Melbourne's Spring Fling: 'Meateries', spirits with a twist, festival fashion and multicultural art

MEAT LOVERS
‘Meateries’ take centre stage in Melbourne as the highly anticipated barbecue season is welcomed.
 
Meatsmith
273 Smith Street, Fitzroy
www.meatsmith.com.au
Meatsmith, the latest venture from chef and restaurateur
Andrew McConnell and ex-Peter Bouchier butcher Troy Wheeler, will open its doors to meat-loving punters at the end of September.
 
The Collingwood butchery will be full of top-grade produce and will offer both dine-in and takeaway options. Meatsmith will showcase unusual cuts including old-school British beef varieties and rare breeds of sheep such as Ryeland and Southdown, a selection of chicken and duck and native meats including kangaroo and emu.
 
Andrew McConnell is the chef behind top Melbourne restaurants – Supernormal, Builders Arms, Moon Under Water, Cutler & Co, Luxembourg and Cumulus.
 
Dexter
456 High Street, Preston
www.dexter.melbourne
Referring to itself as a non-traditional meatery, Dexter is a quirky take on an eat-in butcher. With pig head buns and hot meat doughnuts on the menu, the chefs break down a lot of their cuts on site and plan to eventually host butchery sessions in-house.
 
Treating the meat with extreme tender loving care, owners Sam and Tom Peasnell and Adam Goldblatt adopt an original approach with each dish – from how the meat is treated to what gets drizzled on top. While Dexter pays homage to the traditions of southern style slow smoked meats, the rule book has been given the chop with kimchi, sriracha and whipped butters all making an appearance.
 
Chef Tom Peasnell (recently of cult London barbecue joint Pitt Cue Co) and his friend Adam Goldblatt
(ex-Homeslice, London) have teamed up with Tom’s brother Sam (ex-front of house manager at Three Bags Full, Victoria) to bring their hearty concept to life.
 
GET IN THE SPIRIT OF SPRING
Boutique distilleries continue to trend in Melbourne and its surrounds. As an extension to this, Melbourne is seeing new venues open that specialise in spirit sampling, offering tasting innovations such as whisky and meat pairings – the perfect spring sip.
 
Bad Frankie
141 Greeves Street, Fitzroy
www.badfrankie.com
Named after the infamous Governor of Van Dieman’s Land, John Franklin, who outlawed small pot stills in the early 19th Century, Bad Frankie specialises in Victorian and Australian spirits that are created using home grown Australian botanicals.
 
Apart from a few tequilas, the bar stocks over 150 spirits and, though an intimidating list, the tasting flights showcase the best Australian drops. In an interesting twist, owner Seb Costello has paired his inventive cocktails with a range of jaffles, (toasted sandwich) including lamb roast, lamington and Anzac biscuit - an inventive addition created up by Michelle Boyle of Collins Quarter.

Boilermaker House
209-211 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
www.facebook.com/BoilermakerHouseMelbourne
The recently opened Boilermaker House specialises in premium beer-and whisky-shot combinations. With more than 700 whiskies available to pair with 50 beers, including 12 rotating craft beer taps, Boilermaker House is a sophisticated, yet fun new hot spot.
 
Boilermaker House. Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Haystac

The brainchild of the gents behind Eau De Vie, Boilermaker House treats thirsty patrons to cheeses paired with fruit bread and house preserve, chips with whisky salt and beer vinegar and a cured-meat selection accompanied by redeye mustard and house pickles.
 
FESTIVAL FASHION FEVER
With Melbourne Cup Carnival (31 October – 7 November) on the horizon, the fashion on the field is just as exciting as the action on the track. Whether styling a traditional black and white outfit for Derby Day, dressing to the nines for the Melbourne Cup, achieving lady-like elegance to celebrate Oaks Day or pulling off casual-chic for Oaks Day, Melbourne’s bustling shopping scene is brimming with a number of race-ready options.


Photo courtesy of Haystac

Nicolangela
1/1001 High Street, Armadale
www.nicolangela.com
 
Asilio
Stocked in various Melbourne-based boutiques
www.asilio.com.au
 
Nevenka
12 Howey Place, Melbourne
www.nevenka.com.au
 
Godwin Charli
Emporium, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
194 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
457 Chapel Street, South Yarra
154 Bridge Road, Richmond
www.godwincharli.com
 
Harrolds
101 Collins Street, Melbourne
www.harrolds.com.au
 
Smart Alec Hatters
235 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
www.smartalechatters.com.au
 
WORLD-FAMOUS WORKS
Home to world-class exhibitions from around the globe, Melbourne is celebrated as the culture capital of Australia. The city’s arts and culture offering is certainly multicultural, with works from England, Russia, The United States and China currently on display.
 
David Bowie is
Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
16 July 2015 – 1 November 2015
www.acmi.net.au/exhibitions/bowie
Fresh from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, David Bowie is kicked off at ACMI in July and is set to run until November. The exhibition provides visitors with unprecedented access to over 300 artefacts from Bowie’s personal archive, telling the story of the boy from Brixton who became an international cultural icon. Displaying everything from iconic costumes and stage set designs to handwritten lyric sheets, David Bowie is showcases Bowie’s impact as a live performer and screen star.  
 
Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The Legacy of Catherine the Great
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
31 July – 8 November
www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/masterpieces-from-the-hermitage
Featuring extraordinary works sourced, collected, and commissioned by Catherine the Great herself during her 34 year reign, Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The Legacy of Catherine the Great comes exclusively to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) from Russia’s State Hermitage Museum. Works from Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez and Van Dyck are on display in an environment that has been recreated to reflect the rich atmosphere of the Hermitage Museum.     
 
Orry-Kelly: Dressing Hollywood
Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
18 August 2015 – 17 January 2016
www.acmi.net.au/exhibitions/current/orry-kelly-dressing-hollywood
Just opened at ACMI is Orry-Kelly: Dressing Hollywood, where the works of Academy Award winning costume designer Orry-Kelly are on display. Featuring original costumes, sketches and Oscar® statues, the exhibition pays tribute to the life and career of a truly legendary Hollywood costume designer. 
 
Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
11 December 2015 – 24 April 2016
www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/andy-warhol-ai-wei-wei


Photo coutesy of Haystac

Major international exhibition Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei is set to feature the works of two of the most significant artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Over 200 of Warhol’s works will come to Melbourne as part of the exhibition, while a suite of major commissions by Ai Weiwei will also be displayed. The exhibition looks to explore the significant influence of the artists’ on modern art and contemporary life, focusing on the parallels and intersections between their practices.