Melbourne Places » Carlisle Street

Sacred Heart Mission’s Inkerman Street Op Shop adds new interest to East St Kilda

Melbourne — Sun, 08 May 2011 22:51:54 +0000

The corner of Hotham and Inkerman Streets seems an unlikely place to find a flourishing Op Shop. None-the-less this corner is home to a Sacred Heart Mission Opportunity Shop.

It has been here for a couple of years and although there isn’t much foot traffic it is a busy corner for road traffic. There is free parking in the local streets and this Op Shop appears to be flourishing.

The shop has become known locally for its stylish windows. They are ever changing and they display someone’s skill at window dressing.

It’s not quite the Royal Wedding but it is very cute

A recent window as seen from Hotham Street.

I think the prices here are good, too There have been complaints about the increase in prices charged by the Salvation Army shop now that it is in Carlisle. See here. I think the prices in Inkerman Street are still reasonable.

For example the charming old dolls in the window display are $10 each.

It is crowded inside but the layout works. Again someone with some flair has been at work here.

I suppose an increase in prices has become inevitable now that Op Shops have become more main stream – a place where everyone browses. Real “finds” have become harder to come by.

A spin off from this maybe the enticing window displays. In this Sacred Heart Op Shop everything in the window is for sale and you can collect your item when the window is dismantled. It is rather like putting a red sticker on a sold piece of art. You leave your phone number and an assistant will ring you and hold the item until you can collect.

Where:-
Sacred Heart Mission, Inkerman Street Op hop
415 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East

Phone: Shop – 9536 8437
For donations – 9536 8437

Opening hours:-
Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 5.00
Friday 10.00 to 7.00
Saturday & Sunday 10.00 to 5.00

Getting There: -
Trams 3 & 16 take you to the corner of Carlisle Street and Hothman Street and you can walk along Hotham to Inkerman
Driving. There is one hour street parking locally.

Gattica Restaurant, St Kilda East, is all about atmosphere

Melbourne — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:05:02 +0000

Gattica Restaurant on Carlisle Street, Balaclava is a favourite place of a friend of mine who lives in Fitzroy North. He is delighted when he has business around St Kilda East so he can head to Gattica. His is always talking about the coffee and the Hash Stack he has there.
With such a recommendation I thought I should visit this Melbourne Place.

Gattica Restaurant, next to the ANZ Bank in Carlisle Street, Balaclava

It is one of the cafes clustered around the Balaclava Railway Station. The morning I visited was grey, drizzly and dreary. What did I think? Well, I would go back for the atmosphere and the coffee.

It is hard to know what creates an atmosphere in a place. This cafe is long and narrow with one side taken up with the bar.

Does good coffee create an atmosphere? Does the pleasure you get from sipping your coffee give off positive vibes?

I have never been able to answer the atmosphere question. Let just say that I love the atmosphere at Gattica. When I entered it felt crowded but there was no trouble getting a table and a paper away from the noise of the coffee machine. People around me were, reading, chatting and discussing business in a relaxed way. I ordered coffee and a breakfast I love. Corn fritters! Perhaps it was an off day in the kitchen but the fritters were not of a standard I have had at other local eateries. See Mart Cafe and Hot Honey Cafe. Perhaps I should have followed my friend’s recommendation and chosen the Hash Stack.

Instead I grabbed the chance to have the corn fritters topped with a poached free range egg. The egg yolk was hard so no chance of a delicious runny yellow liquid to mix with the pancakes which were stodgy and would have been improved with egg yolk. The best thing was the bacon. That was delicious. Keep that in mind if you are there for breakfast you may like to add it to your dish.

The corn fritters were a visual feast – great combination of colours.

Corn fritters come with tomato, basil salsa, bacon, avocado and finished with sweet chilli sour cream and I added a fee range poached egg. The egg on the menu is fried. I asked for poached – perhaps that is where the problem lies.

This may have been a bad day for fritters but as I can get better elsewhere I wouldn’t order it again. However I will go back. As I said, I like the atmosphere. Next time coffee and the paper and perhaps I’ll try Toasted Turkish Bread with seasoned avocado, fresh tomato and feta.

The cafe has a row of tables on Carlisle Street with gas lamps for the colder weather and it flows through to a courtyard at the back that opens on to Charles Street – a tiny street that finishes under the walkway from Balaclava Station.

There’s a take-a-way window onto Carlisle Street where it does a steady business in take-away coffee.

Getting there:-

Trams:-
No 3 and 16 from the CBD stop outside Las Chicas
No 78/79 from Richmond stop at the corner of Carlisle and Chapel Streets.

