eat4cheap.com.au

$10 Burger and Beer!

2009-09-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

That's right.. it's burger time again!

This time at the famous Espy Hotel in St Kilda. Where this writer has spent many an unsober night watching bands both good and bad and drinking overpriced pots of beer.

But the beer doesn't have to be overpriced when it only costs $10 and comes with a burger and chips!

And a damn good burger and chips it was too! The beef patty was very nice well seasoned with just the right amount of herbs and spices. Plus the usual cheese, tomato and a nice, crisp whole leaf of the good old iceberg lettuce. It was good to see for a change. Chips were reasonably plentiful, crisp, well cooked and came with a nice chili mayo. To quote Samuel J.. now that was a "damn tasty burger!" and don't forget it comes with a pot of draught beer that you would otherwise pay $4.50 for!

Sorry Gypsies, but now this is probably the best burger deal so far. And on a Monday night, you can start with cheap burger and beer, then instead of drinking the ridiculously expensive pots of beer, head up to the Prince of Wales at 8 o'clock for $2 pots and free pool!

A perfect cheaparse night out on a Monday!

A Burger With The Gypsy

2009-09-22T19:58:00.001-07:00

So Hungry Jill and Starving Jack went down to St Kilda on a Tuesday night to see what they could find in the way of cheap arse dining.

And they found themselves at a new-ish little place on Acland St called Gypsies. An unassuming and unpretentious but nice enough looking cafe/bar/restaurant.

It was $10 burger and chips night, with $3 VBs and $3.50 wines. A guitarist was setting up for open mic night as well, but they both agreed, he should have turned his mobile phone off before he started playing!

But anyway, the burger: Yes it was quite good. It came with a decent amount of chips and was served on a nicely toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon and egg.. However I had mine without the egg. There is also a choice of beef, chicken or vege options, and me being the traditionalist that I am, decided to stick with beef. The patty was a bit crumbly although tasted fresh and had enough herbs mixed through to make it more than slightly interesting.

I would say it was definately worth the $10, and a great deal with the cheap drinks as well. So do yourself a favour, go down to St Kilda on a Tuesday night and check em out!

And the best $3 chicken parma so far!!

2009-08-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

A 3 DOLLAR chicken parma?? Surely that can't be! Oh yes it can.. all you need to do is order a pint of beer.

Well actually the pints at Cushion Lounge in St Kilda on a Tuesday are only $4. So for a $10 parma and pint deal, you're only paying $6 for a quality parma, chips and salad. Make sense? Good!

Now, down to business..

Yes it is the best chicken parma yet. No pre-bought, pre-crumbed, frozen chicken nuggets here. This was a REAL breast of chicken! (gasp!) Probably around half the size of the usual serving, but I tell ya, it was enough. I was more than satisfied with my meal, was full, though felt slightly ill afterwards. But I've resigned to the fact that any kind of parma will do that to me now, so it's all good.

Yes it was nicely prepared. No ham and possibly a bit light on the sauce and cheese, but I don't think so. It was still the best parma I've had while doing this crazy thing.

The chips where nice and the salad consisted of baby spinach, a slice of tomato and a chunk of cucumber. Towards the end I found a few slivers of carrot, which made me laugh, but all in all, it was a damn fine meal. Only $10 and comes with a pint of beer! (possibly swappable for something else but I'm not sure)

On lively Fitzroy St, St Kilda, so if you're ever out on the piss on a Tuesday night and need a cheap feed to fill the gut, this is the place to go. We'll be back!

The best $10 steak I've ever had in my life!

2009-08-24T20:34:00.001-07:00

That's right. I have found one of the better cheap deals around town. A delicious 300g Porterhouse steak, with creamy mash potato and a nice peppercorn jus. Only ten bucks!

Where and when? Tuesday night at the Dan O'Connell Hotel in Carlton. An old but cosy and inviting pub just down the road from Father Flannagan's where we were a while ago.

