You'd never expect THAT sort of pizza from a place like this! Sitting on the corner of a deserted section of Plenty Road in Reservoir, Ciccio's is pumping out some seriously delicious 'authentic' Italian pizzas! Trust me, the place is *nothing* to look at, interior comfort & decor is lacking seriously. However, the quality of the pizza dough and tastiness of the pizzas is certainly worth you giving it a go! Hubby got the cappricciosa and I got the buffalo margherita - both so yum that we're putting the pizzas (the pizzas, not the actual restaurant) in the same category as D.O.C. and Noi Pizzeria! Check out my full review here, with photos: http://twobearsandafork.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/ciccios-pizza-kitchen-reservoir.html

Approximate cost: $17

I didn't expect to find a hip little burger joint tucked away on Plenty Road, Preston - but judging by the number of people in the place - hubby and I had to try it out! Hubby got to try two different burgers: The Chew and The Plenty - of which he preferred the Chew. I tried the Vego which was good, and would have been even better if it had a bit more of the lovely condiments on it (eg. guac and salsa). Overall, great place - we'll be back! You can read my full blog & see photos here: http://twobearsandafork.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/chew-burgers-preston.html

Approximate cost: $14

How Sira Thai isn't known as one of Melbourne's best Thai restaurants is a shock to me! The food is fresh and so tasty - it's not that "sickly sweet" Thai style of food that I'm not a fan of. Sira's food is robust, spicy and has just enough kick in it. They present the food nicely, and their prices are very reasonable. Service is a little on the quiet site, but very obliging and helpful when asked. Atmosphere is better than most Thai places - perhaps a little re-arranging near the front door would serve them better, and to appear a bit brighter looking to a passer-by. But over all - if you like Thai food, go to Sira thai. We've now been 3 or 4 times they never disappoint! Highly recommend!

Approximate cost: $16

When you have the chef who won the "World's Best Margarita Pizza" - how can you not stop in and give it a try? Gradi in Crown is a really pretty, slick place - and huge! Prices are surprisingly .... normal! A large-sized Margarita Pizza was $21, which is more or less what I pay at any other "Italian Style" pizzeria. I suppose I was expecting to pay more at Crown, so was pleased the price was so normal! ha! Hubby and I shared the pizza. So here's our verdict: we can see why it won. Dough = thin, crispy where it should be, soft where it should be, easy to chew and light.
Sauce = soft texture, slightly sweet in its natural tomato juices. No signs of bitter or tinniness here.
Bufala Mozzarella = chewy, chunky, perfect.
Basil leaves = minimal but perfect.
Overall, if you can make a basic pizza like this taste THAT good without having to douse with salt, pepper, or anything else - the other pizzas MUST be amazing! If you like "Italian Style" pizza (meaning, not the thick glutenous crust, piled high with square pieces of mystery meat) - then give Gradi a try!

Approximate cost: $21

Hubby and I celebrated our anniversary at Burma Lane, and we are so glad we did! We had an absolutely delicious dinner, and the Manager Fraser and great servers Matt and Lilly looked after us so lovingly! They gave us complimentary champagne to congratulate our anniversary, paid great attention to detail (eg. they noted the fact I'm vegetarian so removed fish sauce from a dish and replaced with another), and dished up wonderfully yummy food with a brilliant mix of flavours & textures. Highlights? The tea leaf salad was FANTASTIC and their paratha is like the Asian croissant! I've never (ever!) had this good of bread in any Indian/Asian eatery - it's sooooo ah-maze-zing!. From what we ordered (Betel leaf, Pork Skewers, Sweet Potato Samosa, Tea Leaf Salad, Beef picked curry, Turmeric Curry, rice, bread and a cheesecake for desert) - it seems Burmese food (savoury side at least) is a bit on the bitter/sour/sharp side. But overall, fresh ingredients and flavours that pack a punch! Our even was topped off with constant attention and courtesy! Highly recommended - great place to go -- be it for a business chat over a snack, catching up with friends, or an intimate dinner with your hubby! :D

Approximate cost: $18

Coffee connoisseurs, watch out! There's a reason Proud Mary has such a high rating in the coffee books of Melbourne! We luckily just beat the rush when we stepped in, so the guy behind the counter had time to explain the different elements of each coffee on offer - and which would be best with milk. We got a house blend and the Hondouras. Both were full of varietal notes, and quite strong - cut through that milk like it wasn't there! I'd like to mention this is a truly hip place, very Melbournian, and if you're a guy - I think it's a prerequisite to have a beard and/or handle-bar mustache to work there! ha! No issues though, service there is spot on! We only tried the coffee, but seeing full plates of food whiz by - PM are definitely on our list to try again!

We had an Entertainment Guide voucher to get an item free off the menu, so we stopped on our way through Hawthorn at Detour. Firstly, let me just say - that poor girl working in there all by herself - did the best job she could all on her own! Mid-week lunch time, and 1 staff? Wow... not good! She was running out of beef, so hubby had to get a chicken burrito with his two beef tacos. I had a bean burrito and bean taco. How was it? Pretty poor I'm sorry to say. Scarce fillings, and of which tasted pretty bland, salsa was extremely "tinny" flavoured (as in, not made there, not fresh at all), scatterings of cheese weren't melted. So happy we didn't pay full price! Will we give them another try? Nope. But I give the young lady running the place a 'high five' for coping so well under the pressure.

Approximate cost: $8

Our inlaws wanted us to try out the Warrandyte Retreat for lunch, so we happily met them there. The place itself is very lack-lustre, nothing special at all. It actually has a bit of an "empty" feel - but that's probably because we did a mid-week lunch. Hubby got the parma (2 thumbs up!), father-in-law got a steak pie (2 thumbs up!), mother-in-law got the risotto (2 thumbs up!), and I had a bowl of chips and a salad - thumbs up (you can't get those 2 things wrong though... if you did, you shouldn't be in the food biz! ha!) Our waitress was very lovely, chatty and helpful. Decent food, decent prices, 'okay' atmosphere during the day (can't speak for evenings though), lovely service. Worth a try if you're in the neighborhood and want a bite to eat!

Approximate cost: $17

We were excited to try Pizza A Casa out once we noticed the previous pizza place was gone and replaced by their semi-cute-funky minimalist fit out! We love our pizza and have been hanging for a good "Italian style" place to open (and stay open!) I got a Large Euro [Vegetarian] which weighed in at $16.95, and hubby ordered two: 1 x small Crudo [prosciutto & rocket] $11.95 and 1 x small Capricciosa [classic pizza] $9.00. Both of hubby's pizzas were "good" - nothing outstanding, just good - and a small is definitely a small! LOL! My veg pizza was one tick under "good" because the crust was nearly burnt which created a bit of a bitter aftertaste. In saying that, we would give these another try - but aren't in a rush to head back. Also, I rated the service lower because we stood in the shop (nobody else in there) for what seemed like a very long 5 minutes - watching the guys behind the counter talk among themselves and take no notice of their front door (which was wide open anyway). It took hubby making a bit of purposeful ruckus/noise before they finally took notice. Nothing major, but not as attentive as you'd want these new owners to be. In sum? Nothing special, nothing bad. Just good, worth a try!

Approximate cost: $15

It's great to see a local couple open up an impressive butcher & fine food store that focuses on FREE RANGE, GRASS FED meat, as well as stocks a nice range of food catering to intolerances (eg. gluten free, etc). Definitely worth checking out!