Lasagne

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Mildura Brewery – Mildura – Wednesday 29 July 2015 – Dinner

IMG_3997_2The area around the Grand Hotel Mildura is a feast of culinary options. Wanting something a little more casual, we opted for the Mildura Brewery which is housed in what was previously the Astor Theatre.

It is hard to think how the conversion of the theatre into a brewery could have been done better. Many of the hallmarks of the theatre are not only present, but accentuated, and even the backdrop of the beer vats deserves a standing ovation for any beer drinker.

Having tried their Astor Ale and IPA this evening, I can vouch for the quality of these brews, the Astor in particular delicate but flavoursome, a beer that has some complexity without taking away from the ability to have a few. The IPA is bold as you would expect, a robust option that fits the bill of many red meat dishes.
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Catherine’s Mildura Brewery cider is one of the better ciders I’ve tried, but I must admit I am not a big cider drinker. The crispness of the apples in the region are definitely reflected in the cider though.

On a Wednesday night in a country town, we thought we might get away with strolling in without a reservation. We were wrong; restaurant and bar are packed and we have to wait about thirty minutes for a table which was a good chance to enjoy the lounge area at the front. From the initial welcome of the maitre’d to leaving the restaurant, the service was excellent. Warm, knowledgeable, and attentive.
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Choosing between the dishes is difficult with a combination of pub classics, homemade Italian (the influence of Stefano di Pieri always present), and French bistro, all in good measure. Catherine chose the homemade lasagne, while I decided on the scotch fillet. Perfectly cooked to my medium rare instruction, the scotch fillet is big on flavour, and comes from one of the locals, Naz Tassone. The char in particular is delicious. The mash is great, but the vegetables are tremendous.

Catherine’s lasagne is excellent too. Homemade pasta sheets separated by a generous and rich ragu, with the béchamel sauce and cheese all delivering on flavour. Even the side salad, featuring simple fresh ingredients jazzed up with a bit of radicchio, is great and you get to dress it yourself Italian style with Stefano’s olive oil and balsamic.

I am a huge fan of brewery dining. There is something special about it in Australia particularly. We love a beer and have an infatuation with the brewing process and the equipment so it makes sense we like to eat in the same place. Places like Little Creatures, and Bootleg Brewery, are close to my heart but I think I’ve just found one that offers even more on the food front.

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Da Vinci’s Ristorante Pizzeria – North Perth – Saturday 29 March 2014 – Dinner

Lasagne

Lasagne

Da Vinci’s had a curious name when I first started going around ten years ago, not long after Dan Brown’s bestseller. I had worked for a number of years at a number of restaurants with one of their chefs at the time (who is a best mate) and got to know many of the staff and the owners who are still around today. Needless to say it is a comfortable place to have dinner.

When I look around, the funny thing is that everyone else looks comfortable. There’s a 50th birthday with two large tables that are having a great time, and the whole place is warm and friendly. The restaurant itself is open and honest – it speaks to good quality Italian with no frills. It’s not clichéd family, but it is bright, is busy early, and tables generally don’t get turned over so it’s relaxed.

The wood-fired pizza oven is fit for the job, but we didn’t have pizza tonight. Mum felt like seafood marinara and Catherine and I just had to try the homemade lasagna! I was a bit tricky in copying Catherine’s choice, which is a bit of a faux pas in my book, but when you come here you can have what you feel like!

Mum loved her marinara – the seafood was excellent and the serving generous. I’m not sure if the pasta is handmade, but I don’t think it is. The handmade pasta in the lasagna was terrific. Eight layers with a “rich Italian meat sauce” which I believe was dominant in pork. I often feel lasagna is too heavy, and find it hard to go past the vincisgrassi that migrated from The Grand to Yak Bar in Melbourne, but the al dente pasta and excellent meat sauce made for a delicious dish that was all the better for only $21!

The three of us shared wildberry meringue and apple pie for dessert which were both about $10. You don’t normally get much for $10 in Perth, so this is very reasonable, and some seemingly defrosted berries with the meringue is not a criticism, but worthy of noting. The meringue itself was light, but gooey and surprised all of us to the extent we were speaking about it a couple of nights later. The apple pie was as you’d expect for a standard dessert – something sweet to end a fun meal.

Having been eating in Perth for many, many years I know when a suburban restaurant is average, good, or great. It’s not just a price point thing. Da Vinci is a simple Italian restaurant, done really well.

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