Equinox is a new show by Melbourne’s Retina Productions featuring National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) alumni which is running for a limited season at North Melbourne’s Meat Market from February 9 to 12.

The 65 minute show involves aerial ballet, acrobatics and contortionism and is a journey through history’s most significant times starting with Ancient Egypt and taking in Ancient China, 50s New York and inspired imaginings of a new era 2012.

Tickets are on sale online at OzTix Ph 1300 762 545 and OzTix Retail Outlets. And for one lucky reader I have two tickets for the opening night performance of Equinox on Wednesday 9 February 7:30pm! All you have to do is leave a comment below and the winner will be drawn randomly and announced tomorrow.

Update 8 February: Thanks for all your entries! The Kitchenaid of Fortune has picked not one, but THREE winners thanks to the generosity of Retina Productions – Alissa, Kate and Teeo, you each receive a pair of tickets for the opening night performance of Equinox.

Help me Doctor!: We are in Melbourne for a long weekend next week and want to fit as many great eateries in as possible. Can you suggest ones that serve smaller dishes so we can visit more than one a night/day/meal? Thanks – Louise

Your prescription: Hi Louise, great to hear that you’re planning your Melbourne eating in advance :–)

My suggestions for eateries that serve small dishes (all of which I’ve reviewed except the last one):

• MoVida Aqui
• Izakaya Den
• Cutler & Co (Front bar, not restaurant)
• Auction Rooms
• Shark Fin House
• Old Town Kopitiam
• Cumulus Inc (dinner menu)
• Peko Peko
• Yu-u (dinner menu)
• Anada
• Markov Place
• Mamasita

Hope that helps! - Jetsetting Joyce

I sat down with a cup of tea and flicked through the booklet, which you can pick up at many inner city shops, cafes and bars, as well as the Melbourne Visitors Centre, NGV and ACMI. It covers new places and old classics split up into five geographical sections, some of which have been reviewed on the blog before and some of which I’ve earmarked for a visit. Here are my highlights:

Central

The Wheeler Centre. The new heart for Melbourne’s literary culture, the Wheeler Centre holds frequent author’s talks, some of them free. I’m going to hear Ayaan Hirsi Ali speak on Thursday 29 July.

Melbourne International Film Festival. I look forward to MIFF every year – for three weeks I get to hibernate in the city’s cinemas and feast on great films. Last year I managed to get to fifteen of them!

Previously blogged Izakaya Den, Tessuti Fabrics and Movida Aqui get a mention and I’m aiming to hit pizza specialists Barbagallo, new bar 24 Moons and hot new Mexican eatery Mamasita (again, with better lighting).

Northside

The North Melbourne Market has become a regular event held every two months. So many new options for me here – cheese galore at La Latteria, take home cassoulet at La Parisienne Pates, authentic Indian food at the Classic Curry Co, browsing vintage furniture and bric-a-brac at The Junk Company and having a pub lunch at Hotel Lincoln.

Cultural

I’m not going to see Mary Poppins the Musical because I saw it recently in London, and it was one of the most magical, fun and joyous theatrical events I’ve ever been to. When Mary Poppins flew into the air the whole crowd spontaneously broke out into cheers! Highly recommended.

And I’m definitely going to try Tsindos, a 30-year old stalwart of Little Greece in Lonsdale Street and I’m told home to great mezethes.

Westside

I was excited to hear about Urban Reforestation, a community garden, eco shop and educational centre in the middle of concrete-and-glass Docklands. Their aim is to inspire urban farming for sustainability and food security (they’re currently investigating the possibility of rooftop farms!) through consultation with corporates and for helping individuals with gardening lessons and cooking classes.

I think I’ll combine a visit to Urban Reforestation with a stroll around the Docklands Sunday Market and maybe a late lunch as part of Slow Sundays, where you get a $15 tasting plate with beer or wine between 2-6pm every Sunday from 20 June – 29 August.

Southside

I’ve just renewed by NGV membership so I will be heading to NGV’s Winter Masterpieces 2010 European Masters: Stadel Museum 19-20th Century between 19 June – 10 October.

ACMI is hosting a huge Tim Burton exhibition direct from New York’s MOMA from 24 June – 10 October which I’m quite excited about.

State of Design, Victoria’s design festival, is happening between 14-25 July and once again I’ll be immersing myself in all things design for two weeks. As part of the festival Melbourne Open House is on 24-25 July where lots of heritage buildings will be open to the public – a great way to learn some of the stories and history behind the city.

Last but not least, Melbourne Design Market is happening at Federation Square carpark again on Sunday 11 July. This year will be extra special for me because the lovely Kath and Ben from Jellybean Bikes and my new cycling clothing and accessories business CycleStyle will be setting up a cycle-licious stall at the market! Come and say hi.

For details and more winter ideas, check out That’s Melbourne.

So I asked on Twitter whether anyone could recommend a good microphone/AV rental company. Thanks to Miss Kish, we found Corporate Audio Visual and spoke to Justyn Pawsey. Justyn personally delivered the radio mike on Friday, showed us how to how to plug it in and use it and picked it up on Monday.

