After a leisurely drive to Heathcote one very hot Sunday, recently, for some fabulous wines from Condie Wines (see review), the gorgeous Rosanne, recommended Annie Smithers' Bistrot for lunch, as I was starving (as usual). After a little trouble finding it, as it's away from the bustling end of Piper Street, we were greeted by a really happy, blonde lady who sat us down, & promptly brought us some iced water to cool down. It's a beautifully furnished old building, that may have been stables 100 years ago, with this fantastic garden out the back where I think they get some of their produce. I loved that there is a stool beside each table to place your handbag; nice touch. The food was beautiful & being so hot we decided to just do a main & dessert. Hubby had the duck which was beautifully cooked, & I ordered lamb, of which they were out of racks, so I got a fillet instead; still beautifully cooked & served with my absolute favourite veg, beetroot, fresh from the garden I'd say because I could've eaten 10 kilos of it. Then came dessert! What a triumph! Next time we visit, I'll be having 3 courses, a main & TWO desserts. We chose the peach...poached in lemon verbena & served with white chocolate mousse, raspberries. fresh & pureed, & this fantastic little pistachio meringue-y 'thing'. I'm not usually a fan of white chocolate but a massive fan of all the other components which is why I ordered it. This dessert is the "Queen" of dessert for me. Everything on that plate was perfectly matched & exquisitely made. Even the mousse! it was like a little dollop of 'cloud'. I love the gorgeous paper straws you get with your soft drink; that really took me back to my childhood. Even a trip to the restrooms was a treat, with beautiful Murchison Hume liquid hand soap, if I remember that correctly, & absolutely SPOTLESSLY clean!! Considering the exceptional quality of the produce, this represents excellent value dining. Everything about this restaurant is quality, the décor, the food, the staff, the garden & that adorable pup.

Approximate cost: $36

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the food here! Every course was simply stunning. What I loved was the dichotomy of the food. Each course was based around one or two simple, but beautiful ingredients, that seemed simply prepared, yet complemented by another set of simple ingredients, prepared in a more inventive way, that really left you guessing as to what it was that you were tasting. I LOVED that. There was so much beautiful food, that I could easily write a "War & Peace' length review, but seriously folks, you have to eat here at least once. In summary, $400 may sound like an awful lot of money for 2 people to dine out, (including matching wines for one of us), but when the food is THAT fantastic, as it was at Estelle, I think it was well worth it; it's the terrible $20 meals you begrudge, & we've had plenty of those, haven't we? The wait staff were all pretty nice, but they seemed to rush through the explanation of each course, & the sommelier isn't really a sommelier, he was nice enough, but not very confident & sounded like he was reciting the blurb on the back of each bottle. If they could improve those tiny little things with the service, this could very well be the best place to eat in Melbourne.

Approximate cost: $Priceless

Having been rejected for lunch by a couple of establishments because it was after 2pm, & finding no vacant tables in Koukla (next door), Hubby & I just stumbled across Jimmy's Bar. Not only were the staff happy to seat us, well after 2.30, but they were some of the nicest wait-staff we've met in a long time, & as my followers will know, we dine out a lot (I just don't always get time to review them all, sorry). But I really wanted to share our experience today because it's definitely worth the trip for a meal here.
Before I mention the gorgeous food, I want to add that one of the things I really liked about Jimmy's is that the staff encourage you to share meals, which was perfect for us after a long hot drive, & being too late for lunch, but early for dinner.
Now the best bits: we had a slow roasted pork dish which was absolutely delicious, served with diced potatoes, which was really nice because they soaked up the gorgeous sauce. There was also a baked peach served with the pork, infused with brandy & fennel; I could've eaten 10 of those. We also had a roasted beetroot salad with caramelized walnuts & a gorgeous cheese called 'bluette'. The sweetness of the three different colured beets worked beautifully with the salty nuttiness of the bluette, & the best bit about the salad is I now know what to do with all the beetroot in my garden :)
We also got desserts; hubby had the nougat bombe alaska, with raspberry puree...YUM!!!, & I had doughnuts with lemon syrup & ice-cream, & of all things, rose flavoured persian fairy floss, which I normally don't like, but it went beautifully with the doughnuts & a sprinkling of fresh mint took it to another level.
Portion sizes were perfect, prices reasonable for the quality of the produce, & service worth tipping.
If I had one tiny little criticism, it's that my soft drink was warm (not refrigerated), & like a lot of people with senstitive teeth, I always ask for "no ice please", but I'll know for next time.
Being a "food-junkie", I read a lot of reviews, & I found a couple of (unfounded) criticisms that "there was nothing Greek about Jimmy's", but take it from a Greek girl, whose mother was an awesome cook, (she's very old now & 'burns' more than she 'cooks'), Jimmy's definitely has a Greek element, it's just that his point of difference is that it's beautifully disguised.
All in all this was a gorgeous meal in a beautifully decorated establishment , spotlessly clean, & with really lovely staff.

