Grub Food Van

Gertrude St Grub

Update 15/06/2023: Grub is now closed.

October 15, 2013

I've fallen into a bit of a lunch rut lately. A delicious Sonido-based rut sure, but a rut nonetheless. So with a quiet day at work and no packed lunch in my bag, I branched out and finally visited Grub Food Van. I've been intrigued by it for ages - it seemed like a kind of hipster vortex: stationary food van, ping pong table, Fitzroy back-street - all the boxes are checked.

As pretentious as that might sound, there's something really wonderful about the setting. You wander in past a very stylish old van (closed on the day I visited) into a glorious covered greenhouse area. There's a ping pong table, plants everywhere, mismatched tables and bright colours. It's stunning.

I nestled in amongst it all and perused the menu. There's a reasonable smattering of veggie options: porridge with dates, coconut, banana, brown sugar and butter ($12), mushroom and prune ragout with parmesan polenta cake ($15), cannelini, butter beans and chickpeas in tomato sauce ($12), a veggie tasting plate ($16), mushroom burger ($10) and a vegetable tagine ($17). Vegans will probably struggle (although the tagine might be okay).

I ordered the avocado, chilli and lime parfait with tomato salsa, manchego and housemade seeded tortilla ($14).

This was just okay - the avocado was a super smooth paste with just a hint of lime and chilli. The fresh salsa was excellent, but the tortillas didn't really rock my world. They were crispy and a bit dry, which made them easy to eat, but if you're going to make your own tortillas, you shouldn't hide their freshness like this.

I headed back for a cheeky pre-work breakfast on a glorious morning and the sun-filled greenhouse was just as lovely. This time I ordered the vegetarian board (boiled egg, cheddar, marinated veggies, avocado, salsa and relish, $16).

This was more successful - the cheddar was the key ingredient, sharp and crumbly and combining perfectly with each of the other ingredients.

I'm a Grub convert - the food hasn't blown my mind, but it's fresh and tasty and served in such a lovely space. The staff are friendly and the coffee's decent - definitely somewhere to seek out when Melbourne turns on some decent weather.

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Everyone loves Grub - there are completely positive write-ups at Suchgoodlife, Howie's Melbourne Food Blog, MEL: HOT OR NOT, Miss Jessica Louise, urban kaleidoscope,where food is, i am, Decorating Mumma, Cope's Curiosities, Popcorn & Toast, Sharking for chips and drinks and dear melbourne, while Temasek and Gourmet Chick feel more like me - the setting is incredible, but the food isn't world-beating.

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Grub Food Van
87-89 Moor Street, Fitzroy
9419 8991
veg dishes $7-$17
http://www.grubfoodvan.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a couple of steps down from the street to the food van area, and things are a little crowded between the driveway and the greenhouse. You order at the table and pay at a low register - I didn't visit the loos.

Aunt Maggie's

Update 15/06/2023: Aunt Maggie's is now closed.

June 18, 2013

Three Thousand alerted me to the latest veg-friendly development on Gertrude Street - the opening of a Fitzroy branch of longtime southside favourite Aunt Maggie's. It's predominantly an organic grocery store, bringing an array of vegan friendly products to an area that's been surprisingly under-served since Organic Gertrude moved out to Fairfield six or seven years ago. 

There's fresh fruit and veggies, lots of fancy teas, flours and other groceries and a couple of fridges loaded up with tofu, mock-meat, dips, the full Botanical range and heaps of other vegan and/or gluten-free goodies.

They also have a small juice bar and soup stand, which offers up three different organic and vegan soups for lunches. At $6 a pop it's probably the cheapest lunch in the neighbourhood, and my spicy red lentil soup was a rich and tasty treat - loaded up with beans, veggies and enough chilli to combat Melbourne's shift into single digit temperatures. There's a table you can plonk at, but it's served in a convenient takeaway cup and is just the kind of speedy, healthy lunch I can use when I don't have time for Sonido or Trippytaco.

With just a handful of soups on offer, Aunt Maggie's is probably more exciting for its grocery range than its lunch options. Either way, it's a welcome addition to the Gertrude Street landscape.

