Very Cheap Eats

AOF 2008, Very Cheap Eats, weblog, viewed 17th May 2011, <http://www.verycheapeats.com/>.

This is a blog that came into existence in 2008 because the bloggers believed that The Age Cheap Eats Guide did not honestly represent it's $30 price guide any more. One of the writers had eaten at a past Cheap eats restaurants of the year, Rumi and paid $80 for a meal! So the Very Cheap Eats blog was formed with reviewers able to contribute reviews of any eateries for meals that cost round about $20 for at least two meals. People can contribute reviews from any where in the world, although the majority appear to be from Melbourne and some from other parts of Australia. There are 38 reviews of different eateries to be found on this blog archived by year, month, restaurant title and contributor. It is disappointing that there is no way to search eateries by countries cuisines. Initially there were 27 reviews in 2008 but since then review numbers have tailed off and it's seems the contributors enthusiasm is not as great as it once was with only 2 reviews for this year. There are reviewing guidelines and the reviews are all well written, informative with information on ambience, service, price, taste and most come illustrated with photographs. It is great to see a collective of blog food reviewers come together to create such a useful resource. T.N.

Spatula, Spoon and Saturday blog

Kat 2008, Spatula, spoon and Saturday, weblog, viewed 28 April 2011, <http://www.spatulaspoonandsaturday.com/>


Spatula, Spoon and Saturday


 Spatula, spoon and Saturday is one woman's personal Melbourne-based food diary giving full reviews of each eatery, and at times including recipes, of weekend meals with family and friends. The reviews are clear, well written and insightful from the author's personal eating experience for each eatery visited. High quality photographs adorn each review depicting the food and venue under review. The photographs alone tell a story but can almost overpower the review due to their size and quantity. The reviewer's blog has been included in the popular urbanspoon website and its associated smartphone application. Each review gives details of the eatery, food consumed, price, overall ambience and feel as well as service recieved. The blog is well indexed with seperate indexes for recipes, reviews by eatery category (cafe, restaurant, Melbourne CBD lunches, etc) and most importantly for this project, by cuisine. As a place to gather ideas and inspiration for multicultural eatries to try, on a budget, Spatula, spoon and Saturday would be a great place to start, and to keep coming back to read new reviews and blog entries. J.S.

Lygon St.: stories and recipes of Melbourne's melting pot

Harden, M 2008, Lygon Street: stories from Melbourne's melting pot, Murdoch Books Australia, Millers Point, NSW.

Background reading for foodies giving an insight into a true Melbourne melting pot of the famous Lygon Street in Carlton, Lygon Street is a well-researched, insightful and in-depth historical study of the multicultural history of the street and the businesses and eateries contained there. Lygon Street is both an interesting read from a cultural point of view and a culinary delight with recipes often passed from generation to generation or by an establishment was best known for. The reader is shown a diverse array of businesses as well as individual personal stories interviews from those who grew up in the area. As a reference tool, used more for background reading and insight into the influence of our migrant heritage Lygon Street makes for fascinating reading and leaves the reader with a desire to walk the length of the street, sampling the plethora of foods available. Although no actual reviews are given, prices nor current standing of the businesses this book is a delight for foodies wishing to know the history of the multicultural background in relation to food as is found along famous Lygon Street.  At 359-pages this is quite a sizable book complete with bibliography for further reading and an index at the back referencing all businesses and individuals mentioned through its pages as well as all recipes shown in bolt text. The content lists chapter headings with food related titles as the book flows from the street's earliest history through to current day. Filled with historic photographs, portraits and lush colour pages of food. Found in a library's cookery section (641.5099451 HARD) Lygon Street is more a biography than a cooking book, a biography of a street best known for its multicultural background and with it the eateries contained there to. J.S.

The Australian Veg Food Guide, 2011

Dempster, L (ed.) 2011, The Australian veg food guide 2011, aduki Independent Press, Brunswick, Vic.

Compiled by aduki Independent Press with a stable of food reviews The Australian veg food guide carries 200 reviews and specialises in eateries who are vegan and vegetarian friendly or who are primarily vegetarian. The guide is divided by state and by geographic location within each state and in alphabetic order for each range  Each pages holds a review of one eatery containing the following details: eatery name, address, phone number and where applicable a website listing. Average prices for entree, main and where applicable sweets. Also indicated at the top of each listing are the opening hours of the eatery. An overall rating is given, as well as individual ratings for food, service, ambience and value. Written reviews contain the reviewers impression of their dining experience, recommendations of food to select and more specific information such as whether booking are essential. The bottom of each page contains symbols to easily identify the degree of vegetarian options on the menu, offering vegan and/or gluten free, licenced or BYO and which credit cards are accepted. Most importantly each listing throughout the guide identifies the cuisine such as Asian, Ethopian, Italian, Vietnamese, etc. The size of the guide, measuring 15cm x 10cm makes it easily transportable in a pocket or bag for easy quick reference. J.S.

Sweet And Sour Fork blog

Ming 2011, Sweet And Sour Fork, weblog, viewed 29 April 2011, <http://sweetandsourfork.blogspot.com/>.

Ming, a university student, is a food blogger and gastronomic adventurer who only began the Sweet And Sour Fork in February this year and already attracted 2415 pageviewers to her blog. Ming’s blog includes reviews of Melbourne's CBD restaurants, cafes, multicultural cuisine venues, and cheap eateries. Ming’s true passion for food is evident from her postings, which reflect her social life of eating out with friends. V.O.