Maybe it’s because I’ve been spending too much time at farmers’ markets or it might have something to do with my imminent move back to New York, but lately I’ve been thinking a bit more than usual about country living. There’s a certain appeal to living on more acres than you can reasonably walk around, getting a big dog and an American sized pickup truck. I like the idea of making a living off of what I can sell to other yuppies.
But I’m turning 25 and not… well doing anything else and I’ve got things to do and places to go so, for now at least, I will have to settle for inner-city supplements. For the past two Sundays in a row, The Commoner has been that supplement.
Week 1: Lamb and I were on our way back into Melbourne and starving. She wanted lamb. Surprise, surprise. So we thought of all the places that we know that do Sunday roasts and the first one that came to my mind was The Commoner – she had always wanted to take me there but we hadn’t yet gotten around to it. We called from the road and they told us they had two servings of the lamb roast left and if we made it in an hour they would save them for us. We sped. They saved the lamb. It was tender and beautiful. We also each had the half quail with muhammara and Pomegranate molasses and as usual, ungracefully nibbled every shred of meat off those tiny bones.
Lamb had been intermittently going to The Commoner for years and lauds it as one of her favourites. Knowing her taste, I wasn’t surprised by the specificity and thoughtfulness of the interiors, but there was more and it was more dynamic than the image that I’d concocted for myself. The restaurant, owned and operated by the lovely Jo Corrigan, started with only the front dining area and has expanded into a lovely back garden, as well as the upstairs private dining area that seats eight to ten, “The Rabbit Trap”, “The Long Room” that caters for parties of up to sixteen and the cosy new bar. Each space has a personality of its own – “The Rabbit Trap” is probably the most explicitly directed design-wise towards its name. Jo will happily tell you about her rearing as one of the middle children in a flock of nine on a sheep farm in rural New South Wales. After training in Sydney and London, she moved to Melbourne with the intention of integrating her travels through the Middle East and Europe as well as her training in English culinary traditions and her rural upbringing into a restaurant that would be entirely her.
As I sat in the back garden last week (week 2) enjoying an Alhambra and then maybe the most beautiful Gin and Tonic I’ve had, Jo came out to chat and clear our table. We’d been a party of ten and thoroughly enjoyed the “we feed you on Sunday” option where the chef just decides what six courses to send out (always different), so there was a lot of clearing to do. I loved the cheese croquettes with cauliflower puree and the soft-boiled egg topped with pork crackling and paprika was a big surprise winner. The beef roast was a success, served family style on two big plates, and the yoghurt ice cream with roasted apricots for dessert was a big favourite.
There were only a few of us left by the time Jo came out, so she lingered a bit, telling us that she’d opened the restaurant four years ago and worked in the kitchen along with her husband until very recently. As she poured our left over water into the jumble of surrounding plants (we thanked her for conservation efforts), she also mentioned that even though the next day was Valentine’s Day, they are closed on a Monday and refused to make an exception for the bogus holiday. She seems to be a woman who knows what her priorities, and the elegant Commoner reflects them charmingly.
The Commoner is open Wednesday and Thursday for dinner from 6pm to late, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for lunch from 12 to 3 pm and for dinner from 6 pm until late. It is located at 122 Johnston Street in Fitzroy. 03 9415 6876
Photos: Mark Chew