Am I speaking in euphemisms or metaphors? Nah. State Of Grace has to be one of Melbourne's best restaurants. We found ourselves there on Saturday evening, celebrating our 16th year anniversary.
Yes, yes, we're both saints because neither of us have resorted to murder. We know. But we love each other. Aaaawww.
We are not the most organised people and we had not arranged to do anything for our anniversary. You know, to mark the occasion and all that.
Yes, we are both men, and no we had not simply forgotten it was our anniversary. In fact, the night before, we competed to wish each other Happy Anniversary, to see who could say it first, ha!
So, on Saturday afternoon, as you do, I started calling around restaurants. This was quite daunting as we haven't been in Melbourne long and are still discovering what is and isn't to our taste (and budget). That, combined with the pressure of only having a few hours to find something suitable that isn't booked out on a weekend evening, made me think the task was a little tricky.
I initially called Mr Mason. No, he is not my personal assistant who only ever says "Yes, Sir", or "Of course, if you are are sure Sir", orders my newspapers and assassinates my opponents for me (because that would be awesome!) This is a French restaurant which seems to be reviewed quite well on the good old internet. However, they were fully booked. This is more disappointing than you know, as I really fancied trying snail. Or at least making Sam try snail. Or, at the very least, ordering snail, instagramming the photographs and pretending to have eaten snail.
Being fully booked is a good sign of their standard and quality, but unfortunate for us. The woman I spoke to apologised but offered a suggestion. She explained State Of Grace was not far from Mr Mason and, although she was unsure if they would be able to accommodate us either, it was worth trying as they offered something pretty special.
With trying to book a restaurant table on a Saturday in Melbourne, I thought it couldn't hurt to try. State Of Grace were indeed busy and could not accommodate us in the time slot I wanted but we did manage to get a table.
Arriving at the restaurant, we were shown quickly to our table and we were immediately struck by the ambiance and charm around us.
Trinkets and treasure were all around us. Silver teapots (appropriate as silver holloware is associated with the 16th anniversary), lamps, old & new furniture, worn books, suitcases and all sorts of bric 'a' brac decorated the restaurant. And it all seemed to just work. It felt warm, safe and welcoming, without losing any of it's class.
Actually, it was quite beautiful. Maybe it was because I was feeling all romantic, with it being our anniversary. But the antiques, odd couplings of items old and new and warm lighting choices all came together to set a scene. It was a scene that created context for people celebrating their anniversaries, first and second dates, catch-ups with friends and so on. It was all very human.
Zephyr waited on us. Zephyr, as a side note, means a soft and gentle breeze. Lovely! And so was Zephyr. She was gorgeous. Friendly and knowledgeable, she was also patient with us as we asked about what elements of the menu meant. Menus do seem to list some of their dishes with fancy names & terms and as I don't go out often I have no idea what half of it means.
The food really was quite special. The lady from Mr Mason was not lying. Every forkful was tastier than the last. I am by no measure anything like a food critic. I do eat, though. You will not eat food like this often.
We shared some warm bread that came with medallions of golden "cultured" butter and golden brown prawn & prosciutto croquettes. I have no idea how to formulate a description for how delicious these croquettes were. You have to try them!
Sam had a Scotch Fillet and I ordered the Bannockburn Chicken. We then both went on to have the chocolate mousse dish, including caramelized banana and peanut brittle, for dessert.
As I'm writing these dishes down I am unimpressed with how each item will be poorly translated from my lived experience, through this blog, to your mind. You have to understand, each dish was a journey of culinary adventure and indulgence. I know I'm gushing about State Of Grace. I'm not apologetic. And no, this is not a paid post. Although if the owners read this and want to give us a free meal I couldn't bring myself to refuse. How could I?! (Pretty please?)
I should also mention that I believe there to be a secret Fall From Grace bar, to which access is via a secret entrance. (I caught a glimpse of someone pulling a book and a book case sliding to reveal a whole other world, but I couldn't investigate as I needed to pee at the time). All pretty special.
If you do visit this restaurant I hope you have Zephyr waiting on you too, as her great service is a real bonus to a lovely foodie experience.
Then today we thought we would take the train into the city and see if we could get lost.
Melbourne city is actually quite hard to get lost in. Coming from me, that's something!
We discovered, following a brisk stroll along the river, that The National Gallery of Victoria was only a further short walk down St. Kilda Road. I love seeing sculptures and paintings, knowing the skill, talent and time that goes into making it possible.
The gallery didn't disappoint.
As well as all the usual items of art and culture, all worthy of taking a Ferris Bueller-style day off for, my favourite was the Ixian Gate. Here you place a screen visor over your eyes and headphones over your ears. Plunged into a virtual 3D world, you pass by strange creatures while worlds build up and dissolve around you. It reminded me of a lucid dream. It was wonderful. It takes you on a journey for only a few minutes but I really did have to keep reminding myself I was in a gallery surrounded by people. Please give this a shot if you get the opportunity.
We ended up visiting the Australian Centre For The Moving Image, at Federation Square. We had been here before and as fun as it is, the exhibits hadn't changed much. They did have a cool Cate Blanchett exhibit.
We wandered around but quickly sought entertainment elsewhere. There was a large water slide in the centre of the square but we hadn't brought our swimmers...sad face.
We were hot and tired. We could have headed home but we decided we weren't done yet. That's when we were shown Joy. At the cinema. Everyone's favourite actress of the moment, Jennifer Lawrence stars and does a great job. I had thought the movie was supposed to be a comedy. Some of the others in the audience did laugh throughout the movie. But I saw it as quite a hard snapshot of a woman's life, a woman who is manipulated and used repeatedly by people who are meant to love and cherish her. In saying that, it isn't depressing. There are many light moments to punctuate the frustrating journey the movie takes you on as you will Joy (Lawrence) to stand up for herself.
It isn't overly predictable, you will sympathise for certain characters, detest others, but you will feel for them. That's the measure of a good movie, one that takes you along with it, when you can share in the disappointments and successes.
Well, it looks like it's almost bed time. I'm off to brush my teeth and get ready as I am in much need of a long and restful sleep.
If you want to see more photos, you are welcome to visit my instagram. The photos aren't very sexy but it's me. Pop by and say "Hello".
In honour of Zephyr, here are some music videos. She is mentioned in Madonna's Ray Of Light and Red Hot Chilli Peppers' The Zephyr Song. Enjoy!
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