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Beachside pocket near Frankston has a wine bar worth travelling for

Beachside pocket near Frankston has a wine bar worth travelling for

Service is amenable rather than polished (understandable in a 30-seat restaurant 50 kilometres from the city) and doesn't jar with the neighbourly feel. Cookbooks are dotted around the room, not just as a pointer to Murray's interests but also as an invitation to jump on a culinary learning journey. One time, a customer was flicking through Cuisine du Temps, a 2010 book by legendary local French chef Jacques Reymond.
'Have you made this mussels and coriander dish?' they asked Murray. 'Not yet,' he answered. But he sourced mussels from nearby Flinders and served the dish soon after – a lovely interweaving of heritage and community.
It isn't easy to run a small, independent restaurant. What I love about Ordain is that it looks towards the inner city and tries to give Seaford stuff it's missing out on. It also glances further out to the peninsula's wineries and produce, offering paddock-to-plate experiences in the 'burbs. It's not perfect but it's ambitious and generous, the kind of place you'd hope the community would meet more than halfway.
Three more neighbourhood gems to try
Le Petit Bistro
There's no need to head to Paris for a classic bistro experience, you can simply come here for snails in garlic and parsley butter, onion soup, duck a l'orange and flambeed crepes. You know you're in Australia, however, when you see kangaroo terrine on the menu.
79 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong, lepetitbistro.com.au
Edendale Cafe
The wheelchair-friendly cafe is at free-to-visit Edendale Farm, where you can feed chickens, learn about stick insects and admire alpacas and ponies. The onsite cafe has a simple menu of eggs, toasties, cakes and bakes plus its own chai mix, and there's plenty of room for prams and strollers.
30 Gastons Road, Eltham, edendale.vic.gov.au
Park Street Pasta
An experienced Italian trio is at the helm and all the pasta is fatto a mano (made by hand). There are classics, such as agnolotti del plin (tiny pasta parcels, here filled with duck and veal) and seasonal fancies such as fettuccine nettle pasta with toasted Jerusalem artichoke, wild mushrooms and hazelnut butter. Need a place for a special occasion? Ask about the upstairs dining room.
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Brisbane, why don't you cross the river?
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Brisbane, why don't you cross the river?

A straw poll of co-workers and friends revealed that while some would happily cross the river, many don't. One, who lives in New Farm, said she rarely went south. Another – a Gaythorne resident – said he was slowly trying to cull his southside friends. And another said it was close to a year since he'd crossed the river, other than to hit the Gateway Motorway north out of town. Loading Losers, clearly, but not really: these are folks I'd consider to be invested in Brisbane as a multifaceted, multicultural city, with different neighbourhoods to explore. It's just that they no longer have an inclination to do so – perhaps because of a lack of time, or other commitments, such as kids or family. I remember an ex-girlfriend who talked continuously about being bored with Brisbane and needing an overseas holiday. But try to get her out of Teneriffe? Not a chance. Like I said, ex-girlfriend. Even a restaurateur in Morningside who's a regular source asked recently, 'What are you doing over here?' My answer was, it's my job. It was and is, but that was also a bit of a cover story. My own inclination to explore Brisbane began when I was young, still working in restaurants, and invested in becoming a journalist. I didn't have any cash with which to travel the world, so I'd travel my own city instead. I'd drive to Inala – where almost a quarter of the population is Vietnamese, or of Vietnamese descent – for banh mi or pho. I'd check out Moorooka and its tight cluster of African restaurants. Or I'd visit Market Square in Sunnybank – you don't need to blur your eyes too much here to imagine you're in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong. For those who don't habitually cross the river on days or nights off, I'd implore you to do so. Head to Sunnybank and eat at Kingsfood or Glamorous Wok, or even further south to discover Ru Yi Dim Sum in Sunnybank Hills. Seek out Pho An in Inala for some of the best Vietnamese noodle soup in the city, or grab a banh mi from Scotts Road Takeaway and take it to nearby Rocks Riverside Park. Or visit Brisbane's bayside for cracking eateries such as Manly Boathouse, The Arsonist, and Chumley Warner's British Fish and Chips. If you're coming from the south, drive to Milton for a succulent Chinese (well, Cantonese) meal at China Sea, or neighbouring Paddington for unctuous Italian at Elementi and small-producer wines at Noir. Daytrip to industrial Northgate to check out brewpubs such as Aether and Fick, before heading on to Nudgee for fish and chips at Pam's Cafe 88, or Sandgate for legit Italian at Acciuga. Look, I get it. There are groceries to buy, family events to attend, and kids to deliver to sports, dance classes and swimming lessons. But maybe try to link those commitments with a visit to part of the city you haven't explored. Sit and eat, or just grab a coffee if it's all you have time for, then wander and people watch. Some of this might come down to how we view city living. Outside our local community, is a city a place that feels inherently dangerous, or safe? I'd argue that in Brisbane, it's very much the latter. On those Sunday nights, when I'm maybe a little dusty, I'll drive across the Story Bridge and just keep going, past the Princess Alexandra Hospital, through Annerley. By the time Beaudesert Road begins to straighten after its descent from Moorooka, your only company is the street lights, a few cars, and the occasional semi beginning its overnight run maybe south or west.

