Coffee and dessert @ Dex2Rose Nitrogen Gelato

So Nitrogen Gelato is the new cupcake store, it's clearly a fad, 90% of the places won't last the distance, but there are the occasional points of interest that make you see why it became a trend in the first place.

I think Dex2Rose is one of those places. I really liked it and I think it may have what it takes to make it, provided they can attract customers to their slightly oddball location.

I was first introduced to the brand when an earnest young man shoved a sampler pot of Walnut-Maple-Vanilla into my hand as I was walking back from the Australian Open. Some weeks later, out with my friend D, I needed a late night hit of coffee and sugar and the memory of Dex2Rose surfaced in my mind.

I had the 'Lazy Dinner' (sage, burnt butter and vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce) and D had the Pink Flamingo (moscato and peach gelato with coconut cream). We also both ordered one of their iced filter coffees.

The Lazy Dinner was AMAZING. It is the nicest ice-cream that I have had anywhere in Australia for a very long time. The sweet/savoury combination of the sage, burnt butter, rich vanilla and the bittersweet caramel was just perfect. The staff told me the owner comes up with all of the flavors, and so a massive shout out to someone who has a great talent for creating taste sensations.

D said that the gelato component of the Pink Flamingo was amazing, but that the coconut cream worked against it. He was still however very impressed and wolfed his down.

We both loved our coffees. They came in this amazing little brown glass bottle and the flavour was perfect. Not a hint of bitterness (which is so so rare for iced filter coffee) and just the perfect beans for the job (light and tangy, but not too acidic).

Seriously, take the time to duck down the side alley off Little Bourke where Dex2Rose have their HQ, you will not be disappointed.

Double Thai boat noodle dinner and N2 in the CBD

Me Dee
I've become a relatively recent convert to boat noodles, after discovering it at Jinda Thai. I've yet to have one as good as Jinda's but have been on an ongoing quest to find one. The latest one I was itching to try was at Me Dee in the food court of the Paramount Centre. This outlet is an extension of the Me Dee restaurant in Springvale, which I'm yet to try.

I had a small beef boat noodle and as usual asked for no beef balls. We also got a Thai iced tea each, M the milk and I the lemon version ($3.50 each). These were alright but definitely not the best I've had. The boat noodles themselves were also not super impressive. While it was pretty tasty, I found the broth lacked the punch and extra dimension of flavour I've come to expect from boat noodles. It is however pretty good for food court food.

Rim Thang
Afterwards I still had a bit of a hankering for boat noodles so we headed out to Rim Thang on Elizabeth St, the sister restaurant to Thai Culinary. We've passed Rim Thang a number of times but before tonight had never actually pulled the trigger and gone in.

As previously discussed the boat noodles at TC aren't as good as they used to be. However, the version here are Rim Thang are like the TC boat noodles of old: a generous serving, nice quality meat and plenty of basil. You also get to choose your noodles here. I chose the egg noodles after being advised the fresh rice noodles were sold out. The broth was lovely and fragrant and with a few chilli flakes, it definitely makes for a delicious bowl of noodles. Also at $8.50, it's definitely excellent value. We'll definitely switch from TC to Rim Thang from now on; the decor, the service and the food seem to all be better.

N2 (CBD)
As if double boat noodles weren't enough gluttony for one evening, afterwards we headed out to the newly opened N2 in the city for some nitrogen ice cream. We've been to their original outlet in Fitzroy a few times and have found it inconsistent. Some of the flavours are delicious: creamy and not too sweet whereas others are more like standard Australian gelato (ridiculously sweet). Their latest menu seems to take their name from tennis players' names and we chose the Red Venus (velvet) Cheesecake to share. It was a great choice because this flavour fell squarely in the 'delicious' category. We both enjoyed every mouthful as the ice cream was tangy, well-balanced, creamy and not too sweet.

Le Grill @ Nevermind Bar and Cones Gelato

Le Grill is definitely our pick for some of the best burgers and American style food in Melbourne. Somewhat hidden away in a pub on Burwood Rd in Hawthorn, it's worth the extra effort to find and get to. While the downstairs part has very little seating, upstairs there's a nice alfresco area, albeit exposing you to some drunk 18 year olds.

