Quelque chose s'approche...

Remember this photo from a few weeks ago?

So it turns out, going front-to-back in Schaum's French Grammar is the worst possible way to revise (or learn) a language.  This book is drier than a box of stale Saos.

Rather than give up, I have been doing a lot of reading about the best way to learn languages.  Kató Lomb was a Hungarian female polyglot (speaker of 4+ languages).  At her death in 2003, she spoke 16 languages, most of which she learned in her 30s and 40s.  She was completely monolingual (Hungarian) until about the age of 24.  She insists there is no special "innate ability" or "gene" for languages, and that what makes one good at languages is your degree of passion and amount of available time, combined with your level of inhibition (ie, low inhibition - prepared to make a lot of mistakes/sound silly = good).

One of her tips is to create for yourself a "linguistic microclimate".  If you sit down with a tutor once a week and think "that's that", you will learn excruciatingly slowly.  Instead, think of what you do in English and do it in your target language.  So now I watch French music videos while I cook.  On long drives, I listen to French audiobooks, not English.  I write my shopping lists in French.   I changed my phone language settings so it's all in French.

I am constantly scanning my day for more ways to include French, to create my own personal "linguistic microclimate".  Basically, the best thing that could happen to me right now is if a small French bar opened in the neighbourhood.

...

...

...

Well...

Footscray, meet Stefan Armentano.  He is a French chef who has taken up a lease of one of the little shops in the old Royal Hotel redevelopment and is in the process of turning it into a bar/deli, modelled on the French "bars du quartier" or "community bars" - the little place on the corner where you can drop in for a glass of wine and maybe a bit of interesting cheese and ham, freshly carved.

"I've got this passion for cheeses," he said.  "It's a bit selfish - I'm opening a deli just to provide cheese to my kids!"  The idea is to have a fully-stocked deli that is open from about 11am-11pm, so you can stop in in the day and pick up some pâté, or stop in at night and eat said pâté with some wine.  (Or stop in in the day, and eat said pâté with some wine - I'm not judging!)

Menu-wise, you'll be able to have something from inside the cabinet, or "little French rural things" - Stefan's thinking beef tartare or duck confit.  Or a nice French sandwich where Stefan tells me butter isn't merely a spread, but is so thick and of such quality, it's considered a filling!

(It's the place with the whitewashed windows!)

Stefan plans for maybe two or three beers on tap, a good selection of wine and "a couple of good French calvados" (apple brandy).  His previous business was a tapas restaurant in Perth called Gypsy Tapas House.  Regarding Small French Bar, Stefan is very humble, saying that he wants it to be a place for "a good old cheese and a good old red", and only wants it to seat about 20 people.

Stefan and Small French Bar are currently chugging through the maze of building permits and licences.  The aim is to open sometime this year.  You can keep up to date on his Facebook page.  All I can say is - "Vite!  Vite!"  (Hurry!  Hurry!)

If you are learning a language and can point me in the direction of more good resources, whether online, offline, traditional or non-traditional, I'd love to hear from you!  For example, I recently discovered italki and am blown away; can't wait to get started!  I'm sure there are more good sites or blogs out there that I just don't know about yet.  Or if you speak/are learning French or Arabic, I would deeply appreciate some good music, good podcast or good online radio station tips.  Send me an email :)  Also, if you are interested in or work in languages or linguistics, I would also love to chat with you, whether just generally or to pick your brain about particularly well-regarded courses or directions within the industry.  Email addy to the right.  Massive TIA!

A bit of French music for you - I love this song, the lyrics and the video:

And I have been enjoying Sexion d'Assaut - really like this song, but the video is a bit random - I think they got sponsored by Smart cars!

If you are interested in Kato Lomb's book "Polyglot: How I Learn Languages", you can read it for free here or buy from Lulu.

Fox in the Corn, Footscray

The fox is in the corn in Footscray.

No, that is not some kind of code.  The corn in question is this rather drab building on Droop Street...

