything I like in a pub. Its a quaint, backstreets local, with a quality beer garden, fireplaces when it gets chilly and, most importantly, a parma on the menu. We locked in the venue and last night headed down to The London Tavern to see if they were up to snuff.

A stones throw from the MCG (Just look at the 'G in the background of the above photo - so close!) The London would be a perfect spot for pre/post footy beers, Even if you can't make it to the footy its hard to look in a direction when you're in the London without spotting an impressive TV screen playing the sport.

The London is divided into a few unique areas. First up there's the cosy dining room, complete with roaring fireplace

Beyond that is the jovial front bar (still with plenty of tables in case the dining room is full), a quasi bar/dining area with a second fireplace and, finally, the impressively sized beer garden that is just begging for the sun to peek out from behind the clouds. I joked when we arrived at about 6:30 that the place was quiet - but by the time our parmas hit the table at 7 you'd be struggling to get a seat, as the pub quickly became packed with hungry diners and Thursday night footy fans.

We grabbed a table in the aforementioned quasi bar/dining area and checked the menu -

Easy done. On top of this the London also offers the addition of gravy or aioli as a side for $1 each, Reviewer Nikki and myself both grabbed a side of gravy for chip-dipping purposes, Reviewer Tony went sauce-less.

Earlier I mentioned a second fireplace in the area where we were seated, It was absolutely lovely when we sat down, but unfortunately I had picked a seat literally this close to the flames -

As cosy as it was, when my skin started to blister it was time to rotate around the table to a spot that didn't burn with the ferocity of a billion suns.

Craft beer enthusiasts are out of luck at the London, the beer list is bare bones. On tap we have Carlton, VB, Pure Blonde, Fat Yak, Peroni and Bulmers. There is a bit of a wider selection available in bottles (check the full beer list here), but nothing that will blow your socks off. I do enjoy a craft beer, but at the same time I'll never say no to a pint of Carlton, so no major complaints on my end, just something to be aware of.

About 15 minutes after ordering our meals arrived -

The schnitzel was real chicken and thick. At least an inch all over, a massive slab of bird. It was real chicken breast and well cooked, which is why I was a little dismayed that they had gone quite heavy on the crumbs - they had nothing to hide yet it was crumbed as if they did. Despite being lovely chicken the crumbs were a little soggy and didn't grip the chicken very well.

The cheese mix was mostly tasty cheese, and I think a detected a hint of parmesan in there as well. All up it was a solid mix that, while a little dry, carried some great flavours throughout the dish.

The Napoli sauce was pretty standard, nothing to write home about - I would have loved the addition of a slice of ham to really give this parma a shot in the arm, unfortunately there was no pork to be found.

The chips were probably the highlight of the plate. A hefty serve, beer battered, cooked to a perfect golden brown and well seasoned. The gravy was an added extra so won't affect the score, but I have to say it wasn't great. Very watery and almost flavourless, would give that a miss next time, and with quality chips like these it's absolutely not necessary.

Rather than your usual garden salad the London has opted for a bowl of coleslaw. I always enjoy when a pub makes this change as a coleslaw can be quite a refreshing side. The London's slaw It was well sized, separated from the parma and creamy. It worked well with the parma to the point that I was putting a bit on my fork before cutting a slice of parma - a great marriage.

At $22 ($23 with the gravy) this parma is getting on the expensive side. Would I pay it again? Maybe, it wasn't a bad parma by any stretch. On Monday night's the London does a $10 parma night - If the parma served on the parma night is of the same quality as the one served last night this is a fantastic deal and I have zero qualms recommending checking it out. But at full price? Yeah ... I'd probably give it another crack, but I wouldn't be as excited about it.

I like the London Tavern, it manages to keep an old-world country pub feel while maintaining everything you need in a modern pub. The next time I go to the footy at the 'G ducking into the London for a pint afterwards is definitely on my agenda. The parma had a couple of issues but overall it was decent, I wouldn't travel long distances for it but if you're in the area (especially on a Monday night) definitely give it a crack.