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Aunt Maggie's

188 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

9417 5504

veg soups: $6
www.auntmaggies.com.au (and their slightly more informative facebook page)

Accessibility: Aunt Maggie's has a flat entryway and is pretty spacious. The soup is ordered and served at a low counter, and then payment is via the checkouts.

Belle's Diner

November 4, 2012

Michael certainly has his finger on the Gertrude St pulse. He not only works in the neighbourhood; he heard about the impending opening of Belle's Diner from his hairdresser down the street. From there it was easy work convincing me to visit a diner, especially when I discovered red velvet waffles on their brunch menu (genius!). The only problem was that they open at 10am - this put paid to a cheeky weekday visit and it's taken us a while to find a brunch-friendly weekend.

We actually arrived closer to 11am in the end and there were plenty of booths available (though they were filling up as noon passed and the menu options expanded). The breakfast menu has just five dishes - granola, those tempting waffles and three egg-based dishes (two of them vegetarian). Vegetarian items are supposedly asterisked but the breakfast list is star-less and then in the lunch section the kale salad includes anchovies and a *. That's -10 points for dietary markings, Belle.

Michael's 2 (scrambled) eggs ($12.50) sprawled across toast and home fries. They made for a satisfying plate and he was even more pleased that there was hot sauce on hand. While it's definitely good value, Michael noted that he makes a better hash himself  - he's immodest, but he's probably right.

And what of those waffles ($15)? They certainly looked the part - tantalisingly crimson, offset by raspberries, strawberries and vanilla-flecked cream cheese yoghurt. The flavour was good but not great. There was little sweetness to the dish, it was begging for a hint of salt to brighten the flavour, and the topping had none of the tang of cream cheese or yoghurt. Oh, and it was served cold. The raspberries saved it, providing enough sweetness and tartness to spread across the rest.

I liked the casual and understated atmosphere at Belle's Diner, which extended from the staff to the fit-out and the menu. It wasn't pitch-perfect - I wanted the music a bit softer, then the waffles and the special-diet tips kicked up a notch. I'm willing to hear them out at least once more though, because I know several people singing the praises of the fried green tomato burger.

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Belle's Diner has been positively received on BURGER HOP, Temasek, GOOD FOOD, GOOD MOOD and The Burger Adventure.

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Belle's Diner
150 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
9077 0788
veg breakfast
http://www.bellesdiner.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a small step in the middle of Belle's Diner, but flat entryways at either end. A corridor through the centre is moderately wide and booths are packed end-to-end for the length of the building. While the booths don't appear particularly wheelchair or pram-friendly, I noticed some fellow diners in the far booth with a(n empty) wheelchair tucked in beside them. We ordered at our table and paid at a high bar and didn't visit the toilets.

Casa Ciuccio

Edit 11/04/2017: Fitzroyalty reports that Casa Ciuccio is now closed.

Gertrude St grub
April 20, 2012

   

Michael keeps a keen eye on the Gertrude St goings-on, including the construction and opening of Casa Ciuccio. After a week or so of negotiation, we set up a completely unnecessary and rather extravagant Friday lunch there with Mike and Jo.

Casa Ciuccio comes from the people behind Bar Lourinha and boasts its own coal pit. It's hardly surprising, then, that the menu's not really designed for vegos - 3 of the 13 snack-sized items are flesh free, before things get really meaty with 9 dishes from the grill or coal pit; there are four further vegetable plates as well as cheese and desserts.

   

We started off with cheese-stuffed figs ($5 each), which I'd spied at a neighbouring table and envied. They were fresh, sweet and fabulous.

   

The zucchini, eggplant and labneh ($15) similarly offered a pleasing combination of tender fresh produce and complementary curd.

   

The cos leaves, sweet lime and radish ($16) had a nice bittersweet crunch.

   

Marginally heartier were the green beans in sugo ($15).

   

I was not leaving without dessert(s). The wide, shallow dulce de leche cream pot ($12) allowed for a maximum sprinkling of peanut praline, which I appreciated.