...and the fox in question is this verrrrrry foxy fitout!

Our new vulpine friend is a pasta bar, owned and run by the owners of Millgrove Pasta, who are specialty pasta manufacturers in Williamstown.  Josh Bayne and Josh Murnane met while working at Alligator Pasta, another rather delicious pasta maker in Yarraville, and a few years ago decided to go out on their own and start Millgrove.  Now they are taking their pasta straight to the people by opening Fox in the Corn.

$16.50

The menu is small and snappy.  Pick your pasta - fettuccine or ravioli - and something from a gorgeous list of sauces.  This is fettuccine with the pancetta, leek and tomato and it was bloody amazing.  Dense yet supple strands of fettuccine with a sticky, totally plate-lickworthy sauce, punctuated with generous chunks of rich pancetta.  Gorgeous and a very generous serving, too.

$6.50

A nice green salad because I am trying to be healthy (despite keenly coveting the buffalo mozz, rocket and tomato number).  Loved the balsamic dressing.  Feedback:  Don't keep the tommies in the fridge.  They were obviously good ones and would be even better at room temp.

As I shovelled in the gorgeous noodles, I present to you a texted exchange I had with my friend J.  When I heard that Fox in the Corn was specialising in pasta, I admit I was a bit ho-hum too.  Maybe you, like me, cook pasta for the kids at least a few nights per week and are just not that excited by it.  But like I said to her - trust me.  This is not your average spag.

I had a nice chat to one of the Joshes.  The ingredients they use are all A-list - Riverina beef, minced in house; Istra bacon; three-hour slow-roasted onions.  No Kardashian-grade tap-washer olives here, folks.  (Those avoiding gluten, there is no gluten-free pasta as yet but hopefully soon. You would have to make do with a salad and maybe an octopus starter.)

Coming soon is BEEEEER on tap.  The "house beer" will be from Blackman's Brewery in Torquay (a pale ale, a sweet cider and an unfiltered lager).  There will also be a rotating cast of interesting craft beers.  With Littlefoot and the Plough just down the road - I sense a Footscray bar crawl coming on!  (Did you ever thing we'd be able to say that?!?!?!)

Coffee beans are roasted by Monk Bodhi Dharma in Elsternwick and an espresso was absolutely tip top.  As for the icecream - served in a pot, it's a Dixie Cup flashback, and you can decide if that's a good or bad thing.  (I'd prefer it served in a bowl personally.)  It's from Gundowring, made on the farm in northeastern Victoria.  The banana flavour was divine.

If it couldn't get any better, Fox in the Corn is open 11am-11pm, meaning we finally have a late-night coffee spot in Footscray!!!  They will also soon be open from 8am, and are in the final stages of nailing down croissants from Sourdough Kitchen in Seddon and pastries from Candied Bakery in Spotswood.

What does the fox say?

Ylvis - The Fox (What Does the Fox Say... by GVideosSeries

Actually, it says - you need to be at Fox in the Corn NOW!

Fox in the Corn (Facebook)

4 Droop St, Footscray

foxinthecorn.com.au

Littlefoot bar - opening this Friday!

What will you be doing this Friday at 4pm?  Herding a snotty gaggle of kids on the way home from school?  Imagining those bubbles popping as you watch the clock creep slowly to knock-off time?  Well, here's what you should be doing - beating down the door of Littlefoot, Footscray's very own bar!

I was so very lucky to get invited to the friends and family sneak peek last Friday night.  Now, a bit of a disclaimer - when the Littlefoot journey first began, I didn't know owners Stu and Liana that well, but since then we ended up working together on the new Footscray Food Guide (more about that later) and have hung out quite a bit socially.  So essentially Littlefoot is my friends' bar.

When I first walked in, my first thought was, "There's the bar - what will I have?"  Then I stopped myself - "No!" I thought.  "You need to savour this moment.  This is momentous."  But the thing is, Littlefoot just feels so natural, kind of like Guerilla did when they opened at Footscray Market.  Not thirty seconds in, I felt completely at home, and like it had always been a part of the 'scray I so dearly adore.

