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Oh no….I think I need some serious help. I’m turning into John Lethlean!

I’ve been sitting on this entry for a while now. See, I dined at Rockpool on 15th December 2006. ‘Twas a lovely evening, one which I shall regale to you in detail a moment. Then Lethlean’s Rockpool review came out in The Age, and goddangit if I didn’t echo most of his sentiments, and order pretty much the same stuff he did. It was a somewhat unsettling moment ;-).

Anyway, Rockpool Bar & Grill offered quite an impressive experience. Having dined at Rockpool Sydney on a number of occasions (and well enjoyed it), I thought the Melbourne venture might pale somewhat in comparison. But RB&G stands on its own. It is bold, brassy and sassy, despite its overtly masculine air. The rat pack would fit rit in here.

The RB&G entrance is long, but you get excited as you saunter past an opening to the chefs station and the kitchen area; people in white whizzing around in a frenzy. Then a couple of peekaboo windows; one allowing a view of the fish/oyster shucking prep area, the other, a dry meat ageing room. I actually didn’t know whether to be turned on or off by the haunches of hanging beef (aged between 26 and 41 days). My carnivorous and herbivorous inclinations were in battle. But damn if I didn’t feel a guilty pleasure at the anticipation.

You arrive at the entrance to the cellar bar, where one can go for a more informal, yet no less fantastic, dining experience. Or if you’re in for the full RB&G experience, you head for the dining room.

The main feature of the area is that it skirts the large open plan kitchen - which allows you to view all manner of miracles and sins. Most impressive was the 2.5 metre wood fired grill with beaten copper canopy that captures most of the ironbark smoke (there is just a smidge left to arouse the senses). And also of note was the large plasma screen TV, giving Neil Perry a view of his Sydney operation and vice-versa at all times.

Now to my first criticism of the night - the lengthy welcome spiel. My god, it seriously went on for like 3-4 minutes. I sat there like a stunned mullet as our waitress regaled the philosophy of RB&G, sustainability of produce, preparation of said sustainable produce, the meat ageing process, the fish killing process and why Mr.Perry continues to visit Steven Segal’s hairdresser (ahem…I digress!) . Not only did we hear this verbosity orally, but a third of the menu is dedicated to it as well. I applaud your convictions and sentiments Mr.Perry - but please, there is a point where it just becomes a bit too much. And as I sat there listening to this poor bored lass go on - I just wondered, what the? Bloody hurry up and let me friggin order!

The menu (note the lovely bovine feature on the back) covers all tastes and preferences. For entree one can choose from a cold seafood bar, salads, “other things” and hot starters. Then there are the main plates, or beef from the wood fired grill. A choice of sides and salads can then be made to accompany the beef, as that is all you’re gonna get on the plate baby. Meat.

I decided upon the Four Live Scallops Ceviche for entree - and I am so very glad I did. Having experienced the Tastes of the Sea in Sydney (and been ecstatically impressed), I decided to venture sideways for another item from the cold seafood bar. The four incredibly sweet and melt in the mouth scallops (the best I’ve EVER had) were bathed in the most divine dressing. I couldn’t help but pick up the shell oyster style and swallow, flooding my mouth in a salty citrussy piquant rush. I shiver now just thinking about it. It was THAT good.

And it was at this point that I looked up into the open plan kitchen and damn near wet myself. The pony-tailed man himself, Neil Perry, was in da house and at the pass! Woo!

For mains, EG and I decided on the dry aged 36 month old grass fed beef, more specifically (if that wasn’t specific enough), 600g of rib eye on the bone, aged for 37 days, done medium rare and sliced by the chef. At $95 is seems like a fair whack, but this is a serve suitable for two people. And what a serve it was! Cooked to absolute perfection with a crust I’d give my right arm to be able to achieve, it had the delicious taste of smoke on the outside, whilst remaining true to its beefiness on the inside. To accompany, one is offered the sauce and condiment service; horseradish cream, bearnaise, mustards (all types), barbecue sauce or harissa. The horseradish cream wasn’t as punchy as I’d usually like it, but passable. The harissa on the other hand was just unbelievable. It paired so well with the smokiness, I was quite in heaven.

For sides, our table of four decided on the Mac and Cheese, wood fire grilled mushrooms, and long cooked green beans with herbs. The Mac and Cheese - well, this is a dish that under no circumstance should be missed. It is oh so bad for you (in an exuberance of butter, cream and lotsa cheese kind of way), but oh so good (in the well, I’m not going to have this every day kind of way). The huge wood fired field mushrooms were also comfort food-ish thanks to a good basting of butter and herbs. And the green beans with their dressing of dill were fingerlickin’ too.

For dessert I strayed from Mr.Lethlean and went the praline mille feuille. I was not quite as impressed with this offering though, as it bordered on the unimaginative. The taste was one dimensional (just praline), with no sauce or garnish to offer a contrast (something sharp/bitter would have done the trick). It was just a very nicely cut slab of mille feuille on its side on the plate. That’s it. Boring. I’m just kicking myself I didn’t go Lethleans tout for best dessert of the year, the Muscat Beaumes de Venise Custard.

All in all I was well impressed by what Mr.Perry has achieved. I honestly didn’t think a clone of Rockpool Sydney would do well down here in Melbourne. But the oozy masculine sexiness of RB&G does.

I’m seeking help for my Lethleanean inclinations, before I too start thinking a place like Shamiana is a good place to dine Other than that, thank you Mr.Perry for another wonderful dining experience, and for signing the menu.

Pros:
Venue
Cold Seafood Bar
Ironbark woodfired grill
Kickarse sourdough rye bread
Cityscape view
Funky themeatic stationary (business cards, menus etc.)

Cons:
Lengthy preamble from waitstaff and menu
Front of house could be improved - they just skipped a few beats
Praline mille feuille
Watching the chefs dunk down behind the pass to chow down, hoping not to be seen by the public

Written by mellie on January 20th, 2007 | Tags: restaurants | Category: Uncategorized |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL