carlton

Ike’s Rack Shack

Hot sauce

Grab your bib friends, tonight’s post is all about ribs.

(Not whoop ass, like the photo might suggest.)

Ike’s Rack Shack is located in the back room of The Beaufort in Carlton and to really emphasise that shack theme, the floor is astro turf, there’s wooden picnic tables, and corrugated iron on the ceiling.

And racks? The menu focus is ribs – racks of ribs.

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Piqueos

Empanadas

If Melbourne ever gets over the Mexican food trend, will Latin/South American cuisine be the next thing working its way up the hot list?

Discuss.

Piqueos in North Carlton opened late last year, serving Argentinian food with a side of Peruvian. I like South American food so roped in Maz and Dazzle to have dinner a few weekends ago.

The menu is split into piqueos (small bites), raciones (slightly larger starter dishes) and parrilla (charcoal grilled food) with a short list of salads and accompaniments. You can also order the chef’s tasting menu for $60.

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Embrasse: MFWF express lunch (closed)

Wouldn’t it be good to be able to tap into a collective memory? Then you would always have access to important details, and it wouldn’t be a problem if your mind was crowded with useless things like the lyrics to “Deep deep trouble” even though you haven’t heard that song for 15 years. (Oh, is that just me? And yes, I do know the words. I can totally bust it out at any time. HELP I CAN’T FORGET IT.)

Fortunately, I have friends who help me remember things. When I eat out I sometimes can’t recall all the details and will message whoever I ate with: “Hey, do you remember what was in that dish?”

After our lunch at Embrasse, Thanh and I had the following conversation.

“What was the fish again?”
“Ummmm. I can’t remember.”
“It was silver something, wasn’t it?”
“Oh! It was silver dory!”

Food bloggers hive mind win. With our memories combined, we are… one normal person!

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Brunetti

Disclosure: My visit was courtesy of Brunetti and Food Pampering

Brunetti is a total Melbourne institution. The first shop opened in Carlton in 1985 (though the current family took over in 1991) and it is now a mini empire, having expanded to several more locations in Melbourne, as well as Singapore and Dubai. The Carlton shop spans three shop fronts, and seems to be constantly packed. It’s a big, loud, busy joint with a huge selection of cakes, pastries and other baked goods.

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Universal Restaurant

Disclosure: My meal was courtesy of Food Pampering and Universal Restaurant.

Recently I was invited to a lunch at Universal Restaurant by Ashley of Food Pampering, along with a small group of other food bloggers. Located on Lygon Street, Universal Restaurant was established in 1969 – I’m sure that Lygon Street has changed a lot in that time! Alfie, the executive chef and manager, introduced himself and told us a bit about his restaurant, which was started up by his father. Alfie took over several years ago, and it’s still a family business – I’m pretty sure he told us that his brother also works there.
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