Biscotti
I finished the last entry with lemon tart and I’m going to start this one with biscotti, specifically Brunetti biscotti. Brunetti is a magnificent establishment in Carlton, Melbourne just off Lygon street which combines coffee with cakes, gelato, biscotti and other baked delicacies. It is huge with 5 or 6 counters and inhabiting a large area equal to 3 or 4 shops. Andrew introduced us to this place for coffee and dessert after having dinner at a great Mexican restaurant in Richmond the second night we were in Melbourne. We visited Brunetti three times in total over our 5-day stay and each time it was packed.
There is nowhere like this in Sydney that I know of. I’m usually disappointed by cakes at cafes - I find they are often too heavy or sweet and taste artificial. The first night, Andrew ordered biscotti which are served on an elegant gold tray - pistachio, almond and some chocoloate macaroons. They taste like home-made biscuits.
On the Friday night, we went there again with my friend Sonia who lives in Melbourne after eating dinner at an Italian restaurant up the road. We managed to score a free bottle of wine at the Italian place but the food was average and our impression was marred by a lop-sided table which resulted in a glass of wine toppling over (hope it came out of your shirt, Sonia). It’s interesting that they have touts outside some of the restaurants in Carlton - haven’t encountered that in Sydney except when walking through the red light strip in King’s Cross (not something I do very often by the way).
The third time we went there was on Sunday morning before a lovely lunch at Andrew’s Mum’s place. We dropped in at Brunetti beforehand to pick up some biscotti and gelato to take over for lunch and we couldn’t leave without having a coffee.
On Saturday we were lucky enough to catch up with my cousin, Gill who coincidentally was in Melbourne for the weekend from New Zealand. We went for lunch at Fitzroy, another street of trendy shops and cafes a bit like Newtown in Sydney. It was great fun. Thanks to Andrew for driving us around and giving us a tour of Melbourne including seeing several bridal parties outside some of the big city cathedrals - it was Saturday afternoon after all.
The evening promised to be another occasion of exceptional eating and drinking enjoyment but that will be the subject of the next post.
I love biscotti. Infact I love most Italian sweets. Have you tried canolli? There is a place that Sean and I visit in Clayfield, Brisbane, called Dolci Sapori (sweet things). They have divine cakes and biscuits. We ordered the christening cake from there and all our birthday cakes. I can’t abide the Cheese Cake shop after sampling these delights! SEan’s mum used to rave about Five Dock in Sydney for its Itralian pastry shops. Have you tried Papa Pasticceria (sp??. Brunetti sounds great.
I’ll have to check that one out in Five Dock - I think Leichardt is a bit commercialised now apart from Bar Italia where I’ve seen cannoli but haven’t tried it. Haberfield also has some great Italian pizza places and a bakery - it’s more authentic than Norton street I think.
I can imagine that Norton Street has gone off the boil. When we lived near there it was laready starting to lose its Italiano feel a bit and make way for Thai restaurants and an absolutely gaudy bar at the end of the street near Parramatta Road. I quite enjoyed Little Italy when I was in New York.
Who took that lovely photo??? What a great time we had sampling those “sweet treats”. Look forward to
re-visiting “Brunettis” VERY SOON!!
Having sampled both Sydney Italiana and Melbourne Italiana I think I can safely say that Melbourne wins hands down. In fact after travelling round the city with work and being up and down for the last 5 years or so, I think that Melbourne wins over Sydney in the food stakes overall. Almost every suburb has fantastic cafes and restaurants. Where I have moved into (Caulfield South) there are about 30 restaurants and cafes on my street alone. My brother also remarked that there seems to be an over-abundance of charcoal chicken places in Melbourne (possibly the highest per capita in the world maybe
). There seems to be at least 2 or 3 in every suburb!
Perhaps we can start a study of charcoal chicken shops in Melbourne! Nahh, scrap that… how about a study of all forms of eating and drinking in Melbourne?
There’s a new entry coming soon and yes, the major theme will be eating and drinking!
can anyone tell me where in Australia I can buy the metal forming tubes for the canolli biscuits?
Thanks.
Dirk, maybe you can try your local Italian area and ask at one of the restaurants - in Sydney, you could try Bar Italia on Norton St in Leichardt. I know they sell cannolli…