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The Age
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Your guide to ordering at this of-the-moment wine bar (once you manage to snag a table)
Dining at Suze feels like watching the zeitgeist evolve in real time, says Besha Rodell, a fan of its bold cooking. But you'll need to follow her game plan to avoid an all-out acid trip. Previous SlideNext Slide 14/20How we score Contemporary$$$$ Here's an equation: Take a small Melbourne restaurant, and multiply it by the power of wine bar. Add the coolness of Fitzroy North and two longstanding hospo professionals. What does it add up to? Suze. Located in the two-storey corner building on Newry Street that most recently housed One Trick Pony, Suze is all angles and old windows and slate grey walls punctuated by bright angular modern art. Downstairs, a central slab of a bar is surrounded by tables tucked into the wall, while a staircase leads to a first floor open kitchen facing the intimate dining room. Anchoring the kitchen pass, which has more cooks in it than seems physically advisable, is Steve Harry, a chef who has worked at Napier Quarter, Auterra and a host of other notable Melbourne venues. His partner, Giulia Giorgetti, oversees the front of house, which operates with the kind of friendly, informed cool that the inner north does best. Is Suze an amalgamation of all the experience these two bring from all the other Melbourne wine bar-type restaurants they've had a hand in? Or is it a progression, a leap forward? I can't quite tell – there's a certain Parisian cool to the place, a move away from Italy as inspiration. It wouldn't be the first time (or even the fifth) that Melbourne made this sidestep, but it feels very of-the-now at Suze, as if you're watching the zeitgeist evolve in real time. Harry's menu is both familiar and wild, with dishes that might appear on other menus but wouldn't taste nearly this bold or flavour-packed. There's a house-made ricotta covered with a layer of lush sliced persimmon and doused in pepperberries that are downright prickly on the tongue, a punch of spice that's as unexpected as it is beguiling. Raw fish – silky slabs of meaty tuna the day I ate it – swims in Tasmanian wasabi with puckery desert lime. A spanner crab linguine is a high-acid, high-intensity flavour bomb. If you look at the descriptions above, there are a lot of adjectives somewhat synonymous with the word 'acidic', and that's the biggest issue with the cooking at Suze. Individually, these dishes sing, but one after another? The acid trip can go off the rails. If there's one piece of advice I'd give to every chef it is: Sit in your own restaurant and eat a full meal, all the way through. Because so many dishes are amazing as one-offs when you're in creation mode, but when strung together with every other dish, the experience can be wildly different to what you encounter while standing in the kitchen with a tasting spoon. If I were to try one bite of any dish at Suze, then I'd be swooning. As a single bar of music, this food is glorious; when you play the whole album, there is too much treble and not enough bass. It would be unfair for me to say that every single dish on this menu is wildly acidic, it's too easy to wind up going in that direction. But there are ways for diners to mitigate this potential. Have the Bay of Fire cheddar gougeres. Pick either the raw fish or the ricotta, but not both. If you're going for the whole fish, a glorious flounder in a very perky caper sauce fattened up with bone marrow, pair it with the agnolotti, delicate and heavy on the comte, with an overload of nutmeg that's bold and brilliant. Maybe save the vinegar-forward braised rainbow chard for another day (say, when you're in the mood for the lamb rump). Whether you're on acid overload or not, I'm going to say you should still order the grapefruit sorbetto because it's maybe the best grapefruit dessert I've had in Australia, embracing the bitterness of the citrus while tamping it down with the sweetness of Suze, the restaurant's namesake French aperitif, and giving it spiky energy with a smattering of pink peppercorn. There's also a tulumba, a dense Turkish doughnut, coated in a syrup made from black garlic that's so umami-rich and dense that it almost reminds me of Vegemite. It works! I swear! 'As a single bar of music this food is glorious; when you play the whole album, there is too much treble and not enough bass.' It's not easy to get a table at Suze these days, and I can see why. The vibe is perfect for this moment in time. The cooking is bold and creative. The wine list is varied and approachable and full of bargains. It's an immensely fun place to spend an evening or a leisurely Sunday afternoon. And Harry and Giorgetti are a formidable team, so much so that I expect to see their influence in Melbourne restaurants for years to come, acid and all.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Your guide to ordering at this of-the-moment wine bar (once you manage to snag a table)
