Category Archives: Melbourne and Victoria

Affogato Espresso Bar – Melbourne CBD

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on November 4, 2012 None comments

Melbourne. Think enchanted laneways and doggedly serious cafe culture. Affogato is on Hardware Lane, which is wider and less european-feeling than the better known alleys, but it’s still car-less, smack central on the CBD grid and a peaceful urban enclave to down some nosh.

Clearly proud of their gluten free options, Affogato are one of only a few places I’ve seen to use the term ‘coeliac friendly’. On the ‘Eggs’ menu above, gluten free bread was available with any order and there were two items which were gluten free by default. The ‘Healthy Hit’, corn and zucchini fritters with spinach, poached eggs, tomato and avocado was one, the other was ‘Kasundi Eggs’ with those same fritters, poached eggs, avocado and spicy kasundi relish. The Kasundi Eggs are pictured below – opt to have the relish on the side is you’re a wuss like me, it packs a spicy punch.

The retro plates took me right back to my chops and veg childhood. Fortunately the food didn’t.

29 Hardware Lane
Melbourne
Vic 3000

http://www.affogato.com.au/

Gluten free menu: http://www.affogato.com.au/gluten-free/

Affogato Espresso Bar on Urbanspoon


Tahbilk Cafe (at Tahbilk Winery), Country Victoria

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on May 14, 2012 1 comments

Ashley Thorpe, the new Head Chef at the Tahbilk cafe, has spread the word that he ‘doesn’t like flour’. Hooray! That’s not all there is to avoid in a gluten free diet, but it’s a big chunk of it. He estimates that 99% of his main meals do not contain flour, and it’s only really when he’s making desserts that he breaks out the white stuff.

Tabilk (spelt differently to the winery) is a scenic 2 hours drive north of Melbourne. The cafe is part of Tahbilk Winery, surrounded by bushland and plonked by the billabong.

Our entree was the (divine) crispy skinned pork on cauliflower puree with scallops and microherbs.

It would be stupid not to indulge in a glass of wine at a winery wouldn’t it? Especially at one of Australia’s oldest and cutest (est. 1860).

My main course was polenta, wild mushrooms and kale, my friend had the salmon.

I feel like a successful truffle hunter having found a chef who doesn’t like flour – more please! With the right company, a sunny day, the wine slipping down and the river sliding past, you can’t go wrong here.

 

Tahbilk Winery
254 O’Neils Road Tabilk (via Nagambie)
Phone: (03) 5794 2555

 


 

Tahbilk Cafe on Urbanspoon

Yong Green Food – Fitzroy, Melbourne

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on May 11, 2012 2 comments

How do you stop a coeliac mid-mouthful?? Tell them they’ve been given the wrong dish! A common human error in the waitering game and when it happened at Yong Green Food in Fitzroy, we unwittingly struck it lucky. We had ordered nachos and were delivered this:

Melbourne is a funky city famous for its innovative ways with food. We assumed this was nouveau nachos, and it was so tasty! What we had actually been served was ‘raw nachos’ – chia seed chips with cashew cream, guacamole and sunfried seeds. It was such an intriguing meal we were sad when it was taken away but too shocked to do anything but check that it was gluten free – it was, phew!

The ‘unraw’ nachos was a bit of a let down after the drama of the raw version. It was still great – nachos are such a palatable comfort food, with tangy cheese, crunchy + soggy chips and beany goodness – but it was a bit pedestrian after seeing the other side.

These quinoa fritters with coconut chilli sauce were crisp and wholesome. Yong’s is a vegetarian restaurant, there are many ‘gf’s on the menu and many more ‘v’s (vegan). All of the dishes pictured were vegan and gluten free.