In comparison to some other places I called, Corporate Audio Visual were very reasonably priced at $146.52 and in fact when I cheekily offered to pay $100 they took it!

Corporate Audio Visual provide all sort sof audio visual hire and staging for exhibitions, meetings, launches and special events. My experience with them was efficient and fuss-free – just what you need for a big event.

• Corporate Audio Visual,103 Boundary Rd, North Melbourne 61 3 9329 4666

Hi Akisa, can you tell me a little bit about your background?

I’m a corporate rat by day and BeautySwatch editor by night – I have no affiliations with the beauty industry but do have a love for beauty products and the way they make you feel when you transform yourself.

How did you come up with the idea for BeautySwatch?

Ever since I started following beauty blogs, I found myself being more daring in purchasing beauty products online that one would typically prefer to buy in-store.  To decide on lip colours, I would google for other bloggers’ “swatches” of the product to get an indication of whether it might suit me.  Sometimes the search results would produce useful photos.  Other times I would get utterly useless search results with unrelated shades or brands.

One night after fruitless hours of searching for a lip colour swatch, I decided I was going to build the world’s largest online colour library of lip colours. I have certain criteria to ensure the photos on BeautySwatch are of high quality and useful to readers.

How do you find the women to contribute to BeautySwatch?

I knew I couldn’t do it alone and called upon the help of fellow beauty bloggers.  Some of the team members were bloggers I already followed.  Others have contacted me from around the world to either contribute or join the team!

Since BeautySwatch is a blog resource, I rely on my team’s goodwill for contributing their images with no commercial benefits.  I try to direct traffic to their blogs as much as possible, as their swatches often come with reviews that I don’t bring across to BeautySwatch.   I also share our successes in the media and feature lip interviews with each team member to help build their profile.

What are your next plans for BeautySwatch?

One step at a time!! My goal for 2010 is to build further traffic, expand the colour library and hopefully migrate to WordPress.  Also seeking more sponsored products to help us maintain the project without hurting our wallets.

Do you have any tips for a lipstick-buying novice?

1. Start with a safe shade that brings out a natural but better you.  (Eg. pink-beige or rose)
2. Try the shade on your lips, not the back of your hand.  (Don’t forget to sanitise it too!)
3. If the lipstick jungle is all too much for you, browse BeautySwatch to help inspire what shade you’d like to try next.  Products are categorised by shade and brand.

What do you predict will be the next HOT trend in lipsticks?

Move over gloss, hello matte lipsticks.  On the catwalk, there will be more adventurous techniques for applying lipstick (2009 was the year of duo-toned lips by Ungaro and Shu Uemura).  On the street, we will see new earthy shades launched as Autumn approaches.

Personally I hope black lipstick is a fad that stays within the walls of 2009.

Where do you turn for make-up advice and inspiration (other than BeautySwatch, of course)?

PRIMPED.com.au – it’s an e-magazine that has lots of eye candy photos of beauty trends and lots of advice (how-to’s, videos and trend updates.

What are your tips for what’s HOT in Melbourne?

• Madame Sousou for lunch with mum (231 Brunswick St, Fitzroy +61 3 9417 0400)
• Brunetti for afternoon tea with the girls (194 – 204 Faraday Street, Carlton +61 3 9347 2801)
• Fog Bar & Restaurant with friends (142 Greville St, Prahran +61 3 9521 3155)
• Radii at the Park Hyatt for a date…or if your partner needs to make up to you for something (1 Parliament Place, East Melbourne +61 3 9224 1234)

For more HOT Chats with interesting Melburnians, click here.

What’s that, you ask? Well, I have been spending my waking hours putting every review on MEL: HOT OR NOT onto a single map. So that means you can go to the movies, find out where to eat nearby, go for dessert at the gelati shop around the corner and drop into a shop to buy your Mum a birthday present on your way home.

To help me launch this whiz-bang map project is Jenny Jiang, one of the co-founders of Melbourne Op Shop Tours. Jenny’s a resident of North Melbourne, and here are her picks for what’s HOT around her neighbourhood. You can take yourself on a little tour with the MEL: Heat Map to guide your way. Thanks Jenny!

• Di Bella Roasting Warehouse, 19 – 21 Leveson St. +61 3 9329 2973

Fantastic coffee, house-baked sweet treats and really friendly staff

• Fandango, 97 Errol St (Next door to Auction Rooms with coloured streamers in doorway) +61 3 9329 0693

My favourite breakfast in town – especially the eggs with beetroot relish and the fruit toast with marscapone spread. They have a very limited lunch menu but it’s yummy all the same. It looks really really tiny but there is a courtyard out the back for those rare days when Melbourne weather isn’t ridiculous!

• Martin Fella Vintage, 556 Queensberry St +61 411 641 269

Tiny hole in the wall vintage store with great jewellery and some really outrageous items of clothing! They also have nice   leather bags and scarves. If you do go in and Martin’s there – say Hi for me! We visit his store on our Inner North op shop tour.