   

The stars, though, were these buñuelos ($12), warm doughnuts studded with melting chocolate sitting atop a hazelnut sauce.

We received flawless service throughout our visit and the front room was a lovely place to pass a couple of (!) weekday hours. And while we enjoyed everything we ate, I don't think this was worth $40pp. It's clear that the veg-friendly dishes are intended to accompany the meats and they don't really pass as a meal themselves. The one lentil dish on the menu includes morcilla - that's probably a signal that I should seek my legumes and meat-free fine dining elsewhere.

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Casa Ciuccio
15 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
8488 8150
veg morsels $4-16
www.casaciuccio.com.au

Accessibility: From memory, I think there's a small step on entry. Tables in the front room are quite well spaced, some at standard height and some at bar height with stools (we didn't get a good look at the back room or courtyard). There's full table service. We didn't visit the toilets.

April 7, 2011: Gertrude Street Grub - Piadina Take Away

August 8, 2015: Fitzroyalty reports that Piadina have packed it in after four years of good lunches on Gertrude Street

It's been a long time between Gertrude Street Grub posts - mostly because on the rare day that we don't have any leftovers, I can't resist revisiting Sonido or Trippytaco. But Brian's post on Piadina Take Away alerted me to a new option for the days where I have neither lunch from home or time for a proper outing. Takeaway lunches around my work have been limited to some fairly rudimentary cafe options, with Fatto a Mano too far away for a speedy trip.

Which is where Piadina Takeaway comes in. It's a fairly plain looking takeaway joint (which I think used to be a fish and chip shop) - there's a couple of plastic tables, lots of bare tiles, and a general undecorated vibe. Thankfully, the food is great. They've got a small brekkie menu, some sandwiches and a selection of half a dozen piadinas.

There are a few vegetarian options, of which I've sampled two: the roasted beetroot with carrot, rocket, dukkah and tahini yoghurt ($9.50) and the mushroom with tasty cheese and thyme ($8.50). They're made fresh to order (obviously the beetroots have been pre-roasted), with the flatbread getting some nice crispy brown bits on the grill, and everything inside warming up deliciously.


The beetroot one was a roaring success - sweetness, spiciness and yoghurty tang making for one of the best sandwich-style dishes I've had in ages. The mushroom version wasn't quite as good: the combo of grilled mushroom, melted cheese and thyme is pretty fantastic, but everything had gone a bit soggy by the time I was back at my desk.

Still, they're streets ahead of the other local sandwiches - I'm not sure I'll go anywhere else for my desk-based lunches in future. So don't be fooled by the lack of a flashy fitout, this place does some of the best lunches on Gertrude Street (although our vegan and coeliac readers will struggle I'm afraid).

Kudos to Brian at Fitzroyalty for putting me onto this place. Nobody else seems to have discovered it yet.

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Piadina Takeaway
130 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
9419 8819
veg lunches $7 - $10

Accessibility: A couple of biggish steps to get you inside but once you're in there's plenty of light and space.

October 16, 2010: Sonido II

I first checked out Sonido shortly after they opened their doors right near where I work. Since then, I've raved about them to Cindy so many times that she insisted we drop in for lunch when we were in the neighbourhood on the weekend.

They're clearly doing something right - we turned up after 2pm and the place was still heaving with weekend lunch-goers. I was happy to go back with a camera so I could blog a meal that I've eaten almost every time I've visited: frijoles con feta (a black bean and feta arepa with guacamole and picadillo, $11.50 + $2 for side salad). Combined with a few splashes of hot sauce, this is a cracking lunch - a crispy corn arepa, topped with hearty black beans and generously sprinkled with salty feta. The little saucy sides are particularly impressive - simple guacamole and a little tomatoy salsa that add a bit of variety to the beany flavours.

Cindy branched out into something I hadn't tried: arepa de choclo (a sweet corn arepa with fresco cheese, $6 + $2 for salad). Apparently they were using a different cheese than normal on the day we visited - with no baseline for comparison it's hard to say whether it was a good move. Regardless, Cindy raved about her little corny treat - the strong sweetness of the arepa contrasted perfectly with the salty cheese on top. Pretty good value at $6 as well.