[pros]

• Great beer battered chips
• Tasty coleslaw
• Good cheese mix

[/pros][cons]

• No ham
• Bland napoli
• Soggy crumbs

[/cons]

Parma - 6.00

Chips - 7.33

Salad - 5.30

Value - 6.47

Total - 6.22

The search continues...

Attempt #227 - 'Windy Hill'

 

[info]When? - 11th of June, 2015

Where? - Corner Napier St. and Brewster St. Essendon.

Price? - $21.50

Website? - http://windyhillvenue.com.au/

Reviewers – Adam, Cale, Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Stefo [/info]

You know how all of the Assassin's Creed games start with the line "This work of fiction was designed, developed and produced by a multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs."? Well I feel like today's review should start with a similar disclaimer - This parma review was conducted by a team of supporters of various Australian Rules Football clubs. We had two Carlton supporters, a North Melbourne supporter, two Bulldogs supporters (myself included ... carn the Doggies!) and a Collingwood supporter. We did have a Bombers supporter lined up as well but he got stuck at work and couldn't make it.

Why Windy Hill? Convenience mostly, most of us live in and around Essendon, and as we hiked over to St. Kilda last week we were in the mood for a bird with minimal travel time. The problem with going local? After five years of reviewing parmas we're kind've running out of ideas, but Windy Hill has always been one that stuck in the back of my mind ... So I figured why not? We loaded up the parma bus and took the very short trip up to Windy Hill.

The website recommends booking so I called on Thursday afternoon and booked a table in the Terrace Bistro - Windy Hill definitely wont be winning any awards for atmosphere, thats for sure, Pokies on the right, TAB and lounge bar on the left (with walls plastered with Bombers paraphernalia, as you would expect) and Bistro out the back.

The bistro has a very "RSL" feel, I would have thought a large window overlooking the football ground would be a no-brainer, but instead we got four small windows with the blinds drawn. Calling to book a table was a good idea as at 7pm the place was already filling up.

I grabbed the menu and flicked through, then I saw a photo and my heart sank...

That's the photo they put in their menu. That has got to be the most un-appetising parma I have seen in my life yet that is the one they choose to advertise the meal? The crumbs are thicker than the chicken! It looks as dry as a dead dingo's donger (to steal a phrase from my dad) ... altho that avocado laden salad does look okay.

After seeing that photo expectations were low, we went to the counter, ordered our meals and grabbed a beer from the bar. Beer selection is bare bones - Carlton, Pure blonde, VB and maybe a Bulmers - Nothing for the craft beer folk but to be honest I wasn't really expecting it - We're at a footy club, not a beer bar.

We quickly downed our free bake at home rolls and about 20 minutes later the main event arrived...

That looks a million times better than the photo! This might not be as bad as we were expecting. The schnitzel was decently sized, pure chicken breast and thick, just how we like it. The crumbs weren't anything special but applied conservatively - my biggest criticism of the schnitz would be that it was a little overcooked and quite dry. Would have loved it had it been slightly juicier - but at least our rock-bottom expectations had been exceeded.

The toppings were a mixed bag - The mozzarella was plentiful and it was well cooked, perfectly gooey and tasted great. The excess napoli definitely helped with the dryness of the chicken, but it was a little bit tomato-pastey for my tastes. One thing the horrible menu photo had over the parma we were served was that it included a slice of ham - I'm normally not too fussed if a parma arrives without ham, but the Windy Hill parma definitely could be improved by a slice or two.

The chips were basic pub chips. Nothing special at all, desperately needed some seasoning - Tomato sauce was supplied on request without any hassle. They weren't bad, but definitely not worth writing home about.

The salad looked impressive, and I'm always a fan of a lot of dressing - but this salad was horribly overdressed. I think they were going for more dressing than actual salad. The lettuce, cucumber and tomato were crisp and fresh, unfortunately they were murdered by a metric tonne of dressing and at least ten thousand mustard seeds (I may be exaggerating there, but not by much). Good foundations that were killed by overzealous dressing.

