#248 - 'The Union: Re-Redux'

When? - 12th of November, 2015

Where? - 252 Union Rd. Ascot Vale

Price? - $23.90

Website? - http://www.unionhotel252.com.au/

Reviewers – Chase, Fridge, Lee, Shanan, Stefo, Tony

Yep, you read right - this is our first re-redo.

We visited the Union back in 2010, as our 24th attempt, then again in 2013 as our 138th attempt. So why is the Union our first parma to get three goes? Kind've a long story.

The first reason being that the Union has just undergone a massive renovation. The rarely used corner section of the pub has been completely transformed into a new cocktail-focussed space dubbed "The Other Bar"

With a completely different vibe to the other areas of the Union, it has more of a tapas menu than anything else, although the full bistro menu is also still available should you not be able to get a table anywhere else.

The second (and most important) reason why the Union is getting a review trifecta, is that Reviewers Tony and Grace are tying the knot this weekend, and last night, our usual parma night, we had their wedding rehearsal in Ascot Vale - So rather than skip parma night due to our wedding related commitments, we opted for the next best thing - finding the closest possible pub to the church (the Union) and and hightailing it over as soon as we were done... Which is exactly what we did.

We arrived at the Union at around 7:30 to find the Bistro absolutely packed - Thursday is $15 steak night, which is apparently a very popular deal. Unable to get a table in the Bistro we opted to sit in the aforementioned newly renovated "Other Bar", which I preferred, to be honest, I really like what they've done down there.

Now, so you don't have to re-read two completely different reviews (although you should, so I get the 0.001c advertising revenue), a quick recap of our history with the Union's parma.

The first time we had it, it wasn't the best. I remember our table of fourteen reviewers sat in the beer garden out the back and watched the Wednesday (we did parmas on Wednesday back then) poker tournament happen around us. The schnitzel was quality despite being quite soggy, although the napoli had a "funky" taste that I couldn't quite put my finger on, and the garden salad was mostly onion.

When we heard in 2013 that the Union had upped their game, we were excited. Word came round that the Union were trying to replicate the nearby Jimmies parma and offer three types of salad, as well as a vastly improved parma - and it was a disaster. The chicken was almost identical. Same soggy crumbs, same packet ham, same "funky" taste, however this time it was served practically stone cold. The trio of salads were a mixed bag, the potato salad was awesome, the rest were mediocre, and each was delivered in such a small serving that they could barely be enjoyed at all. It was the first case we had ever had of a score going down after a redo.

After some competently served bowls of chips and wedges as an entree that instilled a little hope that we might get an improved parma, we checked the menu -

Looks like the trio of salads has been nixed. A shame, as the potato salad was tasty. We ordered our parmas in the bistro and waited for their arrival.

As for beers the Other Bar has a few taps going, but nothing to blow your socks off.

We went with the Furphy for the night, quite a tasty drop - although the lack of pints (pots and schooners only) was a tad annoying. For those of you who enjoy your beers a little more on the craft side I did spy a few bottles of Two Birds in the fridge behind the bar in the bistro ... just nothing too crafty on tap.

About 15 minutes after placing our order, the parmas appeared from the kitchen. Before we get there, here's a quick recap of our last five years at the Union...

The Union 2010 -

The Union 2013 -

And now...

The Union 2015 -

The first thing I noticed - They have definitely solved their cold parma problem. This bird was served piping hot, to the point where I had to let it sit for a moment before sitting in - An improvement right out of the gate (although I did get a couple of ... lets say "extremely well done" spots around the edges).

The parma itself was still quite similar to how it was the last two times. Thick, quality chicken breast with a good crumb-to-chicken ratio. As always the crumbs were a little soggy on the bottom, but not quite as much as they used to be. The napoli seemed fresh and chunky and, for the first time, devoid of the unknown "funky" flavour that had plagued it the last two visits, although it was a tad sweeter than I normally like my nap.

The cheese coverage was solid and the slice of ham, although not adding too much to the flavour profile, was appreciated.

The chips were pretty much as they were last time, although not being served under the parma was appreciated. Unseasoned but well cooked. Not great, not bad.

As predicted the trio of salads has been ditched in favour of a standard garden salad. It was alright, the separate bowl was a nice touch. The ingredients were fresh and tasty - but it was still just a garden salad, although they didn't quite hit the mark with the three salads I would have preferred they try to improve on that rather than ditch the idea entirely.

In the five years since our first review the Union's parma has raised in price from $19.50 to $23.90. Thats a $4.40 raise in five years. Understandable with inflation and all that, although I said in our first review back in '10 that "$19.50 is up there on the parma-price scale, especially without a pot.", and I'd have to agree with my past self. $23.90 is a bit pricey for what we got, ironically enough I probably would have given this parma a lot more leniency had it cost its original price of $19.50.

From what I can gather there is a parma special on Tuesday night's that might be worth checking out.

Well it took three attempts and five years to do it, but the Union has definitely improved. It's still not fantastic, but definitely not as bad as it once was - Worth a crack if you're in the vicinity, if only to check out the very well executed renovations.

Don't worry, give it another two years and we'll be giving it a Re-Re-Redo, I'm sure.