Cindy had been consciously trying to order something smallish so that she had space for Sonido's already famous choc-berry brownie ($4.50). This gluten-free wonder is rich with dark chocolate and flecked through with sweet raspberry chunks. I'm too embarrassed to admit how often my working afternoons are broken up by a trip to Sonido to grab one these to go with their beautifully made coffee.

Read about our previous review of Sonido here.

Sonido is garnering lots of fans - there are more positive reviews at Vetti Live in Northcote, Fitzroyalty, Fat Belly Club, Crafty Llama and ...it pleases us.

August 10. 2010: Gertrude Street Grub - Arcadia II

Arcadia has been a semi-regular lunch-time haunt of mine on the rare occasions I can't muster up the energy to walk up to Trippytaco. It's been a while since I blogged it - my first visit left me fairly disappointed, but I've eaten much better meals there since then.

So when work buddies set up a pre-work-day breakfast plan, I thought I should take the camera along and give Arcadia a second blog-showing. The breakfast menu has a few non-standard options: Mexican-themed egg dishes, delicious pancakes, spicy jalapeno loaf and so forth. There aren't too many options that are vegetarian by default, but they're happy to mix things around for you. I decided to sample the pan-fried mash potato cake with spinach, pesto and mayo, with the standard bacon swapped out for some delicious fried mushrooms ($18.50).

This was a pretty great feast - amazing pesto, perfectly poached eggs, a giant wodge of fried spud. What's not to like? The price is the main downside - $18.50 is an awful lot of money to spend on breakfast. For almost $20, I'm going to want a dusting of diamonds, or at least a truffle or two.

Arcadia is expensive across the board, but they do churn out some excellent meals, and the staff are helpful and friendly. Case in point: they were happy to throw together a vegan brekkie for a colleague: spicy beans, spinach, avo, mushrooms and toast. Not too shabby.

Arcadia's well worth a visit if you're loaded up with cash - great coffee, nice space, excellent staff and a good range of options both breakfast and lunch. I guess you're just going to have to wear the Gertrude Street prices.

Read about my last visit to Arcadia here. Or check out loads of other reviews: Craft City Melbourne, Breakies Worth Getting Up For, Beautiful Inspirations, Slicing Almonds and Zesting Lemons, A Breakie in Melbourne, Fitzroyalty and Fat Feminist Foodie.

July 27, 2010: Gertrude Street Grub - Sonido

For years I've watched enviously while local bloggers with their fingers on the pulse rush out timely reviews of newly opened eateries, earning themselves kudos and links as far as the eye can see. So when I noticed a new cafe taking shape right near my work I started taking the camera to work with me every day so I could pounce and join this band of organised and well-connected food-hounds.

Sonido taunted me - opening a few weekends to test the waters and then remaining resolutely closed for weeks at a time (for a while I thought it was called 'Cerrado', which is actually Spanish for 'Closed'). Finally last week they threw their doors open for the workday trade, and I was quick to investigate.


Sonido is run by a friendly Colombian duo, who've spent a lot of time fitting out what was basically a blank office space into a cute and welcoming little cafe. They make delicious coffee, offering a discount for those who bring their own cups instead of using the disposable takeaway cups and they have a small range of tasty looking sweets (including a gluten-free apple-crumble muffin that received a rave review from a coeliac colleague).

The lunch menu is short and focuses on Colombian specialities: empanadas and arepas. At the time of my visit they were still ramping up their range, and the beany empanadas I had my heart set on were not yet available. There were still a few vego options, and after some consideration I settled on a breakfast theme, going with a huevos arepa ($9.50). The arepas are all corn-based and thus gluten-free (although unfortunately, K, there's not a lot of vegan-friendly action at this point), and for a couple of bucks extra come with a tasty little side salad.

This was a tasty lunch, although it really would make more sense as a breakfast. The little tortillas are corny and delicious and the topping was light, fluffy and well seasoned. I probably should have drummed up some hot sauce to give it a little kick, but there was nothing sitting on the table and my laziness trumped by desire for spice.

