EARL Canteen

Now, I officially love Fridays. For the past month, our Friday lunches are always some place extra special or somewhere we have never tried before. Today, it was both! When we were on our way to EARL, I was expecting a very kitschy place, something similar to Animal Orchestra. I think it's something to do with earl... British... tea... coffee... Animal Orchestra?

I've been on a hard core studying week, so pardon my derailing train of thought. 

In order to imagine EARL Canteen, simply think of a fancied-up sandwich menu. After some pat-on-the-back worthy stalking, EARL is a futuristic sandwich bar run by Simon O'Regan (Rockpool! Stokehouse! Attica!) and Jackie Middleton. Think of sandwiches such as: duck confit, pork belly, lime poached chicken and wagyu meatballs!

Such a fresh change from those pre-made chilled sandwiches from uni. Bleh.

Duck confit: confit duck, caramelised fig, walnuts, onion jam, radicchio, watercress in ciabatta. The duck was so flavorful! The sandwich filling almost melts in your mouth with all that duck fat. Slurps. Plus, ciabatta is a really soft sandwich so it's easier to eat! At $16, it's one of the more expensive sandwiches on the menu, but trust me, it's worth your money!

Pork Belly: crisp skin Otway pork belly, apple, cabbage and fennel coleslaw, wilted silverbeet in baguette. There was a small disclaimer on the menu saying that their baguettes had a crustier texture (down to earth translation: it's hard!). But, not to worry, it is possible to ask them to prepare your sandwich to make it softer (which was something I should have done).

Aside from the crusty bread, the pork belly was really delicious with a good crunchy crackling. I would have preferred for my pork belly portion to have slightly less fat but overall, it was very fragrant and yummy. Also, fabulous slaw! Yum yum. It was very fruity which balanced out the fattiness of the pork belly.  $13.50: really reasonable!

Nicole slurping down her hot chocolate!

EARL Canteen was smack right in the center of Collin's fancy businessmen buildings, so most of the patrons of EARL were well-dressed people in fancy suits looking for a quick bite. If only I stay closer to the city, I would come to EARL more often to takeaway their sandwiches!

Mi!

I can't wait to bring my parents here if they come to Melbourne for a visit. They're always such huge fan of sandwiches. I think they'll love it!