Sunday, April 29, 2012

The Workers Club, Fitzroy

Where: Cnr Brunswick St and Gertrude St, Fitzroy, Victoria

When: 26.04.12; occasionally in 2010.

Website: http://theworkersclub.com.au/menu/

Rating: 4/5

The Workers Club is one of many fantastic live music venues in Fitzroy that also happens to serve food. It brings back fond memories for us, since it is where we first discovered Rekorderlig strawberry and lime cider, which has sustained us though many hot, sticky afternoons since. However, we have only eaten there twice, and I don't remember the first time very well. I vaguely remember having some delicious pasta dish, and we both have fond memories of their crinkle-cut chips with aioli. Last week, we decided that we were long overdue to eat at the Workers Club again.

We arrived just as it had begun to rain, and managed to secure one of the last remaining tables in the front bar. We decided to order one main and one side to share between us, given that the serving sizes of pub food are usually likely to leave you feeling somewhat bloated. We placed our order and sat down to enjoy a jug of Bulmer's pear cider - slightly more interesting than the apple variety. They normally have Dirty Granny apple cider on tap, but on this night they were unfortunately out of stock.

Our food arrived more quickly than we expected, which can sometimes indicate somewhat mediocre food quality, but in this case, we needn't have worried.

Manchego cheese quesadilla, $7
This quesadilla was a substantial size, and we ended up glad that we didn't opt for a second starter! The braised kidney beans were cooked very well, and I quickly forgot that I was eating something without any meat in it. The cheese was delicious but a little on the sparse side - a touch more and this would have been perfect. The dish did have a few jalapeño peppers dotted around, but I steered clear of these and left them to Ax, who has much more of a palate for spice than I!

Grilled saganaki burger, $16
This reasonably-priced burger certainly delivered. It was absolutely brimming with saganaki - any more and I probably would have dehydrated from the salt, but the cucumber and tzatziki balanced out the salty cheese perfectly. It was served with a generous helping of the crinkle-cut chips that we remembered so fondly, and they were just as good as we'd remembered - crispy and salty.

We were very satisfied after sharing these two dishes between us, and the burger/cheese craving we had been harbouring for the last few days was certainly quenched. For a couple of carnivores like us, we were somewhat astonished that we'd just eaten a dinner containing absolutely no meat, but with food of this quality, we really didn't miss it. I am very keen to come back and try the wagyu beef burger ($16), and of course, the free-range chicken parma ($21). Very interested to see if it lives up to its price tag.

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