Melbourne Places » Carlisle Street

Salvos move to Carlisle Street, St Kilda and take on a new look.

Melbourne — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:00:22 +0000

The say good things come in small packages and the St Kilda, Salvation Army Opportunity Shop is proof of this. They have downsized. In doing so they have created a much better outlet in Carlisle Street than the previous one on the corner of Inkerman Street and St Kilda Road.

That huge rambling and messy warehouse on the corner of Inkerman Street and St Kilda Road has closed. The site has turned into a bike emporium.

The new shop in Carlisle has style compared with the old one and they have cut down on their stock. I always believed that there was so much ‘stuff’ in the old warehouse no one would be able say exactly what was in there.

The new store has added style to a Salvo browse. The shop is laid ‘out’. The dressing rooms are no longer a sort of curtained box, designer gear is in the front when you walk in.

Shoes are ordered on racks and someone keeps them tidy.

Home wares tend to be colour coded for example there is a shelf of blue. Books are newer – less knocked about, It feels cleaner and there are less of the things that no one is ever going to buy. It also feels as if the place is dusted sometimes – perhaps regularly.

I have been told they are charging more that they did in the old warehouse. This could apply to their designer gear although my black Country Road singlet was $5.00.

Last time I was there they had a piano, which seemed odd because the shop next door is a piano shop. I was hoping some one in the large browsing crowd would play it. If they did it was after I left. I also noticed some crutches in one corner should you ever need any.

The Salvos, St Kilda:-
Opposite the City of Port Phillip Town Hall in Carlisle Street.

Opening hours:-
Monday to Wednesday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Thursday to Friday 9.00 to 7.00pm
Saturday 9.00a, to 5.00pm

Getting there:-
Trams No 3 or No 16
Get off at the stop on the corner of St Kilda Road and Carlisle Street.

Artist Camille Monet and the St Kilda residents create a special piece of art for the community

Melbourne — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:30:57 +0000

The St Kilda community has created a wall to bring people together rather than shut them off from each other. They are calling it the Great Wall of St Kilda.

This wall is 11 metres x 5 meters and made of clay tiles, in total 807 tiles.

Two hundred and seven large tiles that capture characters and stories of St Kilda have been created by Australian Artist, Camille Monet. Six hundred smaller tiles have been designed and made by local St Kilda people who she encouraged to get involved. This makes the fascinating and creative wall truly belong to St Kilda

In an interview with ABC Arts Programme, Monet said, “The mural caters for all sorts of people, including those in and out of homelessness. It tells the real story of St Kilda and captures its diversity.”
She says it turned out to be bigger than they expected. She walked the streets of St Kilda, speaking to people and getting to know them so she could capture the ‘ real’ St Kilda and get local people involved.
Each tile is unique and you can spend a lot of time just looking at them and taking in each message. It’s colourful and Monet believes colour represents St Kilda.

The Great Wall of St Kilda is erected behind the National Theatre, on the corner of Carlisle Street and Barkly Street, in the Talbot Reserve. It covers what was an ugly Citypower wall that was the target of tagging and old bill posters.

This mural is the final part of an up-grade to the Talbot Reserve which has included new seating, a children’s play area, more paths, landscaping, lighting and a very stylish drinking fountain.

If you are in St Kilda wander into the Talbot Reserve and study The Great St Kilda Wall. I’m sure it will become part of St Kilda’s history. It is a stunning idea and the wall is eye-catching and with so many contributors it is truly unique.

It is a feel good piece of art.

To see it you need to go into the Talbot Reserve as the wall is somewhat hidden from view when you are on Barkley Street.

Getting there:
Melways 58 B10 – You may want to check this as the wall is hard to see from the road.
Tram 17 and tram79 in the weekends – Get off at the corner of Carlisle and Barkly Streets. Talbot Reserve is behind the National Theatre.

Tram 96 – Get off at the corner of Acland and Carlisle Streets and walk up Carlislie to Barkly Street

Carlisle Street in St Kilda East is evolving. Check out the Carlisle Street Bazaar

Melbourne — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:22:37 +0000

The Carlisle Street Bazaar opened just before Christmas adding another retail experience to shopping in the piece of Carlisle Street around the Balaclava Rail Station.
This Carlisle Street Bazaar replaces a store where I often browsed. It was one of those stores that covered an eclectic range merchandise – clothes, furniture, home ware, jewelery, gifts. All this appeared to be individually chosen to give a cohesion to the store. This space has now morphed into the Carlisle Street Bazaar. It is as if the original store has re-invented itself and presented a new face to the world, the cohesion has gone but the atmosphere has livened up.

To me it is an improvement. For one thing the space is lighter and brighter. I found the old space rather gloomy. The variety is better and it is more fun to browse.

Stock moves too. There was a hand created metal pig and sheep when I first walked into the Bazaar and a few days later they had gone. “Snapped up,” I was told. They still have smaller roosters from the same artist. They are the sort of patio/garden object that lift your spirits and cause you to smile.

So far the Carlisle Street Bazaar have been a constantly changing visual feast – new clothes, new displays, new bric-a-brac.

At this point the venture looks successful and it will be interesting to watch it evolve. I like the original art and would like to see more creative works for sale.

To discuss hiring space: – phone 0411598411.
Opening hours: -

Monday to Saturday 10.00am to 6.00pm. The Bazaar closes at 5.00pm on Sunday.

Getting there:

Trams – 12, 3, going along Carlisle Street, first stop past St Kilda Road. 67 Tram get off at the corner of Carlisle and St Kilda Road or a 78 that runs from Richmond to the St Kilda East end of Chapel Street.

