hookturns.com » North Fitzroy

The Seafood Shak

jedro — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:12:34 +0000

It was an unseasonably warm September evening, so fish and chips seemed in order. I had two new fish and chip shops to choose from, The Ol School Fish & Chips (566 Brunswick St, North Fitzroy) and The Seafood Shak (150 Scotchmer St, North Fitzroy).

I’d already had a burger and chips from the latter, so that seemed like a safe bet. There are nine different types of fish to choose from, but I opted for the standard flake. Three pieces of flake and minimum chips (not all for me) cost $18.60 and arrived pretty quickly, despite it being a busy night.

Each piece of flake was a generous size, very fresh, and cooked perfectly in clean oil. The batter was crisp and flavoursome, and the fish nice and moist. The chips were also well cooked, again in clean rice bran oil. This oil gives the chips a distinct flavour that’s quite hard to describe, and may not be be to all tastes, but I don’t mind them.

Next time I’ll try The Ol School Fish & Chips, but it will need to be good to better The Seafood Shak, which I think is the best fish and chip shop in Melbourne.

Mitte

jedro — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:31:12 +0000

I first noticed Mitte (76 Michael St, North Fitzroy) spring up late last year in the sleepy streets behind the Clifton Hill shopping strip, and have been meaning to drop in ever since. A rave review in the Cheap Eats prompted me to actually pay a visit. I’ll get the negative out the way first, since there isn’t much. Even on a cool-ish Melbourne day, the small space is too hot and stuff.
Now onto the good. The coffee is excellent. My long black had a thick head of crema, and was served at a perfect temperature. They do an equally good latte.
Aside from Bircher Muesli, the breakfast menu doesn’t offer much in the way of straight-down-the-line dishes, with most dishes offering some variation on the traditional. The fantastic omelette has chorizo and comes served with a zingy salad. Similarly, poached eggs on toast are served with a chick pea bake with goats fetta and a zingy salad.
Prices are a couple of dollars higher than a lot of places, with a lot of dishes around the $15 mark, but the quality and serving sizes more than warrant this.

Coyote Cafe

jedro — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:53:08 +0000

There are plenty of cuisines that generally represent good value in Australia – Thai, Indian, Cantonese. Mexican isn’t one of them. Coyote Cafe (414 Nicholson St, North Fitzroy) is a happy exception to the rule, at least as far as take away is concerned. Like most Mexican restaurants here, the food is actually more Tex-Mex, but it’s good.

The burritos and enchilada dinners are both excellent, and cost only $9.60 and $7.50 respectively. In the case of burritos, the beef & japapeno is the best bet, with nicely shredded meat and delicious flavours. The honey chipotle chicken burrito is less successful. A couple of vegetable-based burrito options are also available.

As alluded to above, it’s really take away that represents the best value. Prices when you eat in are considerably higher.

Update: The service seems to have gotten very slow