Trail Of Disaster

Trail Of Disaster

The Age

Tuesday February 1, 1994

Claude Forell, Roslyn Grundy

HEARD THE one about the top chef whose American trip was postponed by earthquake and whose Noosa holiday was cut short when he broke his foot on a cyclone-ravaged footpath? It's no joke _ just ask Greg Brown, who has put off his month-long US trip for several weeks until the dust settles in Los Angeles and his foot is out of plaster.

But Brown is philosophical about the turn of events _ it has given him more time for his new projects. He has introduced a cheaper bistro menu at his Armadale restaurant and plans to open his new Albert Park cafe-bakery at the end of the month.

The new bistro menu, which features such nostalgic dishes as consomme, oysters Kilpatrick, steak diane and rack of lamb, has been hugely popular. Brown says it's an attempt to inject a little fun into the restaurant scene, ``which has become so bloody serious lately".

And defying pundits who have recently sounded the death knell for the BYO, he will introduce it to the bistro this week. Corkage will apply only on Saturday night.

Brown is a fan of the Victorian institution, both as a diner and as a chef, and looks back fondly on his days at Paysan, when customers would bring in great wines and send glasses into the kitchen. ``It was fantastic!" RATTLING GOOD IDEA: it's no more than that, and it may not happen, but Maria Bortolotto would love to park an old ``red rattler" train at the disused St Kilda railway station and operate it as a ``train diner".

St Kilda Council is renovating the historic station building, which was badly vandalised and partly burnt down after the light rail service replaced the rail service to Flinders Street some years ago.

The plan is to use the station for a cafe, market and ``on-the- fringe" art museum.

Ms Bortolotto, whose family runs the highly successful Bortolotto's Restaurant and Cafe Menis in Fitzroy Street not far from the station, is among those who have registered an expression of interest in the project. The cost of a real train diner, however, may prove prohibitive.

Whether or not the Bortolottos expand their business to the station project, they intend to continue to run their existing restaurant and cafe, and plan extensive renovations in three stages.

In the meantime, the station will be used for an exhibition of Australian and New Zealand cheeses. The cheesemakers will converge on the station on 10 February to show off their produce and talk to the public. Winemakers will be on hand to demonstrate how to match cheeses with a wide range of wines and specialist bakers will provide an array of bread. The $25-a-head exhibition, organised by the new food and wine magazine `Divine', will be held from 5.30 to 9.30pm at the station, on the corner of Fitzroy Street and Canterbury Road. Tel: 5344979.

SELLER'S CELLAR: the West Melbourne fine wine retailers Duke and Lynch have opened a new store in Armadale. It's housed in a Victorian building designed for a wine merchant, complete with underground cellar. There's room for a wine academy, an exhibition of historic Australian wines (formerly owned by Hermann Schneider), a function room and a courtyard, as well as the shop. The Armadale store is at 813-817 High Street Armadale. Tel: 5093055.

TOUCH OF POLISH: perhaps the red-and-white curtains are a clue to its new identity. After being closed for three years, the restaurant with the name Chestnuts emblazoned on its dusty white facade on the Windsor side of St Kilda Junction, has been revived with a touch of Polish.

Polish as in Poland.

The new owner is Andrzey Sowinski, a former political activist who emigrated to Australia 10 years ago and has worked variously as a handyman, waiter and musician. He and his family hope to build Chestnuts into a meeting and eating venue for Melbourne's Polish community as well as a welcoming neighborhood restaurant.

His mother, helped by his wife, cooks such nostalgic, homely fare as zurek (a traditional rye flour soup with sausage), bortsch with meat patties, Ukrainian beetroot soup, pierogi (little dumplings filled with minced meat or mushroom and cabbage or cheese and potato), sauteed carp and cabbage rolls in tomato sauce along with more familiar central and eastern European dishes.

There's a live band for dancing on Friday and Saturday nights (Andrzey plays guitar and keyboard, and sings), and a Latvian violinist on Sundays. Chestnuts is a cavernous place, with plenty of space upstairs for large groups. The Polish ambassador will attend a reception there on 11 February for a trade delegation from Poland.

FESTIVAL FEVER: the round of festivals continues with Folkfest. The event, now in its second year, runs for nine days from this Saturday, highlighting the cultures of 27 ethnic communities at different sites around Melbourne.

Aside from arts, crafts, exhibits and dance, traditional foods will be available at each location, making the festival a virtual progressive dinner. For a nominal price, try an empanada (pie) at the Argentine pavilion, a taste of hangi (underground barbecue) at the Maori stand, or sambal ikan (chilli fish) at the Singapore/Malaysian display. Entry to all pavilions is $2, and children under 12 are free. For information on locations, tel 3283425.

DOWN BY THE RIVER: and speaking of festivals, on Friday Southgate kicks off its Water-and-Wine Festival _ a year of wine-tastings from each of the Victorian wine regions. The tastings, featuring different regions each time, will be held on the first weekend of every month.

The first brings together wines from 20 vineyards in Rutherglen, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley and Goulburn Valley. From Friday to Sunday you can buy a glass for $3 and wander among the market umbrellas set up on the river promenade, tasting the wines on offer.

Details about wine-and-food festivals in the regions will be available.

TAS JAZZ: Melbourne Central strikes up the band during a Tasmanian tourism expo this week. The Tasmanian Festival Show Band will play jazz favorites under the shot tower every hour between 10am and 4pm from tomorrow until Sunday.

The ``Jazzin Around in Tassie" promotion includes tastings of wine, cheese and salmon, a holiday competition, and a special $350 airfare- car-and-accommodation deal for three days in Tasmania, or $337 for a three-day King Island package. For travel information, phone Kendall Airlines on 6702677.

Fresh.

SLICE OF SUMMER: watermelon, which is from the same family as the cucumber, squash and marrow, is one of the cheapest fruits of summer.

Nice by the slice, it also makes a good sorbet, sherbet, or fruit soup. It's difficult to tell from the outside whether it is ripe, so most greengrocers display a cut melon. A yellowish underside regardless of a rich green color elsewhere is often a good sign. Don't choose one that is white inside _ it will not ripen after cutting. The rind can be pickled to serve with cold meats, chicken or cheese.

Expect to pay between 50 and 70 cents a kilogram.