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I Can’t Stop Thinking About

Where we recognise the dishes that drive us crazy, in the best possible way.

Ever eaten something – a sandwich, a bowl of ramen or a piece of fried chicken, say – and spent the next few weeks fantasising about when you can do it again? Yeah, us too. That's why we started “I Can’t Stop Thinking About”, a series which lets us rhapsodise about our favourites in great detail. We’re not being lead by cuisine, price or anything else. The only prerequisite is that each dish (or drink) is wedged firmly in our hearts and minds.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Goodwater’s Lamb Belly Skewers

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Goodwater’s Lamb Belly Skewers

The smoky, fatty sticks take two days to make – and about a minute to eat.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Marmelo’s Pudim Abade de Priscos Dessert

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Marmelo’s Pudim Abade de Priscos Dessert

The 19th-century Portuguese flan is unbelievably rich, thanks to egg yolks, port wine and … rendered pork fat.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Suze’s Ricotta, Persimmon and Pepperberry

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Suze’s Ricotta, Persimmon and Pepperberry

You think ricotta can’t go hard? Think again – this one’s made fresh before service and the first few tables get it still warm.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Aperitivo Hour at Bar Olo

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Aperitivo Hour at Bar Olo

Off-menu cheese, kitschy twizzle sticks and the undeniable feeling that you’re always being looked after make Scopri’s Carlton sibling a new mainstay for cocktail hour.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Joy Jaune’s Strawberry Panna Cotta

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Joy Jaune’s Strawberry Panna Cotta

Preston Market is home to a $12 dessert that looks like it’s straight from a Cooking Mama game. The heart-shaped panna cotta was initially a one-day-only special, but it was so popular it’s now a permanent item at Joey Leung’s tiny shop.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Sonny’s Fried Chicken and House-Made Hot Sauce

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Sonny’s Fried Chicken and House-Made Hot Sauce

This fried bird caught me by surprise and altered the course of my night. As I’ve since learnt, part of what makes it so special is a $22,000 pressure fryer imported from Ohio, USA – a machine rarely found in Melbourne.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Gimlet’s Cheeseburger

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Gimlet’s Cheeseburger

With a dill-packed house-made sauce, juicy meat patty and fluffy potato bun, it’s got to be one of Melbourne’s best. It’s only available two nights a week, and only after 10pm.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Phed Mark’s Pad Krapao

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Phed Mark’s Pad Krapao

In this special edition of I Can't Stop Thinking About, Sofia Levin writes about pad kra pao (Thai holy basil stir fry) – a dish that took her to the edge of chilli enlightenment in Bangkok.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Parcs’s Umami e Pepe

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Parcs’s Umami e Pepe

Riffing on cacio e pepe – the classic cheesy and peppery Roman pasta – this unexpected yet triumphant noodle dish is a masterclass in deliciousness and resourcefulness.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Mabels’s Hot Chicken Sandwich

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Mabels’s Hot Chicken Sandwich

“Fried-to-order chicken thigh that is golden and crunchy on the outside and juicy and tender in the middle”, plus six other carefully chosen – and assembled – components, combine for one of Melbourne’s best fried chicken burgers.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Master Lanzhou’s Spicy Beef Noodles

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Master Lanzhou’s Spicy Beef Noodles

Hand-pulled wheat noodles and slow-cooked beef shin in a clear, consommé-like broth spiked with chilli oil. Throughout this horrible Melbourne winter, this spirit-lifting northern Chinese soup has carried me emotionally as much as physically.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Luther’s Scoops’ Butterscotch Ripple Ice-Cream

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Luther’s Scoops’ Butterscotch Ripple Ice-Cream

Before, I happily ate scoops of ice-cream everywhere. Now, I only have time for entire pints of this velvety salted ripple, featuring deep brown butterscotch simmered for more than an hour.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Al Dente Enoteca’s Torta Sabbiosa

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Al Dente Enoteca’s Torta Sabbiosa

Creamy sponge cake, velvety, brandy-spiked mascarpone-zabaglione cream and a generous dusting of icing sugar – this traditional Italian cake has unlocked precious childhood memories with nonna.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Poor Toms’ Negroni Australiano

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Poor Toms’ Negroni Australiano

Orange, ice and no need to be precise – that’s all this ready-to-pour all-Aussie Negroni calls for. It’s bang-on. And after cracking my first bottle, one led to another, which led to me Negroaning at my desk the next morning.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Takeaway Pizza’s Pecorino Garlic Bun

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Takeaway Pizza’s Pecorino Garlic Bun

Three words. Seventeen letters. Say it and I’m yours. With a filling co-owner Tom Peasnell says is “kinda like a chicken-Kiev mix”, this beautiful molten mess will take you to garlicky nirvana.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Monforte Viennoiserie’s Leatherwood Honey and Sea Salt Croissant

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Monforte Viennoiserie’s Leatherwood Honey and Sea Salt Croissant

This sexy, gleaming half-moon was a flaky speck of joy when I first tried it during last year’s lockdown (the big, long and cold one). And every time I’ve had it since – locked down or otherwise – it’s given me wave after wave of pastry-induced serotonin.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Good Days’ Chicken Rice

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Good Days’ Chicken Rice

I have to actively stop myself Augustus Gloop-ing the whole damn thing like a man-child possessed. (And this story could just as easily have centred around the accompanying “green sauce” – a dollop of pure salty-sweet deliciousness.)

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Capitano’s Grandma Square Pie

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Capitano’s Grandma Square Pie

Stuck on what to order for dinner tonight? I present this brilliant, very cheesy and very satisfying Detroit-style pizza – which is unlike any other pie in Melbourne. (The crusts are the star of the show.)

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Alimentari’s Chicken Schnitzel Wrap

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Alimentari’s Chicken Schnitzel Wrap

It’s a bit like something you’d get at McDonalds, but not because it’s full of salt, sugar and preservatives. It’s freakishly perfect and tastes exactly the same every time.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Seven Seeds’ Coffee Goon Bag

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Seven Seeds’ Coffee Goon Bag

Summer’s almost here. Why bother making coffee when you can have four litres ready to go at all times, to take camping or to the beach? You can also serve it straight from the fridge, with a scoop of coconut ice-cream for a tropical kick.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Juanita Peaches’ Cheeseburger

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Juanita Peaches’ Cheeseburger

I’ve surrendered to the pull of this luscious burger every few weeks for almost three years. All up, I’d say I’ve eaten well over 50. Here’s why.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: The Broadsheet Kitchen’s Sweet and Sour Lamb Ribs

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: The Broadsheet Kitchen’s Sweet and Sour Lamb Ribs

Piled high on a plate, they’re glossy and aromatic – a very pleasant triple-decker of flavour.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Wild Life’s Baguette With Egg, Creamed Greens and Onion Jam

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Wild Life’s Baguette With Egg, Creamed Greens and Onion Jam

This humble yet transcendent sandwich was cruelly cut from the menu at this Brunswick East bakery. But one Broadsheet editor campaigned to bring it back.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Cutler & Co.’s Fried Chicken

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Cutler & Co.’s Fried Chicken

It goes without saying that fried chicken is a gift bestowed upon us by the poultry gods. And it's always fun to forego cutlery in such a snazzy space.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Sunda’s Vegemite Curry

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Sunda’s Vegemite Curry

Loaded with umami and gentle spice, this is the kind of playful, free and easy dish we could use more of in Melbourne.

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