Trains:-
The Sandringham Line to Balaclava Station

Las Chicas, Balaclava, for breakfast still great eating in Melbourne

Melbourne — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:11:25 +0000

When a cafe has been operating for a few years it may seem a waste of time reviewing it – others have done so before – but I believe Melbourne Places needs to visit and talk about the old favourites. Not everyone knows these places. Not every well known cafe lives up to its original high standard.

Las Chicas has been its position, by the Balaclava train station, for a number of years.

Las Chicas has expended over the years and now occupies two narrow spaces with large doorways between and a courtyard at the rear. The courtyard is roomy and you can catch the rumble of trains at Balaclava Station – adds to the atmosphere.

Carlisle Street is busy in the weekends. It has become a Melbourne place ‘to be’. Las Chicas is one of the places to eat.

We went early on Sunday morning about 9.15am. By mid morning there is often a queue waiting for seats and even at 9.15am the place was filling up. We wanted to sit in the courtyard but the only seats available were next a heavy smoker which is probably why they were available.

We grabbed two free seats at the window bar. Not quiet as good as the courtyard but in my opinion a pretty good place to be.

My flat white coffee and my friend’s lemon tea came quickly.

The coffee was good but it could have been hotter. I like to begin the day with a hot coffee – no complaints about the strength and flavour. No criticism of the lemon tea.

The menu at Las Chicas is extensive – you could even say too extensive – spoilt for choice, something like that. There are daily specials in the front, a blackboard with more specials and a large vegetarian section before we get to the main section.

My choice was the Bikini Blowout Benedict (BBB), Avocado, bacon, poached egg , bagel toasted and hollandaise sauce – $17.50. This is a great breakfast if you’re hungry. I love Eggs Benedict but I always hate the way hollandaise looks poured over something – too yellow perhaps – but the taste was delicious and the bacon crispy – no grease. I would order this again if I was hungry.

Bikini Blowout Benedict (BBB)

My friend had a special; sourdough multi grain toast, avocado, balsamic roasted tomatoes, crumbled feta and she added smoked salmon – $14.50, salmon extra. All was pronounced delicious except the smoked salmon. She didn’t think the dish needed this and she didn’t think it was very good smoked salmon.

A Special Breakfast

I’m told the Baked Bean Brekky in the vegetarian section is delicious and I will try this next time. It sounds good; house baked pumpkin and polenta loaf toasted, topped with baked beans, spinach and a poached egg.

A work colleague gave a warning about the muffins. You can see them in a display case as you walk in. They look great but when you order the wait-staff heat them. She says it makes them impossible to eat. Her raspberry and apple muffin crumbled so much she had to eat it with a spoon. They served it with butter but it was impossible to spread the crumbs. Her advice ask them not to heat it and it will be great.

Las Chicas Cafe Carlisle Street, Balaclava

The cafe has a window that opens to the rail ramp and there is a take away window also on the ramp side.

Where :-
Las Chicas
203 Carlisle Street
Balaclava
It is on the corner of Carlisle Street and the walk-way to platform 1 at the Balaclava train station.
Phone 9531 3699

Opening times:-
7am to 5pm
Breakfast is served all day.

Trams:-
No 3 and 16 from the CBD stop outside Las Chicas
No 78/79 from Richmond stop at the corner of Carlisle and Chapel Streets.

Trains:-
The Sandringham line to Balaclava Station

W-class Yellow and Green trams icons of Melbourne on route 78/79 are to be replaced so grab a ride while you can.

Melbourne — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:49:44 +0000

W-class trams date back to the 1930’s.

W-class Tram at the corner of Chapel and Carlisle Street

A W-class tram was the first tram I rode in Melbourne. It was before I lived here and in the days when there was a conductor on board.

I clambered up the high wooden step and sat on a hard seat and fell in love with these charming yellow and green vehicles.

Now these wonderful old trams have almost gone. The green and yellow ones on Prahran to Richmond route are to phased out and scrapped. So clamber aboard one of these work horses of the public transport system while you can. They will be history soon.

You can see how badly they are being maintained.

There are some W-class trams that have been painted a dull red for the tourists. They don’t feel like the real thing to me and I haven’t photographed one. The real thing is painted green and yellow!
To take a ride back in time. Take the 78/79 tram from St Kilda to Richmond North (78 during the day and 79 at night). The W-class is still in every-day use on these tracks.

This is one of the few tram routes that doesn’t go through the CBD. It travels in a straight line along Chapel Street and into Church Street.

