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because I can't cook

Veludo

Published on Monday, 30 April 2012 10:04

Veludo (downstairs) in St Kilda

Address	175 Acland Street
Opening Times	Sun-Thu 8am-10pm Fri-Sat 8am-11pm
Cuisine	Modern Australian
Visited	8 March 2012
Rating

In the spirit of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Campari House’s sister restaurant, Veludo, hosted an event to celebrate all things (beer and) Home Grown where we enjoyed (beer and) a 2-course meal based on local, seasonal produce.

Chanting ‘brew be with you’ was how the Veludo’s Home Grown event was opened.

The entertainment of the evening came from the creators (or ‘beerologists’ but certainly no brewers) of St Kilda Brew, Jamie Bunn and Troy McKinna. We got to hear the tale of how this beer grew from tasting the crappy Bondi beer an idea shared by two friends over a game of football to become a popular beer across Melbourne.

The St Kilda Brew was a Belgian blonde and was actually a blend of various types of beers. Its bottle label pictured 37 incarnations, from Luna Park and lifesaving ring to naked woman to symbolize the unique, fun St Kilda.

While we were being amused by Jamie and Troy, we munched on some tasty tapas to start with; chorizo, olives, ham, polenta croquettes, cheeses.. The croquettes and chorizo were certainly my favourites!

The tapas plate was followed by head chef Adam Hudson’s spiced confit otway pork belly served with cauliflower puree, wild mushroom glaze, baby onions and sugar snaps. Delicious. Delicious. Delicious. Crispy skinned, sweet sauced, generously portioned.

Wanting to create something special for their lady customers, Jamie and Troy came up with Ciderman (think muscly, handsome Superman but with beer guts). Ciderman was an apple cider made from pink lady apples that was pretty sweet and crisp, guaranteed to make us ladies smirk!

It was a pleasurable night indeed (we even got a goody bag filled with more beers to take home!), although there was still something missing:

Dessert!