We came here on a weekday evening with a couple of friends and each got a burger and a few sides to share. I got the Le Grill cheeseburger with bacon and M got the double version of mine. The burgers were very tasty—juicy and flavoursome. They were a good size but not super big, so left a bit of space for the delicious sides. I also loved that the burgers came with some sides complimentary, in this case some slaw and what seemed like house-made pickles.

We all got the following sides to share: the poutine, the waffle-cut fries, and the buffalo wings; all were delicious. The poutine we were really looking forward to because we love the stuff; how can you go wrong with chips, cheese curds and gravy? Here they made their own curds and I wish you got more on the poutine, but that's my only real complaint about the dish. It was delicious and moreish and the table polished it off in little time. The waffle fries were also surprisingly good. I wasn't sure what to expect what these were super crispy and very nicely seasoned. The wings were also surprisingly good, not wet and tasteless like at some other places but sticky and moreish. The sauce (I wanna say blue cheese?) that accompanied them was also surprisingly tasty.

We'll definitely be back and next time we'd like to try their pulled pork and their other stuff from the grill.

Cones
After dinner we went to nearby Glenferrie Rd and Cones to grab a nice cream partially due to the warm evening and partially due to the fact that the coffee shop we wanted to go to had no more alfresco seating and the interior was ridiculously warm and muggy. Due to having been burnt by milky gelatos before I chose the strawberry sorbet. This had a pretty nice flavour but inevitably I found it too sweet and cloying. The texture was also too soft and melted for my liking. M thought the same about his lemon flavoured gelato but had less trouble with the sweetness. Our companions seem to enjoy their cones, however.

Photo of the week: three flavours of gelato @ Il Dolce Freddo, Melbourne

On this occasion I got the vanilla, salted caramel and pandan coconut flavours. The pandan coconut was by far my favourite. The other two, particularly the caramel was sickly sweet and just not particularly nicely flavoured; I didn't finish those. The pandan coconut in contrast was really nicely flavoured; I'm a sucker for anything pandan coconut and this hit the spot. Still, the age-old problem I have with gelato persisted with this one: it was still far too sweet and not creamy enough for my liking.

Gelateria Primavera , Spring St Grocer, Melbourne

Medium gelato: $7.20 for three flavours

I'll start this post with a caveat: I'm not a fan of gelato. I can totally understand why others dig it but for me it just doesn't measure up to proper ice cream. The reason is the very nature of gelato itself—the milk fat content necessitates a higher amount of sugar to avoid gelato crystalising—usually rendering it a watery, sickly sweet, albeit very smooth, mess to my palette. While I appreciate that this often brings out the flavour of the ingredients, it just doesn't do it for me personally. I prefer my ice cream super creamy, and not very sweet. I think gelato definitely suits being made in the traditional Italian way, where the flavours are mostly fruity and 'sorbet' like. For example, the strawberry gelato I had in Florence was delicious. 

Anyway, there is nothing really wrong with the gelato at Gelateria Primavera (admittedly a clever and catchy name) at Spring St Grocer. From most accounts, they do a fine gelato. I had been here before and had the gelato but couldn't remember whether I liked it. This probably pointed to a 'no' being the likely answer as I so seldom find a gelato I like that  I remember it when I do. But alas, since we stopped here I wanted to give it another go. We got a medium with three flavours: fior di latte, pistachio and salted caramel. I had one taste of the salted caramel and left the rest to M. The fior di latte and pistachio, however, were really well flavoured. I particularly enjoyed the honey undertones to the pistachio. However, after the first spoonful the sickly sugariness hit me and I remembered why gelato and I are a terrible couple.

 Cuban sandwich $11

Our friend wanted something a bit more substantial so opted for the Cuban sandwich upon M's (who works nearby) recommendation.

The Cuban Sandwich from the Spring Street Grocer is M's pick for one of Melbourne's Best (and best value) Sandwiches. Swiss Cheese, pickled peppers, generous helpings of moist pulled pork, slathered in good mustard and doused in spicy hot sauce. The flavours are perfectly balanced and the quality of the ingredients is exceptional (as would be expected from the Grocer). Rich and indulgent, the Cuban is the perfect lunch on the run when you're in this end of town.