C U M U L U S I N C

We love food so needless to say, when we have the opportunity to go out for brunch, we always try to find a new place. In Melbourne, it isn't so easy to exhaust your options even if you want to. Cumulus Inc. is heavily reviewed and very popular for both breakfast and dinner. We came here brunch and only had to wait about 20 minutes (not very much considering most popular places in town will require a bit of a queuing time). The restaurant is well lit and welcoming. We had the Cumulus breakfast which offered a boiled egg, toast, preserves, and yoghurt. We also had the smoked salmon on buckwheat waffle. The salmon was delicious and was easily the highlight of our meal. The coffee was not bad as well. The food was good and simple. It is refreshing to find a brunch place that does not try to do too much. But we both thought the food was just that... good. It wasn't outstanding but it was ok. It may have been all the hype from hearing others rave about this place. Anyway, would we come back? Definitely will one day. Afterall this is one of the better brunch options in the city. Cumulus Inc. 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne, Australia

A D H O C

When we visited the Napa Valley on our road trip along the coast of California, we had the opportunity to eat at Ad Hoc. A restaurant that is immensely popular because of its food, the restaurant is also owned by Thomas Keller (also the owner of the three Michelin star restaurant, the French Laundry, also in Napa Valley). On this particular trip, we were very excited to give this restaurant a try. Ad Hoc 6476 Washington St Yountville, CA 94599 What we heard about Ad Hoc other than the fact that it was opened by a famous chef was that it was relatively manageable price-wise and that food was more casual and comforting rather than overpriced and pretentious. We were not disappointed. Despite not having a reservation that evening, we were accommodated right away. You can really only get the price fixed menu (which is a very reasonable $50 or so per person) that changes daily. Starting the meal we had a butter lettuce salad with a mix of candied walnuts. I haven’t had much butter lettuce in my life but it was fresh and the combination of flavours really worked well together. The main was an incredible pork dish served with a succotash of corn and bell peppers. It seems simple right? That is their goal. But as is often the case, simple does not mean boring. The pork was fall off the bones tender and incredibly flavourful. Keeping in line with the theme of simplicity, we were served with a myriad of fruits and sorbet which were beautifully presented. Overall this meal lived up to the hype. Nothing extraordinary in terms of creativity but the food ranked very high for us in terms of flavour. If you want a night out where you don’t have to be particularly fancy but still want to get a great meal and leave happy, Ad Hoc delivers. Amongst so many restaurants in the Napa Valley region, Ad Hoc certainly stands out.