Another disclaimer - The views or opinions expressed in the below quotes do not represent the opinions of myself or parmadaze.com. Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely with the individual(s)... There... that should cover me in case anybody wants to sue!

$21.50 is a tad rich for what we received. The bread roll was a bonus but for that kind've price I would expect table service as well, not "order food at this counter and drinks at that counter". That being said there are a heap of meal specials available for members and non-members alike -

If you are a member of Windy Hill I would recommend trying this parma out (or even ducking in on one of the non-member days). Full price I'm having trouble giving this one my seal of approval. It's better than I expected and by no means the worst parma we've done by a long stretch, but for an over $20 parma I would expect something better.

If you live within a 1km radius of Windy Hill then its worth paying the $11 yearly membership fee and checking out their parma, if not then you won't be missing much by giving this one a miss. The chicken was quality and the toppings were tasty - just let down a little by some lackluster sides. Bomber's supporters might get a kick out of seeing all the Essendon stuff on the walls, but as I bleed red, white and blue I won't be in a hurry to head back any time soon.

[pros]

• Thick, unprocessed chicken breast
• Plentiful cheese

[/pros][cons]

• Overcooked and dry
• Really could use some ham
• Overdressed salad

[/cons]

Parma - 6.17

Chips - 4.67

Salad - 4.33

Value -6.00

Total - 5.47

The search continues...

Attempt #226 - 'The Fifth Province'

When? - 4th of JUNE, 2015

Where? - 3/60 Fitzroy Street. St. Kilda

Price? - $23.90

Website? - http://www.thefifthprovince.com.au/

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Stefo

**EDIT** 21/7/2017 - We went back! Check out our updated review of the new and improved Fifth Province Parma

When I think of drinking in St. Kilda I think of the beach, I think of beer gardens and overpriced Coronas in the sun on a hot summer day. What doesn't spring to mind when I think of drinking in St. Kilda is the classic Irish pub, so imagine my surprise when we discovered The Fifth Province - a down to earth Irish pub smack dab in the middle of Fitzroy street.

photo

"That looks like an interesting spot" I said to myself one day, while walking down Fitzroy street, "I wonder if they do a parma". I scurried home, looked them up on the internet and found the menu -

Screen Shot 2015-06-05 at 8.02.39 am

"That sounds delish!" I said to myself, "and what is this Irish bacon they speak of? I've never heard of that... I wonder if they have a photo on their Instagra... Holy crap..."

Screen shot 2015-06-05 at 10.16.12 AM

Hot damn that bacon looks good, doesn't it? Finding that photo cemented the choice in stone - We had to check out The Fifth Province.

It was one of the most miserable nights of the year weather-wise, but we powered through to St. Kilda and headed to the pub, It may have been horrible outside but the inside was warm, cosy and already quite full of patrons enjoying an after work beverage. The live music was setting up for the evening and the smell of curry chips wafted through the air - A great atmosphere all round. We pulled up a pew and placed our orders. Quite a good range of beers, all of the staples and for those who lean to the crafty side of things there was a decent selection both on tap and bottled. You'll find something to enjoy, I guarantee.

About ten minutes after ordering our meals arrived from the kitchen...

The schnitzel wasn't huge, but big enough, and thick enough. Pure white chicken breast was slightly overcooked, but not criminally so. The crumbs were probably the weakest part of the foundation, a little thick and didn't really add anything to the dish. They weren't bad, but nothing to write home about.

You don't come across toppings like this very often! I'll start by saying there was a lot of cheese, I'm one of those people who normally says "you can't have too much cheese" but good lord this put me to the test.

The napoli was a little lost under cheese mountain, but it was fresh and chunky - the major issue I (and the other reviewers) had with it was its sweetness. It packs a very sweet, sugary punch that may not be everyone's cup of tea. One of those things that comes down to personal preference.

