Crittenden Estate

Crittenden Estate
25 Harrisons Road
Dromana 3936

Before I start talking about lunch at Crittenden Estate I want to mention that today is Leap 'baby' Piecey Num Num's 4th birthday. I didn't plan to launch my blog on the 29th, it just sort of happened and as the day only comes around once every 4 years I think it is worth mentioning. The last 4 years haven't exactly panned out as I had planned. The frequency of my posts has been a bit erratic over the years as I have allowed 'life' to get in the way of blogging but I have big plans for the blog this year and regular posts are at the top of the list. Now back to lunch :)

On our way home from our week in Mt Martha we dropped into Crittenden Estate for an early lunch. On the weekends in summer they serve casual food truck style food on the terrace in front of the Stillwater restaurant.  This suited our plans perfectly for a casual lunch and the food was delicious.

Normally at a winery I am all about the wine but as I was driving home and it was just before noon I decided to have tea. Tea and coffee are served with a petit four and on this occasion it was a divine little macaron. The flavour was intriguing - I didn't write it down (blogger fail) but I remember it was a combination of chocolate and sichuan pepper.  

We shared a number of dishes for lunch.  All the food arrived picnic style in baskets and boxes. My favourite was the pork slider but the mushroom and truffle arancini were also delicious and very moreish. The truffle flavour was gorgeous.

Pulled pork sliders with dill pickles, slaw & BBQ sauce (2) / $14

Mushroom & truffle arancini with aioli (5) / $12

Bowl of chips / $10

Prawn gyoza with soy & mirin sauce (5) / $12

The kid's fish and chips were a big hit with everyone, not just the kids!  We also ordered the kid's pasta bolognese ($13) but Miss 4 was too hungry to wait so no pictures.  She polished it off so that's always a good sign! (The penne bolognese was served in a bowl!)

Kid's fish & chips / $13

The grounds are gorgeous and huge with lots of space for kids to run around.  My niece and nephew had a lot of fun exploring and visiting the various animal sculptures dotting the landscape.

  

As we left we visited the cellar door.  It's a lovely space overlooking the lake so I will definitely be coming back to sample some wine.

Welcome To Thornbury

Welcome To Thornbury
520 High Street
Northcote 3070


Welcome to Thornbury is actually in Northcote for those who are a bit pedantic about these things!  A car manufacturing factory in its previous life it is now a bar and food truck venue which can accommodate up to 700 people!  I went on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the place was packed and buzzing.  The crowd was mixed with all ages represented and a lot of people with young children and dogs.

View from the food trucks

There are 6 food trucks on site most days and these change daily. There is a schedule on their website if you want to check out who is going to be there before you go. After getting some drinks (my sauvignon blanc was $7.50 a glass) my friend and I spent a bit of time checking out what was available and then went different ways.  

View from the indoor bar area looking towards the food trucks

I went with the Digging For Fire BBQ Kitchen and had the 12 hour pulled pork, Israeli couscous, pineapple/chilli relish and lime mayonnaise in a bowl for $13. You can also get it in a roll for $10.

This dish was delicious and full of flavour. The salad was fresh and the pork beautifully tender.

My friend had Lamb Souvlaki "The Bahh" $10 and Chips with Oregano $5 from the Greek Street Food truck.  She really enjoyed her meal but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the souvlaki. I can vouch that the chips were delicious!

The Greek Street Food truck was very popular.

Welcome To Thornbury manages to be cool yet family friendly. We were there from around 4pm on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed and I imagine that is only going to get worse as the weather improves. Their opening hours are on their website but on the weekend it is noon until 10pm.

Other vans there on Saturday were selling Vietnamese food, burgers, pizza and there was a mushroom/vegetarian option! There really was something for everyone.

I'm looking forward to returning.