There there there there there...

In a word? Tempting (but you're too late!)

Where? There There, 8 Malop Street, Geelong
When? A Friday evening, when the Cats were playing in the finals. Joyously quiet and blissfully tv-screen-free.
Drinks? Yep yep. Non-alcoholic options a bit dull, but the wine list, beers and ciders had plenty to keep me interested.

Not my first visit to There There, and for good reason. However it does seem that it may have been my last, at least for quite some time.

My tardiness in finishing this review has been exposed by the fact that just days after I ate 'there', There There announced they would be closing for a few months, before re-opening as a tapas bar. I won't then bore you with the details of what I ate, but it was enjoyable as always, and the staff friendly and efficient.

I look forward to the next iteration, and hope dearly that it won't be a case of 'regression to the mean' (if you'll excuse a statistical reference). There has been a lot of great innovation and increased variety in Geelong lately, but the safer model of business does seem to be catering for... umm... shall we say a 'lower' common denominator.

In the mean time, their little bar out the back, 'Captain', has re-opened after a long hiatus, and I am yet to try it. Watch this space. Let's see if it holds any clues to future directions.

(Clockwise) Bresaola with walnuts and apple, pulled pork lettuce cups (an absolute must) and haloumi. I've mentioned how everything is better with haloumi, right?

Winter in Spring is Summer on a plate

In a word? Joy

Where? Winter's Café, 330 Pakington St, Newtown
Day? Saturday brunch
Drinks? Actually they are licenced, but whenever I am here it is all about the coffee, which is reliably good, although occasionally a bit slow during peak weekend times.

Two good rules to live by: 1) Everything is better with haloumi, 2) Everything is better with chipotle.
If you add coffee, a sunny morning and brilliant brunch company, my tiny mind will nearly explode with the brilliance of it all. A recent visit to Winter's was my first taste of the new Spring menu. I adore the fact that Winter's changes the menu with the seasons, and every new iteration is more inventive and fun and delicious than the last. Sadly though, it does mean having to wave goodbye to some favourites from time to time.

My biggest problem with Winter's, and this has been going on for some time, is that it is so good I find it hard to motivate myself to go anywhere else for weekend brunches. This problem is usually solved only by the (fairly frequent) disappointment of finding that they are booked out when I haven't planned ahead. This time though, with an early arrival and some good luck, my companion had secured a table at the top of the stairs by the time I had chained up my bike and wandered over, grinning in the spring sunshine. 

Despite many very appealing options, we both ordered the same thing: Huevos Rancheros with an extra side of haloumi. I am a huge fan of huevos rancheros, having first encountered them on a trip to north America some years ago (and my companion hails from the states), and I have long wished they would start appearing on local menus. Wish granted! They have also recently shown up at a few other places, yet to be explored. 

So - house made tortillas, crispy fried into a couple of baskets, and filled with bean, egg, chilli and avocado goodness. The haloumi at Winter's is my absolute favourite. Even more salty and fabulous than regular haloumi. Bottle of chipotle arrived at the table and was enthusiastically applied. 

Coffee, excellent as always. Also, I might be imagining it, but I feel like since they finished their most recent renovations, coffee speed has improved. In the past I remember ordering a second coffee well before I had finished the first, just because the wait was so ponderously long. That doesn't seem to be an issue any more. On that note as well, from a customer perspective, the renovations were aesthetically pretty subtle. We discussed over huevos, and decided that the main difference was a bit more light. 

I'll be back. Must get there in time to try "Spring breakfast salad of asparagus, kumatos, spelt, crispy prosciutto and boiled eggs with green tahini" before the menu rolls over into summer's new delights. One day I'll be brave enough to order a bloody mary with my brekky as well. Special mention for the virgin mary now being listed as a 'bloody shame' on the menu. I wonder if it is in response to a recently aired episode of QI in which Stephen Fry confidently informed the world that that is how a virgin mary is described in Australia? (which was news to me at the time).

Yum.