And so.. let me me tell you about this steak. Oh my.. it was damn good. Very good in fact. When it arrived at the table, it did look a bit scary, but once I tucked into it, I couldn't believe how tasty and well prepared it was!

The mash was nice, creamy and soft. And the steak itself was a decent 300 grams, quite a quality cut of meat and cooked just how I like it. But it was the peppercorn jus that made it stand out. None of this Gravox with some peppercorns thrown in. This is the real deal. I'm guessing it's prepared overnight by slowly stewing beef bones with some red wine, bay leaves and of course the peppercorns. But I'm only guessing. Still, it was very very nice and I most likely will go again for another one, but only if they'll still ten bucks or I get mine for free for doing such a nice write up! *nudge*

There is also a pool table, $10 jugs of draught and open mic night at 8:30 which was quite umm.. amusing to say it nicely. ;)

But 10 out of 10 for the 10 dollar steak. My only critisism is that there may have been a touch too much of the jus, but it was definately no big deal. It was absolutely superb, and I'm not just saying that because I want a free one next time! So do yourself and your friends a favour and check it out, you will most likely not be disappointed. With the open mic 'contestants' however, I make no guarantees! ;)

To be sure to be sure..

2009-07-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

there be five dollar meals at Father Flanagan's Irish Pub on a Monday night! So Jack and Jill went up Punt Hill and down Smith St to see what it was all about, and this is what Jill had to say..

The ambience is Irish for sure, complete with Irish bar staff as you would expect. Now I am not a bar devotee so I don't have a lot of comparisons to make, but this place had a nice homely/warm feel to it. Shame there was only one pool table as I would have been up for a game but the whole time we were there the table was occupied, but if anyone is any good at Table Tennis you're in luck.

We ordered our $5 dinner (Mine was a Parmy and Jack had a Beef Burger) - we were warned upon ordering that it was not the usual Chef that was cooking. However I was most pleasantly surprised when my dinner arrived. The thing I noticed even upon ordering was that the Parmy was to come with chips and a salad. Indeed it did. It was a little on the small side, but for a $5 buck dinner I was very happy. The chips were many, the salad well, Jack ate that, the parmy itself though tasted like, well, Chicken! much to my surprise (I have eaten a few that um... just tasted like crumbs over the past few months hanging with the boys) It was covered in a nice piece of ham and some very tasty Napoli sauce and enough cheese to cover it well.

Upon completion of my meal I was not hungry. I am sure I got a much better feed from "The Father" than I would have received from a fast food take out joint. However I get the feeling that Jack thought the Stein of Beer (1ltr) was the best part of the food and beverage experience... poor Jack he always seems to zig when he should have zagged!

Yes Jill, you are quite right. I haven't had much luck recently. But this time I wasn't going to succumb to temptation by the Parma Devil, especially in Father Flanagan's house. So I took a chance.. but in the end my burger was not very impressive. Just have a look at this photo..

See that little bread roll on a plate in the distance there? That was my 'beef burger' with cheese and chips. They weren't lying though because that's all that was on it, besides a little bit of sauce. Fortunately, and thanks to Jill for allowing me to not let good salad go to waste and insert some tomato and lettuce into it to make a monster of a burger even more gigantic than it was before.

It actually wasn't that bad, just a little tiny little bit on the small side. But of course for 5 bucks what do you expect? I still know where I would go for a top quality 5 dollar dinner that so far has shat all over every establishment I've been to. But I'll keep it to myself and say nothing more other than I'll be back there soon!

Likewise old Father Flanagan deserves another visit. The interior is as Jill said, very homely, cosy and very Irish. I loved it and I will be back to try either the $10 mains on Wednesday, or the $10 T-Bones on Sunday, and of course.. wash it all down with 1L of draught. Mmmm..

Hopefully the lovely girl in the red skirt that was playing pool with 3 of her friends will be there too. *wink*

And finally a big thanks to all of the fan who made the effort to come and check the place out, have a meal and a laugh at the silly hat (my beanie) competition.. I guess I win! Woohoo!