Pros

• Quality chicken breast
• Finally sorted the "funky" napoli
• Panko crumbs a great addition

Cons

• Boring salad
• Boring chips
• Soggy crumbs

Parma - 6.50

Chips - 5.80

Salad - 5.20

Value -5.60

Total - 5.92

The search continues...

Chicken Scratch - Top 50 Food Bloggers in Australia... An Infographic

Attention statistics nerds! This might be right up your alley. Got an email from a lovely fella last week asking if we would like to be included in his infographic on the top 50 Food Bloggers in Australia ... An offer I gladly took him up on.

We squeeze in at number #44 - To be honest I reckon we should be in the #1 spot, but I may be a little biased. So have a gander below and see what you think.

Thanks to Leon for the hard work! And make sure to keep an eye out for a new review up Friday.

rebateszone.com

#247 - 'Deluxe Bar & Lounge: Redux'

When? - 6th of November, 2015

Where? - 595 Mount Alexander Rd. Moonee Ponds

Price? - $10 parma Friday's

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

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Nikki

I sometimes forget how long we've been on the search for the perfect parma - In my mind the last time we visited the Deluxe Rooftop was probably last year, but reading up in preperation for this article I realised it was actually in twenty-goddamn-twelve that we first visited. Good lord it gets away from you, doesn't it?

Aesthetically not much has changed on the Deluxe rooftop in three years. Unfortunately Melbourne has decided to give us a rather mediocre spring this year so the rooftop shades were drawn to keep out the drizzle. Handy that they have them, but the big appeal of the Deluxe rooftop is basking in the glorious evening sun.

Last time we visited Deluxe their $10 parma special was on Thursday, which they have now switched to Friday. Same price, different day. We arrived at around 7 to find a lot of the tables already had been snatched up - Luckily we found a spot but if you intend on heading down I'd suggest either getting in early or booking a table in advance.

Other than the parma special there is a "proper" menu, although I'm not sure what hours the rooftop is open to serve food, I'm thinking maybe Sunday arvo, but thats just a guess...

We placed our orders at the bar, grabbed a few pints, and noticed another special happening on Fridays...

Reviewer Nikki partook in the drink special, I've gotta say I've seen worse espresso martini's for a much bigger price tag - not too shabby at all.

As for beers there isn't a huge range on tap. Little Creatures is pretty much as crafty as it gets on the rooftop, but if you're content with a pint of Carlton you shouldn't have any issues.

About ten minutes after ordering our parmas arrived from the kitchen. As usual with re-visits first we'll show you what it did look like compared to what it is now.

Deluxe's parma in 2012 -

Deluxe's parma in 2015 -

Quite the change! The schnitzel quality has increased significantly - although they pounded the schnitzel a bit too thin for my liking. I like my chicken thick and juicy, not smashed thin to look bigger on the plate. My second criticism (and I only have two) is that the crumbing was horribly soggy, as if the parma ducked in for a quick sauna on its way from the kitchen to the table.

Other than that though, I was impressed. The toppings were plentiful, with a great coverage and good flavours all around. The slices of ham made their presence known and the cheese blend had a relatively strong yet not overpowering sharp punch that I enjoy on my parmas.

The chips were by far the best thing on the plate. Great serving size, beer battered, well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Not much beyond the addition of some garlic aioli could have improved them - a fine accompaniment to the dish.

The salad was a mixed bag. The ingredients were fresh, crisp and delicious with plenty of variety and looked great on the plate - however (and i'm not sure if this was an oversight in the kitchen or this is actually how its done at Deluxe) but the salad had zero dressing. And I'm a guy who likes his dressing. Like I said, the ingredients were crisp and fresh - But without dressing it was quite dry and a bit of a let down overall.

For only a tenner it is extremely hard to complain about this bird. Our previous review was over twice the price as this one, and I enjoyed Deluxe's much more than I did that. If I was paying the full $19 for this one I'd probably be complaining a bit more - But $10 is less than you would pay for a pint of beer in a lot of places these days. I'd have no qualms dropping in again.

The three of us that attended the review this week were like the Three Bears. Reviewer Fridge was not a fan, he could not get past the sogginess of the crumbs and thickness of the chicken. Reviewer Nikki was the other extreme, she cleaned her plate with gusto and, despite a couple of issues, wholly endorsed the Deluxe parma. I fell somewhere in the middle. I wasn't blown away, but I wasn't disappointed either.

Whatever I say I don't think Deluxe will really care - The amount of parmas they were cranking out of the kitchen was a sight to behold, and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. Worth a crack if you're in the area on a Friday night, worst case scenario you're down only ten bucks and got some quality chips out of the deal.

Pros

• Good flavours on parma
• Great price, can't go wrong for only $10

Cons

• Extremely soggy crumbs
• Schnitzel was a little thin for my liking.

 

Parma - 6.30

Chips - 8.00

Salad - 6.03

Value - 7.67

Total - 6.86

The search continues..

#246 - 'Errols'

When? - 29th of October, 2015

Where? - 69-71 Errol St. North Melbourne

Price? - $24.50

Website? - http://www.errols.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Stefo, Tony

And we're back!

First up a quick apologies for lack of content in my absence. I had lined up someone (who shall remain nameless) to write a couple of reviews while I was away, unfortunately it turns out that bloke is a no good so-and-so who, despite going out and eating a parma, never produced a review. That guy has now been exiled and will spend his days wandering the desert in a horrible, parma-less existence.

