The new Plough Hotel, Footscray

"Now stand up straight," I said, fussing other my kids like we were about to meet the in-laws for the first time.  "I want you on your best behaviour.  This place is a little bit posh."

We were at the doors of the newly gussied up Plough Hotel, where I'd been just a few nights earlier for a lovely launch party complete with oysters, bluegrass and freely-flowing Brunswick Bitter.  The refit is stunning, with glossy white tiles, luminescent bare bulbs and the visual pop of green succulents peeking out from shelves and tables.

The pub has been here since 1868.  I remember its former incarnation, windows daubed in fluoro paint that Candy the Clown was in attendance on Fridays.  We'd had a few good roasts there but it didn't really rock our world.

The Plough closed for what must have been a good year or two before opening under the stewardship of the team behind North Carlton's Kent Hotel.  Instead of Candy with her balloon animals, there's now Kelly Brothers cider and 2 Brothers Grizz amber ale on tap, plus Mountain Goat's steam ale and more.

"Bistro or dining room?" said the lovely waiter, and soon we were lolling languidly in a booth in the bistro.  Apparently the dining room has the same menu but is just a little more formal.  I bet its big north-facing windows let in lots of lovely light all day.

The Plough has a menu that, on the face of it, could be that of any true-blue country pub - burger, fish and chips and even bangers and mash.

$11.50

But dig a little deeper and that burger has a veal pattie and roasted garlic aioli, and the fish and chips is flathead with local beers that change weekly, apparently.  This was the kids' menu fish and chips and the fish was indeed a lovely flattie tail.  It went down a treat.

$11.50

LOVED this kids' burger, the pattie so mild and sweet in flavour, with proper bread.  The Plough has just started getting bread from Sourdough Kitchen.  I'm definitely keen to try this munchkin's bigger sister!

$11.50

Kids' chicken parma which also got two thumbs up.  The chips are "roughed up" on the outside, making them crunchy all over and eminently stealable.

$22

Great bangers and mash - quality pork and fennel snags with peas and pancetta lardons, in an intense, delicious gravy.  The sausages were denoted as "Benalla", but our waiter just said they were from that area - I'd love to know more, if they're from a particular butcher or from a particular breed.  There was a slight hiccup in this dish's first incarnation on the table in that the sausages were a touch pink.  The friendly staff dealt with it with aplomb though.  Being open for less than a week, this was nothing more than a minor mishap on the kitchen's behalf, and I also think the friendly yet professional way it was handled was telling as to the Plough's integrity and commitment to real hospitality.

Tucking into ice cream with strawberry "sauce" (actually coulis - yum!), my 5-year-old said, "Mum, I thought you said this place was posh?  Where is the posh bit?"  And indeed, I had read the Plough all wrong.  It's classy and it's gorgeous, but it's also down to earth - and downright good.  Welcome to the neighbourhood and I look forward to many more ciders to come.

The Plough Hotel

Cnr Geelong Road and Barkly Street, Footscray
Phone:  9687 2878

Tacos and live music at Footscray's The Rev!

If it wasn't already so awesome to have a new local, Footscray's The Reverence now serves a Mexican menu!  We're talking pulled pork tacos, black bean burritos, chimichangas and more.  HOT DIGGITY!

The fam behind venerable North Melbourne punk institution The Arthouse have taken up residence at the old Exchange in Napier Street, christening it The Rev.  There's live music right throughout the week but since I saw this vid last year - 

- I've been hanging for some nearby Mexy goodness.  When I saw this video for the first time with a few friends, when the dog thinks of the taco, I swear we all jumped up at once and screamed!

$6.00

There was more swooning than screaming when this wicked pulled pork number landed on our table, though.  Gorgeous silky pork with crunchy cabbage in a proper, fragrant soft corn taco - why didn't we just order 10 of these?!  PS:  The Rev are seriously vegan friendly, offering a vegan pulled "pork" taco, smoky "chicken" torta, tofu and black bean burrito and loads more. 

$5.00

More street-style goodness, with really smoky corn cobs dressed with mayo, chilli and lime.  Delish.

$6.00

Loved these shoestring fries, really crunchy with seasoned salt and vegan mayo for dipping.