The Bimbo and the Lucky Cock

2009-07-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a bad 80's porno flick. It's two places in Melbourne where you can go and get a nice and interesting pizza for only $4.

There's the Lucky Coq, on Chapel St in Prahran, and Bimbo Deluxe on Brunswick St in Fitzroy. And if you're any self respecting 20 something socialite and consider yourself to be pretty 'cool' and 'with it', then you've no doubt heard of at least one of these places, and maybe even ventured in with your hipster friends.

We ended up at Bimbo Deluxe this evening. A far cry from the old Punter's Club, which was a great live music venue in the 90's. But instead of sticky carpet and peeling wallpaper, we now have interesting, kooky decor, dim, ambient lighting and they do serve some tasty pizzas, and cheap of course!

I went my usual Calabrese pizza, which is simply a thin-ish pizza base with napoli, cheese and covered in hot hot calabrese salami. I actually broke out in a mild sweat while consuming the thing, and loved every minute of it! Now THAT's a spicy pizza!

Of course there are other options too, and my parner in crime had a Caesar salad pizza. That's right, Caesar salad on a pizza. Not too shabby either, and different from the usual 'gourmet' pizzas that you might get elsewhere. They leave the slicing of the pizza up to you however, so make sure you grab a knife and fork from the bar when you order!

The $4 specials are on a varying times and days, so it's a good idea to check their website and see exactly when, otherwise you can expect to pay up to $10 for one.

They also have a range of dessert pizzas, which sound interesting but are maybe a bit too girly for us blokes. We like to stick to spicy meat and maybe a bit of salad on top of ours. ;)

So there you have it. Cheap and tasty pizzas for 4 bucks at Bimbo Deluxe and the Lucky Coq, go there with some mates, or for an informal dinner date.. the cosy, cool and funky atmosphere is more than enough to distract her from realising that you're being a tightarse! Have fun!

Forgive me Father for I have sinned..

2009-07-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

I swore last Tuesday that I wouldn't have another Parma for a while. But when we went back to The Joint Bar on Elizabeth St on a Thursday for $5 meals, we had a choice of fish'n'chips or chicken parma.

Last time we were there I didn't have a good experience with my lasagne at all, and made a comment that I should've had the fish'n'chips, then none of this would ever have happened.

This time I should've had the fish'n'chips again, but I went back on my word and had a parma. I'm sorry. So, so sorry..

Sorry to the Joint Bar also. It wasn't very nice, but hey, I'm only being honest here. So forgive me if I sound harsh and rude, but it must be said.. I could've gone up the street and got a better chicken nugget with more real chicken in it than this monstrosity that I had to force myself to eat.

No salad, and the chips were so salty it was like eating a handfull of capers, and I don't like capers.

The 'schnitzel' itself was, as I said, really just one big, pre-crumbed and frozen chicken nugget, deep fried to order and covered with maybe a tablespoon of the same napoli that was on my lasagne (shudder) and some cheese that almost hadn't been melted properly, I think there was a small, wafer thin sliver of shaved ham in there but I'm not too sure.

2 out of 10 guys. I'm sorry, but even still for 5 bucks, I'd rather go up the road and eat the clown's food or maybe go to North Melbourne and pay an extra 5 bucks and be well fed and happy.

The only saving grace was that I got a free pint of draught with a discount card that I ripped from the bookings and savings guide, so I guess I can't complain getting a pint for only $5!

If I'm ever there again, and I most likely will be because it's actually not that bad a bar, I'll try the fish'n'chips... maybe.. just don't let me down this time ok?!

Back at The George for Steak Night!

2009-07-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well I promised I'd be back at The George Hotel in South Melbourne. And on a cold, wet winter's Tuesday, thought nothing could be more perfect than a nice porterhouse steak with a glass of red.