But after nearly a month abroad Reviewer Nikki, Reviewer Stefo and I were champing at the bit to get a decent parma. Reviewer Tony was there too, but he hadn't been anywhere ... although he hadn't had a parma since we left either, so he was equally as keen.

Errols has been on our list for quite a while. For as long as ParmaDaze has been a thing we have been hovering around Errol St. 3 Crowns, The Courthouse and the Town Hall all exist within a one block section of the North Melbourne Street (as well as quite a few others in the surrounding area) and every time we have visited I have seemed to catch Errols in my peripheral vision and think to myself "we really should give that place a shot".

So last night we did.

We arrived at Errols on a warm Thursday afternoon. The sun was shining, so rather than take a seat inside the spacious cafe, we opted for the on-street seating. Was a fantastic atmosphere for a meal with the ever-busy Errol St. bustling with activity.

On arrival the attentive staff clocked us and ordered our drinks. A schooner of Mountain Goat Fancy Pants will set you back $9, served cold and crisp - a great way to start the meal.

There wasn't a whole lot of deliberation once we received the menus.

Done. We kicked back in the sun and enjoyed our beers while waiting for the food to arrive.

Speaking of the beers, there are a couple of on-tap options at Errols, as well as some less exciting bottled options. Not the biggest tap list, but impressive for a cafe/restaurant, and to be fair if you cant be happy with Mountain Goat on tap then you are far too hard to please.

About 15 minutes after placing the order our parmas arrived from the kitchen...

Nikki and Stefo's parma hit the table first, and the first thing I noticed was that the edges of their schnitzel was quite overcooked, bordering on burnt. There was a definite black edge around the top end of their parma ... not the greatest start.

The second two parmas to hit the table weren't as badly overcooked - but still not great. The stacking of the parma on the chips was wholly unnecessary as there was a heap of empty real estate on the rather large plate. We quickly rescued the chips from their steamy prison and tucked in.

The schnitzel would have been good quality chicken breast at one point, but the aforementioned over-cooking had left it quite dry, especially around the areas of nude schnitzel, which were quite abundant. The schnitzel was thick enough and light on the crumbs, but rather small - not a very filling meal that everyone walked away from unsatisfied.

The toppings were three shades of mediocrity. I had to physically peel back the cheese to check if there was any ham on the dish as it added zero flavour. The cheese was bland, the napoli basically non-existent and where there was napoli it tasted quite tomato-pastey and canned.

Every element on the plate needed more seasoning. Everyone at the table reached for the salt and pepper shakers at some point to try and breathe some life into the dish.

The chips were cooked well and had a great crunch, but were as unseasoned as the parma. Not too much to complain about though, although I would have loved an extra handful - for the price of this parma (which we'll get to in a minute) I would have loved a lot less white space on my plate.

The salad was a wilted afterthought. A few lettuce leaves soaked in oil, mine containing a single radish slice and a lone cucumber, although I think I got a bad draw as their seemed to be more stuff in some of the other meals on the plate. It had some semblance of flavour, but was overall as underwhelming as the parma and the chips.

Almost $25 for what we received is bordering on outrageous. This is a $13-with-a-free-pot parma, at that price I would be able to excuse some of its missteps, but for twenty five dollars they get no quarter from me. That high of a price bracket is reserved for the best parmas, not something like this. There are much better (and cheaper) parmas within 200 metres of any direction you walk from Errols, I just can't think of a reason I would ever go back.

I may be coming off a bit harsh with this review, but I was really looking forward to coming back to a quality parma and was met with all kinds of disappointment. The establishment looked great, it had a great atmosphere, attentive and friendly staff and I even saw a Hawaiian pizza get served up to the table next to me that looked damn tasty. I just wish they could've served up the quality parma I was hoping for.

Pros

• Mountain Goat on tap
• Real, unprocessed (if it wasn't overcooked) chicken breast

Cons

• Burnt edges
• Nude schnitzel
• Bland toppings
• Expensive for what was received

Parma - 3.50

Chips - 5.00

Salad - 4.00

Value - 3.50

Total - 3.90

The search continues...

#245 - ' All Nations Hotel'

When? - 8th of October, 2015

Where? - 64 Lennox St. Richmond

Price? - $16 Parma & pot Thursdays, $22.90 on menu

Website? - http://www.allnationshotel.pub/

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Matt

I'm off to Hawaii next week (more info on what's gonna happen in regards to updates at the end of this post), and one thing you don't want to be doing when the Aussie dollar is in the state that it is currently in is take a trip to the USA, any currency I hand over to get changed to the greenback instantly gets cut by a third - a hugely depressing experience.

So unless the dollar takes a massive surge sometime over the weekend I am in full penny-pinching mode, however the search for the perfect parma does not abide by such trivial things, so I checked my "parmas to try" list with one thing in mind ... is it cheap?

Low and behold, I came across the All Nations Hotel. On any other day the parma runs a pretty standard $22.90 however on Thursdays (Classically an odd day to have a parma special) they offer up a parma and pot for a measly $16. Lock it in, target aquired, prepare for parmination.