$10.00

I wasn't totally sold on the corn crust Calabrese pizza - each salami slice had the anchovies and olives surfing on top, making an umami flavour bomb, but I think they'd be better spread out.  Mr Baklover thought the crust was really good though, robust and crisp.  Really, I think I was just lusting after more tacos.  There are vegan and vego pizza options, with gluten-free bases available as well ($2 extra).

Mr B wants to point out that they pour a really good Guinness and have a Roberto Sport foosball table.  I love the Coopers and Fat Yak on tap and reading all the graffiti in the toilets.

  

And evidently everyone loves the courtyard, bliss on a hot summer's eve.  The hot tip is Tuesdays, for $3 tacos and $3 Tecates.  Now - that noise would be YOU screaming!

The Reverence

28 Napier Street, Footscray

Phone:  9687 2111

Hours:  Tues-Thurs 3pm-1am, Fri-Sat noon-1am, Sun noon-11pm (closed Mon)

The Courthouse

This is a sponsored post for Australian Mushroom Growers' "Mushroom Mania" campaign.  The Mushroom Mania campaign is on for all of July 2012 and over 2,000 restaurants are participating by putting delicious mushrooms on the menu.  Please see end of post for full disclosure.  

Once upon a time both the church and the corner pub were local meeting places where people could bump into each other.  This sounds throwaway, but that casual running into people and just knowing people's faces is an incredibly important part of feeling like you belong to a community.  Now, just as many churches are being decommissioned, we see many corner pubs closing and being turned into apartments (think The Albert and The Buckingham in Footscray).

It is possible to reverse this trend and the Courthouse in North Melbourne shows it how it's done, creating a modern yet still genuine pub, a new community hub that feels quite timeless.

Running in its present form since about 2002, the Courthouse is a great multitasker, marrying a classy Euro-feel bistro with a front bar that takes craft beer seriously.  I love the intimate dining room with its Art Deco (I think?) light fittings, fireplace and dark wood panelling that feels straight out of Paris...

...hence French bubbles are a necessity!  The wine list by the glass is small but confident - two sparkling (one dear, one not) plus about ten reds and whites that eschew stock shiraz and semillon for more interesting European varietals.

Chestnut soup, wild mushroom crepe, hazelnut and nutmeg, $16

The Courthouse are big on making everything, I believe right down to their bread, and this dish, although small, had so many delicately formed components.  Frothy chestnut soup surrounded a delicate parcel of earthy braised wild mushrooms.  The silky, dark mushies had the intriguing tingle of fennel seed, which provided a counterpoint to the rest of the dish's richness.

Pan fried gnocchi, local wild mushrooms, porcini cream, truffled pecorino, $25

This dish had a family tree of mushroom varieties, if you like, from good-natured, populous wild and cultivated varieties, to the regal, more often dried porcini, to the big chief of the mushroom world - the truffle, here gently infusing hard pecorino cheese.  The pan-fried mushies tumbling over the gnocchi were gorgeous, from juicy little buttons to slices of wild varieties that had such an interesting texture with an almost meaty grain.  I found the gnocchi surprising at first, as they were more like large potato dumplings - I know, that's what gnocchi are! - but once I got over the expectation of cloud-like little balls and enjoyed the contrast between creamy interior and crispy edges, it was delicious.

Black Angus porterhouse steak, hand-cut chips, parsley and horseradish butter, $27

Come to Mama!  Gorgeous juicy steak, its juices muddling with the fabulous seasoned butter and facilitating much happy swiping of chips.  Ideally I think this dish needs to be augmented with a side, but we were still content at meal's end.

Good coffee topped it off.  The service at the Courthouse is really good too, attentive and genuine.

This is a great local secret, for me best saved for special occasion dining, but I'd happily have a Temptress every week in the front bar.

The Courthouse

86-90 Errol Street, North Melbourne

Phone:  9329 5394

Restaurant hours:  Mon-Sat noon-3pm, 6-10pm

Disclosure:  This post is the first in a series of three for Australian Mushroom Growers' "Mushroom Mania" campaign.  I had free choice of any three participating Victorian restaurants and was required to choose at least one dish in which mushrooms were the "hero" ingredient.  I am being paid a flat sum for my writing which does not include meal expenses.  The restaurants were not aware of exactly who was visiting and when but may have been aware that they would be reviewed at some stage over the course of the campaign period.  Australian Mushroom Growers and The Courthouse have not sought nor been given any editorial control of this post.


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