Cracking the Coffee Code

Melbourne

No pictures today. Sorry about that, but I haven't actually taken very many here. I'll try to make up for it next time.

So, what would you like to know about Melbourne? Or, more accurately, what shall I tell you about Melbourne? This is my second visit to this city. I was first here almost exactly 8 years ago, and I must say, the city has changed quite a bit in the intervening time. For example, there is a whole new section just to the west of the CBD, known as Docklands, which simply didn't exist last time. Also, the flagship public space known as Federation Square (home of a variety of galleries and museums, as well as the tourist information office) was a construction site last time - now it's an iconic space, which inspires very strong feelings among Melburnians (they either love it or hate it; I must say that I don't actually have particularly strong feelings either way). Thankfully, though, many things haven't changed. There are still many attractive older buildings in the central area (unlike Perth, Melbourne seems to have concluded early on that maintaining its heritage is a good thing). They still run vintage trams in loops in both directions around the CBD (but now encompassing Docklands as well), and they're still free (they've also added a free tourist bus that does a north-south route, providing access to a number of other useful sites). And they still have a very funky traffic rule that at certain intersections if you want to make a right turn, you must do so from the left lane (this sounds bizarre, but once you figure it out, it makes perfect sense in a city that has a lot of trams - this rule allows the trams, as well as traffic going straight, to keep going, without getting stuck behind cars waiting to turn).

Melbourne is a very walkable city. Its CBD is reasonably compact, and there are a number of interesting areas on the fringes of the CBD which are easily accessible. Not having any particular sites I felt I simply had to see, I spent my first day here just wandering around, taking advantage of the aforementioned free transportation to do some of the longer jaunts and to reorient myself. I spent some time in Docklands, which like many areas of its ilk clearly hasn't yet had enough time to establish itself. It feels very new, and a bit raw, but presumably as people get more accustomed to using it, it will become a more comfortable place. I was most intrigued by the Costco store which the driver of the tourist bus said had cost several million dollars to build - who would have thought that anyone was interested in investing in an architecturally interesting Costco?! I also explored the neighborhood just to the northeast of the CBD, known as Fitzroy. It seemed a bit raffish, but aside from a very large store devoted entirely to cookbooks, didn't have too much that interested me - I found it rather disappointing.

On Sunday, I decided to head to Melbourne's principal seaside suburb, known as St. Kilda. My first impresson wasn't too positive, though that was probably because it was pouring rain. Thankfully, the sun came out shortly thereafter, but it wasn't really beach weather as it was quite windy and cool. It was, however, good weather for exploring, and the community was well worth a look. I've seen the place compared to Coney Island, but I must confess that I think that does St. Kilda a disservice. It's certainly a bit rundown, but to my mind, it retains more character than Coney Island does. The seafront is very pleasant, though I will give Coney Island the nod as far as the beach itself goes (I also suspect that it would take a brave soul to go into the water at St. Kilda, even on a hot day, as it's the Southern Ocean, which has come straight up from Antarctica). One other thing that St. Kilda is well known for is its cake shops. I wasn't quite sure what that actually meant, but it turns out to be very classic, old fashioned, continental (with a very central European feel) bakeries, with front windows stuffed floor to ceiling with a huge variety of very appealing baked goods. I had long since decided to indulge, but was paralyzed with indecision, especially as the last thing one wants in a situation like that is to make a bad choice (and yes, that is entirely possible!). Thankfully, I saw in the window of one of the shops (known as Monarch Cake Shop), a New York Times article from 2008 (36 Hours in Melbourne, for those who are familiar with that feature of the Travel section). Their recommendation was the specialty of the shop, known as chocolate kooglhoupf. I refer you to the shop's website (http://www.monarchcakes.com.au/) for a description, but don't blame me if you drool on your keyboards! Suffice it to say that it was well worth the calories (of which I'm sure there were very many).

That allows me to segue very nicely to a topic that is critical to any discussion of Melbourne: food. Melbourne is very serious about its food. Someone said that the city has 3000 restaurants. I have no way to confirm that statement, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. The city benefits from a very mixed ethnic heritage, with large Asian, Italian, Greek and Portugese contingents, among others. As a result, the variety of food available is immense, especially when people start blending the cuisines, which certainly happens. I can't say I've indulged in top-end eating (I often find it a bit awkward to go to fancy restaurants on my own, and my contacts in this city weren't available for dinner), but even going more casual has resulted in some very good meals. Thus far I've managed to sample Japanese, Greek, Chinese and Italian. My main frustration is simply not having enough time to sample even more places!

On a related topic, this is also a city that takes its coffee very seriously. I read in a guidebook that Melburnians get nervous if they're more than 200 meters from a Gaggia (that's a very high end brand of espresso machine in case you were wondering), and I can believe it! It certainly does seem as though every third or fourth shop on every street is a cafe. However, for the poor non-Aussie traveller, trying to figure out how to order what you want is actually quite daunting. As an American, I might normally simply ask for a cup of coffee (or in my case, a cup of decaf coffee), but here (and indeed elsewhere in Australia), that won't get you anywhere. Having lived in the UK for many years, I might see if ordering a filter coffee helps the process, but sadly, with very few exceptions, that too seems to be an unknown concept. By and large, you will be ok if you order a cappucino, a caffe latte or an espresso, especially if the barrista is Italian, but if you really want an Australian to understand you should order a "short black" (espresso), a "long black" (an Americano - espresso with extra water) or a "flat white" (a cappucino). I asked a barista who was clearly Italian what the difference was between a cappucino and a flat white and she gave me a smile and a shrug, indicating there was no difference at all (but the shops still list them separately!). And as if that isn't complicated enough, today I learned that there are variations on the variations! Fortunately, the term I learned is the closest I've yet come to my preferred drink (any of you who have had the misfortune of hearing me order at Starbucks know that I drink a "double [meaning two shots] decaf skinny latte"). I now know that here I need to order a "decaf skim strong latte".

Well, I think I'd best stop there, lest I make myself (and you?) very hungry and thirsty. More soon!