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Thursday May 17, 2012

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A Good Table Indeed!

Posted by: Ela Carte | 18 April, 2011 - 10:41 AM
Good table

The Good Table – 233 Barker Street Castlemaine – www.thegoodtable.com.au

Time for a road trip, and just an hour and twenty minutes up the Calder Freeway lies Castlemaine, a historic goldmining town with an abundance of bookshops, antiques, galleries, and fine food.

One place to indulge in said fine food, is The Good Table, a restaurant reminiscent of a French bistro in the old, beautifully restored Council Club Hotel. It’s a gorgeous makeover, from the stunning solid hardwood tables and black leather touches to chairs and benches; to whacky stuffed birds and antique lamps. But of course, as regal as the décor may be, it doesn’t mean much if the food ain’t up to scratch.

It’s an interesting menu at The Good Table, because there’s no real differentiation between entrees and mains, there’s some obviously smaller dishes at the top of the page like oysters, marinated olives, smoked eel terrine and a pasta that comes in entrée and main sizes – but other than that, it’s order a big plate for yourself or to share, and some sides to go along with it.

We decided to share the homemade pasta ($26) to start, and it was a hint of the style of food at The Good Table. Simple flavours and fresh produce punctuate the entire menu. This was a tortelli filled with flavoursome, smooth pumpkin, in a burnt butter sauce with mustard fruits and crispy sage. Effortless and yet so easy to get wrong, this one was unmistakably right despite being a smaller serve for what was supposed to be a main size.

To follow, I tried the Muscat Braised beef cheek with parsnip puree ($24) – which kept surprising me with the sweet hint of muscat in the meat, the cheeks fell apart with each forkful just as it should. It was a great meal for a cold rainy day, and went beautifully with a glass of Fairbank Shiraz. The winner on the day though, was the housemade pork and fennel sausages with poached pears ($27) – these small sausages had a great texture with plenty of meat and went beautifully with some fennel and the gorgeous, soft, warm pears. The Good Table makes a big effort to use local suppliers, and so we were treated to beef from Guildford, and free range Berkshire Pork from McIvor Farm near Heathcote.

To accompany, the Potato and Rosemary Croquettes are subtly flavoured, but large in individual size and the serve as a whole, so terrific value at $8. And a bitey tomato salad of sliced cherry and heirloom tomatoes, Pedro Jiminez and super fresh basil ($9) provided the zing necessary to complement all that meat and carbs.

Dessert was an irresistible Peppermint Crème Caramel, with Castlemaine Rock tuile, again great value at $11.

The wine list boasts a great array of local wines, and some good selections from France and Italy, fairly reasonably priced at between $40 and $100 per bottle.

If a day out of town is in order, Castlemaine is a lovely alternative to some of the tried and true wine and food destination – and if you do get there and hanker for a feed, The Good Table not just a safe, but a rewarding and memorable bet.

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3AW Food 3AW is Food: Melburnians love to eat so it's fortunate we live in the culinary capital of Australia. On this dedicated food page you will find the latest recipes by Bob Hart as well as Tony Leonard's Pub of the Week reviews. La Luna head chef Adrian Richardson also serves up a dish from his own cook book and food reviewer Ela Carte visits one of Melbourne's hottest eateries weekly.

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