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POLYESTER BOOKS A fixture in Fitzroy and a stronghold of

strangeness, this brassy box is Pandora’s own

library and accessory drawer. Thought both

radical and curious colonises every counter.

T-shirts survived only by the brave blast insults

from every corner. If you’re looking for peculiar

comics, illegal art or just plain filth, this is your

one stop smut shop.

From Robert Anton Wilson to the Marquis de

Sade to 1950s “Art Studies” of busty babes, no

fear, it’s here. If it’s been banned, burned or

delayed a day or two at customs, it’ll find its way

to a shelf within Melbourne’s most iniquitous

book store.

This is not the sort of place to take the

family. It is, however, a treasure trove of

weirdness and clear confirmation that the

Summer of Love never turned to autumn for

some folk.

Owner Paul Elliot remains a staunch local

opponent of censorship. Check out his creepy,

cranky volumes if you dare.

330 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

+61 (0) 3 94195223

Open Seven Days

www.polyester.com.au

MELBOURNE FOOD& WINE FESTIVAL16 – 30 MARCH 2007

Celebration, instruction and the simple delight of

feeding one’s face are to be had in the month of

March. A pillar in culinary worship, the foodie Haj

is now in its fifteenth year.

 A not-for-profit fortnight of bliss, this is

 Australia’s largest and most inclusive

gastronomic event. Whether you’re a food snob

frantic to discover the atrisanal world’s stinkiest

washed rind cheese or you’re simply starved for

a culturally diverse plate, the two week 

extravagance will deliver.

Those who worship at the pagan altar of

cacao will likely not miss Wicked Sunday. Stuff

yourself with the magic bean and chat with the

region’s best chocolatiers at Federation Square.

Set aside a dark brown Sabbath on Sunday the

25th of March.

Carbohydrate makes a comeback the same

weekend at the International Flour Festival.

Offend Aktins aficionados as you demolish sour

dough, rotis and vermicelli. Mmm. Gluten

nirvana.

Food is the city’s primary carnal pleasure

and this is a festival of ultimate seduction. Find

an elasticized garment, arm yourself with a

portable Escoffier and get ready to dive head first

into a vat of cold-pressed joy.

Various Venues

+61 (0)3 9823 6100

www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

BAROQ HOUSEIn an ocean of underdone style, this plush den

has surfaced like a sapphire siren. It ain’t about

restraint at Baroq. A talented team offers an

ambience and experience that says a resounding

NO to minimalism.

Steady yourself for end-to-end extravagance.

It’s a golden, cut glass, animal print aesthetic

treat with attentive service and outlandish

potables to match.

Hidden from the everyday deep within a city

lane, this gem sparkles with an irregular lustre.

Bacchus surveys the scene as well-heeled

kittens lap Dom Perignon from Lalique saucers.

Well, not exactly. But this lair does have a

luxuriant air.

To provoke the dark Byronic monster within,

spend some time in this delightful gilt complex.

9-13 Drewery Lane, Melbourne

+61 (0)3 8080 5680

Tues–Sat 5pm until late

www.baroqhouse.com.au

BUTTERFLY CLUBOnce upon a cocktail, David Read and Neville

Sice were sensible fellows with rational

professions. Somewhere amid the haze of a

particularly strong Chi-Chi, they struck a fanciful

business deal. What do you do when the owner

of your favourite cabaret bar tells you he’s

shutting up shop? You buy it, of course.

If sense had not momentarily eluded the pair,

Melbourne would be the poorer. This crooked

dowager of a house contains some of the best

kitsch you’ll see this side of a Blackpool Car Boot

Sale.

The Club has even more going for it than

exquisitely bad taste. It has emerged as one of

the nation’s premier first-run venues. Global

notable Tim Minchin first peddled his subversive

wares in this tumble down theatre and 2007

promises to keep kicking out the kabaret jams.

Performers are nurtured here and shows are

curated rather than booked. For most of the year,

the shows are top drawer.And, if they’re not,

Neville is happy to hear your critique in the bar.

204 Bank St South Melbourne

+61 (0)3 9690 2000

Wed – Sun, 6pm till late

www.thebutterflyclub.com

THE BUILDERS ARMSBack in the day, your Nan would have warned

you off the Gertrude Street Strip. Once imagined

by the city as the origin of all vice and violence,

it’s been refigured to quench a growing

consumer thirst for high end trinkets.

Up until 2005,The Arms appeared unmoved

by all this reinvention.While her neighbours

dressed to impress, the Old Girl never managed

more than a half-done refurb. Publicans added

their marginal touches to a pub that was long a

hub, in various decades, for community minded

Kooris, musicians and unkempt students.

Decorating dynamos Tracey Lester and Noel

Fermanis administered an extreme make-over

with care and sensitivity.W ith flair and a nod to

the plurality of the area, they’ve fused style with

substance.

Happily, they’ve tempted former Momo chef

Kurt Sampson to the grill. His Near Eastern fusion

is pitch perfect and there ain’t a frozen Chicken

Kiev in sight.

211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

+61 (0)3 9419 0818

melbourneon arrival 

For more information on places + events see

www.visitvictoria.com

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