From the moment I walked in the door I could tell I liked the All Nations. A quiet, backstreets local in suburban Richmond. We were greeted with an enthusiastic hello from the barman, grabbed a pint and took a seat while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

The All Nations just screams "friendly local". There's a large main bar area (pictured above) as well as a smaller dining area known as "The Snug" around the side. Once everyone arrived we grabbed our menus, as it was a lovely spring night (God bless daylight savings) we opted to head out the back and check the beer garden.

Not massive but spacious enough, the beer garden at the All Nations is a lovely spot. With a retractable roof in case the weather turns, plenty of heaters and even an outdoor bar for when things get busy. We pulled up a pew and checked the menu -

As expected, $22.90 for the on-menu parma, but we were after this beauty...

Parmas ordered. Along with our free pot of Endeavour Pale I grabbed a pint of Lucky Duck (beer, not cider). Both were lovely beers, although I think I actually preferred the free pot of Endeavour over the Lucky Duck.

There's not too much in the way of craft beer if your tastes skew that way (taps were Carlton, Blonde, Peroni, Fat Yak, Lucky Duck, Melbourne & Guinness), but I'm sure you'll find something to quench your thirst.

About 10 minutes after placing the order (not a long wait at all) our parmas arrived from the kitchen...

The schnitzel was impressive, A massive bird with crunchy crumbs and thick as all buggery. It was slightly dry, but not criminally so, and conservatively crumbed. For only $16 this was an impressive schnitzel, and I challenge any man to walk away hungry from this bird.

The toppings, however, are where the All Nations parma started to stumble. The napoli in particular was a huge detriment to the dish. There was plenty of it, but it was extremely thick, almost like pure tomato paste with a slightly burnt quality as if it had been left on the stove for too long, completely overpowered the dish.

The cheese was better, well cooked and cood coverage with what I detected as quite a bit of tasty cheese thrown into the mix, giving it quite a sharp punch, which I've always been a fan of in the cheese blend for my parmas.

If there was ever a parma that desperately needed a slice of ham, this is it. The richness of the napoli and the  sharpness of the cheese would have been much less of an assault on the senses had there been a slice of ham to break it up a little.

Halfway through this parma I realised what it reminded me of - The London Tavern, which we reviewed back in June. Also a massively thick, L shaped schnitzel, also desperately needed some ham, also very heavy on the tasty cheese in the cheese mix and also on Lennox St. in Richmond! Maybe they have been exchanging ideas because the two parmas could have been siblings.

I've always been a fan of crinkle cut chips. I can't explain it, I know in my brain that they taste exactly the same as plain old, regular pub chips, yet something about seeing those crinkley little suckers on the plate makes me happy. They were cooked well and slightly seasoned, but could have used a dipping sauce (and at least another half-handful, it was a relatively small serving)

The garden salad had some great flavours through it, and I enjoyed it quite a bit - However the leaves were fairly wilted as if it had been sitting in a bowl in the kitchen for a while, so nothing at all to write home about.

For $16 with a beer there is absolutely nothing to complain about in terms of value for this parma, If I had've paid the full price of $22.90 I probably would be being a little more picky, but for that price it's really hard to complain without sounding super petty. Hopefully the burnt napoli was just an isolated incident and next time around it will have improved.

I really enjoyed the All Nations Hotel, definitely a spot to keep in mind as a spot for pre/post footy drinks (they even run a courtesy bus to and from the G on game days). The beer garden is right up my alley and I can definitely see myself stopping by for another pint or two in there. The parma is decent, but not without a few issues, with a bit of work it could be one of the better Thursday night deals I know of, I wouldn't rush to check it out, but definitely worth poking your head in if you find yourself in the area.

Pros

• Great beer garden
• Friendly local, backstreets pub
• Thick, quality schnitzel foundation
• Good cheese mix

Cons

• Extremely overpowering, tomato paste-eque napoli
• No ham (it really needed it)
• Wilted salad

Parma - 6.38

Chips - 5.75

Salad - 4.88

Value - 7.50

Total - 6.18

#244 - Wood 'n Chimney

When? - 30th of September, 2015

Where? - Level 3, Melbourne Central (Next to Hoyts)

Price? - $15 special that seems to run all the time, $18.40 on menu

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

Reviewers – Lee & Nikki

The Wood 'n Chimney has been on our radar for a while now, when word came through the grapevine that they were offering a $15 parma special (with a selection of novelties) all day, every day it was definitely time to poke our heads in.

Located inside Melbourne Central, Directly across from the Central Lion and about 5 steps from the Hoyts cinema box office, The Wood n Chimney is a handy spot to know about if you ever find yourself peckish before/after hitting up a movie ... so lets just hope that the parma is good!

We arrived on a Wednesday evening a little earlier than usual, easily finding a table at about 6:30pm, however that changed damn quickly - by 7 o'clock the place was packed, and walk-ins were being told there would be a 20 minute wait for a table.

The Wood 'n Chimney is in the spot where Groove Train used to be, and if you ever went to Groove Train you should know exactly what to expect when visiting. I honestly think that the only thing they did when taking over the business was change the sign out front, as the decor is exactly the same as it what when it was Groove Train, I even saw the word "Groovy" a couple of times in the scrawled text on the wallpaper.

Now, we were handed the standard menu, and we spied our target -

However the price perplexed me as the Wood 'n Chimney is offering this special -

Why they would even bother putting the $18.90 parma on the menu is beyond me, when it is available for $15 all. the. time.

