Wendy Hargreaves: 5 tasty places to go this weekend
Looking for some tasty inspiration for this weekend? Here are five of the best places to find it.
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MEENIYAN GARLIC FESTIVAL
9am-4pm, February 16, Meeniyan Recreation Reserve, Hanily Street Meeniyan
Love garlic? Drive straight to Meeniyan on Saturday. The tiny Gippsland town (90 minutes south-east of Melbourne) is hosting the third annual Meeniyan Garlic Festival, with more than 90 market stalls plus garlic workshops and cooking demos by Gippsland ambassador Alejandro Saravia (Pastuso) and Trevor Perkins from Hogget’s Kitchen. Taste garlic milk shakes, ice cream and chocolate (a sweet/savoury sensation). The Meeniyan Cricket Club will be serving smoked garlic beer (another flavour bomb… with blueberries on hand to cancel out the garlic breath), while the CWA ladies will be baking batches of garlic scones. The town’s netball club, Red Cross and school communities will also be batting up garlic-infused tucker. Entry is $10 (and kids are free). Dogs are welcome.
APOLLO BAY SEAFOOD FESTIVAL
February 15-17, Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Rd
There’s something very fishy going on in Apollo Bay this weekend. In a three-day celebration of local seafood direct from the boat, taste and learn about the best local catches. Local fishermen will sell their haul direct from their boats at Apollo Bay Harbour on Saturday morning. Then work your way through food stalls brimming with oysters, caviar and prawns, along with one of the best paella’s around. Live music starts at noon, washed down with craft beer, wines and cocktails.
ROSÉ + CHEESE
February 16 + 17 from noon at Welcome to Thornbury, 520 High St, Northcote
For one fabulous weekend, food truck beer garden Welcome to Thornbury will have a big range of local and imported rosé to taste, along with some of Melbourne’s best cheese (and cheesy food like haloumi chips, arancini, extra-cheesy nachos, gozleme, Philly cheesesteaks, four-cheese pizza and raclette). Settle in with a chilled bottle and a classic cheese platter curated by the experts at Milk the Cow, or go for maximum Instgram points with the style-over-substance rainbow toastie.
SUGAR REPUBLIC
6th floor, Myer Bourke Street, Melbourne
Sweet-toothed Melburnians will love this ode to Willy Wonka. Australia’s dessert museum returns for another bout of sugary fun, this time on the 6th floor of Myer with 12 new rooms, colourful installations and a retro candy store.Melbourne artist Callum Preston has created old-school milk bar, and the adult-sized ball pit returns (with 80,000 rainbow coloured balls) for kids of all ages. Sugar Republic opens daily from 10am–6pm (except Wednesday), wit adults-only sessions from 6.30–8pm on Thursday and Friday nights. Just don’t tell your dentist.
UNLIMITED PIZZA AT 400 GRADI
400 Gradi at Brunswick, Essendon and Eastland
World champion pizza maker Johnny di Francesco is throwing down a major challenge to his many fans. During February, diners can eat unlimited pizza slices (washed down with bottomless drinks) from 4-6pm daily. The $45 price tag includes Johnny’s award-winning Neapolitan Margherita pizza, along with free-flowing shiraz and sauvignon blanc, as well Peroni beer and Aperol Spritz.
Wendy writes online at 5ofthebest.