A Long Easter Lunch @ The Commoner, Johnston Street, Fitzroy

I can't believe that I forgot how good this place is...well, not good - great even. This is really honest and delicious food that should be given more attention and praise. I haven't been here since they last renovated but P and I used to come here for Feed Me Nights which we loved. They're not good for crowds of more than 5 people but if your company is less than that, they serve awesome food.

We went there for the Feed Me Easter Lunch - that's $60 per person for 5 courses including dessert.

The long lunch was actually our fault. My cousin's wife was late because of work-related stuff but once she arrived, the food - and conversation - started coming. We had 5 courses in all and everything was just deliciously done. It all started with this little potato crisp sandwich. In between this tasty morsel was smoked eel and snapper cheek. This was not anywhere near as awesome as their smoked anchovy on crouton but it's very close. I thought this starter was quite bold and not in line with the delicate concept around the rest of the dishes but it stood out.

Here are the rest of the dishes...

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Potato Croquette - For me, this was just average but very well done. The potato was fluffy and the outside was crunchy.














Pine Mushrooms with a poached egg and caramelized onion broth - This dish was just the bomb! The onion broth was so clear, pungent and punchy, it rounded out the entire dish. The pine mushrooms were very meaty and had a unique earthy flavour. Finally, the poached egg added a layer of richness to the soup. This was everyone's favourite dish. Excellent!







Rabbit 2 Ways - roasted rabbit roulade and rabbit wrapped in cabbage with a grape sauce. A few of us didn't like rabbit but the taste was not game-y at all. It was light and fresh - well, very much like a cross between chicken and pork. No one can tell that it was rabbit meat. It was very tender as well and the shredded parts of the rabbit were not stringy. The grape sauce added just a bit of sweetness without overpowering the taste. The rabbit was the highlight of the dish.





Tea roasted Chicken with turnips and kale - I think people liked the rabbit dish more than the chicken today which was a surprise! I liked the smokiness of this one, however and thought this was a real classic dish to an ordinary roast chicken meal.

I forgot to take a picture of the side - simple roast potatoes but I believe this is worth mentioning because everyone loved this. The best roast potatoes that we've had!






Finally, the king of the Easter Lunch - dessert - chocolate trifle. This was chocolate mousse with caramel and cream. IT.WAS.AWESOME. Need I say more? It was the perfect end to the meal. I never enjoyed a chocolate dessert more.

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