Shortstop – Doughnuts with a Difference

Clockwise from Left Top:  Banana & Chocolate Hazelnut, Australian Honey & Sea Salt, Earl Grey & Rose, Red Velvet, Rhubarb & Ginger

Kitchen at Shortstop

Inside Shortstop

Inside Shortstop

Inside Shortstop

Display Cabinet at Shortstop

Seating at Shortstop

Latte at Shortstop

Coffee & Takeaway Donuts

Coffee & Doughnuts

DOUGHNUTS!

Menu:

Shortstop Donuts is the newly opened US-inspired doughnut shops in Melbourne – that has a huge amount of hype surrounding it and been in the planning stages for over a year. Anthony Ivey (ex-Market Lane) together with business partner Sinye Ooi has been traveling around the US and Canada to research various sugar-fuelled places in order to perfect the recipe for the opening. Even before the opening, they had a large following (18000 followers!!) on Instagram – especially around the Earl Grey doughnut.

Shortstop Donut is located in Sutherland Street in the heart of the Melbourne CBD – off Little Lonsdale or Latrobe Street (near Melbourne Central). The fit-out is clean and simple – headed by Adele Winteridge and the team at Foolscap Studio using white tiles and blondwood for its counters and tables. The space is open, light and airy thanks to the use of glass. There is limited seating (3 small round tables with a window bench) and a huge a kitchen where you can watch as the doughnuts are made.

They serve both espresso and filter coffee from Market Lane (with a potential move to Small Batch and Seven Seeds) alongside nine different flavours of doughnuts – Rhubarb & Ginger, Cinnamon, Cardamom & Sugar, Apple, Bacon, Honey & Thyme, Peanut Butter & Jam, Bourbon Crème Brulee, Australian Honey & Sea Salt, Banana & Chocolate Hazelnut, Earl Grey & Rose, Red Velvet.

The difference about Shortstop doughnuts is that they specialise in cake rather than the usual tried and test yeast doughnuts. There is a wet, milk-based batter that allows for the creative and interesting flavours that you see in store.

As expected there are long queues with the shop selling out by early afternoon – they sell over 600 doughnuts are day. You can order online – and if you order before 1pm – they will be available for pick-up the next day.

I decided to take a box of these heavenly doughnuts for my team at work – I selected 5 different flavours – Rhubarb & Ginger, Red Velvet, Earl Grey & Rose, Australian Honey & Sea Salt and Banana & Chocolate Hazelnut.

The Earl Grey Doughnut was my favourite – made with Earl Grey Tea, injected with Lemon Myrtle and dipped into a Rose-Water and Rose Petal Icing. It tastes even better than it sounds.

The Rhubarb & Ginger was great tasting – with the ginger flavour being based in the pink icing – the cake dough was sticky, soft and flavorsome.

The Red Velvet Doughnut is divine – the redness is thanks to the use of beetroot (rather than food dye) – and has been piped with cream cheese and finished by being dipped in dark chocolate.

The Australian Honey & Sea Salt cruller was quite interesting – the mixture of honey and salted brought a new meaning to salted caramel. The texture was crunchy with a gooey inside – yum!

The Banana & Chocolate Hazelnut – is made with banana cake as its base and then dipped with chocolate and hazelnuts. I would have liked the intensity of the banana flavour to be increased a bit – but the softness of the doughnut was perfect coupled with the crunch on the outside.

Shortstop Donuts is a one stop shop where you get both your coffee hit as well as a sugar fix. Get in early to avoid disappointment! It is also recommended that you consume the doughnuts within 3 hours of purchase for eating pleasure.

NOTE: You can place an order online by visiting http://www.short-stop.com.au/

Rating : 3.5 Pandas
Price: $
Menu –A selection of 9 different flavours (NOTE: Not all flavours are available every day)
Atmosphere / Ambience: Light, Airy and Relaxed
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.short-stop.com.au/
12 Sutherland Street, Melbourne
Tel No: 9642 0807

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 7:30am – 4:30pm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shortstopmelb
Twitter: @shortstopmelb
Instagram: ShortstopMelb

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8Bit – Burgers, Gaming & Milkshakes!

Outside 8bit

Back Room of 8bit

Inside 8bit

Inside 8bit

Inside 8bit

Inside 8bit

Inside 8bit

Donkey Kong Number

AFTER BURNER – Beef, Tomato, Red Onion, Lettuce,Cheese, Chilli Sauce, Jalapenos, Chipotle Mayo and 1 UP MUSHROOM BURGER – Crumbed Portobello Mushroom, Cheese, Tomato, Red Onion, Green Tomato Relish, Lett

1 UP MUSHROOM BURGER – Crumbed Portobello Mushroom, Cheese, Tomato, Red Onion, Green Tomato Relish, Lettuce, 8BIT Sauce

Fries and Onion Rings

Milk Shake

Burgers are still very much the rage in Melbourne town – in fact I think all around the world. 8Bit is the new kid in town and the brainchild of chef Shayne McCallum and Alan Sam (both of Captain Melville) and Sam’s high-school mate, Long Tran.  It is located in Droop Street in Footscray – known for its usual crowds of Vietnamese people.