• Memoirs Fashion Boutique, 502 Victoria St (near corner of Errol) +61 3 9328 8131

Lovely higher-end second hand store with some new stock by Melbourne designers. We also visit this store on our Inner North tour. Gianna (shop-owner) is really sweet and some of the dresses in here are amazing. It is quite pricey though so better for  special occasion shopping. Some of their stock is sourced overseas so it’s perfect for event shopping because you know you’ll   be the only one in that outfit!

• The French Quarter Patisserie Boulangerie, 1/570 Queensberry St +61 3 9326 9099

Yummy almond croissants and other buttery baked treats.

If browsing through MEL: HOT OR NOT doesn’t provide you with enough inspiration, pick up Hot Spots Summer Edition 2010, a cute booklet produced by the That’s Melbourne (City of Melbourne). It’s chock full of funky shops, cultural events, bars and eating out ideas interspersed with profiles of interesting Melburnians.

The little book covers the CBD, North Melbourne, Carlton, Docklands and Southbank and inside you can find chirpy writeups on previous MEL: HOT OR NOT entries such as Hutong Dumpling, Speakeasy Cinema and Chocolateria San Churro. But as you can see I’ve already tagged many more cool things I want to do and you’ll be seeing reviews of these places and activities on the blog in the coming weeks. I will be busy!

That’s Melbourne are also promoting special summer dining offers related to the Australian Open 2010 until 28 February. If you quote ‘Summer Serve‘ at selected restaurants in the CBD and Docklands, you receive two entrees for the price of one. It’s a bit of a strange promotion though because you have order a specific entree (ie not every entree is available as part of the offer) and then you receive two serves of it. So make sure you dine with a like-minded friend!

You can pick up Hot Spots Summer Edition 2010 and the Summer Serve booklet at the Melbourne Visitors Centre at Federation Square, Melbourne Visitors Booth in Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne Town Hall and selected bars, cafes and galleries.

For more information, check out That’s Melbourne.

Auction Rooms is a casual cafe/restaurant set inside the old WB Ellis auction house in North Melbourne. In fact, the long wooden floorboards, exposed beams, distressed brickwork and high ceilings hoisting a series of whirring fans reminded me a lot of the interior of an airy Queenslander home. It seems like the kind of place where the dress code should be to kick around in shorts and despite its large size the atmosphere was still warm and cosy. Unfortunately my iPhone photos don’t really do it justice.

Already in love with the stylish interior, we delved into the extensive dinner menu which contains about twenty dishes ranging in small bites to full meals. In the interests of research, we tried something from all parts of the list: extremely moreish rosemary polenta chips with a slightly bland smoked paprika mayonnaise ($7.50), melt-in-your-mouth tender salt and pepper squid with caramelised lemon mayonnaise ($13), a light and spicy coconut duck salad with wombok, green papaya, snake beans and tamarind which could easily have been a meal in itself, and a rich beef cheek ravioli with hommus and braising reduction ($28). Every dish was punctuated by exclamations of ‘OMG this is so good!’ ‘Delicious’ ‘We’ve got to come back!’. We didn’t have room for dessert unfortunately, but my choice would have been the chocolate and banana spring rolls with vanilla bean labna ($12).

The food at Auction Rooms is so fantastic that I would happily cross town to try the rest of their menu of hits. Apparently their coffee is very good too and they are one of a slew of speciality coffee shops (with siphon coffee) that have recently opened in Melbourne. It’s the sort of place where I think there’s something for everyone, whether you’re on a date or with a group of friends, looking for brunch options or a glass of wine and nibbles before a night on the town.

For more delicious food in North Melbourne, try the Court House Hotel and  Sosta Cucina.

• Auction Rooms, 103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne +61 3 9326 7749

I LOVE markets. I will even travel across town for an hour on public transport on a Sunday morning to get to a market if it’s being organised by the lovely ladies of Thread Den.

I’ve written about sewing lounge Thread Den before, and they’ve now have expanded their little empire to encompass an occasional craft and vintage market. They recently organised their second market and it looked like such a roaring success that I suspect that there will be more coming.

On offer in the labyrinth rooms of the Lithuanian Club was a community of crafters and vintage collectors selling all sorts of desirable things. My picks:

Handmade toys and vintage children’s clothes from Nettle and Brier. I absolutely fell in love with this adorable sailor’s dress ($20) and Red Riding Hood coat ($30) that I HAD to have them – now I have to find a 3 year old girl to give them to. (Don’t worry, I’m not that crazy – my god-daughter is three).

Colourful swirls and patterns from the crazy retro lamps at Retro Print Revival.

If only my Dad hadn’t cleared out his youthful wardrobe – I could have been selling his polyester flares for $5 each.

Madonna-esque ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ 80s shoe/sandal/boots. Originally from Hunter Gatherer in Fitzroy.

