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Thursday May 17, 2012

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Ela discovers 'Crimean' side

Posted by: Ela Carte | 8 July, 2011 - 4:09 PM
Crimean

The Crimean – 351 Queensberry Street North Melbourne www.thecrimean.com.au

While most of Melbourne is being indundated by openings of the South East Asian and modern Latino kind, North Melbourne is going all northern hemisphere on us, with the latest addition being of the Eastern European variety in the form of “The Crimean”.

This is perfect winter food in decadent, themed surrounds. The old pub housing The Crimean has been refurbished with dark colours, heavy curtains, mood lighting and brilliant communist style posters and paintings. Though the owners recently spent time living in Bulgaria, the menu and wine list traverses the entire region - from Poland to Ukraine, Slovenia to Serbia.

Wanting to try a good variety of dishes, we actually went for four shared entrees and then split a main between two, and it was a great way to go. Fried pelmeini dumplings were offered with either cabbage and mushroom, or beef and pork. Our carnivorous waiter correctly advised us that the vegetarian option was a lot more punchy than it sounded, thick pan fried dumpling wrappers (think somewhere between a gyoza and ravioli), encasing a rich filling and served with an uncompromising sour cream and dill sauce with a horseradish hit. These were going to be a hard act to follow.

The “Sarma” were your good old fashioned vine leaf parcels, although these ones filled with a combination of almond, veal and sour cherry (though I wasn’t quite getting the cherry component) & served with a thick yoghurt-like scoop.

“Banitsa” were filo pastry cigars, filled with Bulgarian feta and zucchini, crunchy and tasty, and finished with a salty, more-ish caper chutney or dip.

Pressed hare and pork was just that, more instantly recognizable as a terrine. It came with super-thin sliced rye bread toasts and was complimented perfectly with a matchstick apple salad with celeriac and walnut.

These were decent sized serves and good value, particularly the dumplings at $8 and the vine leaves at $10.50.

On a cold night it was hard to go past the Polish hunter casserole main, big chunks of Polish sausage and a knob of oxtail, with a rich but tangy sauerkraut laced with juniper berry. Great size to share, I don’t think I could have finished it on my own. To go with it we again took the now proven advice of our waiter, and  ordered the Crimean potatoes - smooth, creamy mash topped with a touch of anchovy and light, crispy breadcrumbs.

The drinks list is a delight and great way to explore the alcoholic highlights of Europe’s East, I started with a Vilmos Fizz and went onto some Hungarian Red. There’s beer on tap from Czech Republic, and in bottles from countries including Montenegro, and Estonia; while wine comes from as far as places like Slovenia, Croatia, and Georgia. Pot of beer is $5, wines by the glass are impressively priced from $7 - $12. Of course – there are vodka of every variety – derived from barley, potato, grain, wheat; flavoured with birch, honey and spice, cherry and more; while fruit brandies also feature heavily.

It might not be in vogue just yet, but this style of food is wholesome, heartwarming, and at The Crimean it’s served with a modern twist in slick environs – it’s definitely worth a try. Na zdravi (cheers)!!

AUDIO REVIEW: Ela discovers her 'Crimean' side

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3AW Food - Eating Melbourne

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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