Category: LIFESTYLE

What’s up with Melbourne Good Food Month according to Mister Bianco’s Joseph Vargetto

Mister Bianco Good Food Month 1

It’s Melbourne Good Food Month this June, which means it’s nothing but quality eating and good vibes around the southern food capital. Presented by Citi, the festival returns with favourites like Let’s Do Lunch, presented by Peter Lehmann Wines of the Barossa, and Friends of Good Food Month now added to the exciting event programme. This year, Melbourne Good Food Month features heaps of foodiful events, showcasing the very best of Australia’s restaurant industry over 30 delectable days. But what does it mean for the chefs? We spoke to Joseph Vargetto of Mister Bianco about all things Melbourne Good Food Month. Other than just being plain rapt to be apart of the month-long activation around Melbourne, Joseph plays it safe on dubbing Melbourne the food capital (that it often tends to be) of Australia. “I have a pretty varied opinion on this divisive topic but I feel each city in Australia has their own clear strengths based on the local produce available – for example the incredible tropical fruits (including mango and pineapples) from Queensland,” he said. “But, when it come to an unwavering passion for food and going the extra mile to bring that flavour, texture and aroma to the table, it has to be Melbourne.” So it’s no surprise the chef is all about his involvement in it this year. “I am absolutely thrilled to be part of Melbourne Good Food Month. It’s in the right in the middle of the perfect time for Victorian local produce,” he said. “Beautiful autumnal winter ingredients like mushrooms, Jerusalem artichokes… Read More

Surry Hills Sydney is getting a new Basque restaurant: Ortzi

Ortzi food

From the people behind Sagra in Darlinghurst, Ortzi has opened in Surry Hills this month, serving-up the best of Basque in a flash new venue. On Hunt Street in Surry Hills, chef and co-owner Michael Otto is behind the menu with the support of fellow co-owner and chef, Edward Saxton, together bringing a wonderful blend of traditional and Basque-inspired pintxos lead a shared-concept dinner menu that reflects the flavours of the Basque region. They’re all about dishes that adapt, changing the menu throughout the week to cater to every element of the whole beasts butchered on site so no part is wasted. “My aim is to let the ingredients shine and ensure that each dish is more than just a sum of its parts. For us to adapt the menu on almost a daily basis, we must be intuitive cooks. We’re fostering a creative environment for the chefs to take what is available in front of them in terms of a beast, seafood and vegetables, and create something that not only does the produce justice but is also is reflective of the Basque region”, says Otto. Find them at: Ortzi 6 Hunt Street, Surry Hills ortzi.com.au Monday to Saturday: 12pm – 3pm Monday to Wednesday: 6pm – 10pm Thursday to Saturday: 6pm – 12pm

MoMA comes to the NGV this winter: 130 years of modern and contemporary art

NGV gallery

The NGV is throwing it back this winter with 130 years of modern and contemporary art at their latest, major exhibition. Straight from the New York iconic museum that is the Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA, the new exhibition opens on 9 June at NGV International in Melbourne. Co-organised by the NGV and MoMA, the exhibition features more than 200 works – many of which have never been seen in Australia – from a line-up of seminal nineteenth and twentieth-century artists, including Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali?, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, Louise Bourgeois, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Diane Arbus, Agnes Martin and Andy Warhol. Bringing the exhibition up to the present are works by many significant twenty-first century artists including Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Olafur Eliasson, Andreas Gursky, El Anatsui, Rineke Dijkstra, Kara Walker, Mona Hatoum and Camille Henrot. Basically, there’s a lot. It will be the largest instalment of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series to date, for the first time encompassing the entire ground floor of NGV International. MoMA at NGV will explore the emergence and development of major art movements, and represent more than 130 years of radical artistic innovation. The exhibition will also reflect the wider technological, social and political developments that transformed society during this period, from late nineteenth century urban and industrial transformation, through to the digital and global present. Head to the NGV website ad sort out your tickets here.

Where to get bottomless rose this Queen’s Birthday long weekend in Sydney

Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel Sydney view 2

God save the Queen. As long as our supreme regal overlord keeps churning out birthdays, we’ll keep churning out annual long weekends and nobody’s mad about it. Especially when you consider things like this Queen’s Birthday long weekend bottomless rose at the Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel in Sydney’s east, turning it out on 9 and 10 June for the whole day. After a sell out for October Long Weekend’s brunch, they are back with more Rosé, a delicious menu, DJ’s all afternoon and the Watsons famous frosé and Rosé sangria is also included. As you sit in Watsons Bay’s Hamptons style Sunset Room with tables made to fit up to fourteen, this is the perfect change to get your favourite group of girls and boys together to wine, dine and get boozy. Details here… What: WBBH Bottomless Rose Brunch When: June 9th and 10th Ticket: $89.00 Sort it out: watsonsbayhotel.com.au/love-rose-brunch

Get cheap drinks at Gin Lane for World Gin Day this Saturday

Gin Lane light bulb moment cocktail

If there was ever a bar any drinker – let alone a gin drinker – needs to go to, it’s Gin Lane on Kensington Street in Chippendale. Not only is it the ideal destination for any flatteringly mood-lit date night, but in honour of World Gin Day this week, it’s serving-up some cheap bevs for everything for a specially extended 7-hour ‘happy hour’ from 12-7pm this Saturday. Gin Lane Classic G&T’s – The Cucumber G&T and Spiced G&T will be on offer for half the going rate (at $7 each) to celebrate. Additionally, they will be launching a brand new show-stopping drink, The Lightbulb Moment (pic above) served in a light bulb and charged with prosecco and liquid nitrogen, a secret they’ve been working on especially. Check out more over here.

