ENOTECA SILENO
Lygon Street, Carlton
Melbourne

There is a breed of people in Melbourne who rarely (never) cross the Yarra River. I’ll confess that I am one of them. MY nosebag goes on in South Yarra and Toorak and Prahran. It works both ways. There are people in Carlton and Fitzroy and Brunswick who would never visit my side of town.

I did cross the Yarra for my 60th birthday at Vue de Monde – the best restaurant in Melbourne apart from the Flower Drum -- and I did it again for a big Italian foray recently.

There was a gala dinner at Enoteca for a ten-day day celebration of Umbria. I’ll get to the Umbrians (?) later but Enoteco is an extraordinary place. Before you even sit down at this restaurant you face a euphoria of fine food and wine. An absolute euphoria. Anything you want to buy to eat or drink is packed in here.

You walk into this place and it is like an upmarket gourmet shop. Decks of good wine. Heaps of olives and other brined goods like artichokes and pickles. (Must have sparked a nerve because somebody sent me some pickled onions from Echuca to possibly include in Hinch’s Larder for sale on the Net and now I am pickling my own – like my Nanna used to do – and I have also started baking my own bread again. Best recipe, Hinch’s Own: White Laucke dough with a touch of rye plus some sultanas, cracked black pepper and finished with shredded cheese).

But back to Enoteca. It is a gem of a restaurant. And there is a private dining room for about ten people that you would die for.

Our visit was special because it was part of an “Umbrian blitz” with food and wine and stunning ceramics. I’ll go back for their normal menu but what they produced this night I’m sure would be reproduced.

It was called: “d’Umbria – a Celebration” And it certainly was. Starting with the talented, loud, footwork-fast, visiting Italian jazz band.

The food started with Bruschetta soaked with Umbrian extra virgin olive oil. Then freshwater prawns rolled in pancetta. And warm olives. And we hadn’t even sat down to eat by then!

There was lentil soup with olive oil and Stringozzi pasta with truffles. I called it quits before the trout fillet “with wild fennel”. Partly because fennel reminds me of the poisonous hemlock which we were warned never to touch in childhood New Zealand.

There was rack of veal seasoned with spiced porcini and oven-baked potatoes.

Big night. Great Italian wines. Great restaurant. I’ll go back. Real soon.

May 22, 2005