Now, the Irish bacon.

I've gotta say, with the sweet napoli, metric tonne of cheese and huge chunks of bacon cubes this has to be one of the most unique parmas we've had of 2015, and when something is unique it is always divisive, and that's very much how the Irish bacon was perceived. It didn't taste quite as I expected, as Reviewer Nikki put it in her quote below - it had (and I know this is gonna sound weird) a "corned beef" kind've mouthfeel, and I didn't get the hit of "OMG BACON" I was expecting - It was a more subtle flavour. I liked it, others didn't... Much like the napoli I think this one definitely comes down to personal preference.

The chips were served in a basket on the side, which I loved, If you read the chicken scratch I posted a few weeks back you will know that The Fifth Province is now the 9th parma out of 226 reviews to serve their chips in a separate container. Thats what I call progress! The chips in the basket were not only perfectly fried, but the serving size was deceptively huge - everyone at the table had trouble getting through them all. They were, however, in desperate need of some seasoning, and some sort of dipping sauce would have really carried them to the finish line.

The salad was a bit of an afterthought, a few lettuce leaves and some red onion. They're lucky they covered it in a hefty amount of a tasty balsamic or it would have been a major fail. Not great, not terrible.

Value is a tough one this week. I liked the parma at The Fifth Province, but I didn't love it, and $23.90 is pretty pricey.  At the same time I'll definitely be back as I liked the pub, and I'm keen to try the other meals they have on offer (I spied a burger that looked pretty tasty, and the smell of those curry chips still haunts me). For $23.90 you're taking a gamble on this parma, The same meal is available on the lunch menu for a much more reasonable $17.90 - at this price I have no qualms in giving it a recommendation. Go and check it out at lunchtime just to be sure you like it before revisiting again for dinner.

Like I said before the parma at The Fifth Province is something different, but who doesn't like mixing things up once in awhile? The next time I venture out St. Kilda way this pub will definitely be one of the first places that pops in my head. It's a friendly spot (did I mention the staff? Amazingly friendly and helpful folks all around) with a top notch atmosphere, great beer and decent food - What more can you ask for?

Pros- 

• Heaps of cheese (if you like that sort of thing)
• Massive cubes of Irish bacon (if you like that sort of thing)
• Chips served in separate basket (I know you like that sort of thing)

Cons - 

• Napoli was quite sweet (but maybe you like that sort of thing?)
• Quite pricey for the dinner parma (But the lunch parma is much more reasonable)

Parma - 6.75

Chips - 7.00

Salad - 5.50

Value - 6.00

Total - 6.40

The search continues...

Attempt #225 - 'Little Richard Pizza Bar'

[info]When? - 28th of May, 2015

Where? - 5/17 Flemington Rd. North Melbourne.

Price? - $12 Parma & Pot Thursdays ($16 all other times, no pot included)

Website? - http://www.littlerichard.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Tony [/info]

I wish I had a running tally of the amount of times I've said "We did this pub because we pass it a lot on the way to other parmas", as I use it quite a lot - but the fact is that just what we do! Parma night takes us all over Melbourne, and travelling all over Melbourne with parmas on the brain leads to a lot of moments of "oh they do a parma? we should check them out then".

Living in the Northern suburbs and coming to the city to review parmas we use Flemington Road a lot, and when I'm not trying to work out how many men I would need in my heist to steal the giant flag I'm looking over at Little Richards Pizza Bar, at the base of the RMIT student accommodation, and wondering just how good those $10 jugs of Tiger they advertise are - Well last night that question was answered.

Little Richards is a Uni bar. Moreso than any other Uni bar we've done - To the point where the pub's website has an area where parents can pre-pay for their kids food & drinks via Paypal. I may be 31 but if my local had this feature I'd be giving Mum and Dad a call to top up the ol' account.

