As a professional, I find the outside of Gray and Gray entirely cute, and somehow inviting. An oasis for professionals in Northcote, this is not. A great venue to catch up and enjoy some diverse wines, and slightly familiar but not familiar dishes, this is. The signage is an ode to the previous occupant which appears to be a barrister perhaps.
I’m on a man-date with my mate Trav, and we have had a warm up at The Peacock, which is worthy of more than a sticky beak. Our little high table is cute too. Is there a theme?
Unusually, Ben Haines Chardonnay sits atop of the list of whites by the bottle, and I am sold knowing how good this vigneron is. The wine itself is balanced perfectly with subtle okay treatment, and equally subtle but knowing fruit. Trav has already spotted a Hungarian red that is sure to come next.
We began the food proceedings with a pork skewer each, and some sauerkraut, which combined deliciously. Having looked at the brief menu and considered our options, we thought taking advantage of a number of the meat options suited us, but there were not many.
My choice dish to share came next in the form of blinis with a gorgeous whipped potato, and smoked eel concoction, dressed with salmon roe, chives, and kvas (a low alcohol traditional beverage made similar to beer from north-eastern Europe). Trav didn’t love it, but I was quite taken, grabbing more blinis than my fair share, and smothering them in the dip. It reminded me of the way I sometimes eat pate where the vessel operates to separate my hand from an intense amount of the main show.
As we began on our light Hungarian red, we were served with the khachapuri. Khachapuri is in very simple terms a Georgian pizza. I liken it more to an open calzone. With a kharcho (soup) braised pork and lamb combination, topped with pickled onions and herbs, I was enjoying both the familiarity, along with the difference. The light red only added interest with a slightly earthy nose, and some nice fruit to follow. The slight disappointment was the vegetables, which really didn’t have a lot of flavour when pitted against the khachapuri.
Service throughout had been attentive, even as Trav and I caught up and took forever to order, grazing over a couple of courses. The wine bar style shone through, and we were very comfortable. At the stage we should have stopped eating, I couldn’t help but notice an intense looking honey cake, which was being cut in outrageously large portions. Naturally, we ordered it to share, but were convincingly defeated. I have plans to go back and have the honey cake for dinner at some stage, eager to take revenge on this extremely decadent dessert!
BLK's Food Blog 