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When? - 4th of April, 2013
Where? - The Gertrude Hotel, 148 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Price? - $20
Website? - http://thegertrudehotel.com.au/
Reviewers – Adam, Cale, Fridge, Grace, Lee, Matt, Stefo, Tony [/info]
Arriving at the Gertrude we were greeted with a fabulously inviting little bar. Dark stained wood, dim lighting, exposed bluestone walls - all the things I love in a pub (and the ever-rotating craft beer selection on tap was fantastic, worth the trip alone), I even heard murmurings of a quality little beer garden out the back that’s definitely worth checking out.
We took our seats and checked the bar menu.
Parma sighted
Parma ordered.
I had just finished the last mouthful of my first pint when they landed on the table (I’m a quick drinker and was damn thirsty after deciding that a walk from Elizabeth Street to Gertrude Street “wasn’t that far”).
Hmmm. First of all, the cheese on top was crazy overcooked, dark brown splotches were abound on all of the parmas (the one pictured above wasn’t the worst of the bunch) The schnitz, the cheeze, the napoli - everything was overcooked and dry (with the edges of the schnitzel actually burnt). However that can be forgivable if the ingredients are quality… lets take a look at the cross section -
Processed schnitzel, more crumb than chicken.
For a processed schnitzel the toppings saved it a little, but it was just so dry. The cheese was rubbery, the napoli had the consistency of tomato paste and the ham … actually the ham was probably the best part about the meal. It carried a great flavour that complimented the dish perfectly.
I’m normally not big on french fries, I prefer a chunky pub chip - but I’ve gotta say that for french fries these were actually okay - well seasoned and plenty of them, My one criticism being they were (like the parma) overcooked, the smaller ones tasting more like a bag of Smith’s chips than a fry.
Can you call it a salad when it only has one ingredient? For a pile of lettuce tossed in a little dressing it tasted alright - boring, but fresh, just a bit of cucumber, or tomato or anything other than lettuce would have been appreciated.
For $20 I was unimpressed. Normally I would say “If it wasn’t overcooked it had the elements of a great parma” but that is only partly true - sure it would have helped, but that faux-schnitzel is hard to overlook. Wouldn’t be back for the parma - Would be back for the pub, and the great drink selection.
Parma - 4.38
Chips - 4.63
Salad - 2.75
Value - 4.50
Total - 4.13
The search continues…
