Earl Canteen, Melbourne CBD

I feel ashamed for calling myself a newbie foodie and yet tonight was the first time I dined at Earl Canteen (being one of the most talked about places in Melbourne and all). However, it's never too late, especially when it's Earl Canteen's first night doing dinner! Lucky enough for us (group of 5 people), we were able to snatch a table outside without making a booking. Unlucky enough for us as well, it was a cold and rainy Friday evening and being stupid as I am, I didn't really wear very much. I can't complain though because we had such a wonderful meal :). The staff were the most friendly of people and the food, well, I don't even have to say anything about that, let the photos speak for itself! So I shamelessly and happily added myself to the forever growing Earl Canteen blogger family, with in excess of 30 or so blog posts about the place right now, and counting.

Hidden behind the NAB building at 500 Bourke St, it took a little bit of effort to find (i'm a directionless chicken when it comes to finding places). The location is painfully close to my old work that it makes me want to go back there! :( Why didn't I eat here last year?! Oh wait, it was because I was hardly in the office.

It was very hard to decide which sandwich to go with since every one of them could make my mouth water. I settled for the new addition to the menu as recommended by the waiter - the Earl Luxe - with southern rock lobster, Yarra Valley salmon roe, watercress, beurre blanc and ciabatta bread. Lobsters are in season and is one of my favourite seafoods. With the added bonus of fresh salmon roe, I was in sandwich heaven. The tastes were subtle, not at all overpowered by the sauce or any of the ingredients in particular, but also unmistakably lobster in flavour. The bread was crunchy on the outside and soft inside, complimenting the rest of the ingredients very well. It also wasn't messy like the steak sandwich Daz got. Ah, I just wish Yuye didn't eat most of it when I asked if he wanted a try. >:( This sandwich was $27.50, about double the price of the rest but of course, it was lobster.

Three of my companions, including Yuye, got the famous pork belly sandwiches for $13.50 each. This sandwich consisted of a crispy skin Otway pork belly, apple, cabbage and fennel coleslaw and wilted silverbeet in baguette bread. The bread was a little tougher than mine but was still lovely. I adored, I mean ADORED the crispy skin of the pork. It lived up to the true meaning of crispy and beyond. The meat was tasty and juicy, although I would have preferred a bit of gravy to go with it (but that's just me).

Daz got the REAL steak sandwich for $13.50, with of course, real grilled skirt steak, caramelised onion, provolone, beetroot, tomato, cos and mustard in a focaccia bread. I didn't taste this but according to Daz, it was juicy and tasty with the steak cooked to medium rare. The whole time he was eating it, delicious and deep red beetroot juice was flowing out onto the plate. Wish I had asked for a piece to try! He didn't use the steak knife provided at all because the steak was tender enough to bite.

He also got a Holgate premium beer with the meal, which is proudly Australian made. Holgate Brewhouse is located in Woodend in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, very close to the famous Hanging Rock which I will be blogging about at some stage, it's a beautiful place.