Lunch @ Interlude

The last time we walked through the doors of 211 Brunswick Street it was called Diningroom 211 - a couple of years later, a change of owners, a good dose of praise and notoriety we finally return to sample the wares of Interlude.

For an opening salvo we opted for some bubble - of the three available by the glass we opted for the one we hadn't tried - NV Champagne Philipponnat Réserve Rosé.

Rosé wouldn't normally be our first choice but this proved to an excellent drop. It has quite a deep pink hue along with excellent beading - there's yeast on the nose but not a lot of residual sweetness - a perfect choice for an aperitif.

For lunch, there are usually two options a fixed price limited choice menu (2 entree/2 main/2 dessert) and a regular a la carte menu (3 entree/3 main/3 dessert) but we managed to arrange a "quasi" degustation that included items from the regular menu and a couple that form part of the dinner degustation options.


Cauliflower, Herring Roe, Apple
from left to right: apple jelly, apple puree, herring roe and cauliflower puree all encased in a glass tube. To eat, you suck on the cauliflower end, the jelly ensures correct suction is maintained so nothing is left behind.


Blue Swimmer Crab with Variations on Sweetcorn
Wine Match: 2005 Crawford River Young Vines Riesling
a blue swimmer crab salad sits underneath a corn jelly sheet, along with a corn ice cream and toasted corn kernels.
The ice cream is a knockout, wonderfully sweet and creamy; the crab wasn't as sweet as yesterday's and probably a little too wet.


Beetroot Horseradish Veal Shin
This needs to be eaten in one go - the centre is liquid beetroot. For such a small item, it's exceptionally flavoursome.


Red Emperor, Peas, Spaetzle, Foie Gras Consommé
Wine Match: 2005 Ocean Eight Pinot Gris
The consommé is poured at the table, under the fish are fresh baby peas, tiny cubes of foie gras and spaetzle.


Slow Baked Lamb, Onion Puree
Wine Match: Castagna Sauvage (Shiraz Viognier Sangiovese)
The smear running down the plate is roasted onion puree, to the left and underneath the lamb sits a simple diced tomato salad and to the left, roasted couscous



Cherry Splice
Wine Match: Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut
Just like a splice, there's a white core to this cherry cylinder - it's accompanied by crumble topping.


Petit Fours
Carmel filled Chocolate, Nougat, Caraway Seed Toffee and chocolate filled truffles (behind the toffee and out of sight)

The details:
Interlude
211 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
Phone: 03 9415 7300

Open:
Lunch: Wednesday-Friday 12pm - 3pm
Lunch (December): Monday-Friday 12pm-3pm

Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday 6.30pm to late
Dinner (December): Monday-Saturday 6.30pm to late