The Age Cheap Eats 2010 Awards
Bar Idda
132 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, 93805339
Seasonal, familial food is what this Sicilian kitchen is all about, cooked with heart by Alfredo La Spina, while wife Lisa runs a tight ship out front delivering warm service. Highlights include the mulinciani (baked eggplant) and Idda’s own pork and fennel sausages.
See awards winners’ photos here
Mr Hyde
11 Malop Street, Geelong, 52231228
Congratulations, MrHyde, you are this year’s country champ, a three-star winner in Cheap Eats for three years running. Part bistro, part wine bar, this converted old bank with chandeliers and swanky booths delivers fine dining at Cheap Eats prices.
BAR OF THE YEAR
Riverland
Federation Wharf (under Princes Bridge), city, 96621771
Riverland is the effortless all-rounder you can’t help but like, with its prime Yarra River possie and Six Degrees fit-out. The outdoor barbecue food is exactly what you want with a tall glass of tap beer.
CHEAP EATS HALL OF FAME
Bombay by Night
355 North Road, Caulfield South, 95786150
When Jaspal and Arvind Gandhi moved from Bombay to Melbourne in 1990 — and opened BBN that same year — they brought with them recipes from their homeland and created a top-end Indian restaurant. It’s still going great guns.
BEST BREAKFAST OF THE YEAR
Demitri’s Feast
141 Swan Street, Richmond, 94288659
You’ll be hard pressed to order just one of the inventive brekkies at this Hellenic hotspot. The baklava French toast rocks, but they also do good eggs, sage mushrooms and fancy semolina pancakes with a sprinkling of edible Persian rose petals.
PIZZERIA OF THE YEAR
+39 Pizzeria & Degustation Bar
362 Little Bourke Street, city, 96420440
Named after Italy’s international phone code, +39 is run by Remo Nicolini and, as you’d expect, this polished pizzeria is primo. File in for thin-crust pizzas, top-notch ingredients and charmingly offbeat service.
CAFFEINE HIT OF THE YEAR
7 Seeds
106 Berkeley Street, Carlton, 93478664
Being judged as making the best coffee in Melbourne is a mighty big call. At this progressive micro-roaster run by Mark Dundon, you’ll find beans sourced from estate to single-origin to micro lot and, the bottom line, a superb cup of coffee.
VEGETARIAN DISH OF THE YEAR
Half Moon Cafe
13 Victoria Street, Coburg, 93502949
Half Moon should be on your falafel Holy Grail. These Egyptian-style patties are made from a chunky fava bean mix and fried crisp in fresh oil, and there are five falafel combinations.
WORLD FOOD DISH OF THE YEAR
En Izakaya
277 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, 95258886
The dish? Seared momen tofu and miso-infused eggplant. Tofu and eggplant … how good can it be? Well, pretty good. It’s the meeting of the soft, creamy, charry eggplant with the lightly crisp-fried tofu that does it.
BEST COMMUNAL TABLE
Dead Man Espresso
35 Market Street, South Melbourne, 96862255
The recycled messmate table sitting proudly in front of the coffee machine is in the dead centre of the hip bustle yet still manages to be an uncluttered, calm oasis with a vase of fresh blooms.
BEST POSH EAT
The Court House
Front Bar, 86-90 Errol Street, North Melbourne, 93295394
This fancy front bar is posh but not too posh, with its dark wood panelling, art deco style and knowledgable bartenders. The food is a cut above, like a grilled salmon salad or bangers and buttery mash.