Marysville hadn’t had a pub for a while when Ashraf and Christine decided that they would answer the call of the community and build one. It has been a ground-up build of a brand new business from the former owners of the famous Marysville Patisserie.
The heart of any good local pub are the locals who frequent it. Head here to have a fun dinner out with the folks of Marysville. Stand around the fire or at the bar and share a drink or two – there are regional beers on tap and wines from nearby on the list. The menu is classic pub, handled with precision by the international chef. With her passion for pastry, desserts made by Christine are worth travelling for. Be warned though, it’s worth booking your table ahead if you’re coming up on a weekend.
Ashraf and Christine describe The Duck Inn as their gift to the community that stood behind them and supported their business for so long. It’s certainly a well-appreciated one among tourists and locals alike. Music nights are a hoot, with some great bands on the bill. Stay tuned to the Facebook page for information about these.
The word “Amphora” conjures up images of the Romans to me. It turns out that’s exactly what Trofeo Estate have here – ancient-looking clay jars used to ferment wines without imparting flavours from wood (such as with oak barrels) whilst still letting in that crucial slow leak of oxygen which ages and softens the wine (unlike stainless steel.)
Winemaker Richard Darby says that the huge clay pots allow the truest of fruit flavours to shine. We did a head-to-head of the same Syrah as fermented in clay vs. fermented in oak. We could see his point. Beautifully focussed and delicate fruit flavours.
The estate is also a restaurant, set in a former passionfruit cannery from the 1930’s. The food is local where possible, always seasonal, and matched nicely to the wines as you’d expect.
Join the mailing list and follow this place on social media. The music nights are epic, and there are plans to host movie nights and more.
We don’t know how many times we’ve taken this trip and passed the shed-like structure made from shipping containers which houses the Farmer’s Place on our way to Lorne or Anglesea. We’re glad we made this pit stop though. The day was perfect for a long breakfast outside in the herb garden. We had the rice pudding and French toast. The former was light (for such a big dish) and tasty. The latter was as you’d want your French toast to come. The lavender syrup was amazing.
If you’re staying in the area, consider booking ahead into one of their many courses on food and growing. These guys preach what they practise, making the Farmer’s Place much more than a simple pit stop.
It’s hard to believe that this vibrant market in Warragul has only just turned five years old. It has the feeling of a long-established tradition of growers and makers who gather once a month to present the fruits of their labour. People come from all over to get their produce, enjoy street-food or a great coffee, and meet up with the people who grow the produce and make wares locally. It’s definitely dog-friendly, and OHO dog Rosie the kelpie had as much fun making new friends as your intrepid OHO adventurers did. Available produce will vary seasonally of course, but with over 60 stallholders listed as regulars, there really is something for everyone, even Rosie, who took home some delicious liver treats.
There are so many stalls, it’s going to take a few visits to get into the swing of the market (every third Saturday of the month) and establish some long-term favourites, but here are some early highlights.
Hope Farm Sourdough The way it should be. Lime & Co. Delicious Mexican food, made right there. Wild Dog Great wines and a spectacular pair of gins. Craig’s Hut Coffee Literally a replica of the famous hut, and great coffee. The Bunyip Beekeeper Because proper honey is better in every way. Cambodian Street BBQ Fills the whole place with delicious smells!
Better come hungry, because you’re going to want to eat it all.
Clyde Park is one of those jaw-dropping moments in wine touring. You step out of the car behind the winery, walk around to the restaurant and cellar door, and find yourself looking over a balcony across the valley. It’s a stunning view across the vines. Pinot lovers will have a field day here. It’s a study in terroir – the impact of local conditions, soils, etc on specific sites. Here they craft single-block wines of such different refined character that it’s hard to believe they come from the same property.
The real bonus here is that the food is amazing. Great wood-fired pizzas cooked in front of you (weekends), and a seasonal al la carté menu with what owner Sue humbly calls “home-style” food. It’s the kind of home I’d like to live in, if this is what’s cooked there. It’s so easy to spend half a day here, tasting extraordinary wine, eating Sue’s food and staring out at that view. Wow, that view.
Oh, if you’re planning a special event, while you’re standing at the tasting bar, turn 180 degrees and stare at the awesomeness that is the barrel-hall event space. Long table dinner or lunch in a working winery. Perfect.
Something that our research for One Hour Out has taught us is that it’s wrong to stereotype passion for quality food (coffee, in particular) as a ‘city thing’. Mansfield Coffee Merchant, 180kms from Melbourne, does great coffee. You get that impression from the moment you walk in and see the Roastmax roaster right up the front of the store. While it’s still operational, we are told this one is now mostly decorative. Indeed, off the strength of wholesale orders all over the northeast of Victoria (and some into Melbourne), they have largely moved the roasting operation to another facility.
Another of our benchmarks is chai. We are as fussy about it as we are about coffee. No powders, no syrups. And that’s what made us fall for the Mansfield Chai (we had almond milk). It was a wet spice mix, made properly. The chai tea was pretty mean too – just one of a good range of teas on offer.
