Melbourne by MenuRita Erlich, Slattery, soft cover, $34.95Perth people have a deep and abiding lovefor Melbourne and in this book, prodigiousfood writer Rita Erlich takes us on a journeythrough Melbourne’s trail-blazing foodscene. Tracking back to the 80s andmoving forward, the book charts acollection of restaurants, chefs, menus andrecipes that changed the face of Australia’sfood scene. Think Stephanie’s (StephanieAlexander), Mietta’s (Jacques Reymond),Flower Drum (Gilbert Lau), Fleurie (IainHewitson), Florentino (Guy Grossi) andJean Jacques By The Sea. It’s a fascinatinginsight into the evolution of what madeMelbourne’s food scene what it is today.The Tuscan Sun CookbookFrances and Edward Mayes, HarperCollins,soft cover, $35From the woman who brought us one ofthe original sea-change novels, Under theTuscan Sun, comes her first cookbook. It’stwo decades later and Frances and herpoet husband, Edward, have penned thistraditional cookbook as a culinarydedication to their adopted home inTuscany. It’s teeming with Tuscan dishesfrom the laden tables of their friends andneighbours, as well as feasts from theirown kitchen, in a region where food isa national obsession. The chaptersinclude a riot of antipasti dishes, primiplatters of pasta and tureens of soup,fresh garden-picked vegetable sidesand desserts of tarts and sorbets. After ToastKate Gibbs, Allen & Unwin, soft cover,$24.99As with many home cooks, author KateGibbs learnt much in the way of cookingfrom her grandmother’s kitchen — with theonly difference being that Kate’s granny isMargaret Fulton. This book has beenwritten for those Gen Y’ers who leave homeknowing how to surf, drive, text and uploadto YouTube but not cook. Simple, non-scaryrecipes are the name of the game, withdude food figuring large. Tacos.Croquettes. Pop-tarts. Mac and cheese.Baked beans. Eton mess. And lots of thingsto do with eggs.

Write your name, address andphone number on the back of anenvelope and send to FreshAfter Toast Competition, GPOBox 2920, Perth WA 6800.Entries close on Thursday,September 13 at 5pm, with thewinner drawn the same day andnotified by mail. Employees ofThe West Australian and theirimmediate family ineligible toenter. Entrants’ details will beused for marketing. See WANprivacy policy atthewest.com.au/privacypolicy.

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THE WEST AUSTRALIAN FRESH • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Books for cooks

The owners of Riverview onMount Street in Perth are goinginto the food business.

They will be re-opening therestaurant which has been vacantsince Sebastian Bouchard shutdown last year.

Where previously the space hasbeen leased out to restaurantoperators — Bouchard’s stylishBouchard bistro was the best ofthe bunch — this time, theapartment building owners will betaking control.

The restaurant — to be calledMTST (as in Mount Street, geddit?)— will specialise in “modern Asian”and is due to open on September17. It will initially offer onlybreakfast and lunch withBroadbrush’s spies saying that the

owners are taking a “wait and seeapproach” to dinner “at this stage”.

Those of us who fell in love withLeederville’s Cafe 130, back in thedays when great beans, goodroasts and top baristas were rare,should give its replacement, FoamCoffee Bar, a crack.

The hippy-dippy, run-down looksthat made Cafe 130 a favouritewith the Birkenstocks set havebeen replaced with some sharpScando looks and a muted interiorscheme.

Broadbrush will be test-drivingthe coffee soon. We’ll let you know.

If you like My Kitchen Rules hunkPete Evans and you like a healthylifestyle, the stars have aligned foryou. Pete has written a newcookbook filled with heart-healthyrecipes in support of the HeartFoundation’s Go Red for Womencampaign.

Unusually, for a writer with suchprominence, the book is not in fullrelease and is for sale online at theheartfoundationshop.com andselected shopping centres.

Eight dollars from everypurchase of “Cooking with Heart”will be donated to the HeartFoundation to help raiseawareness of heart disease as thenumber one killer of Australianwomen.

Broome’s Shinju Matsuri festival isin full swing. Last weekend’s longtable lunch was a hit, especiallywith Tourism Minister Kim Hamesand his wife Stephanie. Dr Hames,a very accomplished home cook,asked Broadbrush “what score it

deserved?” (We demurred, sayingthe entire lunch was a 20/20). Asfar as preferences go, the AarliBar’s pork hock with chilli caramelfloated the ministerial boat,getting top marks from the gooddoctor.

Shinju continues throughout thisweekend with events, shows,exhibitions and lots of good food.

Broadbrush

Have we reached the sweet spot in WA’s bar scene?Judging by the constant trickle of high quality, smallbars coming on to the market, perhaps we have. Forthe first few years of the small bar laws, the earlyadopters were cautious about how the small barsegment would play out, which meant bars werequirky and opened on a shoestring budget or werecautious and a little dull. Now, with some successes,the newer bars are braver in concept and funded withgreat confidence. Case in point: the Mechanics’Institute bar in Northbridge. It’s a project from theowners of North Freo small bar Mrs Brown. And like itsNorth Freo cousin, the Mechanics’ Institute is alsoco-tenanted with a Flipside Burgers shop.Hamish Fleming and Siobhan Blumann, the brainsbehind Flipside and both bars, are offering a similarcocktails meets burgers concept at the Mechanics’Institute. We love Mechanics’ alleyway aesthetic andits summer-ready outdoor terrace with views of thecity and Northbridge. With banged-up old typewriterson the bar, we suspect the owners are keen to makethis a journo’s bar. We know one journo who agrees.

The Mechanics’ Institute.

Rob Broadfield

Follow RobBroadfield ontwitter at@robbroadfield

FRESHThursday, September 6, 2012

INDEXA taste for this weekBroadbrush and Books for cooks ................................. 2Potatoes .................................. 3Spud recipes and communitycolumn ............................... 4-5Food News and BakingPaper ...................................... 6Wine, beer and review ..........7Grilled: Emmanuel Mollois... 8

FEATURES EDITORHelen Winterton, 9482 3574features@wanews.com.auEDITORHermione Stott 9482 3451fresh@wanews.com.auSTAFF WRITER Olga de Moeller WINE Ray Jordan BEER Vic Crossland DESIGN Rochelle Smith, Frances AhChee and Melinda PennADVERTISING Jill Sinclair9482 3483

COVERBakedpotatoesPHOTOMichaelWilson

The West AustralianGood Food Guide 2013

WINOne lucky

reader can gettheir own copyof After Toast

The West Australian Good Food Guide, WA’sindependent guide to our State’s top restaurants,cafes and bars, is coming again. The 2013 editionhas more reviews, including the best spots to eatin Bali, and a greateremphasis on value-for-moneyeating and drinking in ourbars and cafes. Edited by TheWest’s Rob Broadfield, it is aneasy-to-read, comprehensiveguide packed full ofinformation for the foodie inus all. Pre-order your copy today atwestgoodfoodguide.com.aufor only $19.95 (plus postageand handling).

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