Now it's probably not the best shot of the steak but then again, it wasn't the best steak I've had. Definately not the worst, and for 10 bucks I can't complain but I believe that I should just a little..

It was a little on the small side. Even for a 10 dollar steak. No chips or salad but the thinly cut steak was simply resting gently on steamed vegies and some roasted chat potatoes. Drizzled in a very nice mushroom sauce and I had a glass of Shiraz with it which all went down very well. Although I was still hungry afterwards! Maybe because I skipped breakfast and lunch but still.. I was hoping for something a bit more substantial.

I guess part of the $10 charge includes the nice atmosphere and decor of the place. Quite classy and upmarket but not in a pretentious way. I think I mentioned that in the last review. Anyway.. The George Hotel in South Melbourne (across from the market) is a good choice if you want a tasty, restaurant quality steak but aren't a big eater. Their regular meals are actually quite sizeable though, so either way it's well worth a look! Ask for Billy or Linda and tell them we sent you, they will maybe know what you're talking about. ;)

Parma and pop trivia

2009-07-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Far down the arse end of Lygon St, past little Italy, past VicRoads and the cemetary, past the 24 florist and past the strip of restaurants near the Quarry Hotel is a place called the East Brunswick Club. Which apparently is quite the place to go see some great live bands and drink yourself silly.

On this particular Tuesday there were no bands on, but plenty of people in the public bar for pop culture trivia and $10 parmies.

Which weren't too bad. Although there were a few issues that I'll discuss with you right now..

The salad and chips were fine, no problems there, however the actual parma was 'interesting' to say the least. Don't get me wrong, it was very tasty, but it was just the way it was put together that grabbed my attention..

First off, the cheese was kinda strange. Very thick, and very very stringy, not necessarily a bad thing, but it just surprised me how I really had to cut through the cheese after I'd already dislodged a bite sized piece of parma with my knife and fork.

Second. The actual schnitzel was a bit 'crumbly' I guess you could say. As though the chef tenderised the absolute crap out of the fillet and flattened it out so much that it began to fall apart before being dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and then fried.

All in all, it wasn't a big deal, and I ate the whole thing quite happily. Feeling a bit ill afterwards, but again, this could just be a normal reaction to so much parma. I did however swear to not have another one anywhere else for a while.

Well we came dead last in trivia, but at least we got a $10 meal at an interesting venue that neither of us had been to before. Go there at least once, bring some friends and see for yourself. You might actually like it.

Burger bars aint always better than tradition...

2009-07-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thought we needed a burger review from slightly further south oh the CBD, so thought we should view places down Balaclava way.

As Carlisle street has four new Burger bars, yet the best to be had is from Carlisle Seafood, a Fish and Chip shop right opposite Balaclava station, which is good for a traditional milkbar style burger.

$5.90 for a Cheese and Bacon burger, and you can't go wrong. It was a good sized burger, with well grilled burger and bacon, nice simple lettuce and tomato salad and just enough tomato sauce and cheese to make for a damn good burger.

Submitted by Ian from our growing army of Facebook fans.

Pay the time at The Turf Club Hotel

2009-07-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

Revisiting the Turf Club Hotel again. This time it was for the 'pay the time' deal. On every Monday and Wednesday night from 5pm onwards.

So what does this mean???

It means you can get a very very nice calamari and chips or a butter chicken with rice for only $5!!! If you order at 5pm that is. Order at 5:45 and you pay $5.45.. and so on.. get it? Good.

And good it is. In fact damn good. These are probably the best quality and value meals I've ever had for the price I paid. I was blown away by the freshness and the presentation. Nooei the resident chef does an excellent job indeed. Using fresh local produce from the Victoria Market, the salads were crisp, the butter chicken was delicious and the calamari was cooked to just the right amount of firmness. There should be more people at the Turf trying these fantastic meals.

I simply could not find any fault with the food, it was that good. Much better than my porterhouse steak last time, but I'm sure I'll try that again one night as well.