Brisbane, why don't you cross the river?
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I found the secret to avoiding the crowds in Rome in summer
I found the secret to avoiding the crowds in Rome in summer

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Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News. The last time I visited Rome at the height of summer was during the European heatwave of 2023. Temperatures reached 38C on this ill-fated day in late July, yet my friends and I decided it would be an excellent idea to walk nearly 20,000 steps and then cruise around Villa Borghese on an open-air cart, despite the nagging heat. I was staying in separate accommodation to my pals and late in the night, I fell ill with what I assume was heatstroke. I spent the next day – my 40th birthday – alone and sick in bed. Cue the pity party. Heat is not the only downside to visiting Rome in summer; you have to contend with overcrowding, too. X Learn More SUBSCRIBER ONLY An obvious solution would be to visit during the shoulder seasons and avoid the heave and heat altogether. But if you're still partial to some of that European summer goodness, you need to think outside the box. Vespa tours are ubiquitous in Italy, and many companies have similar experiences: food, street art, night-life, wind in your hair. Upon doing further research, I find a tour operator offering something a little different and sign up for a Countryside Vespa Tour with local company Scooteroma. The tour takes place in a rural area of Lazio known as Castelli Romani, which has long been the summer retreat of aristocratic Roman families. It's also home to the papal summer residence, although I'm an atheist so that bears no relevance to me. Jenny Hewett on her countryside tour with Scooteroma. The tour begins with getting the hell out of Rome. Or the centre of Rome, I should say. I take a 40-minute train ride to the scenic lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo, where I meet my Vespa driver and tour guide, Marco. Set atop a hillside overlooking volcanic Lago Albano, this is Rome's low-key answer to Lake Como, and in the centre town sits the soft-yellow papal summer palace, though it was not in use during the tenure of Pope Francis as it didn't fit with his image of being 'for the people'. Marco tells me there are not many hotels in this area, which makes it less of a target, for lack of a better word, for tourists. After learning about the history of the town (it's older than Rome), we enjoy a tortina (pastry) and coffee and then cruise along the country roads, past summer villas dotted among Italian cypress trees and neighbourhood trattorias and chioscos. The town of Castel Gandolfo overlooking Lago Albano. The food tradition is long and deep here, with local towns known for their porchetta. We stop in Marino to learn about its wine history and see the Fontana dei Quattro Mori (Fountain of the Four Moors). Then it's back onto the scooter to check out Grottaferrata, one of the most affluent villages in the area, to marvel at the ancient mosaics and frescoes at its medieval-era Byzantine abbey. I notice a couple of tourists exploring the Old Town in Castel Gandolfo, but nothing like what you'd see in Rome. However, when we get to Grottaferrata and walk over to chiosco Porchetta da Lele for a casual lunch on a picnic bench, I hear nothing but Italian accents and see local kids using their pocket money to buy porchetta panini. There's a freshly roasted whole pig in the deli window and Marco points out items for our antipasti platter, including artichokes, olives, salami, crisp crackling, porchetta and pecorino. Antipasti feast from Porchetta da Lele. Picture: Jenny Hewett The final stop is Frascati, where we zoom past the Italian gardens of Villa Aldobrandini, more chioscos, a piazza and a cathedral, before I hop on the train and am back in the chaos of Rome in under an hour. If you need reprieve from the crowds in Rome, even just for a day, this is how to do it. When in Rome, they say. The writer travelled at her own expense and with the help of Scooteroma. Originally published as I found the secret to avoiding the crowds in Rome in summer

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