Walking into Little Richard's screams student pub. Tattered couch, foosball, giant Jenga and pool tables - it feels like the student lounge on any Uni campus but with beers. I was amazed when we walked through to the side area where the original bar and functioning fireplace from the Old Melbourne Hotel is still in tact - Absolute blast from the past.

We took our seat and checked the menu -

Yep, its parma night again. If we're going to a Uni pub we might as well go for the full "starving student" experience and get the parma as cheap as can be. There is a $16 full priced parma on the regular menu available every other day, but this review won't be vouching for the quality of that one - This week we're focussing on the Thursday special only

We grabbed a $10 Jug of Tiger and ordered our beers. Thoughts on the Tiger? In the free pot it was decent, but it definitely lost something in the jug. I had a free pot and a jug in front of me after ordering and they tasted like completely different beers, even though they had come from the same tap.

If you're after anything more than the absolute basics in terms of range of beers you're out of luck. Tiger, Carlton and cider are pretty much your only options.

Okay, First things first its clear that this bird isn't easy on the eyes... but damn was she big! I wasn't expecting that at all. I was thinking we'd get processed, heart shaped, Coles deli-window schnitzel for sure - but these were actually real chicken. Sure it was hammered damn thin and a little bit over-crumbed, maybe a little too well done around the edges, but it was unprocessed and freakin' huge.

The toppings were applied liberally, I would have loved some ham as it didn't quite hit the mark in terms of flavour, but the napoli was fresh and the cheese was delivered with gusto and well grilled ... but something was missing, I've mentioned in the past the phenomenon of Big Parma Syndrome (it's in the Glossary) and Little Richard's parma definitely had a minor case of BPS.

The chips were okay, nothing to write home about - just standard pub chips. They could have been fresher, I feel like they had been sitting in a bowl for a little while, However they were dusted with a very tasty seasoning that would have really given a great punch to a fresher chip. Good points and bad I suppose, If they weren't served under such a massive parma I'd be complaining that they could have been another handful - but nobody was walking away hungry from this behemoth.

There wasn't any salad served with the Thursday $12 parma. The menu...

Says that the full priced parma does include a salad, but like I said earlier, this is not the one we're judging today.  So as there is no salad we'll be invoking the "You don't win friends with salad" rule this week (Jeez, If you're new I'm sending you to the FAQ & Glossary a lot this week, apologies).

It's not often I cannot finish a parma due to its sheer size, but I'm ashamed to admit this parma beat me and I had to leave a little on the plate. A parma I can't finish for $12 (with a pot!) is a bargain in my book, The Value score is going to take a hit due to the lack of salad, but if you don't give a crap about the greens then this may be one worth checking out.

I'm trying to view Little Richard's parma through the lens of a student. If I'm living off 2 minute noodles and Costco brand corn chips most of my week a $12 parma that I'm going to struggle to finish, with an included bevvie, would be a godsend. Sure its not the best parma around in terms of flavour but thats not the market they're aiming for. If you're a student in Melbourne you should give Mum & Dad a call, get them to put some cash on your account and get down to Little Richard's for a solid meal (and you can spend your credit on $10 jugs too, but we won't tell them that).

[pros]

• Massive
• Cheap
• Real chicken

[/pros][cons]

• A little flavourless
• No salad
• No ham

[/cons]

Parma - 6.47

Chips - 4.83

Salad - "You don't win friends with salad" rule invoked

Value - 7.17

Total - 5.99

The search continues...

 

Attempt #224 - 'The Savoy Tavern'

[info]When? - 21st of May, 2015

Where? - Corner of Bourke and Spencer St. CBD.

Price? - $16 with a pot of Boags. Thursday only

Website? - http://thesavoytavern.com.au/

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Matt, Nikki, Stefo [/info]

If you're anything like me, when you think about the Savoy Tavern on the corner of Bourke and Spencer Street, you think of this...

Which is how the pub looked for many, many years.