To mix it up a little Reviewer Nikki went for the traditional, while I opted for the Mexican.

I ordered a Fat Yak from the drinks menu before realising they had Cricketer's on tap, cursing myself for not being more observant (especially seeing it was Happy Hour from 3 - 7 offering $14 jugs, and I just shelled out $9 for a stubby).

Even though the place was pumping by this point, the food arrived rather promptly.

The Mexican -

The Traditional -

The schnitzel looked rather small when the plate first hit the table, luckily this was deceptive as it thickened out to a damn decent size of pure, hand crumbed chicken breast.

The chicken itself was well cooked (albeit slightly dry) and the crumbs on the top had a great crunch to them, although the bottom was a bit soggy for my tastes.

The toppings are where our opinions of this meal start to differ. I was stoked, with my parma stacked a mile high with a zesty salsa, plenty of salami, sour cream, guacamole, plenty of cheese and a heaping of jalepenos. Every ingredient was applied liberally and all complimented the dish perfectly

Nikki, on the other hand, got napoli and cheese.

This is a bit of a gripe I have with places that have the option of a Traditional parma as well as novelties. Ordering the traditional does not give pubs carte blanche to be boring. The traditional at the Wood 'n Chimney is the same price as the Mexican, yet it was woefully under-topped in comparison. For the same price I would have expected at least a slice of ham. More cheese, more napoli. "Traditional" isn't "plain". Either get creative or drop the price of the traditional as, as it stands, you're punishing people who like their parmas without a bunch of extra stuff piled on top.

But I digress.

We shared bites of each other's parmas to get a feel of what the other was enjoying - Switching from the zesty salsa of the Mexican to the napoli was strange, and really highlighted how sweet the nap on the traditional parma was, not quite an asset.

The chips were pretty standard, well cooked but not a huge serving - We didn't have to ask for the sauce pot, it just came with both parmas - that was definitely appreciated.

The salad was fresh, crisp and loaded with onion, just how I like it - However it seemed as they had drizzled it with dressing while it was on the plate, as opposed to tossing the dressing through in a separate bowl - as a result the top layer was tasty, but the stuff underneath was a dry disappointment.

For $15 I'd gladly have the Mexican at Wood 'n Chimney again. Although the schnitzel was great quality I can't quite give my seal of approval to the traditional as there just wasn't enough going on with the toppings. As for specials there are a few to choose from, other than $15 all day, every day there is a $10 parma Monday special and even mention of a discount down to $5 and a free beer if you work some Instagram mojo - Although this is unconfirmed (and very interesting that its only for the Traditional ... my earlier point proven perhaps?)

I Enjoyed my parma at the Wood 'n Chimney, if I found myself hitting up a movie at Hoyts I'd definitely have no qualms stopping in for dinner - but at this stage I'd stick to the novelties as the traditional just doesn't quite cut it - but if you're after a cheap feed with a quality schnitzel it's worth popping your head in.

Pros

• Abundance of toppings on the novelty parmas
• Quality hand crumbed schnitzel

Cons

• Traditional parma was bland and boring
• Napoli on the traditional was far too sweet.

Parma - 7.25

Chips - 5.80

Salad - 5.00

Value - 7.50

Total - 6.56

The search continues...

Chicken Scratch - 'Mega Parma Challenge Grand Final @ The Laurel Hotel'

Remember a couple of years ago when the Laurel Hotel ran their first Mega Parma Challenge? If not, you might at least remember when we tried to qualify, but failed miserably. Either way, after taking a year off (presumably to let everyone recover from their meal) the folks at the Laurel were at it again, and in July this year launched the Mega Parma Challenge 2015...

The challenge was the same as last time - Finish off a 1.5kg parma, chips and a pint as quick as you can. The top times then get invited back to compete in the finals, and the winner of the finals takes home a trophy, a spot in the record books and a year's worth of free parmas.

After my miserable performance at the last challenge I decided to sit on the sidelines and participate in this year's challenge purely as a spectator/reporter, as I don't think my stomach (or waistline) could take that much punishment again.

The finals were on Sunday so we headed down to watch the action unfold.

As of the morning of the challenge the leader board looked like this -

Some impressive times on the board, especially when you see the size of the thing.

So the stage was set! The restaurant was abuzz with spectators, officials from the Australian Book of Records were there as official witnesses and the grand prize, the glorious trophy, sat glistening on the table...

We grabbed a beer and milled around, waiting for the contestants to arrive - there were originally meant to be six competitors, but unfortunately three didn't arrive. Luckily the three that did arrive were the ones that had the top three times on the leaderboard - So the wheat had been separated from the chaff, and this would truly be a fight of the best of the best.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, the parmas were taking shape...

There were gasps of both delight and horror from the audience as the parmas were plated up for the contestants, on closer inspection the dish looked like four human sized parmas, fuzed together with an ungodly amount of cheese...

The choice between beer and soft drink was given, and they were told that everything on the plate was to be finished, Including the ice in the glass for those who opted for soft drink over beer.

The places were set...

The contestants took their seats...

And they're off!

Things were pretty even for the first minute, there seemed to be minimal mouth burns, as was a problem of the 2013 finals.

