Ahhh, the countryside-there's nothing quite like it. Fresh air, rain clouds hovering over a valley full of olive trees and that indescribable sense of freedom at being far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city...it really is enough to get anyone's appetite going. Which is a good thing too, because after a two hour drive and a few (aka many) mishaps with Google Maps, I was more than ready for the four course lunch that awaited me at my next culinary adventure: Loam.
I had heard much about this petite farm restaurant, located on the Bellarine Penisular nestled in the back blocks of Drysdale, that serves up food with serious soul. As soon as you enter the restaurant you're immediately taken in by the ethos of Loam; simplicity, quality and locality. The unstuffy, mellow room is filled by a small number of tables (when I say small I mean, like, ten tables kinda small) and in the center sits a trolly laden with a natural Australian flower display, gleaming cutlery and wine glasses, baskets of bread and many silver ice buckets filled with people's half drunk bottles of sparkling. I have to say, the urge to casually grab one and start drinking it as though I had respectfully purchased said bottle was very, very great. I resisted however (though this may have had more to do with the great number of attentive waiters happily buzzing around the restaurant than my actual will power when it comes to resisting a good sparkling) which I was grateful for in the end, as I was unaware of the fan-fair-filled lunch that was about to occur. With the fire place warming us from the freezing cold day outside and the beautiful panorama view we were given by the completely glass covered side of the restaurant, we were perfectly happy to sit back, watch the haze of rain make it's way over the valley and let Loam work its magic.
Things work a little differently here. Rather than offering a set menu of sorts, you are given a list of ingredients that are being used that day, and from there the appropriate dishes for either your four, eight or ten course dining experience are selected. This means that each table will receive a different and completely tailored menu-how freaking cool is that?! We began with, no joke, the best bread I have ever eaten. Ever. Usually, when partaking in a degustation, I would say leave the bread, it just wastes space. At Loam however, I say gorge. Enjoy every mouthful of the sumptuous freshly baked olive bready goodness spread with ridiculous amounts of whipped butter. Have no shame when you reach for a fourth or fifth time into the basket loaded with steaming loaves.
And now my friends, to the main event. After we sampled a few little 'snacks' brought to our table, we moved on to the first course. Blue cod cooked in a light butter sauce with dill cucumber, purslane and rosemary flowers. For me, this was the dish of the day. The cod was cooked to flaky perfection with buttery sauce adding a beautiful nuttiness without being too heavy. The dill cucumber added another element of texture to the dish and its slight tartness worked in perfect harmony with the silky fish. At this point, the waiter comes over with more bread...I shouldn't, but hell, I do! These fishy juices aren't going to mop up themselves!
From there it was onto a roasted cauliflower dish that had been aggressively baked sitting atop a l'etivaz gruyere (basically a wanky French name for a type of creamy puree that had been flavoured by three-year-aged gruyere rind) and kale. The cauliflower was charred and full of flavour which was balanced with the creaminess of the puree. Also delicious was the main course of squab perched happily on parsnip puree. The idea of squab always weirds me out a little bit, but this perfectly cooked breast made me just wish the god damn bird were bigger so I would never finish eating it.
The dessert, though beautiful in presentation was, unfortunately, not to my liking. But my dedicated driver for the day had no qualms about eating my share of the apple and burnt caramel pudding with rhubarb jelly and tart blueberries. What I did like was the mint eucalyptus meringues and earl grey jellies that ended the meal with a final flourish. And let's be honest, I think I probably ate an entire course-worth of bread alone, so the dessert was probably not really needed!
What a perfect day in the country it was...at this respected, sophisticated restaurant one could never guess that Geelong's bogans are just a 20 minute drive away. The produce is fantastically fresh and almost everything is sourced from local farmers or else from places known specifically for the quality of their produce. Before you get too excited and start booking your reservation, I do have the very sad job of informing you that Loam will be closing on the 30th of June this year (WHAT?! No more bread?!), but rest assured it had a good run of sending satisfied customers out of their doors. So, to Loam, I say thank you and goodbye. I feel as though I hardly knew you, but while our friendship was short and brief, my stomach will forever hold fond memories of you. I will never look at a bread basket in the same way again.
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