Cumulus has been a rather regular dining place for some of us and we have been looking forward to Cutler & Co (55-57 Getrude Street, Fitzroy) for awhile. I had a rather full on day before dinner and all I could only think of a dirty martini when asked for drinks. Wendy ordered a bottle of French white to start the night. I was pretty happy and felt more relaxed with my Martini.
Photos of the food were taken with 2 cameras and I am kind of disappointed as there was no consistency. And this isn’t an excuse but after a full on day, I just wanted to relax and was not very in tune with anything else that others were eating or saying.
We ordered 1/2 dozen of Angassi & 1/2 dozen of Kumoto oysters to share. Most of us preferred the Kumoto oysters. It is half the size of the Angassi but it had a really buttery texture and more punchy in flavour.
Oysters
We ordered 3 entrees to share (in order of preference) – the Wood grilled quail (with foie gras parfait, celeriac & golden raisins), “Salad Lynonnaise” (frisee salad with crisp pancetta, garlic sausage, smoked tongue, confit gizzards & poached egg yolks), & Confit ocean trout (with smoked onion, seaweed vinegar & beetroot).
My favourite entree was the wood grilled quail. Everything came together in one mouthful. The quail was cooked to perfection. Still moist and the raisins gave the dish the sweetness. The foie gras added texture and richness to the dish and the celeraic brought the dish together. It worked!
Wood grilled quail with foie gras parfait, celeraic & golden raisins
I ordered the roasted suckling pig and was and am still amazed how good it was! Perfect crackling that just cracked easily when I ran my knife through it. The pork itself was so juicy and tender. The sweetness in the shallots & the sherry vinegar balanced the whole dish. I am unable to comment on the other dishes that the group has ordered but the table was quiet once the mains were served. High probability that we just wanted to enjoy and experience the perfection infront of us.
Roast suckling pig, confit shallots & caramelised sherry vinegar
Chocolate ice cream sandwich
The wine was flowing and by this time and we have moved on to a Red Chanti. When it comes to fine dining, it is diffficult to pass on desserts. And again, we ordered 3 to share – Chocolate ice-cream sandwich (with vanilla parfait & salted caramel), Violet ice cream (with chocolate ganache & sour cherry) & Burnt butter cake (with poached quince vanilla ice cream & yoghurt). Henry actually ordered 1 chocolate ice-cream for himself. It was that good! And a personal favourite of mine. Dangerous bitter sweet chocolate ice-cream that melts into a nice crunchy crust & dense vanilla parfait. And the salted caramel just lifted the dessert into a new level. I was truly satisfied. 
Wendy & I continued our night at the bar. I have to comment on the dirty Martini. They were YUMMY! I love the olives and the bartender took the trouble of bringing out the whole jar of olives and wrote the name of it down for me. Lovely! What fantastic service and friendly bar people. Nice cocktails and I can see myself coming back here not to dine but to have a couple of Martinis with friends.
The night progressed and the group were left with the 3 of us. Henry brought us to a cocktail bar – Black Pearl (304 Brunswick St , Fitzroy). As expected, it was packed and we squeezed our way to the bar. Had a look at the menu and randomly ordered some cocktails. I cannot recall the name of the cocktails and I am sure I’m forgiven after the 3 Martinis and wines that I had previously! I ordered the cocktail that was finished off with a basil leaf and sprinkling of black pepper. We made our way upstairs and sunk ourselves in the big comfy couches. Had fun talking, taking ridiculous photos of each other, laughing and having more cocktails!
Black Pearl
We are blessed with such good service staff the whole night. Had a lot of fun and my hard day slipped away from my mind. Thanks to the company that I had on Friday. You guys rock!