Enbacci’s new candle is scientifically proven to light up the room

Enbacci candles

Sometime during our mid-twenties, we begin to do away with all the trappings of early-twenties inner-city life. Milk crate furniture and unmatched dinner plates are disposed of in favour of purpose-bought chairs and tables, soft and cozy linens, and the ultimate grown-up item to have around the home: candles. Of course, candles do more than say, ‘I’m an adult who can be trusted with a naked flame’. They bring life to a room, add inviting and warm lighting, and tend to smell incredible. The latest offering by Enbacci is no different: it smells amazing, fresh and crisp, with no headache-inducing floral notes or sugary-sweet candy scents. It’s also really pretty; a giant, thick, chunky candle that you just know will burn forever. Based on the Enbacci Vitis Vinifera skincare range, it’s scientifically proven to enhance mood and create a sense of general happiness – no, really! Studies have been done that show 96% of people found the scent relaxing and familiar, and reported enhanced sensory benefits. While Enbacci is primarily known for their skincare range, which utilises plant stem cells to renew and refresh the skin; we think they’ve made a smart move by getting in to the candle business. There’s also an oil diffuser available containing the same scent: another adult item that your parents will be proud to see you own next time they come over. Some of us may still be stuck living the dodgy rental property life, but there’s no reason why we can’t make our houses feel like a home while we’re… Read More

IMAX Celebrates 20 Years at the Top with Everest

Mount Everest, aerial shot

IMAX Melbourne celebrated 20 years of wowing its audience with an exclusive screening of the 1998 documentary Everest, presented on IMAX 1570 film. As the first film showcased at IMAX and still in the top ten most viewed, it features the first giant screen images ever brought back from Mt. Everest. Released in IMAX theatres in March 1998, it became the highest-grossing film made in the IMAX format and still has a meaningful impact to all its viewers. IMAX offers the most immersive cinematic experience and is the world’s largest at 32 metres wide and 23 metres high. An American documentary film, Everest is the dramatic true story of a group of courageous individuals who dared to climb to the highest mountain peak in Nepal. This was filmed during and after the infamous 1996 tragedy in which eight climbers lost their lives in a deadly storm, never making it back down the mountain. Directed by Greg MacGillivray and narrated by Liam Neeson, the film educates its audience on how the mountain was formed and how it continues to evolve, how high-altitude challenges a climber’s physical and mental capabilities, and how Sherpa culture and tradition permeates the Mount Everest experience. Although a special screening, you can still read the newspaper articles featured in The Age framed as a proud reminder of where IMAX began to what the cinematic experience has evolved to today. To another 20 years and beyond – congratulations IMAX. To view the latest movies and book tickets visit them here.

Hoyts takes LUX to new heights with a menu by Manu

Hoyts Lux Manu Feildel sliders

It’s one thing to watch favourite Frenchman Manu Feildel’s innovative cooking skills and judging on television, and it’s another to experience his creations yourself. So what happens when you combine his culinary style with the most comfortable and cutting edge sound and visual cinematic experience? HOYTS LUX has crafted the perfect collaboration to take your cinematic experience to the next premium level with colourful, flavoursome dishes inspired by Manu’s French heritage. As the latest 2018 Brand Ambassador, Manu shares, “My current passion is to bring restaurant quality food to a casual dining experience and what better way to do this than as part of the HOYTS LUX cinema experience”. We couldn’t agree more, because once you’ve sat in LUX and tasted the new gourmet food and wine menu, you’ll never want to watch a movie without the French twist! A mutual favourite is duck bao: a trio of steamed buns filled with crispy confit duck, house made shiitake, cucumber pickle, ginger mayo and a smoky hoisin sauce. Other starter options include Southern Style Fried Chicken (best we’ve ever tasted!) and classic Mac ‘n’ Cheese Balls. Menu options also include slider trios, nam duck and grilled chicken salads for the health conscious, and for the hungry, beef bourguigon pies, encased in short crust pastry and topped with creamy potato purée and rosemary leaves. We highly recommend you don’t leave out satisfying your sweet tooth; the delectable trio of éclairs, French lemon cheesecake smash and chocolate & hazelnut Malteser sundaes with a French wine will complete the… Read More

This is why gays needs guns

Gays Guns SBS Viceland

We know a lot about America. Their president is scary, their gun politics are even scarier and the fact that fact year, 52 people were murdered because they identified as LGBTIQ+[1] is abhorrent. That’s why ‘The Pink Pistols‘ exist. Given the number of gay hate crime acts in the US has never been higher, there’s a growing legion of people who identify as LGBTIQ+ fighting back with bullets. Some call them the ‘GAY NRA’, but more affectionately, ‘The Pink Pistols’ will do. They explicitly advocate the exercise of Second Amendment rights for self-protection – that thing Americans are nuts about – but for good cause. This year on SBS Viceland, in a story around the fact it’s now two years since 49 people were shot and killed at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Walkley nominated investigative journalist for The Feed and host of SBS’s Mardi Gras broadcast, Patrick Abboud, takes to the camera in unprecedented access to The Pink Pistols in a special half-hour documentary. With more than 45 chapters across the US and at least 10,000 shooters, the organisation – under the slogan ‘pick on someone your own calibre’ – say they are one of the most rapidly growing pro-gun groups in the US. March for Our Lives put America’s gun problem in perspective like never before, when thousands of school students flooded the streets nationwide urging lawmakers to heed their calls and enact stricter gun laws. But The Pink Pistols don’t necessarily want tighter gun control. Their motivation to bear arms stems from the continued… Read More