With the restaurant named after the 8bit video games – the theme follows inside from the décor to the names on the menu – they are named after video game characters – and is completed by the arcade games (which you can play for free) located out the back. What I love as well is the table numbers which are constructed with video game characters – from PacMan to Donkey Kong to Super Mario.

The outside is very different to what you would normally find in that area  -a very modern, new age looking building. There are signs of what used to be with the Vietnamese lettering peeling away and new 8bit patterned black and white burger logo pasted all over the front façade. The modern bi fold doors create the entrance – and you walk in feeling like you are stepping into a  modern day cave – complete with white plaster that peels away to reveal exposed brick work – almost giving it an aged look and yet another reminder of what used to be. I love it.

There are seats available at the main front counter which allows you to look right into the kitchen – where there is a whole barrage of staff (I haven’t seen so many staffing working at the one time in a kitchen ever! You can also sit along the window where you can sit on high coloured stools. As you go further inside the venue towards the back there are a few lower wooden tables, and the back room is once again filled with high seating complete with a wooden  bench tops. The kitchen is stainless steel and has a backdrop of tiles that have a Tetris effect with colourful tiles splattered amongst the white tiles. There are filament lights to complete this modern day look.

The menu consists of Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sides, Desserts and Milkshakes. There are six different burgers to choose from — Beef, Chicken , Beef & Bacon and Portobello Mushrooms burgers. There are four hot dogs to choose from – 8bit Dog (Smoked Frank with onions and pickles), Wonder Boy (Smoked Frank with Bacon and Onions), Fatal Fury (Jalapeno and Cheddar Sausage with Chilli Beef) and 1942 (Grilled Bratwurst with Pickle and Slaw). There are six different sides to choose from – each coming in two different sizes – small and large. Sides include Beer Battered Fries, Onion Rings, Potato Gems, Cheese & Bacon Fries, Chilli Cheese Fries and Loaded ( which is a choice of Fries or Potato gems, Chilli beef, Cheese sauce, Bacon, Pickle relish, Grilled onions,, Jalapeños). Desserts include various flavours of Soft Serves. Milkshake flavours include Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter, Strawberry Cheese Cake Shake and Chocolate Bar Shake – with a different chocolate bar flavour each day.

The only burger that I could get was the 1 Up Mushroom Burger – Crumbed Portobello Mushroom, Cheese, Tomato, Red Onion, Green Tomato Relish, Lettuce, 8BIT Sauce. The burgers are perfectly sized – not as small as a slider but not as large as a oversized burger that you would find at the likes of Grilled. My burger is filled with the crumbed Portobello mushroom along with all the other ingredients that is put between two buttered and toasted organic Lievito brioche buns. You would expect the brioche buns to be sweet of nature, however these ones did not have much sweetness to them which I quite liked. I loved that the mushroom was crumbed – it added more flavour, texture and crunch to the whole burger. The combination of all the elements was fresh and delicious – the 8BIT Sauce was scrumptious as well, however I would have liked a bit more sauce in my burger. Overall – it is one of the best veggie burgers that I have had in Melbourne.

N ordered the After Burner – Beef, Tomato, Red Onion, Lettuce, Cheese, Chilli Sauce, Jalapenos, Chipotle Mayo. N enjoyed his burner but said that the burger could have been a tad bit spicier. The beef burger was crusty on the outside but stayed juicy on the inside – just how you would want your burger to be.

We also ordered two different sides – onion rings and fries. The onion rings I found were mostly batter and not much filling, so I didn’t enjoy them as much. The battering, crunchiness and texture was tasty.

I also ordered a chocolate bar milkshake – the chocolate bar for the day was mars bar. I loved the milkshake – it was literally like a “chocolate milkshake only crunchy”. There were bits of the chocolate bar mixed in with the milk and ice cream and it was beyond delicious. I would definitely recommend trying the milkshake – next time I want to try out the different flavours. I’m sure they are all just as delicious. There is also a range of canned beers and soft drinks such as Dr. Pepper, Mountain Goat and American craft producer Sierra Nevada.

8Bit is a great addition to the Footscray area – and sells some great tasting burgers!  The staff are friendly, helpful and look like they enjoy what they do.  We were lucky when we went and managed to beat the crowds and get a seat by the window – so one thing to be mindful of is that dependent on the time you go you might have to wait a while for your burgers. There is no better place than a place where you can play some old school video games, sip on some delicious crunchy milkshakes and smash down a tasty burger!

