50 Food Adventures (1-10)

1. Give Sunday lunch at Embrasse a whirl

Whether your world is fuzzy or sunny on a Sunday, four courses of chef Nicolas Poelaert’s provincial French fare (roast chicken confit style – ie. cooked in fat) and a $19 carafe of local wine will make it better. 312 Drummond St, Carlton 3053. $64.

2. Chase down the taco truck 

Get on Twitter (@tacotruckmelb), get on your bike and get to wherever the hell that Mexicale fun bus has pulled up for the day. Raph Rashid’s truck dishes out hot-mama fish, meat or vegetarian soft shell tacos with a big side of spicy salsas, guacamole and fun. Rolling round the ’hoods along with Beatbox Kitchen (another Rashid venture) and the new Le Sausage van, this is one of the first LA-inspired food trucks to hit Melbourne. It’s mobile fast food that kicks the dodgy burger to the kerb, and we’re hanging out for more to join the ranks. Watch this space. $12.

3. Dig in with the hospitality crowd at the Waiters Restaurant

Located at the top of a dingy staircase is this Melbourne institution of casual cheap eats. Built for off-duty Italian waiters in 1947  (some of them are still here), expect Laminex tables, veal scallopini and wine in a mug. Nice. 1st Floor, 20 Meyers Pl, Melbourne. $25 approx.

4. Line up for first loaf of the day at Baker D Chirico

Mornings should always smell like sunshine and Baker D Chirico sourdough. Get a fresh loaf and hightail it home, or stick around and stick ’em up for pear custard tart and coffee. 4/149 Fitzroy St, St Kilda. $7.50 approx.

5. Attend an Eat With Me dinner party

Listen up dinner party fiends. Food social network eatwithme.net lets you search the city for dinner parties, or host your own. Post your next fondue/spit roast/origami-and-sushi party and watch food-loving allies materialise out of thin webspace.

6. Go slooooow with regional dinners at the Commoner

After running successful nose-to-tail feasts this year, the Commoner team will be upping the ante in 2012, hosting region specific degustations. The first is a Grampians dinner featuring produce from the area including olives, beef, and eggs from the Green Eggs peeps. Lvl 1, 122 Johnston St, Fitzroy. $75, $120 including all pours.

7. Procure a souvlaki from the Sydney Rd car wash

Sometimes you need lamb and chili. Sometimes, hot wax and a buffing. At 11pm you sometimes need both, and this car wash/kebab joint has you covered. Order the lamb souvlaki, heavy on the hummus. Trust us. Town Hall Kebab, 260 Sydney Rd, Brunswick. $8.50

8. Spend the whole day at Cumulus

Few restaurants do all-day dining like Cumulus. For breakfast it’s shakshouka baked eggs or organic muesli, while lunch and dinner bring in six kinds of oyster, inventive charcuterie and a life-changing shoulder of lamb. Eat the day away. 45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne. $51-100.

9. Trust the chef at menu-free Da Noi

Utter “feed me” at Da Noi and a surprise Sardinian feast shall be yours. There’s no menu, so we can’t guarantee what wonders will comprise your six-course menu (perhaps suckling pig, or mussels with viniagarette) only that it will be market-fresh and kicking. 95 Toorak Rd, South Yarra. $85.

10. Mix hot dogs and cocktails at the Waiting Room

Ground Fl, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank.

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