Arts entrees - MCV - Melbourne Community Voice for Gay and Lesbian Readers

Written by S.M. King

Thursday, 25 September 2008 00:47 - Last Updated Monday, 22 December 2008 13:45

S.M. King looks at pre-theatre dining.

We all have our shortcomings.

My near perfect friend Cinnamon, for example, can’t pass a newsstand without buying NW
magazine. There’s a normally wise man I know obsessed with Sarah Palin. You can tell him,
“She’s a caribou shooting, fag hating, oil drilling devil” until you’re blue in the face. And still, he
flutters when she’s on the telly and talks about buying rimless glasses

And then there’s my own deficiency: I am afraid of the performing arts.

Every year at around this time, discord rules my household. Partner bounds in with, “We’ve got
tickets to The Navigator! Can you believe it? What do I wear for Barrie Kosky?”

Somehow, after ten years, she has failed to grasp a basic truth. Kristy Edmunds, Artistic
Director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival (MIAF), has turned me into a cretin.

Despite the fact of a half-time exit from the 2006 opening night (I wasn’t the only one. Tim

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Arts entrees - MCV - Melbourne Community Voice for Gay and Lesbian Readers

Written by S.M. King

Thursday, 25 September 2008 00:47 - Last Updated Monday, 22 December 2008 13:45

Robbins’ production of 1984 was almost universally loathed) Partner keeps buying me tickets.

It’s not going to stop. I’ve years of contemporary dance, experimental theatre and spoken word
yet to endure. To diminish my woe, I do two things. I insist on new outfits, and I always make
time for a decent pre-show meal.

Dining explicitly geared for this purpose is wonderful. The rules of engagement between diner
and restaurant are straightforward and geared toward mutual satisfaction. All things should be
this simple.

Your responsibility is to order before 7:00pm, sometimes from a fixed price menu, and vacate
the table in a timely fashion. The restaurant’s responsibility is to serve you in a timely fashion.
And generally, they do.

The MIAF precinct offers a plethora of purpose-built meals from Southgate to Crown. Kouzina
at Southgate does nifty Greek tasting plates for a pre-theatre dinner at $35.

I’m yet to be disappointed by The Brasserie at Crown. Here, two pre-theatre courses run at
$38.50. Choices include entrecôte maître d'hôtel ou béarnaise, pommes frites (that’s steak and
chips) and a moreish porcini mushroom risotto.

Within strolling distance of the festival is ezard. The pre-theatre tasting menu is divine. Given
the $65 cost and the culinary flair, it’s almost a shame to rush the occasion.

Even those places that don’t offer a specific pre-theatre menu will rise to the occasion. Ensure
you’re seated early enough and let staff know your time constraints. It works both ways: you get
to the show before the curtain rises, and they get the table ready for another party.

As Partner is wont to remind me, theatre runs year round. To endure this marathon with a big
carb hit, I’ve often gone to the famous Pellegrini’s. Cosying up to The Ath and The Regent in

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Arts entrees - MCV - Melbourne Community Voice for Gay and Lesbian Readers

Written by S.M. King

Thursday, 25 September 2008 00:47 - Last Updated Monday, 22 December 2008 13:45

Collins Street is the perennially popular Bistrot d’Orsay. Do book ahead.

When you do have a show to attend, in fact, always book ahead, and always book
conservatively. Allow plenty of time for error. You don’t want to miss a minute of the soundworld
of the Common Myna.

Yes, it’s real. And, yes, we have tickets.

Bistrot d’Orsay
184 Collins Street, Melbourne
Ph: (03) 9654 6498

The brasserie by Philippe Mouchel

Riverside at Crown
Ph: (03) 9292 7808
www.thebrasserieatcrown.com.au

ezard
187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Ph: (03) 9639 6811
www.ezard.com.au

Kouzina Restaurant and Bar

Shop MR3, Midlevel, Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct
Ph: 9682 2999
www.kouzina.com.au

Pellegrini’s
66 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Ph: (03) 9662 1885

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