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $
Menu – Refer to http://www.eat8bit.com.au/ for the list of burgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, sides etc
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Fun, Casual and Welcoming
Service: Friendly and Enthusiastic
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.eat8bit.com.au/
8 Droop Street, Footscray
Tel No: 9687 8838

Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday: 11am – 11pm

Short Round – Shiny, New & Delicious – A MUST TRY!

Short Round

Latte at Short Round

Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt with a Poached Egg

Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt with a Gooey Poached Egg

Hazelnut and Honey Meringue Cupcake

N and I were in the area of Thornbury after a wedding ceremony and Short Round had been on my list of Breakkie/Brunch places to try so we decided to check it out on a Saturday. We arrived literally just before 3pm (which was when the kitchen closed) and the waitress was nice enough to allow us to quickly order our food – and boy am I glad she did because the food was amazing!

Short Round comes to us from Libby and Claire Cains who converted this former butcher store and pet store into the beautiful, open and light filled venue. They had the help of their dad together with Libby’s partner to rejuvenate this building which was built in 1880. The end result is spacious venue with lots of light plywood and tiles, but keeping the buildings original character.

What makes Short Round unique as well is that they are committed to keep things local – the stools and benches were made by Northcote’s Pop & Scott, the collective and vintage chairs from the High Street retro store – Model 143. It doesn’t just stop at the furniture for the venue, but continues with the ingredients for the menu as well as the drinks list. The chefs are Kate Pratt and Jo Baring – with the menu being seasonal. This means that the menu changes with the season and will have the freshest of ingredients, however there will be staple dishes as well such as Bacon and Cheese Scramble.

Short Round is light, airy and bright and is a great place to start your morning, or even  late morning for that matter. The venue is fitted out with light timber tables and chairs and has a real modern but comfortable feel to it, accented with colourful wild flowers. As said previously the menu is seasonal – so when we went there were things like Breakfast Pizza, Bloody Mary Breakfast and Labourer’s lunch. You also get toast, oat porridge, muesli and waffles which I definitely have to head back to try. As avocado is in season there is a seasonal avocado dish on the menu that comes with corn salsa, chilli, lime and coriander all served atop toast. Coffee comes from Proud Mary and there are “Spring Drink Specials” as well such as a Single Origin Coffee, and a variety of different teas.

For my meal I ordered the Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt and I asked for a Poached Egg to be added. People who read my blog will know how much I enjoy my fritters – this dish was right up there with the best of them. I have never had fritters with Cauliflower in them before. The presentation of the dish was superb as well – the fritters were the centre of the plate atop the minted yoghurt with shoots and pomegranate surrounding them. The fritters were dense yet soft and it really did feel like you were eating a cauliflower cloud – together with the sweetness of the pomegranate and the tang of the minted yoghurt it really did have a flavour party in your mouth. The addition of the Snow Pea Shoots was interesting and provided another layer of texture to this dish. The Poached Egg was perfectly cooked as well and oozed gooeyness.

N ordered the Potato, Chorizo and Manchego Omelette, Fresh Spring Onions and Harissa Yoghurt. The presentation was simple and had the omelette which took up most of the plate with olive oil and the Harissa Yoghurt underneath, finished with a sprinkling of Harissa. N thoroughly enjoyed this dish and I think this dish is very unique – I haven’t seen the combination of potato, chorizo, spring onions before. And the portion sizes of these dishes are very decent too.

At the bench top where the coffees are made and the register is there is a little case of cakes and cupcakes and I couldn’t look past one of the cupcakes that caught my eye. It was  Hazelnut Honey Meringue . It had shiny honey pieces atop of luscious looking cream that sat on the meringue cupcake. The cupcake was nice but was quite different to anything that I have had before. The meringue was not too sweet and the cream I thought needed a bit more sweetness to it, however once you bite into the honey pieces there was just the right amount of sweetness. The coffee here which is source from Proud Mary is quite good too but nothing overly fantastic.

The service of the staff is impeccable and staff are super friendly and as stated in my opening happy to help out where they can. This further adds to the atmosphere and general likening toward this new venue. For now Short Round is only open during the day time, but the sisters are considering the option of opening the venue up for night time dining and if they do – I cannot wait to see what special things they bring to their menu then.

Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – Refer to http://www.shortround.com.au/goods.html
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Casual, Light, Airy and Fun
Standout Dish: Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt
Service: Friendly, Helpful and accomodating
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
shortround.com.au
731 High St, Thornbury
Tel No: 9484 3904

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 7am–4pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8am–4pm