Melbourne’s Cutler & Co & Modern Australian Cuisine

Cutler & Co is considered one of the best restaurants in Melbourne.  It provides Modern Australian cooking with a tasting menu option.

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It’s in Fitzroy which is two steps and a skip from Brunswick.  Brunswick is the hipster part of town.  Every city has its hipster area, so it was idiotic of me to think Melbourne was different.  With that said, I have to quote George Bush…”There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”  However, the only difference is I fooled myself.

I arrived after a long day of sight seeing in Port Campbell.  I was starving and luckily for me they offered a tasting menu.  After having Grossi, I really wanted to see what else Melbourne had to offer in culinary art.  Cutler & Co’s decor is very contemporary to match their Modern Australian cuisine.  It has a wide open kitchen with a see-through glass frame.  It was definitely useful to watch the chefs cook my food to ensure they weren’t spitting in it and trying to retaliate against me cause I was leisurely farting in the restaurant.

The restaurant was filled with corporate pricks and couples celebrated special occasions like finalizing a divorce.  The service was good but it wasn’t extraordinary; I don’t know why it wasn’t extraordinary.  Maybe it had to do with my attire cause I wasn’t dress for the occasion. Everyone looked like they’re at a business meeting and I’m there with my “Fuck The Police” t-shirt.

I went with the tasting menu.  It consisted of six dishes.

1. Tuna Tartare – The tartare came with Fromage Blanc and Bottarga.  Yeah.  What the fuck ever that means.  To be honest, this wasn’t really impressive like politicians making empty promises we know they can’t keep.  The texture of the tuna as delicate as some of the sushi joints I had in my life where it just melted in my mouth after two bites.  I was they would have perfected the whole acid tab effect.

   

2. Pickled Mussels – Pickled Mussels accompanied with cuttlefish and vegetables. The presentation was great and bravo for not having it taste like it was pickled. The vegetables were definitely saved the dish. It was crisp, fresh and very earthy.  It was nutritious and semi-delicious.

   

3. Flounder – The dish had Black leek and pickled onion.  The Aussies love their damn flounder fish and lamb.  It’s practically on every menu in Australia.  However, I will say the flounder fish was one of my favorite dishes served.  The delicate fish had a seared and crispy skin; the flavor was sweet and broke into flakes like my dandruff.

   

4. Smoked Duck Breast – They did a decent job with the duck breast; the duck breast was tender and full of flavor.  It wasn’t gamy and I enjoyed this dish.  It came with salsify, prune and radicchio.  The radicchio was great.  I think it was the radicchio that tasted great.  Actually, I don’t even know what radicchio is…

   

5. Dry Aged Lamb Saddle – Aussies and their lamb. I swear.  The lamb was slightly tender and had a little flavor; but, it was just too gamy for me.  It had a lot to do with the size of the cut. The cut was almost two inches thick, which in my opinion is too large.  Hold the dick jokes.

   

Overall, Cutler & Co was a decent dining experience.  All the dishes all had interesting flavors.  Some better than others.  I would totally recommend Cutler & Co if you’re in the Melbourne area.  However, I don’t think it’s quite there to compete with some of its counterparts like Burger King.  Wait… the Aussies call that Hungry Jack’s.  The funny thing about Hungry Jack’s is they stole the whole thing from Burger King and Burger King tried to sue them but the Australian court ruled against them.  Bloody wankers.

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