After a few minutes, however, it became pretty clear that (unless there was a massive comeback in the books) that Jamie (on the far left in the red shirt) was going to be our champion of the day. He absolutely smashed it, and as the other competitors looked like they had boarded a train to Struggletown, Jamie was still going strong.

He demolished the parma, seemed to be filling up on the chips and struggled through the coke to be crowned the champion of the day and inducted into the Australian Book of Records.

Meet the Laurel Hotel's Mega Parma Champion of 2015...

Congratulations Jamie, You killed it - Also a big kudos to the other two contestants, it was an impressive feat just to be sitting at the table on Sunday (Something I couldn't even accomplish if I tried ... and I did).

With a little luck the Laurel won't be skipping a year and we'll hear from them again at the Mega Parma Challenge 2016, and hopefully Jamie will make another appearance to defend his title.

Until then

The search continues...

#243 - 'The Wee Chief'

When? - 25th of September

Where? - 2/12 Fitzroy Street, St. Kilda

Price? - $20, with a $12 parma Wednesday special

Website? - Website seems to be down, Facebook is here

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki, Stefo

Ending up at the Wee Chief last night is a testament to persistence. You can tell these guys are proud of their parma and proud of their pub when they tag me in photos of their stuff on Instagram practically every day for the past few months - We had somewhere else on the docket for this week but at the last minute I gave in to their tag-athon and said okay ... lets do it (If only to shut them up ;) )

Driving down Fitzroy Street in Saint Kilda you could blink and miss the Wee Cheif. It's one of those pubs that you wouldn't know was there unless you were looking for it - Tucked away snugly between a Greek restaurant and a Dominos (directly across the road from The Prince Band Room) once inside its a very charming, and very Irish little pub.

I really enjoyed the vibe of this pub. It's small, quaint and cosy, but clearly a haven for Irish expats. From the custom number plates on the walls to, well, all the other crap on the walls, you can just feel this is a pub where a lot of fun has been had, and definitely a pub a lot of people treat as a home away from home.

We pulled up a pew at one of the tables and checked the menu - The drive from Essendon to Saint Kilda in peak hour traffic had left us famished, so a straight up parma just wasn't going to cut it - it was time for a pre-game...

Sold, went for the large serving for $15 with the bacon & cheese stuffing.

And as for the main course, we had a few options -

I'm normally a purist and stick to the classic parma for review purposes, but all of my review team were also feeling like a classic parma was the way to go. Not to mention I had a hankering for some good ol' Irish curry chips - Which I was absolutely amazed weren't on the menu, so I opted for something different this week - the Irish curry parma.

The beer list isn't phenomenal if you're partial to a big craft beer selection, however when you're in a pub like this there's really only one option...

My goodness!

Barely ten minutes after ordering our entree appeared from the kitchen

The potato skins were amazing, a great way to start the dish. I wasn't expecting the bacon and cheese to be accompanied by a heap of mashed potato, and I'm not complaining at all (Protip - picking a little onion out of the salad and putting it on top of the potato takes these babies to the next level)

We made short work of the potato skins, polishing them off in minutes (we were hungry, okay?), about ten minutes after we finished our parmas arrived from the kitchen.

The Classic -

The Irish -

The schnitzel looked a bit small on the plate, but looks can be deceiving - The schnitzels had been fried in such a way that the edges curled in under themselves, giving these parmas unbelievable thickness, at times feeling more like a chicken kiev than a chicken parma - To be honest, as much as I do love a good kiev, I would've preferred a flat parma as opposed to this one, but thats a minor complaint.

The chicken breast was pure, white and surprisingly juicy for a parma that had been clearly deep fried. The crumbs had a good crunch, if only slightly overdone (Jeez, I think I'm getting the black lung with all of these minor complaints. Get it? Miner complaints? ... Well I thought it was funny).

(Apologies for the crappy cross section. I cut the parma to take the cross section photo, then promptly forgot to actually take the photo until I only had a few bites left - you can still see the quality of the chicken and the amount of toppings on top though!)

To the other reviewer's surprise their Classic parma also included a heap of bacon, an element not mentioned in the menu description - I hope this is a permanent addition and not just a mistake in the kitchen as, well, who doesn't want bacon on their parma? Not to mentioned it seemed a bit unfair that the two novelty parmas got bacon for the same price as the classic which (according to the menu) didn't.

I enjoyed the curry sauce more than I expected to. I mean, its about as much of a parma as a Quarter Pounder meal is a parma, but the meal was damn enjoyable. None of the parmas were tight with the toppings, from the cheese to the bacon to the curry/napoli sauce it was all applied with gusto.

Now, If you have yet to read our review of Maribyrnong's Smokehouse 101 parma you might want to familiarise yourself, as I'm going to be making a lot of comparisons.

It kept popping into my head while I was eating this parma "Damn this is tasty ... I don't think I can take much more of it" and it hit me that these were the exact thoughts running through my head while eating the parma at Smokehouse. Both the Irish parma at the Wee Chief and the BBQ/honey glazed bacon creation at the Smokehouse are flavoursome, but extremely rich and incredibly salty. The first few mouthfuls? Absolutely delightful. But by the end you're taking deep breaths and struggling to finish the final bite while dreaming of a cool glass of water.

