Snout to Tail in Melbourne–Dinner at Josie Bones

 

 

Hello Foodies

Tour de Forks’ President Melissa Joachim is in her hometown of Melbourne this month and is iPhone-ing it in, i.e., some great restaurant reviews complete with pictures. Ahhh, vicarious dinning.

A pull on a pair of giant bronze pig trotters, and Melissa found herself inside Melbourne’s brand new Josie Bones Food and Beer, a snout-to-tail eatery with an impressive beer list. They vow to  “match food which will be seasonal, local, entire beast focused, cooked with beer where appropriate….” Proprietor and “head hog”  Chef Chris Bodenoch” would be the decider on the appropriateness – we presume.

Josie Bones is Chris’ baby and he has partnered with his fellow Masterchef contestant Julia Jenkins who must share his sense of humor.  A larger-than-life image of a skinless, headless rabbit – described as oddly erotic – adorns the bar.

But on to the food. Melissa squealed with delight over their signature dish of rolled pig’s head served with gribichem, a mayonnaise-style egg sauce, and crackling. JB offers a crackling du jour, lovely, lovely. She salivated over the grilled lambs tongues which she described as “crispy outside, soft and unctuous within.” Sides?  Eggplant wonderfully flavored with cumin. But the much anticipated black pudding mit green apples was disappointing in its blandness. Dare we say –offal?  We will. Obviously we are having a lot of fun with this.

On to the beer and an inventory which craft beer aficionados proclaim as awesome. The list boasts brews from Bavaria to Nigeria and includes an IPA from New York And of course lots of Aussie ales.

So all you porcine lovin’ crackling eatin’ bear drinkin’ foodies, enjoy!

Chris’s Blog – take a read  http://bit.ly/hI0rfZ

98 Smith Street, Collingwood Melbourne – No reservations.

 

The Forks

A Taste of Piemonte– for Wine Lovers

 

Piemonte for foodies and wine lovers – June 26-July 3. Hunt truffles, sip wine in baroque cafes …take a look http://bit.ly/ebQxN5

8 delicious days and 7 starry  nights in gorgeous Piemonte, one of Italy’s most important wine regions and home of the Slow Food movement. This guided tour is an uncommon epicurean adventure. Contact Cindy@cruisemasterstravel.com

Postcards From the Edge

Hello Foodies,

Vintage penny postcards are so romantic and I whiled away some time the other day, in a FlickR e-gallery of some gorgeous old scenes from Italy…

I waxed nostalgic wondering if sending postcards will become a thing of the past. But hold on….there’s an app for that. Postcard. So just whip out your iPhone and snap a pic of your handsome Italian guide next to the Colosseum or your Prosecco bubbling away on that sidewalk cafe table. The app transforms it into an actual “snail mail” postcard. You write your own message and input the addresses of all your friends and frenemies. (They will be sooo jealous.) And then, as the Brits say “ Bob’s your uncle.” Your missive is winging its way across the pond.

Cheap enough at a dollar or two and the service is provided by iTunes. Of course, it doesn’t include those lovely foreign stamps – pity – but it is all very cool.

All the Forks love to photograph food when traveling and share our pics so we will be all over this new app. Behold a penne postcard (tee-hee) I couldn’t resist.

We know of some delicious places in Italy to photograph – and eat – pasta. Call us – no iPhone required.

Connie