Update 20 January 2010: The Thread Den Market has now turned into the bi-monthly North Melbourne Market, with the first market happening on Sunday 28 February from 10am with $2 entry.

• Thread Den Market, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne +61 3 9329 5305

Firstly, the positives. Some of the dancing was really exciting – vigorous and energetic and sharp. Many of the movements incorporated acrobatics/gymnastics and muscle-heavy hip hop choreography, which worked most effectively when the dancers moved in unison. I was particularly impressed by the dynamism and physicality of petite Aboriginal dancer (and joint artistic director) Dalisa Pigram. Finally, the production’s exploration of cultural history, multi-racial cohabitation, deportations and forced removals through a melding of contemporary and indigenous dance, live music and spaghetti-Western video was reasonably effective.

Now, the negatives. I felt that some of the dancers were amateurish in their movements – their limbs lacked tension and intention and I felt like I was watching a person off the street following an aerobics instructor. Some theatrical devices didn’t really work – bubble blowing, Japanese dancing, the final tango number. Finally, it was too long – after about three-quarters of the way through I stopped anticipating what the next vignette would be and just started wondering about how it would finish.

• Burning Daylight, Marrugeku, Meat Market, Arts House 5 Blackwood Street North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 9966. Until Sunday 22 November.

So, another thing to tick off the wedding to-do list was to find a tea set. I wanted something that was vaguely Oriental, without any gaudy gold leaf or dragon/phoenix motifs. Fortunately Jetsetting Mum found just the right set for me at the funky tea store, T2. Ivy is a blue and white tea set with a curlicued design which is reminiscent of typical Chinese porcelain. Unfortunately I can’t show you what it looks like at the moment as the cute teapot ($20) and handle-less tea cups ($4 each) are packed away in T2‘s distinctive Asian newspaper gift-wrapping. (If you want to stickybeak at what else we’re doing for our wedding, check out Telegramstop).

On a completely different note, I got talking to the friendly shop assistant at T2 who told me that she’s actually a crafter. Berri Drum designs a collection of crochet accessories under the label Hand.Hook.Yarn. The photo above shows her winter collection and for summer she’ll be selling collars made from cotton rather than wool and in more vibrant colours. You can check out Berri’s work at the following upcoming markets: Rose Street Artists Market (1 and 22 Nov), Thread Den’s market (15 Nov), the Shirt and Skirt market (29 Nov), the new Blackbird Market in Fitzroy (5 Dec) and Craft Hatch (19 Dec).

• T2, 340 Brunswick St, Fitzroy (and other locations) 1300 832 866‎

The first time someone wrote to me ‘looking forward to meeting you IRL’ I had to look up what IRL meant. Ah – In Real Life!

Since joining the Twitterverse a few months ago, I’ve been collecting followers and following others. Most of the people I’ve never met IRL, despite knowing all about their likes, dislikes, thoughts and habits. But as many tweeters know, there comes a point where if you want to grow your relationship you have to take your online conversations offline.

So one afternoon @sammartino tweeted an invitation for twenty of his Twitter followers to join him at Mr Price’s Foodstore for dinner. It was the perfect IRL blind date – I’d heard good reports about Mr Price’s Foodstore but it’s only open during the week for lunch, which meant that it was unlikely that I’d ever have the chance to review it. Plus it would be a chance to meet the humans behind their Twitter handles (hello @IdeasCulture @ScottKilmartin @Valeriekhoo @GinaMilicia @mildlycurious @lilylauren @andrewsayer @ppeach @CheyanneBrae).

Gary Price is chef and host at Mr Price’s Foodstore, which has been styled to look like someone’s warm, welcoming house. Lining the walls were sepia-toned photographs, stack of dusty looking books, twee oil paintings and various front-parlour paraphernalia. The mismatched wooden furniture further added to the quirky grandma feel to the space. In another quirk, there’s no menu – basically Mr Price goes out to the markets each day and then you’re given a choice as to what’s seasonal and fresh for that day.

To start it was a choice between an asparagus salad and a creamy pasta, salmon with a butter lemon sauce, roast chicken or beef shanks for mains and crème caramel or cheese for dessert. My pasta was ok but my neighbour described it as looking like Continental Alfredo pasta packet mix. The salad was disappointing, given the three stalks of asparagus offered for $13. My salmon fillet was veering towards the overcooked and I noticed that a number of people left the chicken unfinished. I didn’t try the dessert but opinions ranged from 10/10 to 3/10 for the crème caramel.

The cosy décor and the diverse and congenial company greatly tipped the balance of Mr Price to HOT for me, as I can’t really give a thumbs up to the food that night. I’m also willing to be generous with Mr Price given that it’s probably not usual for him to cook for masses of people all at once.

• Mr Price’s Foodstore, 502 Queensberry St, North Melbourne +61 3 9326 8062 ‎

Also, don’t forget on Wednesday 14 October it’s National Ride to Work Day. In Melbourne Bicycle Victoria will be offering free breakfast at Federation Square and hopefully enough fluorescent velcro bands to go around as I’ve lost mine. It’s a pity my super-stylish Yakkay bike helmet won’t be delivered in time from Denmark.

