St Kilda and the Stokehouse

Tuesday, 11 April, 2017

Today is a little slower from the planned activities point of view since our planned events are in the late afternoon / evening. So, we decide to go down Glenferrie Road again to have a big breakfast at a place called Crabapple Kitchen. I had seen it for quite a while, and hear it gets good reviews. Our friend Dawn went there recently after the Cinema at the Lido.

It had been a crummy old restaurant but they really spruced it up. We had big breakfasts that were quite good. Highly recommended.

Crabapple Kitchen Website

Hugh catches the train to the city for more exercise class and Jan and I return home via tram to while away the day. In fact, Jan goes for a long walk around the block.

Hugh returns from the city and after a while we go out the door again, along Fitzwilliam to the #16 tram. This time we do not get off at the station but continue the half length of the route to Acland Street St Kilda. Why Acland Street do I hear you ask?

That’s why. I have taken just about every overseas visitor to see these amazing cake shops. There are not as many now as 30 years ago but the ones there are there are pretty impressive.

We then are to walk along the Bay’s foreshore to the Stokehouse for our official function of this evening. Along the way we pass this unusual sight that I was not aware of its existence.

I will resist any editorial comments on what was there. Our walk took us along the back side of Luna Park.

Luna Park’s Website

Luna Park is Melbourne’s small fun park and there is an equivalent in Sydney. At the back of the park one can see the “Scenic Railway”. I got sucked into going on that with our young friend Julie-anne Smith many years ago. (To put it in perspective, she is the Mother of my God-daughter Chelsi Graitge hwo is now grown up big time. They have features in earlier Blogs). Any way, a name like Scenic Railway sounded harmless enough and there was a conductor that rode on it standing up. It turned out to be a decent roller coaster which I had not been prepared for.

Well, we walked and we walked and then some more. By the time we got to St Kilda pier, I realised that we must have missed it. So after walking back a ways we finally found the Stoke House. A bit of background, I first encountered the Stoke House a long time ago for Marcus Smith’s, the brother of aforementioned Julie-anne, 21st birthday. It was an old place, largely unused except for special events and not in very good shape but in a prime location. Eventually it was picked up and became a very upmarket restaurant. In time it was substantially renovated so it had little resemblance to its past. Then a few years ago it burned down to the ground. It had slowly been rebuilt and now it was mostly finished and this occasion was a “grand opening” of sorts with an event from Gourmet Traveler.

Even with the overshoot walking, we still arrive earlier than they are ready for us. So we settle into the bar downstairs.

Eventually, we are called to go upstairs for the event. We do and head into the bar. Although given a glass of bubble it is totally uncomfortable, I imagine that sardines in a tin would have been less crowded. So we escape and are lucky enough to go to our table as first guests in the main dining room.