Dining at Suze feels like watching the zeitgeist evolve in real time, says Besha Rodell, a fan of its bold cooking. But you'll need to follow her game plan to avoid an all-out acid trip. Previous SlideNext Slide 14/20How we score Contemporary$$$$ Here's an equation: Take a small Melbourne restaurant, and multiply it by the power of wine bar. Add the coolness of Fitzroy North and two longstanding hospo professionals. What does it add up to? Suze. Located in the two-storey corner building on Newry Street that most recently housed One Trick Pony, Suze is all angles and old windows and slate grey walls punctuated by bright angular modern art. Downstairs, a central slab of a bar is surrounded by tables tucked into the wall, while a staircase leads to a first floor open kitchen facing the intimate dining room. Anchoring the kitchen pass, which has more cooks in it than seems physically advisable, is Steve Harry, a chef who has worked at Napier Quarter, Auterra and a host of other notable Melbourne venues. His partner, Giulia Giorgetti, oversees the front of house, which operates with the kind of friendly, informed cool that the inner north does best. Is Suze an amalgamation of all the experience these two bring from all the other Melbourne wine bar-type restaurants they've had a hand in? Or is it a progression, a leap forward? I can't quite tell – there's a certain Parisian cool to the place, a move away from Italy as inspiration. It wouldn't be the first time (or even the fifth) that Melbourne made this sidestep, but it feels very of-the-now at Suze, as if you're watching the zeitgeist evolve in real time. Harry's menu is both familiar and wild, with dishes that might appear on other menus but wouldn't taste nearly this bold or flavour-packed. There's a house-made ricotta covered with a layer of lush sliced persimmon and doused in pepperberries that are downright prickly on the tongue, a punch of spice that's as unexpected as it is beguiling. Raw fish – silky slabs of meaty tuna the day I ate it – swims in Tasmanian wasabi with puckery desert lime. A spanner crab linguine is a high-acid, high-intensity flavour bomb. If you look at the descriptions above, there are a lot of adjectives somewhat synonymous with the word 'acidic', and that's the biggest issue with the cooking at Suze. Individually, these dishes sing, but one after another? The acid trip can go off the rails. If there's one piece of advice I'd give to every chef it is: Sit in your own restaurant and eat a full meal, all the way through. Because so many dishes are amazing as one-offs when you're in creation mode, but when strung together with every other dish, the experience can be wildly different to what you encounter while standing in the kitchen with a tasting spoon. If I were to try one bite of any dish at Suze, then I'd be swooning. As a single bar of music, this food is glorious; when you play the whole album, there is too much treble and not enough bass. It would be unfair for me to say that every single dish on this menu is wildly acidic, it's too easy to wind up going in that direction. But there are ways for diners to mitigate this potential. Have the Bay of Fire cheddar gougeres. Pick either the raw fish or the ricotta, but not both. If you're going for the whole fish, a glorious flounder in a very perky caper sauce fattened up with bone marrow, pair it with the agnolotti, delicate and heavy on the comte, with an overload of nutmeg that's bold and brilliant. Maybe save the vinegar-forward braised rainbow chard for another day (say, when you're in the mood for the lamb rump). Whether you're on acid overload or not, I'm going to say you should still order the grapefruit sorbetto because it's maybe the best grapefruit dessert I've had in Australia, embracing the bitterness of the citrus while tamping it down with the sweetness of Suze, the restaurant's namesake French aperitif, and giving it spiky energy with a smattering of pink peppercorn. There's also a tulumba, a dense Turkish doughnut, coated in a syrup made from black garlic that's so umami-rich and dense that it almost reminds me of Vegemite. It works! I swear! 'As a single bar of music this food is glorious; when you play the whole album, there is too much treble and not enough bass.' It's not easy to get a table at Suze these days, and I can see why. The vibe is perfect for this moment in time. The cooking is bold and creative. The wine list is varied and approachable and full of bargains. It's an immensely fun place to spend an evening or a leisurely Sunday afternoon. And Harry and Giorgetti are a formidable team, so much so that I expect to see their influence in Melbourne restaurants for years to come, acid and all.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Ira Dean Releases His New Album ‘I Got Roads' - Featuring Some Of His Famous Friends
