Lunch at Rockwell and Sons

I don't know about you, but I always feel slightly awkward going out to eat by myself, especially when there's lots of couples and other people around. I try not to let that stop me, I mean really why should it? It's just that I don't know what to do with myself, do I sit there and look around or do I use my phone or....? What do you do when you're eating out alone? Or do you try to avoid it? The other day I had a hair appointment and decided to grab something for lunch afterwards. I couldn't decide what I wanted, but ended up choosing to treat myself by going to Rockwell and Sons.

While I did at times feel like I didn't know what to do with myself, and a little awkward, it was worth going outside my comfort zone. I had a really lovely meal and enjoyed relaxing there, especially after having my hair done.

I'm not usually a big fan of soft drinks but I really liked this traditional lemonade. It was more bitter than sweet, which I prefer.

I'd have to say that this is probably the best chicken burger I've ever had. It was actually fried chicken which made the chicken very soft and juicy, with a really nice crunch from the crust. The chicken was topped with iceberg lettuce, buttermilk dressing and hot sauce, which gave it a nice bite - not too hot though!

I ordered some chips to go along with my burger and they were really nice and crispy. They came with a malt vinegar aioli which I really liked but it did become a little too rich (for me) in the end. 

This was the second time I've been to Rockwell and Sons and it's one of those places that I want to take everyone to. Hopefully I'll be able to drag some of my friends along next time!

Information:

Rockwell and Sons

288 Smith St, 

Collingwood, Victoria

(03) 8415 0700

Lunch at Father's Office Melbourne

After seeing a chef on TV preparing foods for the super bowl weekend, I was inspired to do a little research into what American restaurants there are around Melbourne. One that stood out was Father's Office and so after a couple of quick text messages to my friends we'd organised a lunch date. I didn't realise, but I'd actually walked past there countless times when I was in the city. It's actually part of the QV building, right near the State Library. 

I loved the interior of Father's Office, it had a mixture of different features from the big chandelier in the entry way to the dark blue pressed metal roof with rustic lights hanging from it. As you walked up the stairs one of the walls was covered in wallpaper that looked like bookshelves. There were big couches through the middle of the room and tables on the outer part of the room that looked out over the street and the State Library. 

We sat on one of these big couches which were super comfy. It made it easy to sit for hours and we ended up having a really long lazy lunch. 

The menu was set out like a newspaper, titled The Speakeasy Daily. There were definitely plenty of options for food and drink, making it hard to choose. Most items on the menu were very American with things like Louisiana Fried Wings, Philly Steak Sandwich and Key Lime Pie. I liked that while they had the rich American comfort food, there were also some lighter, healthier options. 

We started off with the obligatory cider, pear this time which was really light and refreshing. This and an apple cider were both on tap, but I can't remember the name unfortunately.

 One of my friends ordered pork scratchings to go along with her drink. Boy were there a lot of them! We all trialled them and they were really crunchy and salty - delicious - but I managed to stop after having a couple. 

This is the same friend's meal that she ordered - the buffalo wings with fries and blue cheese sauce. A very messy, but really well done dish. You had the choice of ordering 6 or 12 wings, so it could make a good dish for sharing.

Another friend ordered this very pretty looking dish - Quinoa, Halloumi and roasted vegetable salad which was very light, but nicely flavoured. 

This is the burger that I ordered - the Pork Belly burger which was amazing. The pork was beautifully soft, with some of the crackling left on and it went really well with the soft pear and apple compote and crisp lettuce. 

We couldn't resist the Home Style Mac n Cheese either, which we decided to share amongst us. That was really rich and creamy, so it was difficult to finish. Unfortunately we ordered so much food for our mains that we just couldn't fit in dessert (even in our dessert stomachs) so we'll have to go back one day to try those - especially the Key Lime Pie! 

Information:

Father's Office Speakeasy Bar and Restaurant 

249 Little Lonsdale St, 

Melbourne, Victoria

(03) 9662 3798

The Gifted Garden, Gisborne

My Mum and I decided to go out for lunch today. I'd been moping around the house for the past couple of days and decided I just had to get out! So we headed into Gisborne, a small country town about 10 minutes drive from our place to The Gifted Garden. The Gifted Garden is a house which has been converted into shop which sells all different types of cute products, garden related as well as other housey related gifts. They do also have a small cafe in one of the front rooms and you can choose to sit inside, or out the front amongst the garden products. It was a little chilly today so we chose our food and sat in one of the front rooms inside.