Some of the great food @ Alimentari...
I have been coming to this vibrant inner north cafe for the last year and have wondered why I never ventured in sooner. This bustling cafe in #Collingwood is now hands down my favourite cafe in Melbourne so it only seemed fitting that I review this local hangout of mine. I have to say I have never had a bad meal here and I have tried many of the items on their menu. There is so much choice to be found here. Everything from panini and wraps to salads to classic italian fare like pasta and risotto.
And adjoining the cafe #MelbourneCafes, they even have a great delicatessen with a good range of take home meals on offer. Everytime I come here I am greeted by the warm smile of the front of house manager who does a terrific job of welcoming diners in and making you feel comfortable and even at it's busiest, you won't need to wait too long for a table.
Today I decided to try from their lunch menu the free range chicken with potato galette, black garlic, sweet and sour witlof and watercress.
What arrived was a tender piece of chicken breast which I suspect had been sous vide in a water bath as the texture of the chicken was smooth and evenly cooked.
The skin crisped up in a fry pan was well seasoned and had a nice salty hit. There's a certain skill when it comes to cooking chicken breast as it can easily dry out. This was not the case here. The technique was spot on.
Sitting beside the chicken was a bed of witlof. Usually this vegetable can be on the bitter side. However cooked in the sweet sour sauce the witlof took on a nice tangy flavour and I devoured it with enthusiasm. It was tasty and I loved it!
The potato galette with it's herbed layers of sliced potatoes was a nice change from the common roast potato side. And the black garlic came in the form of little dollops of a black puree which gave nice pops of flavour here and there. This was topped with a watercress salad which gave the dish a certain freshness and added colour.
Lastly, bringing it all together was the final element of the dish, the sauce. Oh that sauce! The only negative here was that there could have been more of it on the plate as it was absolutely delicious. This was liquid gold and I ran out of it well before I finished my last bite of chicken.
The presentation of the food here is beautiful. They say you eat with your eyes and at Alimentari you know you're in for a good meal when the food hits the table.
I thoroughly recommend this place.
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