And I'm not just saying this because I know the guys personally, but seriously do yourself a favour and head down to 1 Flemington Rd in North Melbourne, at around 5 and take your pick from the pay the time menu. You will not be disappointed I can almost guarantee. Ask for Nooei or Mick, tell them we sent you and you will be well looked after for sure. ;)

A night out with the fans

2009-07-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Turned out to be a bit on the interesting side. When we managed to get a bunch of E4C fans together for the first time and head down to the Joint Bar on a Tuesday night for $5 meals.

Where is it? It's up the escalators at the Flinders St end of Elizabeth St, across the road from Club X.. "ahhh, now I know where it is" I hear you say. :)

The place has been there since I can remember. And stumbling past I had always wondered what was up those moving stairs. Now I know...

Expecting falling apart ceilings, sticky carpet and dodgy looking characters sitting in the corner talking to themselves, I was surprised that this place was quite cool, relaxed and inviting. And the huge terrace outside and overlooking busy Elizabeth St is a great place to chill with a bunch of mates, beer and possibly a meal, which I will discuss with you right now..

The cheap deal is $5 meals every weeknight. On this particular night we had a choice between beef lasagne and chips, or fish and chips. But apparently the selection is up to the discretion of the Chef, so one can expect a surprise each time one comes.. umm.

Although I have to be honest and say that my lasagne and chips was quite ordinary. I think mainly because the sauce was just a bit too rich and a bit too sweet, but other than that, the chips were substantial and of decent quality. I should have gone the battered and deep fried fish and chips though, which was much nicer and for $5.. jeez I can't complain. I even had a discount card, ripped from some guide, that got me a free pint of draught with my cheap meal. Wow!

Add to this killer pool with the backpackers from upstairs at around 8.. with a shot of some highly alcoholic fruity stuff for each shot of pool, and you have the makings of quite possibly a messy night.. though luckily my lasagne didn't end up on the footpath later on. ;-)

The Joint Bar.. recommended by eat4cheap. You should go there at least once and satisfy your curiosity for what is up those escalators.. you might be pleasantly surprised.

$10 Porterhouse Steak, Chips & Salad!

2009-06-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Now that's a pretty damn good deal if I must say so myself. Where? At the Turf Club Hotel on Flemington Rd in North Melbourne.

Where??? I hear you say again.

It's right near that big massive and sometimes dangerous (!) roundabout near the Royal Melbourne Hospital that has probably the biggest Australian flag and flagpole in the southern hemisphere!

Ok, so maybe now you know where it is. Now onto the steaks, which were quite nice, and a great deal for only ten bucks. Mine was slightly chewy due to some fatty bits in and around the steak, but overall it was nice and I guess you win some, you lose some, and for ten bucks I can't complain. The rest of the gang ate their steaks quite happily and the plates were nigh on empty once we were all finished.

Local publican and all around top bloke Mick wasn't there tonight, but another top bloke Nooei came and said g'day as we were washing down our steaks with ice cold beer. A game of pool or two, another round, everyone was satisfied and we went home full and content. Will be back to try the Parmies on Thursday night for sure. ;0)

Out all night? Trashed? Now you're hungry?

2009-06-30T17:10:00.001-07:00

Yes it's the good old night clubbing, pub crawling classic.. the mighty souvlaki & coke!

Who hasn't had one of these beauties at least once in their life? I guess babies and maybe old people, but that's beside the point.

So if you're ever on Sydney Rd, tired, emotional AND starving after a bit night on the piss, or need to fill that hole before imbibing copious amounts of alcohol flavoured liquids, then head across the road from the Brunswick town hall, and in a little portable next to a dodgy looking car wash you can get a damn tasty lamb or chicken souva for only $7.50. Which is not a bad price for one these days.