Fitzroy’s iconic ‘Veggie Bar’ is on the other side of Brunswick Street. The Veggie Bar is a magnetic institution with such reliably fabulous fare it’s hard to justify going anywhere else in the area. But with a menu sporting mango lassi (mango, cashew milk, agave, lemon juice), ‘Rawsagna’ and ‘Dragon Bowl’ soup, Yong Green Food is definitely a contender. And if you’re going to play Russian roulette with your gluten free meals – the odds here are pretty good.

Yong Green Food
Vegetarian and Raw Foods
421 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
03 9417 3338

 


 

Yong Green Food on Urbanspoon

Sacs – Gluten free cafe/shop, Melbourne

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on May 3, 2012 None comments

Newly diagnosed coeliacs inducted at Coeliac Australia learn to confidently read labels to check for gluten. It’s a useful skill. As is recognising that ‘just because it’s gluten free doesn’t mean you have to eat it’.

Blithely seeking coffee and a newspaper, I slaked myself into a cake coma yesterday unable to resist the one gluten free option in a cafe. Not only did I order and eat it (classic orange and almond cake, nicely warmed, pretty good I have to say), but I made a point of discussing it with the staff and congratulating them on their clean-tonged serving technique.

Confessing on twitter later, it seems I’m not the only one who feels obliged to partake in any gluten free offerings regardless of appetite or lack thereof..

@itsgottobeglutenfree agree 100% trying to explain to self that I personally don’t need to bankroll the gf market! My poor waistline!

@DavidJ_GF sure we’re all guilty. If Im out & about, see something gf… like never know were next meal will come from!

So true! If you have issues with this then I suggest you beware of Sacs in Melbourne – EVERYTHING in this place is gluten free.

Hiding out in trendy Northcote in Melbourne, this place is a one-stop shop. For immediate gratification, it’s a cafe & bakery, with deli-style take-away options including pastries and cake. It also stocks gluten free groceries (packet mixes, biscuits, breakfast cereal) and has a freezer section with gluten free goods. I have never seen anything like it. There’s one catch. Or maybe two..

Many of the reviews of Sacs say that the service is terrible and the prices are high. It does seem to be an uptight establishment. When I asked if I could blog about Sacs, the owner was very reticent – I felt like I was selling broken vacuum cleaners – and then she called out to ask if I had finished yet when I’d taken a few shots.

It’s such a shame – gluten free people usually feel ‘difficult’ whenever they eat out – surely we should be able to relax at one that is purely gluten free?

Surly service aside, no where else have I seen such an extensive range (and the food I had was great).

Sacs are very fastidious about their gluten free status – my cousins’ daughter was told off for eating some other-worldly food (nuts) in the cafe because of the risk of possible contamination.

Seriously gluten free.

Coeliac Australia members get a 10% discount (though I was asked if I was going to be eating the food as if it wasn’t me I couldn’t have the discount – crikey!)

Sacs
105 High Street
Northcote
VIC 3070
 


 

SACS Gluten Free Cafe on Urbanspoon

The Cupcake Bakery – Sydney & Melbourne

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on March 21, 2012 None comments

Picture this – you’re in the city… you’ve been bedazzled by meetings, maybe you’re hitting the sales…. maybe not. And then it strikes. You’re hungry! Snacktime. What is a poor coeliac to do in the whirlwind of crowds and cafes? Here’s your fix – it’s the Cupcake Bakery. There’s a few around the CBD in Sydney and Melbourne (and some in the suburbs!), and they always have one (yes, just the one) type of gluten free cupcake for the likes of us.

Sometimes it’s my favourite, Red Velvet (above), with cream cheese buttercream and a red sugar heart. Today it was the Chocolate Vanilla (below). Either way, it’ll crank up the blood sugar and get you through another few hours.

Go ahead… they’re gluten free!

NB – I wasn’t hungry when I bought this cupcake today. I got it to photograph. Of course I don’t like to waste food so I did eat it. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the extreme measures I’ve gone to for the greater good!

Check out their locations here:

http://www.thecupcakebakery.com.au

 


 

The Cupcake Bakery on Urbanspoon