Though we were somewhat preoccupied with the coffee and tea, the food here is good too. Simple menu, well executed.
In the city we’re used to post-industrial spaces popping up in what was once a drab jungle of production and necessary services. We are used to passionate people filling these spaces with their own blend of ideas, not driven by high-street expectations. We are used to these spaces being goddamn awesome. So the Last Straw is one of those goddamn awesome little post-industrial businesses, cutting their own path with fresh, real Thai flavours from a small daily menu. Think ‘street food goes bricks and mortar’. Or in this case straw. Fresh food. Tick. Flavour. Tick.
Coffee? The Has-Garanti roaster in the corner should set your fears aside. They roast their own, and pull shots on a Faema E61, complete with naked portafilter. It’s bloody good.
Sometimes the quest for awesome simple food leads you to an unexpected destination. A combination of plant nursery, wholefoods store and a cafe actually makes sense, if you think about it in an eclectic ‘why not?’ kind of way. Bendigo Wholefoods and Kitchen does nothing the expected way, but it all makes sense. Of course you’re going to open a kitchen if you’ve got amazing produce available from your store. Of course you’re going to open a nursery if people start asking, ‘How can I grow this at home?’
So, from right to left as you approach the sprawling store from the street, let’s take a look at what Bendigo Wholefoods and Kitchen is doing to spread the love of awesomeness.
The nursery is a love affair with all things growable and edible. It’s literally a plant nursery dedicated to things you can grow to eat. Amazing!
The wholefoods store is a really good organic and ethical food supermarket. It has its own lines of sauces and preserves, and local seasonal produce is plentiful. The honesty of labelling is laudable – if it’s not organic, but produced ethically by a small local producer, the ticket says so.
The cafe is a gem in Bendigo. You can get a quick healthy lunch from produce available in the store, prepared fresh, with a menu that changes as the produce comes in season. The servings are generous, the dishes simple and delicious. Look out soon for the ‘good to go’ take-home meals, and the pre-order lunch and picnic boxes.
If you can’t recall the last time you were in Bendigo, perhaps it’s because there was nothing memorable on the food scene until a few years ago. Well, let OHO be your guide here, because something happened and Bendigo woke up one day to a host of stunning food options. Like The Woodhouse, where they’re not trying to transplant a city-side idea. Instead, somehow the Bendigo food scene has defined itself, successfully making a unique regional food experience from local produce and local talent.
Owner/chef Paul Pitcher is proud of the fact that everything is cooked over wood at his restaurant. There’s a wood-fired grill, oven, and pizza oven, each using woods suitable for their tasks. Only pan-work is done on the gas top. Everything else carries the heady aromas of the woods that were used in their cooking.
Woodhouse is famous for its steak. The finest Wagyu is aged on site (hanging cuts of meat are there in dry-ageing cabinets as you walk in). The cooking of the steak is to absolute perfection. Google the Maillard Reaction if you want a studious read, or just eat Woodhouse Wagyu steak, with its perfect crust and gloriously pink and juicy interior.
Paul’s chimmi-churri is the perfect friend to the steak. The OHO chorus might just have sung like angels for that green sauce. The heirloom cauliflower dish is cooked in the wood oven, and takes on all that smoky red gum flavour. Take a close look at the sides menu –it’s all carefully considered, and each a worthy dish in its own right.
Desserts are also prepared in the wood oven, but are by no means rustic. The pastry chef knows her stuff, and the ever-popular dessert sampler comprises a large plate of several dessert menu items for a mini degustation.
Stay tuned to The Woodhouse’s social media pages for their small events, like the Wagyu dinners, where produce from different cattle growers highlights the difference in various cross-breeds and approaches to farming.
If you’re familiar with Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley, going to the Bendigo side of the family is like visiting that cousin in the country who has the lifestyle you’ve always dreamt of. Laid-back, casual, super-relaxed about being incredibly lucky to live in a beautiful place. This cousin is the envy of its slick sister.
The Bendigo property was the first to bear the name ‘Balgownie’, planted in 1969 by Stuart Anderson. It’s 33 hectares of mostly red grape varieties, producing powerful and intense wines, but which still show restraint in alcohol.
Food by chef Travis is French inspired, and makes the most of the region’s stunning produce. Particularly noteworthy is the Wagyu beef, grown by an old school mate of Travis’s. Fresh boxes of local food come in from producers, inspiring the classically trained chef to create new dishes. There’s beauty and finesse in the food, but the atmosphere is relaxed and very ‘country’.
The property also has accommodation. There’s a newly renovated set of suites, joined in the middle by a large common area with kitchen, perfect for a big group weekend away. The popular ‘glamping’ tents are a must-do experience, set in the bushland adjacent to the restaurant and winery, overlooking the spectacular vineyard. Each is equipped with air-conditioning and a fridge, and the deluxe tents even have bathrooms. It’s still camping, but definitely on the glamorous side!
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