But are they any good? I hear you say. And to this I would have to answer with a resounding yes! They are very very good. A little on the small side, but tasty enough to make up for it. And you will feel extremely satisfied after having one. I do every time I go there, and I did last time as well. ;-)

Mr Squeeze

2009-06-30T16:51:00.001-07:00

Funny name for a fish and chip place that also does burgers, souvlaki, steak sangers and the like. But Mr Squeeze on Bay St in Port Melbourne has become a bit of a favourite of mine over the years, mainly because of their reasonably priced, and very tasty burgers.

I paid $5.90 for a burger with lettuce, cheese, tomato, onion and a squirt of tomato sauce. Not bad and I'm sure there's a cheaper one out there, but all in all I was quite happy.

The bun was a bit too over-toasted this time around, but not quite burnt, which made me slightly disappointed. Although I did eat the whole thing with glee anyway and I will be back for more. Oh yes I will.

5 Kinds of Parma for 12 bucks

2009-06-24T23:47:00.001-07:00

I've spent many an unsober night at the good old Elsternwick Hotel. My local since around 2004, and even after I moved to Port Melbourne, I still found myself frequenting the place just as frequently if not more so than I did when I actually lived in the area.

I never really went for their Parmas though as beer and pool always took precedence, and still even when they were only $10 on Tuesdays. But I do have an urge to try one every now and then. And they are actually not that bad.

I was a purist and went for the traditional one over the Italian, Mexican, vegetarian and Aussie options. All was quite good although I did feel slightly ill after I had finished the whole thing, but this is probably a normal reaction to so much Parma. The steakhouse cut chips were good as was the salad, which had a nice, light creamy dressing.

My mate tried the Italian version, which was simply schnitzel, bolognese sauce and cheese on top. Not too impressed he was. The bolognese was just a bit too bland and didn't quite work with the chicken, we both agreed. But otherwise the meals were of very good quality and are worth a go.

So if you're ever in Elsternwick, come down to the Wick for a $4.50 schooner, a game of pool and $12 of the most anti-kosher food in town. And if you see two weird looking blokes playing pool really badly, come up and say hi.. it just might be us. ;-)

Five dollar pizza!

2009-06-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

Don't let the price tag fool you. It's a five dollar pizza folks. Still, you get what you pay for, and at the newly renovated Temperance Hotel (formerly known as the Frost Bites) the free admission is worthwhile enough to get a look at what they've done to the place. I'll say nothing more other than the famous alcoholic slushies have been replaced with, well.. something else entirely.

But back to the pizzas, and I'll have to say, we did get a five dollar pizza each. Not that that's a bad thing mind you, I just wouldn't pay anything more for what was in front of me, personally. Although they did look pretty nice.

We ordered 2 pizzas:

Virginia ham, bacon, tomato & bbq sauce
Moroccan beef, buffalo mozzarella & basil

The first thing that went right was that our pizzas came out when we were no less than halfway through our first round of $5 glasses of Stella. Very good. But then something went wrong.. instead of getting a Moroccan beef pizza, we received something with salami and olives on it. My mate was not happy. So he had to rectify the situation. Then we sat and ate the one 'correct' pizza..

To be honest, we both agreed that the squirt of bbq sauce over the top doesn't quite work, I think the tanginess and sweetness of the bbq is a bit too overpowering for this pizza and should not be necessary. Still, we happily ate it.

When the Moroccan beef finally arrived, and we got stuck into it, we were both quite surprised at how good it actually was. Very nice mix of subtle exotic flavours, and the buffalo mozzarella has to be tried at least once by any true pizza lover. Give it a go and you will like it I swear, just don't go on any other night because you will pay $17 or so for the thing, which is not cool. So not cool, for what this 'pizza' is. I'm hoping that the 'usual' pizza is a lot bigger and/or with more of the toppings.. I dunno maybe on a real pizza base or something?

But still.. just go there, try their pizzas, but only on a certain day. Hmmm.. Which day???...

Better check eat4cheap!

Cheers!

Ten Buck Burger and Beer All day, every day.