I looked over at the Classic parma eaters and they seemed to be going through the same process as me - Granted not to quite a degree as the Irish parma, but they all, as I did, complained that the parma was just too salty. Otherwise? Delicious, no question, but if they back off on the salt a tad I'd be able to finish my meal confident I wasn't going to need 000 on speed dial for the drive home.

The chips were great - the ones floating in the pool of curry sauce at the bottom were exactly what I was hoping to get for an entree (seriously guys, put a bowl of curry chips back on the menu!) Like the parma they were a little over-salted but otherwise cooked fine and a great side to the dish.

Now the salad is a bit of a tough one, Both Reviewers Stefo and Myself had a lovely and fresh, albeit a little under-dressed, side garden salad - Nothing to write home about, but fine none the less. Nikki, however, had a different experience, with her salad having (you guessed it) salt on it for some unknown reason, almost as if they forgot to salt her chips in the kitchen, so put the salt on them after the salad had also been plated. Very strange and completely killed the salad for her, especially when it was a much needed respite from an already salty parma.

For $20 I'd happily pay again for the Irish parma, the ingredients were quality, there was zero skimping on the toppings and there is no way you're walking away hungry. The Wee Chief also has a $12 parma Wednesday with the choice of both the Classic and Irish parmas, so if you're interested, but a bit weary about shelling out full price then this is definitely the night you should hit it on.

Opinions on this parma were mixed. I really enjoyed the Irish parma, the curry sauce was a great addition if you're feeling like something a bit different from the norm - However the Classic parma eaters weren't as thrilled as I was. They enjoyed it, said it was "Okay", but not as enthusiastic as I clearly am about it (This is the longest parma review I've done in years ... so clearly I've got opinions!), which is why the scores may not quite reflect how much I've been praising this bird.

If you're after something different in a friendly and cool little pub then give the Irish parma at the Wee Chief try, I can't give the Classic parma my full seal of approval, but the Irish parma definitely gets it - Just make sure you don't salt it beforehand.

Pros

• Curry sauce hit the spot
• Big, filling chicken breast
• Abundance of toppings

Cons

• Deep fried "curly" schnitz
• Far too salty

Parma - 7.33

Chips - 6.70

Salad - 5.33

Value - 7.00

Total - 6.74

The search continues...

The Other Daze - 'Breakfast at Hey Jude'

When? - 19th of September, 2015

Where? - Hey Jude Cafe, 4/100 Keilor Rd. Essendon

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

A little over a year ago I used to live in Essendon, more specifically I used to live in Berry St. Essendon, just off Keilor Road, across the road from the McDonalds (If you drive down Berry Street and see the building that used to be a church but is now apartments? That's where I was). A couple of months after moving in a new building next door went up, and on the corner opened a little cafe called Hey Jude. It was very exciting, as now I had more options for dinner that were walking distance besides McDonalds and KFC - Don't get me wrong, those fast food joints were a godsend on hungover Sunday mornings, but the new cafe on the corner quickly became our go-to breakfast spot.

Then, as I said, early last year we moved out, and Hey Jude was no longer our local (We didn't go far, still only a 5 minute drive). I can't articulate why, but it felt weird going back - like we were cheating on our new house with an ex, so for the longest time we gave Hey Jude a miss.

Saturday morning rolls around and it's a lovely day. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and more importantly I've got a bucks party to go to and need some fuel in my stomach for the 12 hour drinkathon that awaits me in the afternoon - We weigh up our options and decide to give Hey Jude another crack.

We arrived at around 7:30 to an already bustling cafe - The early risers are out in force and Hey Jude is already filling up. We took a seat by the window, ordered some coffee's and grabbed a menu.

I've never been a big coffee drinker. For the first twenty nine years of my life I hated coffee, tea ... pretty much any hot liquid was a no go. Then I turned Thirty and something changed - my brain rewired itself into grown-up mode and I discovered that this coffee stuff ain't so bad - So I'm still relatively new when it comes to the stuff, by no means an expert, but I know what I like and the cappuccino at Hey Jude is damn delicious.

Is there a combination of words in the English language sweeter than "All day breakfast"? (well yes, "open bar" comes to mind, but go with me on this one). The menu has had some retooling since our last visit. So many options I didn't know where to start, after lots of back and forth I settled on the B.L.T, while Reviewer Nikki decided on the Eggs Benedict.

I noticed that there was a schnitzel on the lunch menu - Will tuck that away in the back of my mind for future reference... Here's hoping they throw some cheese, ham and napoli on top once in a while and then we'd have a more official reason to come and visit.

We ordered our breafast, kicked back and enjoyed the view before our food arrived shortly thereafter...

Thats what I'm talking about - nothing worse than a B.L.T that is tight on the bacon, the Hey Jude BLT had plenty to go around. It was flavoursome, crunchy and tied in perfectly with the fresh tomato and crisp lettuce (no surprise there, there's a reason the BLT is a classic). The horseradish mayo was a great addition, I could've eaten it with a spoon, I might be getting a bit greedy but I just wish there was a little more of it on the sandwich.

Reviewer Nikki went for the eggs benedict - another breakfast stalwart, and usually my go-to when it comes to breakfast - so naturally I had to steal a couple of bites (What are wives for if not to steal bites of food that you didn't get to order?). Once again they weren't tight with the pig, hollandaise either. The eggs were perfectly poached, light as air and deliciously runny throughout.