But last year some new life was breathed into the old girl, after a staggering revamp, the Savoy Tavern now looks a little something like this -

Quite an upgrade!

The renovations are spectacular - They have found the perfect balance between retro drinking hole and a modern pub. The booths are plus and roomy, plenty of TV's to catch the footy and I just love that they still have the old school cigarette butt trough running along the base of the bar (you can't use it, of course, but its a great remnant of a simpler, smokier time). Smokers will be happy though as there is a quaint little courtyard to the side where you are free to get your nicotine fix.

We took our seats and checked the menu, now we normally try and avoid these but this deal was too got to pass up -

That vague mention of a "parma night" on the website refers to this parma being $16 with an included pot of Boags. That's good value right out of the gate.

But. (and this is important) As far as I can tell there is no parma on the standard menu at the Savoy, meaning the parma we are about to review is available Thursday nights and Thursday nights only. I don't want you rocking up on a Tuesday to disappointment. There is a plain schnitty available on the other nights of the week for $16 (no pot)... but its just not the same.

The beer list at the Savoy won't win any awards, but there's enough to wet your whistle. The Savoy has solid roots in the Lion range of beers (Boags, Hahn, James Squire, Heineken, Kirin etc.) with the occasional dalliance into something more substantial, such as Stone & Wood Pacific Ale.

Anyway. We ordered at the bar and about 25 minutes later the main event arrived -

The schnitzel was decent. Not the best quality we've had but it was real chicken breast and well cooked - If I had to nitpick I would say that the crumbs were applied a little too thick which was unnecessary as they had nothing to hide, this was a quality bit of chicken.

Other than that it was a little bit overcooked. I don't mind my parma crunchy but we had a couple of edges that took it a little too far over the line. But as I said I'm nitpicking, this was a solid foundation for the meal.

The toppings were damn good. If you like a lot of napoli this is the parma for you - Which is a good thing as the napoli on the Savoy's parma was fresh, chunky and had a fantastic rich flavour - definitely the highlight element on the plate.

The cheese was also applied liberally and grilled well. The ham was there and appreciated - but its flavour was kind've lost amongst the stellar napoli.

I'm not big on shoestring fries with my parma, so these chips were never going to do well. They were well cooked and plenty of them but I just have trouble getting on board with shoestring unless they are done spectacularly well, which these weren't. They weren't bad, but they weren't great. Just standard.

Oh, and the Savoy needs to invest in bigger plates. As I mentioned in the Chicken Scratch I posted a couple weeks back about the parma being served on top of the chips I am usually pretty adept in manoeuvring the parma away from the chips when it's delivered - but the plate at the Savoy was just too small and a large portion of my parma had to be eaten with the chips still suffocating underneath.

For salad we had a rather liberal serving of coleslaw. Shredded cabbage, carrot, a lot of onion and ... peas (for some reason).

The peas were an odd choice but they didn't really add or detract from the coleslaw at all. There was so much onion in it that its pretty much all that could be tasted. I love onion so I loved this coleslaw, however the rest of the group wildly disagreed with me, so I guess it just comes down to personal taste.

For value this parma smashes it out of the park. Normally a "parma night" is an excuse to roll out the processed schnitzels, no ham and generally crappy toppings but The Savoy thumbs its nose at this practice. If I worked in the city and didn't have to try a new parma every Thursday night then I'd be more than happy to make this a regular stop.

The Savoy's parma isn't without its faults but for only $16 with a pot a lot of sins can be forgiven. It's a fantastic pub with a brilliant old school vibe that I will definitely stop back into for a quick drink the next time I'm in the area - For the price you haven't really got anything to lose, so its definitely one worth checking out.

However this story doesn't have a happy ending as plans to demolish The Savoy and build a high-rise apartment building have just been approved, so get in quick before we lose a Melbourne gem we only just had the chance to discover.

Parma - 7.40

Chips - 5.40

Salad - 5.40

Value - 8.90

Total - 6.90

The search continues...