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A new vintage shop called Nook opened recently on Johnston St next door to Used. It"s great to see the east end of Johnston St gradually coming to life. I was also curious to see that the Indian restaurant Tandoori Station that opened in the space of the former Guru da Dhaba has changed to become the "Fitzroy curry house". I did wonder what Tandoori food had to do with the Buddhist images on the walls inside. Not much, apparently. The former Sukhothai has also become an Indian restaurant. I"ll have to reopen voting on "the best Indian restaurant in Fitzroy".

Throughout February I posted a story about my recent London holiday each morning with a local story each afternoon. It"s time to give local stories priority again in the morning, though I will post a few more London stories in the afternoon to complete the series. I was fascinated to learn recently that there has been a fruit and vegetable shop where the Vegie Connection now stands for far longer than I previously knew, as this photo from 1958 demonstrates.

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Advice needed oh wise Melbournemaniacs!

So, we have a dog. Cute, Jack Russel, slightly crazy (As all Jack Russels are)....Read Full Article»

Here"s further evidence that the standards of enforcement, disclosure and transparency regarding food hygiene standards in Victoria are hopelessly inadequate and out of date. In London, local government authorities close down suspect businesses and refuse to allow owners to reopen under different names. They post information on the windows of premises for the public to see. This business was the Saffron cafe (11A Sicilian Avenue, Holborn) and I saw this by coincidence. Why can"t we have this in Melbourne? We could if our inept, obsessed with secrecy, state government developed some political will and forced local governments to take their responsibilities in relation to public health seriously.

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The French Quarter patisserie is one of my favourites in Melbourne, and it"s a lovely place for a casual lunch or coffee when you want to have a long conversation and linger over what treats to eat. I recently visited and had smoked salmon and spinach quiche for my lunch – divine.

CII cafe / bar / restaurant is a secret that should not be a secret. Located on Abeckett St between Swanston and Elizabeth streets, CII serves breakfasts and Italian lunches with genuine warmth from the genial staff. I"ve had breakfast there a couple of times before or after picking up or dropping off my motorbike at a nearby service centre, and their bacon and eggs on toast is perfect for a winter morning.

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Felice"s on Greeves St is a cafe and bar that opened last year. It"s the perfect place for an informal lunch and the coffee is fantastic. The staff are lovely and the anchovy and rosemary pizza is my new obsession. The toasted foccaccias are good too.

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You can eat well in Soho if you want to spend serious money at fancy tapas places. Eating well on a budget comparable to comfortable living in Melbourne, and finding good coffee, is possible but requires some research and luck. On my first morning there I had a fantastic coffee and toasted ham, cheese and tomato croissant at Fernandez & Wells coffee bar (below).

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I"ve eaten at North East China Family on Flinders Lane before, and loved it, so was eager to return. When I did so with a friend we were both in an adventurous mood and so we ordered a dish purely out of curiosity – beef with orange. We loved it! It is thin beef strips in a thick savoury sauce that has lots of thin strips of orange rind in it. The orange flavour is strong but it"s not very sweet.

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On the last day of my summer holiday before returning to work I enjoyed lunch at Journal Canteen. It"s been reviewed many times and I have nothing particularly new to say: the food is excellent, though in somewhat modest serves for the price, the staff are efficient, the room is cute and similar to the nearby Gill"s Diner, and overall it"s a good experience but one that you probably would not want to have too often. For more on Journal Canteen, read Spatula spoon and Saturday, Tomatom, Belly belly good food, Kong kay, the Design files, Belly good, Mel: hot or not and Eating Melbourne.

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