This week’s photo is thanks to Guy Vincent, who alerted me to the sad demise of the Centre Place artwork which forms the colourful, instantly recognisable header for MEL: HOT OR NOT. That’s right – the street art has now been replaced by a dull concrete and glass box. NOT!

The beginning of Peter Greenaway’s multimedia interpretation of Leonardo’s Last Supper certainly replicated my experience in Milan. Lining up, waiting, herded inside, more waiting…

When we entered the dark room of the North Melbourne Town Hall the famous painting was projected onto one end, and the other painting in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie was projected onto the other end. In the middle was a plaster sculpture of the table of the Last Supper, complete with torn loaves of bread, half-empty plates and wine goblets.

‘Was this it?’ I wondered. ‘I paid $10 to gaze at a projection of the Last Supper for 20 minutes to the sounds of scraping strings?’. Fortunately this wasn’t the case, and in fact the next 20 minutes brought elements of the painting to light (literally) that I had never noticed before. The effects imbued vibrant colour and movement to the crumbling, faded original. The people seemed at times to be made of plaster, wood and flesh and the mood shifted from gloriously light to darkly ominous. Hidden details and expressions were revealed.

For me the lights and music really emphasised the spiritual significance of the painting and the drama of the moment when Christ announced that one of the apostles would betray him. I also admired the extreme closeups of the painting which revealed the superb detail of Leonardo’s work underneath the flecks of plaster and paint, and the almost grandiose journey sweeping above the topography of the painting.

• Leonardo’s Last Supper, Melbourne International Arts Festival, North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 9966

Docklands and Bundoora. That’s a pretty big contrast. And perfect comedy material for a fringe festival hit from The Bedroom Philosopher, Songs from the 86 Tram.

The 86 is my home tram and I can tell you it’s a carriage of character compared to my former tram (No 8 to Toorak – homogenous and perfectly groomed). Justin Heazlewood, the self-described love child of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, sings the story of the 86s (‘we are tramily!’) interspersed with occasional monologues from the mumbling tram driver, some cheerful tram ‘dings’ and the beep-beep sound of a Metcard being validated.

Heazlewood expresses the thoughts and feelings of the lonely granny, new immigrant, broken-hearted bogan, pretentious music funkster, drug-addled couples and ‘new media’ types in witty and poignant lyrics, covering a variety of musical styles from hip hop to low-fi folk to pub rock mostly with just a guitar. The show has some very funny moments and some patches of low energy, much like the up and down route of the 86. If you’re a Melburnian you’ll love it.

For reviews of other shows at the Lithuanian Club, check out Arj Barker and Tale of the Golden Lease.

• Songs from the 86 Tram, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

On the outside, Sosta Cucina seems like your average suburban cafe. On the inside, it’s glammed up with black and white walls, chandeliers and linen napkins. There’s nothing on the packaging to indicate that it cooks heartyItalian food but many Melbourne foodies know about it anyway, as the restaurant was packed on a Friday night and our table was being turned over again.

Our meal started with some plump salted and pickled anchovies. I think anchovies are a much-maligned fish that people think they should dislike, even though I’ve discovered that many have never tried them. For years I didn’t think I liked anchovies either until I went to Italy, and it was an ‘oh my God, what have I been missing out on’ moment. I often hide it in pasta sauce (as RM insists he doesn’t like anchovies) to give it a richer, deeper flavour.

Anyway, back to these anchovies. Imported from Sicily, they are salted and pickled by the kitchen and come served in an earthenware ramekin with grilled bread and grissini. The pickled anchovies were possibly the best anchovies I’ve ever eaten – smooth, creamy, with just a light bite to the meat and a subtle salty flavour. A great bargain at $7 a serve and the highlight of my meal (RM refused to touch it).

Our main courses were fat ribbons of pappardelle tossed with a lamb ragu and the daily special of tagliatelle with beef ragu (both $27). Both dishes were richly flavoured with chunky pieces of meat and the generous proportions sadly left no room for dessert.

Sosta Cucina is an unpretentious Italian local with high quality food and friendly service, the kind of place to kick back with some friends for a relaxed meal. We’ll be back again.

For other great food in the area, try Auction Rooms and the Court House Hotel.

• Sosta Cucina, 12 Errol St, North Melbourne, +61 3 9329 2882

• Melbourne Fringe Festival #5 – Opening night of the drama She’s My Baby, billed as “Two Monologues, One Couple, Sixteen Years Apart” and showing at the Trades Hall on Tuesday 6 October;
• Melbourne Fringe Festival #6 Comedy show 21 – ‘Cause you’ll only turn it once (probably a good thing) at Northcote Town Hall on Wednesday 7 October;
• Melbourne Fringe Festival #7 Two man sketch show Metrosketchuals at The Glasshouse Hotel on Thursday 8 October; and
• Melbourne Fringe Festival #8 How could I resist a show called Songs from the 86 Tram– that’s the tram full of mentalists that takes me to my house. Playing at the Lithuanian Club on Friday 9 October.

