Trick Or Treat

Happy Halloween! It is amazing how popular Halloween is becoming here in Australia. Each year you notice it more and more, and many stores have caught on by selling costumes, pumpkins and the all important fun size candy. I do think the take up is being driven by children as they see a day where they can dress up in costume and go from house to house to get free candy.

I have many fond memories of Halloween as a child. My brother and I would carve pumpkins and go trick or treating around the neighborhood in an assortment of costumes over the years (many of which were handmade by my Mom). It's always amazing to see how people decorate their houses, and of course taking home a big haul of candy is a child's dream come true.

Here are my favorite Halloween candies that I would hope to get in my bag while trick or treating. Unfortunately most of them aren't available in Australia.

Smarties are little pill sized candies in white and pastel colors. Each color has its own taste, and you get around 15 of them in a roll.

One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and peppermint, so Junior Mints are an absolute dream candy for me. They were even made famous in an episode of Seinfeld.

I love Twix bars with their combination of cookie and caramel covered in milk chocolate. At least they sell them here in Australia so I can buy some whenever I feel the urge.

Hershey's assorted miniatures are a great way to get some different flavors of chocolate in your trick or treat bag. You have the classic milk chocolate, special dark (which I would give to my Mom), Mr. Goodbar with its peanuts and Krackel with crisped rice.

Nerds are little hard tart candies in an assortment of flavors. The best way to eat them is to open the box and then tip them into your mouth.

Hopefully those Aussie kids heading out to trick or treat tonight will get the candies they want. Remember the etiquette of trick or treating is to only knock on doors of houses where the lights are on. And if you are a teenager, you are too old to be trick or treating - it's really an evening for young kids.

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna opened earlier this year in a space on Bourke Street that used to hold a Chinese restaurant. The interior is decked out with booths shaped like caravans and Winnebagos, along with a bunch of picnic benches in the middle of the room.

The focus of the menu is burgers, with 8 different types on offer. They also have an extensive list of alcoholic drinks, including spiked milkshakes. Since Kat, Zoran and I were there for lunch and had to go back to work we didn't partake in the drinks menu, but did each try one of the burgers.

As Kat is a vegetarian she had the Cynthia Benson burger, which contains a mushroom patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. Mushroom patties can be very hit or miss, but Kat was impressed with this burger.

Zoran had the KSA burger, which is their signature dish and contains a premium Australian beef patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. He thought it tasted good, although it had a bit too much sauce on it.

I went with the Francis Underwood burger, which is the same as the KSA burger with the added bonus of a mac and cheese croquette in it (if you are a House of Cards viewer we did question why BBQ ribs weren't the additional ingredient). The burger tasted good, but it was a bit overwhelming to have the mac and cheese within the burger itself.

We also ordered the beer battered chips to share, which were very tasty. And after having a large, juicy burger, we were very impressed that they supplied moist towelettes at the table so you could clean your hands after eating.

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna
87 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Open Tuesday-Sunday from 11:30 am-late

Meatmaiden

Meatmaiden is a barbecue restaurant located in the basement of a building on Little Collins Street in the city. It has an industrial feel that starts with the metal stairs that lead you down into the spacious restaurant, which has both booths and tables to sit at. My friends Mary and Tash joined me for dinner tonight and we ordered a variety of mains and sides from the menu to share.

As the name suggests, they have numerous selections of different types of meat from either the grill or the smoker to choose from. We got the O'Connor pasture-fed flat iron steak, which was grilled so tender and tasted amazing.

We also ordered the BBQ eggplant and roast tomato main, which was our favorite dish of the night as the roast tomato was so flavorful and added a lot to the taste of the overall dish.

For sides we got the shaved fennel and pomegranate salad, which was so refreshing and light with its citrus dressing, as well as the mac & cheese, which had a fantastic breadcrumb topping and was really creamy. If you are feeling more extravagant you can order the lobster mac & cheese dish.

Of course we couldn't leave without having dessert, and we ordered two dishes to sample. The Bourbon creme brulee was lovely and smooth, but the real winner was the lemon meringue pie that they served deconstructed in a glass with lemon sorbet on top. It was one of the best desserts we have ever tasted.

Meatmaiden
Basement, 195 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Open Monday-Saturday 12:00-3:00 pm and 5:00 pm-late