~ Curious Charlie ~

Local Eats - Pizza @ Mother Dough @ Sunday, July 30, 2017

Charlie & Co dined as guests.

In this small town of ~~Hamelin~~ Hawthorn which spans two blocks plus one cafe there's two places when it comes to pizza, though one only does take-away (and pizza by the slices for lunch) while the other is nice and warm inside with plenty of seats! During weekdays it's nice and quiet during lunch.

For warmer days there's also a courtyard out back.

Hot Chocolate

Rich and creamy, with chocolate sauce this is a hot chocolate like no other in this town. Everyone else uses a powder. Trust me I've tried most. Bio guy said the drinks here are on par with any cafe and some are even better.

With exposed brick walls there's a rustic feel though fortunately no risk of those old outdoorsy tables where my lace dress was snagged and destroyed (refer to Miss Korea post). Tables are polished and the seats are comfortable.

Pizza Bruschetta

Diced tomato, parmigiano and basil with balsamic vinaigrette

served on our homemade foccacia mother dough style

A solid starter with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette balancing out sharpness of the parmigiano cheese and adding that perfect balance in flavours. The dough was oh so soft and fluffy that it was just perfect! I have been back to order just this for lunch.

Homemade Black Angus Wagyu Meatballs

Served in Napoli Sauce with Homemade Focaccia

Hearty and full of flavour this is the perfect winter entree (though you can get it as a main too!). The rosemary adds that special something to compliment the rich tomato sauce which works well with the herb composition and balances the flavours of more than just meatball-ness. Served with a soft pillowy crust (yes the same from the pizza) to mop up the sauces, this is the perfect serving size for an entree. You can order the crust on its own and somehow that's not crazy - I love that!

San Daniele Prosicutto + rocket, shaved parmigiano, fior di latte

The first pizza we tried was the San Daniele Prosicutto. With a tomato base it had all those classic flavours, the soft beautiful cheese, the saltiness of the prosicutto balanced with the freshness of that something green. With a very thin base it was a challenge to pick up and something to be attempted at with a knife and fork.

I would not recommend these pizzas for a quick takeaway to be consumed on the train!

Il Porcino - truffle paste, porcini mushrooms, speck, smoked scamorza

I absolutely love truffles and mushrooms so this for me was a highlight. Cheese, mushroom, truffle and pizza, what could be more amazing? Bio guy says that speck that adds a little saltiness though still keep a balance between all the elements along with something different in texture.

La Sfiziosa - Napoli, pesto, parmesan, San Daniele prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella

While not as interesting/unique as the other pizzas, paling on comparison but only after that amazing truffle pizza the Sfiziosa still had that perfectly consistent flavour and quality.

Seafood Hotpot

Variety of seasonal fresh fillet seafood with homemade focaccia

sculpted to the bowl and risen in our wood fire oven

A showpiece, and one to impress this is the one to get. A herbed seafood mix (the good fresh kind rather than supermarket premix) bio guy felt that the broth didn't do enough for the dish upon which we agreed, though enjoyed. The bread top part was like naan but lighter and crispier without being a cracker!

Homemade Gnocchi Goat Ragu, Oven-baked with Rosemary and White Wine

Ragu is one of my favorite wintery foods and so I had high expectations and this dish didn't disappoint! With slow cooked-like melt in your mouth goat, the buttery pillows of gnocchi with a sprinkling of rosemary this dish was magical! One of the very best gnocchis I've had! A highlight and one of our favorite pasta dishes We're excited about returning for this.

Beetroot Filled Ravioli

Cooked in a thick gorgonzola, with parmesan, scamorza and asiago

In this dish you couldn't really taste the beetroot under all that beautiful cheese! If you wanted something that's mostly cheese, this is it. Other than seeing the slightly pink colour of the beetroot I didn't taste it.

Nutella Calzone

Nutella filled calzone topped with strawberry & vanilla gelato

A giant bready croissant filled with nutella; drizzled to death with nutella (not that that's possible :P ) with a sprinkling of macerated strawberries, dusted with a light snowfall of icing sugar. It was amazing! The best nutella dessert I've had! If you love bread and chocolate like us, this is for the one for you.

White Chocolate Heaven

Melted Italian white chocolate, sprinkled in oreos & nutella topped with gelato

For ultimate dessert pizza food porn points this is the one. With all my favourite dessert toppings, this was heaven! The best dessert pizza I've ever had, you'd think it might be too sweet but it's actually just right.

To be shared between 4-6 people, with a scoop of ice cream each. Cookies and cream of course.

Look at that lovely lighting!

Tiramisu - Beautifully presented, creamy goodness. I love tiramisu!

Of course any Italian place has to have the ultimate Italian dessert with another set of things I love: coffee, chocolate, coffee liquor and cream! Of course there's also lady fingers in there. At this point we were totally stuffed full off pizza and could only manage a spoonful.
To be shared between two (at least).

With warm inviting lighting at night and a quiet place for lunch, quality ingredients and what we reckon is our favourite restaurant in town this is the place to go when you want Italian, and a place to impress your friends! They also have a $15 lunch menu which includes crunchy paninis (I'll link it when it's up).

Our top recommendations? The bruschetta and meatballs, truffle pizza, gnocchi ragu and all the desserts!

Tip - When ordering sauce-less pasta like the linguine we'd recommend asking for less salt than usual - from past experience.