Approximate cost: $28-$36

I, too, made the switch to Click about 3 months ago & so far I've found them to be great. Being one of those people who pays their bills the minute they get them, I love getting the monthly invoice. I also like that you're not restricted to paying the minimum amount, leaving less to pay on the final reconciliation. What I love the most is the savings, so far we've managed to save over $250 compared to our previous average bills from TRU... & that was in just the first 3 months. And having 3 sick people in our household, that leaves more money for the really important things.

Upon contacting Jim's pergolas, (for a carport/dry area), we were subsequently directed to Outdoor Impressions because we needed a metal structure in order to meet fire regulations. Anthony was so easy to deal with. Once we decided on the design, we were told it would be about 6 weeks to completion. After our recent experiences with builders, I have to say I was sceptical. Considering we needed permits, due to the size of our structure, I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything progressed. It literally was only 7-8 weeks total from design stage to completion, & that included a minor hiccup where an important fitting had been forgotten. But once I pointed that out to Anthony, he was onto it very quickly. The tradies were always on time, & left the place in a reasonably clean state when they finished the job, but most importantly, Anthony provided us with exactly what we asked for, regardless of what he thought of it. He actually appreciated that it had to work for us, which it does, perfectly. It was a little more than we'd hoped to pay, but I still highly recommend this company, not just because they provide a quality product, but because they were very understanding when I'd overlooked our final payment, due to a family member being VERY ill. They sent friendly reminders, but NEVER hassled me about it.

Approximate cost: $13400

This is a specialist nursery, so if you love hellebores, (winter roses to some), this is THE place to visit. This is the only species they sell here, apart from 2 or 3 'companion' plants. Because hellebores are basically winter plants, the nursery is only open between July and September, and only on Sundays, 10am-4pm, but you can buy online all year round. However, it is well worth the drive there, & I guarantee you won't go home empty handed. They have some very rare species so don't be surprised to find some things out of stock. Our friendly consultant was Margy, who was absolutely delightful. We have a very difficult plot when ti comes to growing things, so it was nice to go to a nursery where the staff actually know everything about the plants they sell, & were able to give us the tips we needed to succeed, not only with these plants, but growing others as well.

Approximate cost: $6.50 - 50.00

Just got off the phone with the lovely Alyssia (hope I spelt that correctly), at Electricity Wizard, & am very pleased with what she offered me, (for my parents). I'm quite impressed with the overall service of this company. I entered my phone number on the website & although it says that you'll be contacted quickly, I didn't actually believe it to be quite honest. But lo & behold, just 20 minutes later, my mobile rings & on the other end is this delightful young lady. After obtaining my postcode Alyssia was able to tell me that there were 17 retailers to choose from & she went straight into the best overall deal, offering me a 22% discount on the total for my power bill & an 11% discount on the gas usage. With both companies the actual rates were also lower, pre-discount, & being pensioners, my parents will be very happy with the savings. I also like that they're transparent & explain that they do get a 'kickback' from the providers, for every customer they procure, & I don't begrudge that, after all this service saved me a lot of time & hopefully in the near future, some money.

Approximate cost: $variable

stopped here for lunch based on the previous 2 reviews & on first impressions seemed nice & the menu reasonably priced. But after eating here, I now have to this to say; either the previous reviews are friends of the owners or they really lucked in. Hubby & I ordered beef pies with relish & salad. The pies were nice, (I think they were boscastle, which make nice pies anyway & they just need re-heating..couldn't get that too wrong), the relishes were nice, & we each got a different flavour; but the salad was disgusting. Now, anyone who owns or knows anything about restaurants, knows that one of the important daily tasks is to pick through the salad leaves to ensure there are no bitter slimy bits; but not here. The salad was obviously old, because not only did it have lots of limp or yellowing leaves, but 80% of it had slimy bits stuck to it...YUK! Considering how cheap cucumbers are at present we got ONE very thin sliver, cut on the diagonal to make it look largerOur drinks weren't cold either, & on a 32 degree day...not good. The other problem was a large-ish table of diners (10, I think) were just finishing lunch when we arrived & the owners were so engrossed in serving them, that they forgot about the rest of us, 3 couples & a lone diner. So, although those 10 might give this place 4 or 5 stars, the neglected diners are the ones who matter most, the ones that got slimy salad & warm drinks & little attention; we're the ones that won't recommend this place to anyone, or worse still tell the the dozens of people we know, who also might also like to travel & eat out, not to patronize this place. What seemd like a reasonable meal was just a waste of money, & I rarely begrudge the cost of a meal having owned a restaurant myself; but I begrudged this one. Not good sorry.