Sonido is a fantastic addition to the frighteningly gentrified Nicholson Street end of Gertrude Street - there's even talk that they'll get a liquor licence soon so that they can do dinners and drinks, which may occasionally tempt us away from Radio as our after-work drinks venue of choice. For now they're focussing on food and coffee, and they've got a very receptive audience of locals hoping that they succeed.

Address: 69 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Ph: ? (this is the price of being first to review but hopeless with details)
Price: $7 - $11
Website: http://sonido.com.au/

May 27, 2010: Gertrude Stree Grub - Wabi Sabi Salon

To celebrate my birthday I decided to drag a bunch of my work buddies out for lunch somewhere nearby. A couple of them were very enthusiastic about Wabi Sabi Salon, which Cindy and I have shamefully never visited (never managing to go past Peko Peko), so I booked us in for a quick visit.

The tiny shop-front gives no indication of what lies within - a small number of tables inside, a pleasant-looking upstairs area and a cute little Japanese garden out the back. We were lucky enough to get the big outside table, which made up in atmosphere what it lacked in legroom.

The lunch menu has fewer options than the restaurant offers for dinner but there's still plenty for vegetarians: noodles, rice-bowls, salads and curries all have non-meat or fish choices. The stars of the lunch-time show are the bento box specials - with rotating meat, fish and vego alternatives. I couldn't resist sampling a box of vegetarian goodies ($11).

This was a beautiful meal - the meat-free main of the day was a deliciously fried tofu steak ($11), which was swimming in a subtle, brothy sauce with tender pieces of eggplant to top things off. But the whole thing is made by the combination: you get a beautiful little sweet potato side, some cute pickled vegies, a big pile of perfectly cooked rice and a leafy salad with a tangy dressing. While there was heaps of food in this cute little box, it all had a light freshness meaning you walk out satisfied but not bloated - and everything tasted amazing.

It's ridiculous that this is my first sampling of the delights of Wabi Sabi - it's well within walking distance of work and serves up reasonably priced, brilliantly presented and tasty meals. I'm going to return again and again.

Wabi Sabi Salon has been given a bunch of positive reviews - stop by Abbotsford Blog, Fitzroyalty, Cookbook, The Melbourne Food Experience, Knife-fork-spoon-chopstick and Mel: Hot or Not to verify how good this place is. We really need to go back for dinner one night to sample more of what they have to offer.


Address: 94 Smith St, Collingwood
Ph: 9417 6119
Licensed
Price: veg bento lunch $11
Website: http://wabisabi.net.au

May 12, 2010: Gertrude Street Grub - Proud Mary

When we finally got around to reviewing Auction Rooms last December, I made note of our typical missing of the zeitgeist and suggested it would be another 12 months before we got around to visiting Proud Mary, the darling of the moment. Well, clearly we're improving slightly - it only took until May for me to duck down from work one day to check out Melbourne's latest trendy "third wave" coffee place.

Even at 2 o'clock the lunch crowd filled all the tables, and it took 10 minutes or so for space to clear for our group of 4. Still, this gave me time to peruse the menu, which includes a range of all-day breakfast options, some lunchy mains and daily specials and sandwiches. But before we got to ordering food, it was time to sample the coffee that has earned Proud Mary rave reviews from all the coffee-blogs in Melbourne. As much as I enjoy coffee, I'm a bit of a philistine, so didn't order anything from any of the fancy machines - just a simple flat white in a cute blue cup. The verdict? In my considered opinion: it's pretty great.

Food-wise, the veg options ranged from quince salad to pumpkin tart with a tasty looking haloumi sandwich somewhere in between. I couldn't make it past the brekkie menu and ordered up the corn fritters (sweet corn and manchego fritters, with avocado and tomato and basil salsa, $15.5). A highlight of the visit: these come with crispy bacon by default and when I asked if they could leave it out, the waitress suggested straight away that they add mushrooms instead. This is pretty simple stuff, but you'd be amazed how often places either take the bacon out and still charge the same amount, or even worse refuse to make any alterations at all. So I was immediately impressed.