Then we turn from Fringe to food, refugees and beginning of the other festival, the Melbourne International Arts Festival:

• Medicins Sans Frontieres have built a refugee camp in Treasury Gardens to highlight the plight of refugees fleeing their country. Saturday 3 October – Sunday 11 October;
• Lebanese cooking class and gourmet food tour thanks to Red Balloon on Saturday 10 October; and
• Opening night of Peter Greenaway’s multimedia version of Leonardo’s Last Supper showing at North Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday 10 October.

This week’s photo is from my archives of favourite Melbourne shots. A few years ago a flock of hot pink birds landed on Collins Street – perched against the backdrop of the Manchester Unity building, they were quite a sight.   

Help me Doctor!: Where can I take my mother for her birthday?  She likes French and I took her to France Soir last time. – Huy L

Your prescription: Huy, evidently your mum and I are kindred spirits, as my favourite cuisine is French! As soon as I received your question my mind pinged with a million possibilities, so here goes:

Madame Sousou – It’s Montmatre in Fitzroy. 231 Brunswick St, Fitzroy +61 3 9417 0400

Bistro Vue – Classic bistro fare in a frilly, French provincial setting. 430 Little Collins St, Melbourne 3000 +61 3 9691 3838

Vue de Monde - High end French (or more French inspired). Blow your mind, and your budget. 430 Little Collins St, Melbourne 3000 +61 3 9691 3838

Libertine – Classic French in a cute little place in North Melbourne. 500 Victoria St, North Melbourne +61 3 9329 5228

Bistro Guillaume – The Melbourne outpost of the fabulous Sydney Opera House restaurant by Guillaume Brahimi, although they were having some chef reshufflings recently.  Crown Casino +61 3 9693 3888

The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel – one of Crown Casino’s better restaurants. Crown Casino +61 3 9292 7808

Jacques Reymond – An industry stalwart. The Age Good Food Guide awarded it three hats and Restaurant of the Year recently. 78 Williams Road, Prahran +61 3 9525 2178

Can I come to dinner? I’ll bring a gift! – Jetsetting Joyce

While the rest of Melbourne was getting celebrating/commiserating over the grand final, I sat in a dark room at the Lithuanian Club and got transported to heaven, hell, the prehistoric era and a fish and chip shop. Tale of the Golden Lease is a wild story about the race between God and Satan to find the lease for Earth and thus control the fate of humans, all before (Father) time runs out. Naturally such an important religious topic involved a couple of Olympics opening ceremony-style dance numbers, hasty costume changes, boom-boom puns, midgets, funny accents and a very convincing impression of the slobbering hounds of hell.

Tale of the Golden Lease is an impressively imaginative low-fi production, the kind of independent theatre that fringe does best. It sold out at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, so you can expect tickets to be HOT for this run too.

• Vigilantelope presents ‘Tale of the Golden Lease’ , Melbourne Fringe Festival, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

Even though the show is unpolished, not every joke flies and there are pockets of dead energy, Barker is still very, very funny. His shouty, skewed and seemingly ad lib observations on snakes, having your own apartment and Star Wars prove why he’s been able to make comedy his career for the last 15 or so years. Will he sell out his shows? Yes – so get in quick.

• Arj Barker, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

Every year for the past 30 or so years, a group of men have met up at The Court House on the eve of the grand final. They don’t have much to do with each other the rest of the year, but their annual catch up has been sacred through toddlers, mortgages, receding hairlines and retirement.

The Court House is that kind of place – a cosy, convivial local boozer where the friendly barmen chat to you as they pour your pint, the sort of pub where everyone knows your name. In addition, they serve wholesome, no-frills pub grub in the flocked-carpet bar and a Mod-Oz menu in the more austere and elegant dining room.

On the barman’s recommendations, we opted for bangers and mash ($19) and a steak pie ($19). They were simple, hearty meals – the pork sausages were cooked to perfection, juicy and bursting with flavour, while the flaky pie pastry was obviously house-made with loads of butter. There were a lot of other tempting items on the menu and RM and I loved the atmosphere of the buzzing pub, so we’ll definitely be back.

• The Court House Hotel, ‎ 86-90 Errol St, North Melbourne VIC 3051 +61 3 9329 5394

• Tweeters of Melbourne unite. Tweetupmellers are having their next meet up on Thursday 24 September at The Social in Windsor;
• Another Friday, another Social Media Club breakfast at Mr Tulk #socialmelb on Friday 25 September;
• The first of many Melbourne Fringe Festival gigs – comedian Arj Barker (Flight of the Conchords) at the Lithuanian Club on Friday 25 September;
• Melbourne Fringe Festival #2 and I’m in this one!! Ridiculusmus play reading of Goodbye Princess at La Mama with yours truly starring as ‘Blogger 1′ on Saturday 26 September; and
• Melbourne Fringe Festival #3 Vigilantelope presents ‘Tale of the Golden Lease’ at the Lithuanian Club on Saturday 26 September.