There are a hell of a lot of cafes and coffee houses on Keilor Road these days, but Hey Jude is definitely one of the best. After the breakfast on the weekend I realise that I've been missing out by not travelling the extra two minutes to eat here over some of the other spots in the area.

Definitely worth a shot if you're nearby, I'd say try and get in early as I don't think there's a time when Hey Jude is not busy.

Oh, and if you're curious the bucks day was a rousing success as well - It's now Monday afternoon and I'm still a little hungover.

The search continues...

#242 - 'Belgian Beer Café'

When? - 17th of September

Where? - 5 Riverside Quay, Southbank

Price? - $26.50 regularly, $20 parma & pot Thursdays

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

Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Stefo

Last weekend, on our way to grab a quick bite at Hophaus, We parked at the Eureka Tower carpark and walked across the road to Southbank - I had Hophaus on my mind, but my peripheral vision did catch sight of the Belgian Beer Café, And I locked it away in my brain-hole as a spot to check out and see if they had a parma on the menu.

Low and behold they did, and even better - their Thursday $20 'Parma & pot of Stella or House wine night' (just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?) Just happened to be the night we usually head out to find a parma. It was fate, so last night we loaded up the parma bus and headed to the Belgian Beer Café.

Situated on the ground floor of Eureka Tower, the BBC (The Pub, not the channel that airs Doctor Who) does a great job of feeling like an old-style belgian watering hole. Lots of exposed wood, dim lighting and pastel colours all add to the atmosphere. If you kept your back to the window you could almost forget you were sitting in the middle of one of Melbourne's busiest business precincts.

Even though the pub was packed with suited up business folks grabbing an after-work knock off drink, we managed to catch a table up the back end of the pub, an area with more of a restaurant feel than the bar area - complete with table service.

We didn't really need to see a menu as we knew what we were after, but if we had've looked inside, we would have seen something like this -

But we had our sights set on this one -

We placed our orders and kicked back - Now a review of a Beer Café just wouldn't be complete until we discuss one key component - The beer...

I made the mistake of ordering a pint then ordering my meal, that comes with a pot. Although being double-parked is a problem I don't mind having.

The beer list at the BBC is phenomenal. Thicker than the menu I counted 78 different beers available, ranging in all styles from Amber Ale to Wheat Beer and everything in between (W is the closest I could get to the end of the alphabet ... there are no beer styles starting with Z unfortunately).

And thats not even counting the rotating taps slip on the first page. An absolutely phenomenal range, and something to suit every beer drinker's tastes.

About 20 minutes after ordering our food arrived...

There's never a nice way to start these things, but its all downhill from here.

First up the schnitzel wasn't nearly hot enough. The toppings where hot where they sat under the grill - but the heat didn't penetrate through to the schnitzel, leaving the bottom half luke-warm at best. The schnit was pure white chicken breast, but it was dry as buggery, the crumbs were soggy and their flavour was the most dominant taste of the entire dish... A bad start to the meal.

And unfortunately it doesn't get much better with the toppings. The napoli was basically nonexistent, and what we did get tasted like it came straight from a can of leggo's tomato paste. They weren't tight with the ham and cheese, but they were both equally flavourless it was like eating unsalted cardboard.

I mention "big parma syndrome" from time to time, a phenomenon where the bigger a parma gets the less flavour it seems to have - the BBC's parma tasted like a parma with bad big parma syndrome - Without the size for you to justify it by saying "well at least it was big".

Disappointment all round on the parma at the BBC, which is a damn shame for such a cool pub

At this point in a bad review I'd like to say "at least the chips were good" ... I'd like to say that, but I can't. From the word go they were dry, starchy, left a claggy texture in your mouth and looked as if they had been sitting out for the better part of an hour. They needed a lot of salt and tomato sauce to bring them back, and even then it wasn't a great experience... Decent sized serving though.

The garden salad was probably the best thing on the table (other than the beers). It was fresh with a heap of dressing (how I like it) and a good range of ingredients hiding under the lettuce leaves. The pot they put it in was quite small and I was done with the salad in probably three forkfuls. The one thing on the plate I would have eaten more of and it was over as soon as it began.

If I had've paid full price for this parma ($26.50) I would be absolutely livid. Anything over $25 is reserved for the best of the best, and the parma at the BBC was nowhere near good enough for that price. For $20 with a pot of Stella? I still wouldn't have it again. There simply isn't enough flavour to justify that price. If it were $15 with a pot then maybe I could forgive its foibles, but not for $20.

The Belgian Beer Cafe is a very cool little spot with a phenomenal range of beers and great atmosphere, the staff were friendly and attentive, and I'd be more than happy to drop back in if I were in the area and check out what's going around on the rotating taps - But when the best part of my meal was the Ben & Jerry's I grabbed at the 7-11 on the way out, that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the parma.

Pros

• The salad was okay
• Great range of beers

Cons

• Bland toppings
• Lukewarm schnitzel
• Starchy, unappetising chips
• Miniscule amount of napoli
• Even on special it was overpriced

Parma - 3.53

Chips - 3.25

Salad - 5.00

Value - 4.50

Total - 3.96

The search continues...

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...