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Thursday May 17, 2012

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Merchant

Posted by: Ela Carte | 16 December, 2010 - 1:26 PM
Merchant

MERCHANT - Rialto 495 Collins Street Melbourne 9614 7688

http://merchantov.com

Look out Crown, The Rialto and surrounds are being touted as the next major food precinct of Melbourne. As we heard last week, Shannon Bennett hopes to open his new Vue de Monde at the top of the towers by next April, but in the meantime another behemoth has set up shop down the bottom in the forecourt.

Guy Grossi’s Merchant is a co-collaboration by the Italian food master and the developers of the project, the Grollo family – drawing on both families connections to the Veneto region of Italy, and together the two have gone all out.

Two years in the making, with huge emphasis on design, Grossi’s gone to a big effort to make Merchant feel like an authentic “Osteria” – a relaxed eatery where the diners feel they truly are “guests” of the host. That said, it’s funny to have to go to such an effort to make something feel relaxed. But the stunning original & exposed brickwork, Echuca recycled timber, and the wait staff’s cute converse shoes do indeed put one at ease. As guests, we were treated to a refreshing Bellini on arrival - Grossi Prosecco poured onto peach puree and eagerly devoured.

The menu is very much themed around that ever popular notion of sharing food, so from the “Cicheti”, or small, bite size snacks, to entrée sized polenta and pasta dishes, there’s plenty to come up with between a group to ensure a large range of tastes.

Standouts in the Cicheti were the marinated octopus, a delightful, almost-ceviche like concoction surprisingly fresher than the usual oily Mediterranean offerings. And one guest ordered the “Sausage and Beans”, for no other reason than he wanted to see what Guy Grossi would do with “Sausage and Beans”. The result was a homely, flavour packed bowl, with loads of garlic, crumbed sausage bits and soft white beans. We rounded it off with some deep fried zucchini flowers, a selection of cured meats and simple saffron arancini.

The advice from our waiter was to go for the cicheti, follow it with a small sized risotto, pasta or polenta for entrée and then think about a fish/meat main, but to be honest I just don’t that much food is necessary. For my appetite, one of the medium meals was more than enough to finish off. I went for the house specialty, the polenta, cooked in a big cauldron and chose the duck ragu from a variety of topping options. It came in a small dish, could have done with a bit more ragu, but it filled the spot. I was extremely jealous, however, of my dining companions who ordered the Veal Ragu gnocchi, and a Bigoli pasta with crab and radicchio. The crab option was distinctly lacking what can often be an oily layer on simple shellfish pasta dishes, and the gnocchi were soft and plump with a rich, comforting ragu.

Now, dining with friends of Italian heritage, there was a test to pass, and it all came down to Nonna’s peas. The extended family grew up on them, and carry on the tradition even now when 90-odd year old Nonna no longer cooks. It was the talk of the table, and so we were suitably intrigued when we spied the Braised Peas on Grossi’s lists of vegetable sides. It was a suspenseful moment when the two dove in, and a relief when the first diner turned to number two and declared with a blissful look, “they’re Nonna’s peas!”. Fresh peas, onion, and no doubt a good degree more fatty stuff than they came out of the shell with, they were a perfect match with the heavenly Braised Cabbage – could not have imagined it would be as tasty and more-ish as it was.

That encouragement to share can at times be a costly exercise, and that risk is here too, but a great option is to order courses as you go and literally just see how full you feel at the end of each feast. With plenty of food, and a couple of tastes for dessert, we spent $200 on food for four people.

The Merchant Wine list has an impressive array of Italian wines, but it ain’t cheap. You’re looking at at least $40-50 a bottle at the lower end, with a better selection sitting at around $60-80. A great option if there’s fewer people or varying tastes is to try the different sized carafes, with seven of each colour on offer.

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