Now, bubbles in hand, let me take you on a little tour.  There's a gorgeous communal or big-group table...

...a back room with tables to spread out (love the wall art)...

...and these super-cute, ever so slightly seedily sexy booths!  I love them!

The opening was a blast with a high-energy gypsy-style band.  There are great beers on tap (including Two Birds' taco beer!) and lots of interesting spirits.

The brand-new chef will not be fully ensconced until two weeks or so, but I LOVED one of his creations - nutella injera "pinwheels" with a coconut dipping sauce.  Seriously, these were amazing.  Liana and Stu have a really genuine desire to celebrate Footscray's existing food cultures, and I believe they're going to do it in a non-gimmicky way.

Littlefoot's door will be open wide from this Friday 30 January at 4pm.  Be nice the first few weeks as the staff get used to everything, and as I mentioned, the chef will not be firing on all cylinders until a couple of weeks in.  Make sure to like their Facebook page to stay up to date with everything little and footy!

Littlefoot
223 Barkly St, Footscray
9396 1282

COMING SOON - Littlefoot bar, Footscray

Westies - buckle up your boots.  A bar in downtown Footscray is COMING SOON!

Il Paesano, the rather down-at-heel pizza shop, is currently being transformed into Littlefoot.  This new bar will feature acoustic live music, "high-end bar food and share plates", "boutique and craft beers", wines and cocktails!

The brains behind the 'foot are Stuart and Liana.  They are residents of the inner west, own The Idea Collective in Nicholson St (a creative co-working space) and previously ran Bebida Bar & Cafe in Smith Street (2003 to 2013, and shown above).

Stu and Liana are really passionate about the area and all the riches on offer.  Stu was one of my amazing Rickshaw Run volunteers this year, coming down three times over the weekend (including once at the last minute) and eventually running one of the rickshaw-pulling teams.

They say:  "We have a love and respect for the many cultures in the past and present of Footscray and our menu will be influenced by and pay homage to them...  We believe a hospitality venue should enrich the area it is in.  It is fed by the community but also strengthens, supports and nourishes it."

The name is inspired both by the above - "little Footscray" - but also reflects Stu and Liana's commitment to sustainability and minimising their environmental footprint - "little footprint".

But when, when, WHEN you say?  The permits are slowly chugging their way through Council but the goal is late November.

I cannot wait to see these guys put the foot in Footscray!  Bring it on!

https://www.facebook.com/littlefootscray

Two Birds' Nest

They say to discover new lands, you must lose sight of the shore.  My friend J has recently become my devoted culinary co-explorer.  Rather than bloated merchant seaman buffeted by the Urbanspoon tradewinds, we're like rangy pirates, plundering every backwater and secluded cove for obscure comestible treasures.

Recently, though, we've had a run of bad luck.  There was the hipster Korean that ravaged our wallets but failed to put any wind in our sails, and elsewhere, the tofu, chicken and salted fish dish that didn't just look like what the cat dragged in, but something it dragged in, mauled, gnawed on and threw up.  We ended up huddled in the lee of Nhu Lan, gnawing on our emergency banh mis, quite lost for words.

So I knew that when I sent that next text - "fancy trying X next Thursday night?" - that X had better not just mark the spot, but bloody well hit it.  Enter Two Birds' Nest.

Just a stone's throw from Spotswood station, brewers Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen have set up their new digs, where they brew their signature Golden and Sunset ales.  Drop in and you can not only have a gander at all the shiny beer-making kit, but prop at the bar and order a freshly brewed pot.  (I'm being quite literal - the IPA we tried had just finished brewing that very day!)

But these birds have chosen to feather their nest even further by letting Casey Wall curate the menu.  Casey is one half of Rockwell and Sons, which is one of my top reasons to cross the river.  He's a North Carolina native who's done time at joints as fancy as Le Cirque in New York and Cutler & Co in Fitzroy.  In the case of Rockwell, this translates to rib-sticking American goodies like fried chicken or devilled eggs, done with care and panache.