Things got even better when I tasted the fritters - these were moist and tasty (a far cry from the weird discs Cindy had a Cafe Vue) and the avocado, rocket and salsa added some nice fresh flavours. At $15.50, they're probably not the best value for money in the world, but they were a high quality meal and thoroughly enjoyable. There's a lot more on the Proud Mary menu to investigate, with some particularly impressive sounding breakfast sweets that would be right up Cindy's alley, so there's no doubt we'll be back there soon.

We're officially the last bloggers in Melbourne to try Proud Mary. Read other reviews at: Ronnies Spots, Addictive and Consuming, Bijou Kaleidoscope, Richard Elliot, Gourmet to Glam, Breakies worth getting up for, Tomato, Sarah Cooks, Cookbook, Cruxie Faye, That Jess Ho, Fitzroyalty, Eating Melbourne and Mel Hot or Not (plus all the coffee reviews linked to above!).

Address: 172 Oxford St, Collingwood
Ph: 9417 5930
Price: $6 - $16.50

August 3, 2009: Gertrude Street Grub - Charcoal Lane

Update 15/06/2023: Charcoal Lane is now closed.

The old Aboriginal Health Service on Gertrude Street has been something of a landmark, despite sitting empty for more than a decade. The giant red, yellow and black facade was a reminder of pre-gentrification Gertrude Street and a symbol of the close connection Indigenous Victorians felt to the area. So there was a bit of community consternation when Mission Australia was given a 10 year lease on the building late last year. While it remains problematic that some local Indigenous groups were unhappy with how this crucial part of their local heritage was passed on to a non-Indigenous group, the basic premise of Mission Australia's newly opened restaurant, Charcoal Lane, is a positive one.

Taking some inspiration from Fifteen, Charcoal Lane has been set up to provide a place for Indigenous young people to receive training in the hospitality industry, under the supervision of some of Victoria's finest restauranteurs. It's a fine idea, and hopefully one that pays off over the coming years. The restaurant, named after the nearby lane where local Indigenous people congregated, produces slightly fancy Australian-inspired meals, with a preponderance of fish and meat dishes. Vegetarians get a few decent options, but are limited to appetisers and entrees.


I took advantage of the $35 two-course lunch offer, starting off with some spiced yam fritters served with a bush tomato chutney. The yams were slightly sweet with a depth of flavour added by some unidentified spices, and were dunked liberally in the slightly smokey, tomato chutney. They were similar in structure to a bhaji, and I immediately lowered the tone by eating these with my fingers - I'm sure I'd have made an even bigger mess with cutlery.


The vegie main on offer (an upsized entree) was a pumpkin gnocchi, with fried sage, macadamia nut butter and saltbush. I'm often annoyed by the fallback of meaty restaurants on gnocchi or risotto for their vegetarian offering, but this was a revelation - crispy little pillows of pumpkin gnocchi, surrounded by a glorious combination of flavours. The fried sage and the saltbush contributed a kind of fancy salt and pepper combo, while the chunks of macadamia and the macadamia butter were rich and smooth. I could have eaten two bowls.

They also offer a black rice risotto, which looks amazing (alas my photos do not), but was apparently a little on the bland side.

We had a very satisfying (and upmarket) meal at Charcoal Lane. The restaurant is only open during lunch until mid-August, when they will extend their hours to dinner and weekend breakfast. Similarly, they're still going through the process of getting a liquor license. Regardless, it would be well worth sneaking in there for a quick lunch now, before word gets around and the place starts to book out.

Address: 136 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Ph: 94183400
Prices: Vegie entrees $16-$17, two-course lunch $35
Unlicensed (for now!)
Website: http://www.charcoallane.com.au/

February 24, 2009: Gertrude Street Grub - Grumpy's Green

Update 15/06/2023: Grumpy's is now closed.