This week’s photo is a shot from last week’s Don’t Ban the Can, part of the Croft Alley Project. I only got to see the alley for about 30 seconds and I couldn’t really justify a post, so here’s the pic.

• Fashion at Altitude S/S 09/10 runway parade at Melbourne’s GPO on Wednesday 2 September;
• returning to Melbourne’s GPO on the same night for the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week VIP fashion parade;
• The Spirit of the Black Dress exhibition at Georges; and
• Marc Jacobs on Film at ACMI.

There are many more events on during Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, two of of which I’m going to mention:

• A shout out to my beautiful and ever-stylish friend Alex, who is the brains behind Eco Fashionista, a new online boutique for luxury eco fashion from Australia and around the world. She’s a fashionista who likes to live green, so she’ll be at Eco Luxe Fashion Expose (ELFE) on Wednesday 2 September, one of the people bringing eco, sustainable fashion beyond dreadlocks and tie-dyed hemp.  During ELFE there will a special prize draw to win a beautiful Cylk dress from her boutique (valued $500) and the first 250 visitors will receive an Eco Fashionista discount voucher in their goodie bag. Tickets for ELFE are available via 0421 411 114, info@vintagesoul.com.au and elfeevents.blogspot.com. Eco Fashionista opens it doors on Wednesday! For MEL: HOT OR NOT readers, you can receive 15% off your first order if you enter the discount code ELFE at checkout before 14 October 2009.

ELFE Melbourne Spring Fashion Week –

• You’ve heard me rave about Thread Den before and on Friday 4 September and Saturday 5 September, the Thread Den ladies are hosting the Killer Queen catwalk parade. Tickets are $12 (plus booking fee) at the Thread Den shop plus you go into the draw to win a pre-show makeover and dinner at Sosta Cucina, bar tab at the after party and accommodation for two. I hope they’re showing a new range from Oh Bluebird, as lots of people have been admiring my Lucy in the Sky dress.

Killer Queen Thread Den Melbourne Spring Fashion Week –

Thread Den: Part 2

After my success at Thread Den’s Sewing Basics Module 1, I was all enthused about Sewing Basics Module 2, where I’d be learning about zips, buttons, elastic and casings.

I don’t know whether it was the lunch of sausage rolls and cupcakes that I had, but I found it very hard to concentrate on the instructions. Luckily, patient Melissa helped me through the constant snarls in my thread, drunken swerving of stitches and confusions over top, bottom, left and right. So at the end of the three hours I could sew an elastic, a drawstring casing, a centred zip, lapped zip, invisible zip and a perfectly sized buttonhole (cheating really, the machine measures it up for you) – but to be honest I’m not sure I’d be able to replicate any of it without some help.

While we didn’t go home with a completed project this time, I still came away with a little something – the last charcoal Lucy in the Sky dress by Oh Bluebird that I wrote about before ($107)! Here I am in Federation Square parading this neat little dress – it’s work-appropriate demure from the front but what you can’t see is that there’s a cheeky gingham cutout at the back. It was actually designed by one of Thread Den’s business partners, Kylie Shepherd – these Thread Den ladies are really talented!

Now that I’ve completed Sewing Basics Module  1 and 2 I’m aiming for the grand finale, the A-line skirt in Sewing Basics Module 4.

• Thread Den, Level 1 16 Errol Street, North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 5305

Read about Thread Den Part 1

Look out for Thread Den Part 3

The Suitcase Royale are a trio of rag ‘n’ bone musicians whose style I would term ‘Louisiana swampy blues’ and their theatrical performances combine their song-writing skills with comedy, slapstick, shadow images and puppetry. The Ballad of Backbone Joe was a dime novel mystery about a boxing match, a dodgy abattoir owner, a girl in a red dress with a sexy voice and a private eye in disguise. The action was all around a single set which served to represent a boxing ring, a dingy hotel room, a lonely bridge and the outback.

The group’s junkyard aesthetic didn’t translate to a ramshackle performance – it was clear that that production had been well-rehearsed, although their ability to improvise when things went wrong were probably the funniest moments in the show. One woman in front room cackled hysterically for the whole hour!

Their debut album will be launched at the East Brunswick Club on September 10 if you want to catch them again.

• The Ballad of Backbone Joe , Arts House Meat Market, 5 Blackwood Street North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 9966

The stage for Shamelessly Glitzy Work was decked out in a curtain of glittery lurex with three microphones arranged like a Pointer Sisters set. As the lights went down, three girls dressed in primary-coloured suits approached the mikes, smiling and nodding in an unnerving and benevolent manner. They then started a humorous incantation of the kind of inanities you overhear in trams or in other people’s mobile phone conversations ‘yeah, I mean’ ‘seriously’.

