Haagen-Dazs Melbourne Pop-Up House

Pop-up restaurants have been popular in Melbourne for a while now. Following on from the success of the In-N-Out burger pop-up events in Australia, American ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs has set up a little house in Federation Square to serve their ice cream from 11 March - 16 April.

The house is situated on Flinders Street next to ACMI and has both indoor and outdoor seating. There are 12 different flavors to choose from, which you can get as one scoop ($6), two scoops ($9) or three scoops ($12).

I decided to sample two different scoops. The mint leaves and chocolate contained spearmint ice cream with chocolate fudge chunks and tasted light and yummy. The salted caramel was rich and indulgent with its caramel ice cream that also included golden caramel nuggets. So delicious.

Belinda also tried out two scoops but went with lighter flavors. The raspberry sorbet, which was served on a bed of cotton candy, had a smooth and consistent texture with a refreshing pop of raspberry. The green tea ice cream had a strong green tea flavor with its use of matcha, and if you like green tea it won't disappoint.

If you are in Melbourne be sure to get down to Federation Square before 16 April to try out some flavors. The house will then move on to Sydney next.

Haagen-Dazs House
Federation Square, Melbourne
Open Tues-Thurs 5-10pm, Fri 5-11pm, Sat 2-11pm and Sun 2-9pm until 16 April 2016

Po' Boy Quarter

Emanating from the success of the Gumbo Kitchen food truck is the permanent restaurant Po' Boy Quarter on Smith Street (or as we like to call it, Little America). Serving up authentic New Orleans food to the people of Melbourne, their menu features an assortment of Cajun specialties including gumbo, oysters, catfish, and po' boys.

It was a warm evening so we grabbed a table outside on the sidewalk. Of course we had to order a po' boy, and Danny got the deep fried shrimp one with tomato, lettuce, pickles, mayo and hot sauce. He thought it had a nice fiery sauce, was generous with the shrimp and tasted good. We also shared a side of shoestring fries topped with Cajun mayo, which were cooked perfectly.

Nicole had the red beans and rice, which you can add pork or andouille sausage to if you are looking for a non-vegan option. It tasted good and had a subtle bit of spice to it.

The food here is reasonably priced, and if you are after some drinks and cocktails you can hang out in the bar Huey Long's which is located out the back.

Po' Boy Quarter
295 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Open seven days a week from 11:30am - 11:00pm

Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint

One of the benefits of visiting a place with a large group of people is that you get the opportunity to sample a wide variety of dishes. I was fortunate enough to have my work Christmas lunch at Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint by the Queen Victoria Market. The upstairs eating area is spacious and bright, although with the warm temperatures in Melbourne having a table with sunlight streaming in over us meant it did get a bit hot (even with the fans overhead).

The place uses traditional pit smokers to cook all their meats, which really results in some great tasting selections. As we were a large group we ate off of the set menu ($38 per person), with dishes brought out to the table on large trays to share. Our meat selections were the Angus beef brisket, Carolina style chopped hog, beer can chicken and sausage. All of them tasted absolutely amazing. Our vegetarian friends were served red bell pepper stuffed with vegan beans, which they also enjoyed.

There were also a number of sides with the menu, including burnt end beans, mac & cheese, dill pickles, cornbread, potato salad, coleslaw and farro salad. Once again all of these dishes were delicious and complemented the smoked meats. We even got a few orders of French fries for the table, which were also tasty. 

Overall this was one of the best barbecue places I have been to in Melbourne. Every dish tasted great, and we were all very full by the end of the meal. I'll definitely be back for another visit in the future.

Fancy Hank's BBQ Joint
456 Queen Street, Melbourne
Open seven days a week from 12-3pm and 6-9pm

Smokey's All American BBQ

Tucked away off Bay Street in Port Melbourne lies Smokey's All American BBQ, a family-friendly joint with not a hipster in sight. The walls are full of state licence plates, basketball is on the TV, and the service is warm and friendly. The menu reads like a classic diner with a wide range of dishes, along with barbecue there's Philly cheesesteaks, burgers, chili dogs, Po' Boys, and sloppy joes.
 

The pork ribs came out on a bed of fries, a couple pickles and a Kansas City style bourbon sauce. They were smoky, tender, and cooked flawlessly, the meat coming right off the bone. The sauce could have had more spicy-sweet kick, the ribs were well seasoned and the generous portion of chips were crispy and well-seasoned.

The Texas BBQ chicken was also well cooked and tasted , with another liberal portion of chips.

We grabbed 3 sides - coleslaw, BBQ corn, and of course, mac and cheese. The coleslaw stood out between the three, clearing the pallet from the BBQ meat.
 

For dessert, the pecan pie caught Nicole's eye and we had to order it. The whipped cream on the side bring back a hit of the diner feeling again.

Smokey's would be great for those who want to dip their toes into American BBQ with their family. It feels familiar, warm, and inviting.

Smokey's All American BBQ
144 Rouse St, Port Melbourne
(also 256-260 Chapel St, Prahran)
Open Mon-Sun 11am-11pm

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! In the US, Thanksgiving is a public holiday celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November. The day after Thanksgiving is also a public holiday in many states and for good reason - you need to recover from the feast. Thanksgiving is commonly believed to have started by the Pilgrims as a harvest celebration.

Thanksgiving dinner usually the biggest eating day on the calendar. It's not certain that the Pilgrims at turkey at the first Thanksgiving, but now turkey, an animal native to the Americas, is usually the centrepiece of a turkey dinner. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and pumpkin pie are all commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner.





Here's a video on the origins of Thanksgiving:





More Eagle vs Roo posts are coming soon!

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