We pulled up a stool at one of the communal tables and got nibbling on Parmesan shortbread and goats curd Oreos ($9), which were brilliant.  Regular Oreos go great with milk, and these Oreos go great with beer.  Here at the Nest, you can sample Two Birds' own brews plus guest taps, and there's wine and boutique spirits, too.

We swooned over this Kentucky beer cheese on crisp, well-oiled rye bread slices ($12).  This stuff was incredible - a blend of Vermont cheddar, cream cheese, Sunset ale and spices to make a gooey, bitey spread that was totally amazing.

There are four sandwiches for mains.  We're talking what Casey calls the world's greatest grilled cheese, with bacon jam and smoked scamorza cheese, or a very interesting proposal with pressed broccoli and vintage cheddar.  But today it had to be the smoked pulled pork with red slaw ($16).  I know every man and his dog is doing pulled pork these days, but this is the real deal.  You have to try it - it's out of this world!

It was the brisket-and-bacon "5-Chile Chilli" for me, topped with a little house-made creme fraiche ($18).  Rich, dark, spicy and fabulous.  This 'un is perfect with the "Taco Beer", which has been brewed with a little corn, plus a sprinkling of lime and coriander!  I could definitely taste the corn, which gave it a fresh, popcorny spark.  Yum.

Two Birds Nest is just a few hundred metres from Spotswood station, or if you accidentally get on an express like we did, you can also easily walk from Newport - it's a ten-minute stroll.  There are more seats in the actual brewing room.  Another specialty on the menu that we didn't try is the cheese platter, with matched beers - there's even a proper cheese cabinet so every wedge is at the perfect temperature.

So if like us, you navigate the world by the tum, Two Birds Nest isn't just safe harbour.  In terms of your tastebuds, it's like docking at Rio when Carnaval is on.  Set sail on the good ship Metro and come and visit!

Read more here at The Crafty Pint, or cop a sneaky peek at the current menu here!

Two Birds' Nest (@TheTwoBirdsNest)
136 Hall St, Spotswood
Open:  Thurs 4-10pm, Fri 4-11pm, Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon-10pm.

Nibbly things at Seddon Wine Store

Seddon Wine Store is a study in how service can completely override price.  Despite their close proximity to two other bottle shops, one of which prides itself on its bargain bin wine, Mr Baklover drops into Seddon Wine Store regularly for their fabulous range, personal service and the occasional natter.

There is awesome wine here and great advice to go along with it.  Lots of bottles are from very small-scale producers, all with a story behind them.  And before you say "nice for you, then", they've got a great range of bargain bottles just inside the doorway which, truth be told, is where we do the majority of our wine shopping.

The best bit is you can sit in and have either a glass of wine from an interesting selection, or get a bottle off the shelf with a corkage charge.  Along with that there's a small menu of good quality drinking snacks, turning Seddon Wine Store into a great little local watering hole.

I had a lovely, quite unusual white grape variety that was so little known, I have gone and forgotten it.  Curses - I do try to write notes, but sometimes I get distracted by, well, life!

Grazing plate, $18

This was a lovely little sandbox to play in - mild manchego cheese with quince paste, lovely, vinegary little mushrooms, gorgeous terrine with plump pistachios throughout, bitey salami and loads of good bread to smoosh it all on.  If you want something heartier, they also do cassoulet.  Seddon Wine Store also sell various cheeses, posh anchovies and other goodies to take home.

I know we all want a bar where we can get properly sozzled until 1 am, but from Thursday to Saturday Seddon Wine Store is open till 10 pm - plenty of time to put a rosy glow in your cheeks.

Seddon Wine Store
2/101 Victoria Street, Seddon
Phone:  9687 4817
Hours:  Sun-Wed 11am-8pm, Thurs-Sat 11am-10pm


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