The stretch of Smith Street between Johnston and Victoria must be the one of the most veg-friendly strips in the world. You've got Friends of the Earth and Soul Food at the northern end, Trippy Taco and Las Vegan at the southern end (not to mention Vegan Wares). And now, somewhere in the middle, Melbourne's newest veg*n establishment: Grumpy's Green (we're not the first to check it out: Toby and Kristy, Nimal and Karen and Veganik have all been there before us, and reader Erika recommended it to us, too). It's more pub than cafe, with a wide range of local beer on tap and in the fridge and a selection of Victorian wines. The whole venture is shooting for sustainability - locally sourced ingredients, water tanks, recycled paper and their own mini earth hours three times a week. Impressive.

The inside area is moodily lit and atmospheric but on a glorious February day, life was much better in the sunny beer garden. Added bonus: the owners have a gorgeous puppy that patrols the outside areas, gnawing on chairs and staring plaintively at anyone with food (I'll confess that he begged a few chips out of me - could you say no to that face?).

There are just four mains to choose from: an eggplant parma, a pizza, a vegie burger and a pumpkin and asparagus risotto. There are heaps of snacks and starters as well, but with the $10 Tuesday special on offer, I couldn't go past a burger. The vegie pattie uses a chickpea base, and is thick and tasty. It comes with roast capsicum, lettuce, tomato, cheese and a special mustard mayo. Throw in a side of crispy fries and a green salad and you've got yourself a pretty impressive $10 lunch. I really enjoyed the burger, particularly the mayo and cheese (vegans might find it a tad dull - the mayo really brought the flavour).

Still, if Tuesday wasn't my netball night, I can imagine regularly spending my post-work Tuesdays with a Mountain Goat or Holgate in hand and a burger in front of me. Paying full price for the mains ($15) is a bit less appealing (in much the same way as the EBC rocks it at $10, but is less attractive at $20), but a few drinks and some of the delicious sounding snacks (marinated tofu skewers, chickpea battered vegetables!) would be a fine way to spend an evening.

Address: 125 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Phone: 9416 1944
Price: Mains $15 ($10 on Tuesdays), Snacks $7 - $10.50
Licensed
Website: http://www.grumpysgreen.com/fitzroy/

December 17, 2008: Gertrude Street Grub - Las Vegan Bakery and Cafe

July 3, 2015: Las Vegan have announced that they're closing the cafe and going to focus exclusively on catering from now on - we've sampled their catering before and it's great.

Okay, so this is pretty embarrassing. We've lived in Melbourne for more than two years, and I've worked on Gertrude Street the entire time, yet this is the first time we've blogged Las Vegan. It's not actually the first time I've been there - it seems every time I visit with the intention of blogging it, I leave the camera at home, or on my desk or, the one time I actually had it with me, the owners were on a three week holiday. It's been like a mini blogging curse. But at last I made it, camera in hand - just 2 days before they shut down for a month.

Of course by now, everyone's had their say (even people like Theresa and ZB have stopped in from far flung places). My previous visits have had mixed results - the calzone I ordered many months back was a bit dry and unexciting, but the sloppy joe that Toby recommended really hit the spot. I figured it was best to capture Las Vegan at their best, so I went back for another shot at the TVP-based burger ($8.50).

True to the name, the patty is sloppy - all sauce, mushrooms and pseudo-mince, plonked on a fresh roll, with a few cursory pieces of tomato on top. And it's good! Messy, but really, really good - it's mostly about the sauce I think, with the occasional hint of chilli bursting through the tomato-y goop. The salad on the side is fine, but I foolishly forgot to ask for fries with mine - another reason to resample the sloppy joe on my next visit.

It wouldn't be right to write this place up without mentioning the muffins - L.V. does an impressive range of vegan muffins ($3.50 I think). I was powerless to resist the sour cherry option - all sticky-sweet, sour and delicious. I would have appreciated some more cherries, but I think that would be true no matter how many were squeezed in.

Las Vegan is a great lunch place - a variety of burgers, calzones and salads on offer, along with some soups, the delicious rice balls we tried at World Vegan Day and a few other odds and ends. Everything is reasonably priced, generously portioned and, of course, vegan. Be warned: Las Vegan is only open for lunches on weekdays - so you'll have to take a long lunch break and mosey in to Collingwood to check it out.

