Taquito

It’s places like Taquito in Carlton that remind me why I missed dining out in a Melbourne so much. With its great food, amazing service and fun vibe, it was definitely a great choice for a Friday night. 

What sets Taquito apart from the usual Mexican haunts in Melbourne is Taquito’s house-made tortillas and totopos. There’s no doubt that you can taste the difference it makes - especially when we were lucky enough to be served a warm crispy batch of totopos straight from the oven. So with that in mind, the Guacamole de la abuelita with totopos ($14) and a serving of the tacos (a flight of four setting you back $26) are definitely a must when ordering - with the baja syle crispy fish taco being so good, we both ordered another. 

While the churros ($12) came out like any good churro should be - warm and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside - the sauce was definitely an interesting choice, reminding me more a brandy custard to go with Christmas pudding, rather than a dipping sauce.  The churros themselves, however, were delicious. 



If you’re looking for a venue that’s elegant but trendy, service that’s friendly and efficient and food that is utterly delicious - then look no further than Taquito - which is what makes it the new fave.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Value for money: 5/5
Venue: 5/5
Total: 19.5/20

Verdict: The New Fave - put it as number one on the to do list. 

Milk the Cow - Carlton

Cheese lovers rejoice - there is a restaurant (well, there’s actually two of them) that has a menu completely focused on cheese - that’s right - cheeeese! I’m talking soft cheese, hard cheese, blue cheese, baked cheese and even fondue.

Milk the Cow is no stranger to Melbourne’s food scene - with both their St Kilda and Carlton venues having been around for awhile. But even so, on walking through their doors, Milk the Cow’s atmosphere still has that incredible buzzy vibe to it that you’d usually only find in Melbourne’s latest hippest restaurant that has just made a cameo on Broadsheet.

On this occasion we visited the Carlton venue on Lygon street. On search for desert after a dinner at Tiamo, we thought what better way to finish the night than with sweet wine and a serving of hot bubbling cheese.

The baked Brie bathed in French Cider, and baked in truffle honey ($17), was insanely delicious - and was kept warm with a charming little tea candle situated under the Brie pot.



The fondue baked with cognac, French sparkling and truffle honey (served with a shot of Stanton & Kileen Topaque) was a bit rich for my taste buds, however I’m sure that there are countless people out there who would not only enjoy, but would adore the richness of this combination.

Perfect for a cheesy meal, a cheesy treat, or a late night eat - I will definitely be back to Milk the Cow in Carlton soon.

Food: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Value for money: 4/5
Venue: 4/5
Total: 17/20 
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

 

Tiamo

Tiamo is a Melbourne institution on Lygon Street in Carlton. Serving up Italian cuisine, you can expect big hearty servings of pasta, inexpensive wine and self serve bowls of dried Parmesan.

Unfortunately, on this occasion our experience didn't live up to the hype. The penne ragu for $19.90 came out lukewarm - which was a shame, as the pasta itself was cooked al dente and the sauce was rich with flavour. There was also a piece of hair in my pasta which you can see at the bottom of the bowl in the picture below - not ideal, especially seeing as it was clearly visible and could have easily been caught by the waitstaff.

The service was also on the disappointing side - whilst friendly, our waiter spent most of the time fooling around with another waiter rather than taking our order, remembering our requests for chili flakes and Parmesan, and offering us desert.

With so many other amazing Italian venues in Melbourne - especially in Carlton - I will not be rushing back to Tiamo.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
Venue: 3/5
Value for money: 3/5
Total: 11/20
Verdict: Don't bother - there are so many other better Italian joints in Melbourne.

 

Tank Fish and Chips

The "healthy" fish and chip store concept has been around for a while - with the likes of Hunky Dory, Hooked and Saltwater Grill entering the scene, no longer are we stuck with just the good old potato cake and dim sim.  However, from all of the 'healthy' fish and chip stores that I have been to, Tank Fish and Chips has been far my favourite.

Why you ask? Well to start with, they offer up one of the best fish burgers I've had.  With its cheese, lettuce, lightly crumbed fish and lashings of sauce, this little beauty sandwiched in a fresh fluffy burger bun is fish burger heaven. The chips, however, while  okay, are not the best chips going around (a touch on the dry side).

Tank also offers the usual suspect of fish with chips, or fish with salad and rice.  However, distinguishing itself from the usual brown rice on offer, Tank's brown rice is deliciously seasoned.
The calamari is also a must - sold by the strip, it's deliciously seasoned and so tender you could cut it with a fork.

Located at both Emporium and Lygon Street, Tank Fish and Chips is definitely my recommendation if you have healthy fish and chips on the mind - especially seeing as they also serve wine!

Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Venue: 3/5
Total:10/15
Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

149 Lygon Street, Carlton,

The New Fave dined courtesy of Tank Fish and Chips

New York Minute

New York Minute is home to one of Melbourne's top 10 burgers as voted by Matt Preston recently in the Herald Sun.  Seeing as Matt Preston seems to know a thing or two about food, I had to give this burger a try.

The prized burger is called the 'New York' - two grass fed beef patties, special sauce, Swiss cheese, pickles and spinach  ($12.00).  Tasting similar to McDonald's Big Mac, this monstrosity of a burger was actually quite delicious and full of flavour.  The meat patties were juicy, the salad crisp, the sauce tangy and the bun was fresh and fluffy.

However, a good burger joint is not complete without a decent side of chips.  So luckily New York Minute' chips, which were goldenly crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the in, didn't disappoint.

Cheap, cheerful and friendly service - New York Minute is definitely worth try if you find yourself in the streets of Carlton.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Décor: 3/5
Total: 11/15
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

Ike's Rack Shack

The plan was to go to the Fat Tuesday Southern Food and Music Festival in Carlton, but after arriving and being told it was just over an hour wait for food and drink, we headed off to Ike's Rack Shack to get our Southern food fix.

Unforunately, we weren't the only one's with this idea and Ike's was out of control.  But a huge applaud to Ike's with how they handled it.  While it took just over an hour and a half to get our food,  Ike's handled the delay exceptionally by offering us free drinks, free fries, and all still with a smile on their faces.  And boy, the food was definitely worth the wait.  To eat we shared the triple back rack shack ($66 but feeds 3) which consisted of a rack of pork ribs, beef ribs and lamb ribs.  The beef and lamb ribs were exceptional - slight crunch on the outside, moist and tender on the inside and with flavours that just scream down south. However the pork ribs were not so amazing - while very tasty, they were tough and difficult to get off the bone.

For sides we had the blue cheeses iceberg wedge salad ($12), shoestring fries ($8) and the house made corn bread with honey butter ($8).  The corn bread was absolutely out of this world - buttery, corn filled goodness, scatterd with bits of a jalapeno inside...some would even call it life changing! Spread it with the honey butter and it is a pure foodgam in the mouth.

Even if it is just for six serves of the corn bread, at such good value, fantastic staff and delicious food, Ike's is definitely somwhere I will return to soon.

Verdict: Love