Singer, songwriter, and musician Ira Dean Credit: David McClister Photography, LLC. After many years as a singer, songwriter, and musician, Ira Dean's new album perfectly blends all of those talents. And he had the added satisfaction of doing it with some of his closest musician friends and fellow songwriters. 'I Got Roads' offers a collection of songs, most of which Dean co-wrote, looking back on his rich and vibrant life, and extraordinary career. As a musician he broke through as a bass player for Tanya Tucker, as an artist, he co-founded the successful country music trio, One Trick Pony, and he's had cuts as a songwriter for Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Aaron Lewis, and others. (Dean co-wrote Aaron Lewis' No. 1 hit 'Am I the Only One?) He's played back-up for any and everybody, forged close friendship with legends like Johnny Cash and others, and for a long time, had a reputation for 'partying too hard" on the road. 'My life has been extremely colorful, and there's been light and dark,' Dean says. 'And I wanted to put it all out there. These songs are chapters in my life, the good, the bad, and the ugly.' Songs like the reflective 'Missin' How It Used to Be' honoring his late mother, 'WWCD (What Would Charlie Daniels Do') which pays tribute to his friend and mentor, and '1 to Hank,' a nod to Dean's wild and crazy drinking days before he finally got sober." When he decided to make the album, Dean called on some of his friends to join him. There are collaborations with Ronnie Dunn, Ted Nugent, David Lee Murphy, Uncle Kracker, and more. 'The making of this album has been amazing,' Dean says. 'I don't think I got a single 'no' when I started calling friends to record it. It's been very humbling. The whole experience has been great.' Several of those friends like guitar virtuosos Vince Gill, Brent Mason, and John Osborne came together for a dynamic, fast-paced, electrifying homage to the iconic Telecaster. The song is called 'Tele-Man.' 'I've always wanted to do an all-star band, and I've tried and tried before, but it always included Vince Gill, and it never worked out with his schedule," Dean says. "I think getting everyone together for this song made music history because there have been many vocal collaborations with different artists, but nobody's ever done the Traveling Wilburys of country music. We finally did it.' Not only did each of those master guitarists contribute to the song, they made time to appear in the music video. 'Tele-Man,' has something else you don't often see in country songs - lots of guitar solos. Dean says, as a songwriter, he can't count how many times he's been told to 'get rid of the solos.' 'They always tell you to cut the solo and make it a straight verse. But as a player, I care about the guitar solo. So, in this song everybody gets to shine. And Ronnie Dunn sings his tail off.' Another track on the album called 'Everything' features Gretchen Wilson and serves as a tribute to Dean's wife, Jennifer. He also honors friends and mentors, Johnny Cash and Charlie Daniels. Charlie has an entire song dedicated to him, while, if you listen, you'll hear Johnny mentioned in some of the lyrics elsewhere. 'I wouldn't be here today without those guys,' Dean says. 'They were driving themselves to gigs long before there was big money in it. And they went out of their way to help me. They didn't have to give me their heart or their time. So, it's the least I can do to let people know they meant a lot to me.' Ira Dean Credit: David McClister Photography, LLC. Johnny and Charlie also cared enough to warn Dean decades ago, about his problem with drugs and alcohol, and encourage him to do something about it. When Dean eventually hit rock bottom, their words came to mind and helped guide him to make a much needed change. Today, he celebrates 12 years of sobriety, he's married, and says he's happier than he's ever been. And, after a lot of hard work and determination, he's gotten to a comfortable place where he can play music without all of the partying. 'It was hard at first because drinking and perscription drugs were my go-to habit. But I know that stuff isn't the problem, it's me. I've got a lot of great friends that still get hammered and now I just laugh with them. It's like, man, you have fun, and I'm going to have fun on this diet coke. We're going to make great music and have some great laughs.' Here Dean stops, laughs, then adds, 'And I'm going to remind you of some of the stuff you said…in the morning.' He's also fallen in love with music all over again. So much so, at the same time he's releasing and promoting his own album as a singer/songwriter, he's out on the road playing bass guitar for Brooks & Dunn. 'Ronnie asked me, and I was honored,' Dean says. 'I checked my schedule and had all but one date open. So, I've been out doing arenas and stadiums. I get to sing harmonies with my favorite country singer, Ronnie Dunn, and play with a great band!' He's excited for people to hear his new album and says he only hopes they'll listen to the old-fashioned way. 'An album is a body of work. Growing up we'd listen to a whole album, and you got to know the artist that way. I'm hoping people will start my album at the beginning and go along for the journey. It's a train ride, so don't get off mid-stop.' He says the songs reflect a life well-lived with many lessons along the way. 'For the first half of my life I was the example of what not to do. This second half I want to be an example that it ain't over until it's over.'