Theatre trio post described the work was exploring the construction of experience and the power of manipulation, including the world of political imagery. As they said ‘it seems that sometimes the truth in a promise ceases to matter – as long as it makes you feel good at the time’. So at various times during the next hour the girls jumped in unison to a thumping dance track while slowly bleeding at the mouth and spraying their white shirts with water, discussed what was every day real vs really real vs kind of what its like to be real and conducted bizarre conversations about implanting microchips into people’s brains then going to www.chiphead.com to check out what people were thinking.

Even if some of the links between what was happening on stage and the deeper message were not always clear to me, it was an amusing and unexpected piece of theatre.

• Shamelessly Glitzy Work, Arts House, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 9966

Thread Den: Part 1

My little swatch of chiffon from Tessuti has been patiently waiting for me to master a sewing machine so that it can be turned into a lovely scarf. So on a cold Tuesday evening, I trooped off to Sewing Basics Module 1 at  Thread Den, a great little shop and sewing lounge with its entrance tucked away in cobblestoned Webbs Lane off Errol Street.

Like me, the other six people in the class all looked a little apprehensive when faced with the indecipherable buttons, dials and levers of the Janome My Excel 18 W. Over the next three hours, the lovely and patient Melissa (one of the four young owners of Thread Den) guided us through the absolute basics of sewing machines – where to put the roll of thread, how to wind a bobbin, how to thread the needle, how to catch the bobbin thread and how to change feet. We then proceeded to put foot to pedals, our machines making satisfying whirring sounds as we practised sewing in a straight line, doing corners, curvy lines, zigzag stitches, blanket stitches and decorative stitches. All with one grand goal in mind – our very own self-made fabric satchel!

Even though my sewing was a bit crooked and my decorative stitching was not exactly even, I am very proud of my satchel. Mainly because it’s the perfect size for my Moleskine notebook and pen and it matches the vintage scarf I picked up in Florence.

I think the four girls have done a really good job in setting up a successful small business in a little less than two years. The basic sewing classes fill up very quickly (there are only eight machines) so if you want to go along you’ll need to book probably at least a month or so in advance. In addition to the sewing lounge, but their retail shop stocks very reasonably priced vintage and designer items. I’m coveting the pretty latte dress from Side Show Designs and the structured Lucy in the Sky dress from Oh Bluebird.

I’m now so excited about the prospect of making useful pretty things that I’ve signed up for Sewing Basics Module 2 – buttons and zips. In the meantime, I’m going to use the two hours sewing lounge time (included in your $55 three hour course fee) to whip up my little chiffon scarf.

Update 14 August: Home designers and maybe even Thread Den graduates, registration for the annual Tessuti Awards is open! Tessuti Fabrics run an annual competition to recognise up and coming designers and home couture. Entries close August 28 for two categories Vintage Little Black Dress & Smart Day/Evening Wear and the prize is a trip to Paris! Ooh la la!

• Thread Den, Level 1 16 Errol Street , North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 5305

Read about Thread Den Part 2

Look out for Thread Den Part 3

Well. I’m not sure how to describe what was possibly one of the worst theatre performances I’ve ever been unlucky enough to attend. I think the play was supposed to be a rumination on the absurdity of death when represented in theatre and the suspension of reality required by an audience seeing actors play dead. What actually transpired was 75 butt-scratchingly boring minutes of banal, low-level patter by a guy in a skeleton tracksuit interspersed with a woman retching and screaming in histrionic death throes. It was neither amusing on its face nor philosophically interesting. Within 20 minutes I was desperately trying to devise an exit strategy, but ended up being trapped for another 40 minutes until I gathered enough bravery to follow some other audience members who walked out. As I left I breathed a huge sigh of relief that I managed to save myself from further pain. Spectacularly bad.

• Spectacular, Arts House,  521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 9966

As part of the organisation’s commitment to offset its carbon footprint, it’s offering free tickets to Saturday matinee performances if you arrive at the venue by an emission-free mode of transport, such as a walking, bike and public transport. Green Saturday Matinees are such a great idea and the two performances I attended were a full house.

‘Once and for all we’re gonna tell you who we are so shut up and listen‘ was a theatre performance by the Belgian (Flemish) performance group Ontroerend Goed for the unrestrained Skins generation. As the prologue stated ‘you will feel old’. A group of thirteen teenagers presented a series of repetitive vignettes, slightly different every time, which delved into the wild moods, fearlessness and curiosity of adolescence.  The play developed from improvisations conducted by the young actors who were inspired by their personal experiences and emotions. The director gave only one rule ‘you don’t hurt anybody that doesn’t want to be hurt’. So at various times the teenagers screamed, kicked, writhed, pushed, slapped, snogged and hugged each other as well as throwing chairs, spraying silly string and pouring water on each other.

Even though this just sounds like an end-of-school muck up day, the performance bursted with a maelstrom of raw, anarchic energy, making it very exciting to watch. The mostly adult audience loved it, applauding and cheering loudly at the end.

• Once and for all we’re gonna tell you who we are so shut up and listen, Arts House Meat Market, 5 Blackwood St North Melbourne 3051 +61 3 9329 9966