2009-06-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Ok I'll forgive the Rosstown Hotel guys for having as their only cheap special a ten dollar burger and pot of Boag's draught, on only every day of the week, but let's look at this burger a bit more closely..

To start with, be warned that this burger contains beetroot!
If you are like me and probably a few others, and really aren't a fan of the stuff, then be sure to ask them to hold it for you.

Now let's go further.. the chips were a decent serving but were overcooked. I was not really happy. Although the burger itself was quite nice, and after I had picked the beetroot out of it, actually enjoyed it quite immensely. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, the beef patty was nicely done if maybe just a bit on the boring side. The cheese was placed under the beef as you can see in the photo, and so was clearly not melted on in any way as it should be. Although it did lend a slightly interesting dynamic to the whole thing. I recall some kind of tomato chutney being there as well which, beating the beef patty, was I'd say the highlight of the meal, if not the lettuce..

Still, it's only $10 and comes with a pot of Boag's Draught (or I'd assume some other beverage if you prefer) which I guess would sell for around $3.50. Making the pub burger and chips cost factor a measly $6.50 or so. Although mind you.. I probably wouldn't pay much more than $6.50 for it. Sorry guys, I may be back, but the search continues!

Then we had ten dollar Parmagianas..

2009-06-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

At the Elwood Lounge and there is nothing to do there besides get cheap, tasty Parmas, play pool, drink lots of liquid courage, hang out with your mates and listen to free live music. Hmmm.. doesn't sound so bad now does it?
I can't remember who won pool, although I do recall it being quite an interesting Parma.
For starters, the schnitzels seemed very suspiciously as though they had been the type that are bought by the chef, pre-crumbed and frozen, then simply deep fried to order.. I'm not sure though!
But the Nap sauce was very nice, and reminded me of a tomato concasse that I used to cook with at my first ever restaurant job. It bought back many fond memories of a time when working for peanuts with difficult, annoying and demanding people was actually fun and exciting!
However, as you can see from the photo, the sauce and the cheese don't actually cover the entire Parma. This may be understandably be a bother to most Parma lovers, who would cry foul and whinge about being ripped off. Although I personally didn't mind having a little bit of naked schniter sticking out to have a knife and fork at. The salad and the chips were both quite fresh and crisp too and the fake (possibly!) schnitzel was actually fairly good. All in all, a very decent Parmagiana meal for only ten bucks at a great venue with a relaxed yet funky and vibrant atmosphere. Well worth a visit. ;-)

It all started with a Sunday roast...

2009-06-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

Which was quite tasty, nicely cooked and succulent. The gravy was also nice and had a good tang to it. However my potatoes were still a bit crunchy and the rest of the vegies weren't that spectacular. The overall portion seemed a bit small, but we were informed that we had just ordered the last 2 portions, so maybe an earlier visit might've helped. Still not bad for ten bucks.
Directly opposite the South Melbourne Market and after undergoing some recent major renovations, the old George Hotel is back and reborn as a cool, classy pub which isn't too big on pretense and so far serves decent food. Haven't been there for $10 steak night yet but I may just have to try again sometime in the future. ;-)

Cheers. And eat well!

Come one, come all..

2009-05-25T07:26:00.001-07:00

to the great unveiling of eat 4 cheap, a website devoted to special weekly deals at pubs and restaurants around Melbourne. I hope that you find it an informative and easy to follow comparison of what great cheap grub you can get for your buck these days.

Please visit www.eat4cheap.com.au for the in-complete list so far. Incomplete because there are so many of these deals that I can't be everywhere spotting them all the time. Thus I'm going to have to rely on people's keen eye for a bargain dinner, willingness to share so that I can add more to the list and make the site bigger and better each time! If there is enough interest and I can manage some funds from sponsors *wink*, I will take the site nationally, include other sections and possibly hire someone to design a proper database driven website that is both easy to use and searchable, and perhaps even updatable by you, the public. It all depends on how many people like the site and are willing to contribute their time and resources to make something great, even greater.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the website!

Jack.