Approximate cost: $12.90 for a pie with slimy salad

Decided to just get out today after a couple of weeks of being housebound due to an injury, & we ended up in Woodend with hubby & discovered The Village Larder, in High St. What a find! It's really kooky & quirky & I loved all the original mid-century tables & chairs, just like Nanna had! The food is fabulous. We started with warm olives & a duck pate plate. The pate plate was gorgeous. It came with what I believe is their own house-baked sour dough "pulled" bread which is to die-for, & the surprise package for me was the pickled watermelon rind accompaniment...YUM!!! I've had pickled rind before & wasn't a fan, but this was delicious! There was definitely cumin (which I LOVE), in the pickling syrup, & clove, but I couldn't pick any of the other flavours. It also came with fresh rocket which complimented the pate beautifully, & some fresh peach which was nice to cleanse the palate. I then had the ciabatta with pork, fresh granny smith apple, & rhubarb/date relish & again with fresh wild rocket, but I don't mind that because I love the subtle pepperiness of rocket, & with such a rich dish it needed the greens to soften that richness. The pork was literally melt-in-the mouth but the dish itself was rather generous & would've been plenty big enough with just half of the ciabatta. In fact it could've fed the 2 of us easily, but it was beautiful. Hubby had this really nice spice-crusted chicken, which we found a little humorous when ti first arrived, because it looked a little, (just a little), like KFC, until you bit into it...& realized this was definitely in a class of it's own. The crust was so tasty & the chicken, of which I'm not normally a fan because it always seems dry to me, was so juicy & so tender. Nicest piece of chicken I've had in...forever. That was accompanied by, yep, you guessed it, a rocket salad, but this time with crispy witlof, fresh peach & chilli. Really yummy stuff! If you're going to Woodend or travelling through on your way to somewhere else, you seriously should stop & try The Village Larder. We also bought a ton of their produce to bing home, Ham Jam, Lamb Jam, Snag Jam, ginger infused oil, & blood plum jam, so can't wait to crank up the barbie & try the savoury jams. I don't think it will be very long before we're back there to try the rest of the menu & it's only an 87km trip...one way. What I really loved about this place is they support local producers, even the soft drinks we had were local...from Hepburn Springs if I remember correctly. Yum, yum, yum. This place is now placed very high on my recommendations list.

Approximate cost: $25

My (autistic) brother, Jack, turned 50 last September but due to ill-health the celebrations were delayed, so it was important that everything be perfect. We wanted a fairly casual affair, but having owned a restaurant, the food had to be spot-on! Most of these finger food companies think that making a burger, pie or pastie miniature automatically makes it "gourmet". But not Going Gourmet, they deliver EXACTLY what they promise. None of this frozen, pre-packed Asian "yum-cha" or pies, pasties or sausage rolls. Glen & the team deliver fantastic food & service to match.
We finally had Jack's party in November & I have to say the food & service were awesome! Nearly 4 months on & the friends & rellies are still raving about the food. Jack is also a (genuine) coeliac, so Glen was really accommodating with the menu, & Jack was able to eat 13 of the 16 items on that fabulous menu, which really impressed me. What can I say? The food is spectacular & tons of it. There was none of this measley 8/10 pieces per person nonsense. The food just kept coming until we were ready for sweets. There seriously was not one thing I could fault. The menu inluded these fantastic little pesto risotto cakes topped with brie, salmon lollipops with a really nice lime aioli, rare-beef on turkish bread with rocket & a beautiful relish, scrummy sugar curry-crusted prawns (my 12 yr old nephews favourite), peri-peri chicken on these sensational corn & coriander fritters, & the delicious lamb cutlets just to name a few. I opted for fruit platters to finish because I knew some of the rels would bring rich, heavy cakes, & my only regret was underestimating the power of fruit. Everyone LOVED the fruit!
Everything was fresh & freshly cooked on demand & no microwaving, which in this day & age is almost unheard of. (Yes, people even those so-called 5 star restaurants nuke stuff).
Most people would think $40 per head for finger food is steep, but let me assure you, for what Glen & the team deliver, is was worth every cent.
I'm usually the party planner in our family but always too exhausted when it comes to party day. So if you're planning a party, trust me, save yourself the hassle of preppping & cooking & just get Glen & his team to help you out. The hardest thing you'll need to do is decide on the menu items, maybe do a little decorating, then sit back, get waited on & enjoy the day. I did.

Approximate cost: $40 per person