Discovery XXIII

Late on a hot December afternoon my train left Huntingdale station. We arrived at the mysterious platform 13 at Flinders Street about 25 minutes later. After a short tram ride and a short walk up Little Bourke Street, I was at Curry Corner. But alas there was no Fern's brinjal pickle in stock so my detour was in vain.

Sadly I walked up Russell Street, past Jane Bell Lane, the old Magistrates Court, the old Melbourne gaol and the former Emily MacPherson College. Much of this precinct is owned by RMIT University, so there is an odd mix of old bluestone, modern courtyard and 1920s elegance, with the QV apartments presiding over the whole.

Behind bars

Crossing Victoria Street into Carlton, I continued up Cardigan and Queensberry Streets until I finally arrived at the venue for Discovery XXIII: The Last Jar, which being situated on the corner of Elizabeth and Queensberry Streets is somehow back in the city of Melbourne.

Hot and thirsty after my travels I settled into the snug with a Coopers. My first impression was of a very pleasant and friendly hotel. As it is built on a sharp angled corner it is rather oddly shaped inside but very cosy.

Snug at The Last Jar

Little by little the other discoverers arrived - one on bicycle and two on foot - and we repaired to our laminex topped table in the dining room.

The only drawback of our meal was the noise - the dining room is small and wooden-floored and there was a large table of revellers nearby, so we found it hard to hear each other over the din. But the food was delicious and the waiting staff were very attentive and quite charming with their lovely Irish voices.

Here is a picture of the remains of the soda bread.

Soda bread

And here is my dish of zucchini flowers (my favourite!) with salad and goats cheese.

Zucchini flowers

The chips (not pictured, sorry) were amazing - enormous and very crispy, rather more like roast potatoes than chips and so plentiful that we couldn't finish them all. The other discoverers enjoyed Irish stew, scotch fillet and porterhouse with green pepper sauce, served in its own dear little jug. And The Last Jar has a wonderful beer list. Between us we sampled the Coopers pale, Hawthorn pale, Mountain Goat and Hargreaves Hill.

The Last Jar is definitely worth the trip, however you decide to make your way there.



 

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