News reports tell us these trams are for the scrap heap. You can check out what is happening at this web site. So instead of being shaken and joggled on this route in future we can expect to glide along as one would on, say, route 6 which always carries new sleeker models. No charm there.

Grab the opportunity and grab a 78 and slowly progress along Chapel Street, and into Church Street until you get Victoria Street, Richmond – the home of Vietnamese cafes and the Minh Phat Supermarket.

This is not a comfortable ride. People have described the trams as the ‘old green W-class rattlers’. It is the charm of Melbourne’s past you are experiencing. In the recent TV mini-series “Pacific” about World War II, two of the characters flirted on a W-class tram. I wonder if they borrowed one from route 78 for the filming?

Recently a number of the W-class trams congregated in St Kilda – There are 6 in this photo.

Tram route 78/79 is an interesting route to travel. Starting in St Kilda, that is the Chapel Street end of St Kilda, the tram picks up many people who make short journeys – sometimes only one or two stops. Then you cross Dandenong Road and head into Windsor with its eclectic collection of op shops, cafes, designer shops and the fascinating Tarlo and Graham shop. From Windsor it’s across High Street and into Prahran and South Yarra. Chapel Street is packed with cars so the journey is slow. This gives you a change to gaze around. It is a great area to ‘people watch’ – some are walking faster than you are travelling. Across the Yarra and you are into Church Street and the speed picks up. This segment is filled with furniture design emporiums and exotic car show rooms. It is here that you can view the latest Ferrari or Maserati. Finally you arrive at North Richmond where you can take the 109 (always a sleek modern tram) into the CBD or ride back the way you came.

A good place to board a W-class tram is the corner of Chapel and Carlisle Streets. The no 3 and 16 trams from the CBD intersect with it here. The number 6 intersects at High Street and the No 72 at Commercial Road.

What:-
W-Class Trams – Route 78/79
Trams run every half hour – about 5 and 35 past the hour from the St Kilda terminus

Check out the timetables here:-
78 daytime tram-
79 Night-time tram slightly changed route goes to St Kilda Beach

Batch for Breakfast? Head to Clarlisle Street East St Kilda

Melbourne — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 08:08:41 +0000

Batch! Why do people chose the names they do for their businesses- I’m always curious about that?

Batch in Carlisle Street, East St Kilda !

When Batch was first mentioned to me and I heard that the owner was a New Zealander and that he uses a sort of Kiwiana decor I immediately thought of New Zealand’s basic, comfortable and often charming holiday cottage called a Bach and pronounced ‘batch’. I imagine it is possible to confuse the pronunciation with the composer Johann Sebastian Bach pronounced ‘bark’. Perhaps this lead to Batch – no confusion! On the other hand the owner may have had a completely different reason for Batch. The cafe has the comfortable relaxed feel of a New Zealand ‘bach’

Batch in Carlisle Street is a place for especially good food and great coffee. It holds it’s own along this thriving strip of cafes, restaurants and takeaways in Balaclava.

Sunday morning is my ideal time for a cafe breakfast. We head down there about 9.30 to find all the tables full but after a short wait we are seated at the window-bar watching the passersby. We ordered coffee. Coffee of Batch’s usual high standard arrived with that lovely flower design on top of my flat white. The pleasure of the design is partly why I order flat white.

Dogs and their owners occupied the tables outside – this a very dog friendly area and we watched the entertainment as we sipped our coffee and waited for our food.

The menu has an immediate charm. How can you resist lavender yoghurt or rose water salsa? We couldn’t.

We ordered:-

Fresh seasonal fruits with lavender yoghurt + almond maple crunch $9.00

Buttermilk pancakes with watermelon + strawberry + mint + rosewater salsa with maple syrup. $12.50

Batch has been around for a few years – see an early review from Matt Preston in The Melbourne Age.

You can see why it is still thriving and bursting with people. The food lived up to our mouth watering expectations. The yoghurt was fused with a touch of lavender. The pancakes were the lightest and fluffiest I have had for a while. Too often they can be a bit soggy. The touch of mint was just right with the salsa.

They also have Kedgeree on the menu for $14. And with pickled cabbage $15.50. Now, when did you last see Kegeree on a menu?

There are always flowers in Batch. At the moment they poke their heads out of this bright yellow re-cycled notice.

Where:-
Batch
1/320 Carlisle Street
St Kilda East.

Opening Hours:-
Daily from 7am to 5pm
Coffee from 7am and breakfast from 8am
Dinner Friday only 5pm to 10pm

Phone:- 9530 3550

Getting there:-
Train – Sandringham Line to Balaclava Station
Trams – 3 & 16 Get off at the Balaclava Station stop

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.