Address: 22 Smith Street, Collingwood
Ph: 9415 9001
Price: $4 - $8.50

October 16, 2008: Anada

   

I was a bit sad when I first noticed Anada on Gertrude Street - Cindy and I had grown quite fond of Ume Nomiya, so its replacement with a pricier, meatier, Spanish restaurant wasn't something to fill me with joy (even if the chefs did have Movida connections). Still, once it opened the positive reviews starting coming in, and on a quick stroll past one lunch time I confirmed that they offered enough vego treats to feed us. So, months after all the buzz, we finally got our act together and tried it out.

All the rave reviews combine with the growing hipness of Gertrude Street to guarantee that Anada will be busy. We booked a couple of weeks in advance to be on the safe side - and then decided we needed to reschedule a few days beforehand. Which worked out well, because Anada had no record of our booking. Weird. Luckily they could still fit us in on a Thursday night, so there was no harm done.

It's a bustling little place, with tables jammed in fairly close together, moody lighting and the hippest of indie hits on the stereo. The menu is divided into tapas ($3-$6, almost no vego options) and raciones ($9-$30, 7 vego options). After much debate and some discussion with the staff, Cindy and settled on 4 raciones between us, while Mike and Jo chose a much more complex combination of tapas and raciones.

Our first two dishes came at the same time: Patatas a lo pobre ($10.50) and an aubergine and tomato pilav, with dill and yoghurt ($9.00). The poor man's potatoes - slow cooked spuds with peppers and bay in oil - is basically the same as the Movida version. It's a traditional Spanish dish, so that's hardly surprising, but by inviting such a direct comparison, Anada is taking a bit of a risk - these spuds were pretty good, but they didn't measure up to the divine version turned out by the Movida folks (and were $1 more expensive!).

   

The pilav ($9) came smothered in a delicious yoghurt and sprinkled with something crispy, salty and delicious. The pilav itself was quite good, but they were a bit sparing with the aubergine and tomato - it was mostly about enjoying the delicious rice and the flavours on top.

   

Next up was the saffron chickpeas and spinach ($9) - we've had this kind of thing a bit lately, both out and about and at home. This was a pretty impressive version - creamy, rich and full of flavour.

   

Finally came the obligatory Setas al Jerez ($9.50) - grilled field mushrooms in sweet sherry. These are a whole lot of mushroom and, despite being beautifully prepared, they were a bit overwhelming by the time you'd chomped your way through a whole one. It would probably have been better if they'd come out first so we could mix things up a little more.

   

Bafflingly, we walked away without sampling the dessert (if only Cindy had read Claire's review first, I'm sure she'd have been more interested), although the dessert options all looked intriguing (to me anyway). All in all it was a slightly disappointing meal - if only because expectations were high. The prices (for vegos anyway) are comparable to Movida, and the food and service both fell a little short of those standards. Regardless, I think that vegos and Spanish tapas don't really belong together - I'm not sure we're the audience that they're really shooting for. Still, we did end up with four very enjoyable dishes for less than $40, so there's not really anything to complain about.

Address: 197 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Ph: 9415 6101
Licensed
Prices: Vego raciones $8-$10.50
Website: http://www.anada.com.au

October 16, 2007: Gertrude Street Grub - Made A Mano Gertrude Street Organic Bakery

I've been a bit slack with Gertrude Street Grub of late - mostly because I've not been venturing to any new places and just been revisiting old favourites. This week, I finally got around to dropping into the Made A Mano bakery and grabbing a pasty to takeaway and eat. Made A Mano is an organic bakery, with a wide range of breads and a heap of delicious looking lunch options (focaccias, pastries, muffins etc). It was impossible to go past the vegetarian pasty option ($5): a huge slab of pastry, filled with potato, peas, onion, celery and a dash of curry flavouring. The pastry was crisp and flaky and the filling was rich, tasty and vegie-licious. I found myself a nice park to sit in and savoured every mouthful. Tremendous.

Address: 228 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Ph: 9417 5998
Price: $5 for pastries