Train – Sandringham line to Balaclava Stration

Hearty Hungarian meals – Authentic European eating in East St Kilda .

Melbourne — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:58:34 +0000

A cold evening, showers and a chill wind, your heading home and the big question is what to eat. Take-a-ways seem a good idea and you want something quick.

How about The Hearty Hungarian, in Carlisle Street East St Kilda?

The food is ready to go – no waiting around. All you have to do is make choices. The Hearty Hungarian – is right next door to the St Kilda branch of the Port Phillip Library Service so you can roll out of there and step into it..

The first time I got food from there I’d been to the library and at closing stepped from that warm building into the chill of the evening. There it was, the Hearty Hungarian in all its unsophisticated glory – Hungarian colours, bright lights and hot filling food.

The café has been here for a couple for a couple of years and is becoming known for serving up good home cooked traditional Hungarian food. The meals are cooked by a Hungarian cook who has been feeding her family delicious wholesome food for 30 years or more

The food is ‘cheap and cheerful’. There is nothing polished about this place. The tables inside are covered with flower patterned oil-cloth.

A meal, $11.90, is served with a main and two sides. I believe you get enough food to feed two with the one serving but of course that depends on how much you eat and how hungry you are.

$11.90 meal

Tightly filled cabbage rolls ( 2 per serve) are baked with sauerkraut. When you think of a cabbage roll keep the thought of a spring roll out of your mind. These are huge in comparison. The taste is interesting and could well come from the paprika that is used extensively in Hungarian cooking.

My favourite main is stuffed red peppers. They are filled with delicate flavoured rice and mince. The slightly sweetish taste that I love and go back to the Hearty Hungarian for may come from the red pepper and possibly paprika.

stuffed red pepper with sauce and cabbage roll

I have a retro Hungarian cook book written by Kato Frank published in 1963. Kato Frank talks a lot about the heavy use of Paprika in Hungarian food. The stuffed Red Peppers have a great colour too.

A $11.90 meal consisted of two peppers or two cabbage rolls or another main such beef stroganoff or meat loaf and two sides. For side dishes I like lentils and Hungarian gnocchi a very small sized pasta about the size of a pea and it goes well with the red peppers. The lentils are particularly good.

lentils and Hungarian gnocchi

This little food outlet enhances the European feel you get on this part of Carlisle Street St Kilda East.

Getting there:

Trams 12, 3, going along Carlisle Street, first stop past St Kilda Road. 67 Tram get off at the corner of Carlisle and St Kilda Road or a 78 that runs from Richmond to the St Kilda East end of Chapel Street.

The café is between Chapel Street and St Kilda Road, beside the entrance to the St Kilda Library and opposite the St Kilda Town Hall.

You can also can take the Sandringham Line train to Balaclava Station and walk towards Chapel Street.

Eastern European Flavours in East St Kilda

Melbourne — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:14:41 +0000

Carlisle Street in East St Kilda was the Melbourne Place I got to know well when I first came to Melbourne. It was here I became familiar with Russian and Eastern European food for the first time.

The St Kilda Library in Carlisle Street has a large selection of Polish and Russian books in their foreign language section. The Hungarian section is smaller but it doesn’t matter because the Hungarian flavour is outside on the street. When you walk out of the library you can step into a café called Hearty Hungarian food. It’s next door.

This is more a takeaway cafe but they do have a window bench if you wish to eat there. The food is cheap and filling – ideal winter fare. All meals consist of a main and two side dishes. Last week they were advertising freshly made cherry strudel.

Over Chapel Street the Eastern European theme continues . It is here that you can wander into a Russian delicatessen and if you are very adventurous buy tins labeled completely in Russian. You can ask what’s in them but sometimes it is fun to take a punt and a good guess. Once I bought a jar of cherry jam with a label written in Polish from Lorgen International Delicatessen 236 Carlisle Street – not very adventurous I know but the jam was delicious.

Meat is on the menu in Carlisle Street, East St Kilda. It is amazing how much meat. There are two supermarkets selling meat and two flourishing butchers/ delicatessen. Both butchers/delicatessens cater for their Eastern European clientele.

I like the larger of the two with the uninspiring name of “Fresh Food Corner” It’s on the corner of Woodstock and Carlisle. It’s like stepping into another country. Peer into the deep freezer and study the tradition Russian pasta filled with such delights as cheese and cabbage, Siberian Beef and Pork, or Cherries. There are a myriad of sausages, imported cheeses, offal and a mind boggling array of meats and chicken. The counter is cluttered with tins of imported goodies. A recent arrival is tins of chestnuts.

Window Display at Fresh Food Corner. They also have an extensive array of marinated kebabs.

The other butcher Leon’s Small Goods is at 262 Carlisle and has the best selection of locally produced ham in the area. They have ducks, whole Porterhouse steaks, whole fillets of beef as well as more cheeses and sausages.

Then there is Baker in the Rye, opposite Lorgen International Deli, selling wonderful sough dough bread and black, very black and heavy rye bread, various Russian cakes, some with that wonderful poppy seed paste. Try their cherry or cheese ‘Danish’ pastries. If you are lucky they will be warm from the oven.

The area has a number of Melbourne style cafes and you can buy coffee at Baker in the Rye. And while you are in St Kilda East check out some of the architecture. These buildings were constructed when there was time and money to be frivolous.

To experience the Eastern European and Russian flavour of Carlisle Street, St Kilda East or Balaclava as it is sometimes called, take the Sandringham line train to Balaclava Station or the number 3 or 12 Tram to Kew. This will take you along Carlisle Street. You want to get off at the corner of Chapel and Carlisle – just after the library.