Williamstown destinations

Got an email from a bloke over that side who offered up a few new options. Mind you, none are $10 meals, but they are still cheap, so with that warning out of the way, here they are:

Steam Packet Hotel - $11.95 meals Mon/Tue/Wed

Morning Star Hotel - $13.95 meals Mon/Tue/Wed

Bettenays - $15 meals all week

Haven't got over there to check them out yet, if anyone else has feel free to comment.

$10 sunday roast at Pugg Mahones

We've been happy enough with the $10 Sunday Roast at Pugg Mahones (Cnr Drummond & Elgin St, Carlton) that we've been back there two Sundays running. Not just the roast, but the $5.50 pints of guiness and $5 pints of cider have called us there. Incidentally, an Irish friend has happily informed me that Pugg Mahones means "kiss my arse" or something like that in Gaelic which is a little entertaining.
Discovered this house of plenty by accident as we were strolling past one Sunday to attend a far pricier lunch elsewhere, and knew we had to come back for such bargain serves of everything that makes a Sunday lunch pleasurable.
Our first Sunday was spent there with a few friends, and nearly everyone ordered the roast.
The $10 roast comes without any choices, they do one variation each Sunday, and you get what you're given. Now, I'm not sure if it was because on the first Sunday we rocked up late, and the second Sunday we rocked up a few hours earlier, but one thing I did notice was a bit of a difference in portion sizes. We enjoyed a very good lamb roast on the first Sunday, but the serving was a little on the small side. So on our second Sunday visit (beef roast this time) we ordered a side of chips (mmm healthy) to go with our lunch. This time the portion was much bigger. Not sure yet whether this is because of the time of the day or what sort of roast it was. I would have thought the lamb roast was a more popular choice for the punters but then again we were there a few hours later so you never know. My partner in crime insists beef roast is more popular anyway, so you just can't be sure I suppose. Might ask the chef next time. Yes, we're planning on heading back there again. The pints of guiness and cider definitely add to the attraction of the place.
One thing we are planning (and I think this might have a little Seinfeld ring to it) is bringing our own condiments. They only serve their roast with gravy, and I like a bit of mint sauce with my lamb, and horseradish with my beef. I'm sure it will be the same story if they ever do a pork.
All things considered, we're happy with it and we're going back for more. We may have found ourselves a favourite Sunday haunt. Its not packed with people, there's sport on the telly, and the barstaff are friendly. Cheap pubgrub and booze too: What else could you want?

Rathdowne Tavern - update - not a $10 steak anymore

It was my favourite place for a $10 steak - great food, came with a pot of beer - couldn't go wrong. But the financial crisis might have given the Rathdowne Tavern a nudge, folks. Popped in there last night to enjoy a steak and prices have edged up ever so slightly. 200g steak with roast vegies & gravy is now $12, 300g is $14, and they do a 400g as well. The pot of beer you get with your dinner improves the more you spend on your steak.

$2 isn't much, I guess, and it is still a great meal. Sad to see the financial crisis encroaching on my preferred steak chomping-ground, but happily its not enough to send me scurrying home in disgust.

Cheap Drinking Spots around Melbourne

*Please note, this list may well have some out-of-date details on it now. I added it a while back, and so if you know of any other places, or something here that needs to be updated, feel free to let me know!*

Cheap Drinking Spots around Melbourne














Monday

Automatic
Southbank, City
$3 pints (inc Stella)

Pugg Mahones
106–112, Hardware Street, City
$3 pints & basic spirits 9-11pm, $3 cowboys all night

Carlton Hotel
197 Bourke St, City
$1.90 pots, 12-2pm & 4-6pm

Pure
125 Smith Street, Collingwood
$1 pots - Pick of the night

The Public Bar
238 Victoria St, North Melbourne (near Vic Markets)
$1 pots all night (+entry)

The Laundry
50 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$1 pots 3-7pm.

Spinach
Cnr Brunswick and Johnston Sts, Fitzroy
$5 jugs, 5-7pm

Chameleon/Provincial Hotel
Cnr Johnston and Brunswick St, Fitzroy
$5 dollar jugs all night

The Evelyn
351 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
$8 jugs all night

The Old Bar
74 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots, 4-6pm

J36
36 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$3.50 Local stubbies, 5-7.30pm

Big Mouth
168 Acland St, St Kilda
$1 pots 5-7, 10-11

Prince of Wales
29 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
$1.20 pots

Elwood Lounge
49-51 Glenhuntly Rd, Elwood
$2 off all alcoholic drinks 9pm-midnight

Mentone Hotel
95 Beach Rd, Mentone
$2 pots, 5-6pm

The Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

Geebung Polo Club
339 Racecourse Rd, Flemington
$4 pints 6-7pm













Tuesday

All Nations Backpacker Pub
Cnr of Flinders and Spencer Sts, City
$3.50 pints all night

Carlton Hotel
197 Bourke St, City
$1.90 pots, 12-2pm & 4-6pm

Young and Jacksons
Cnr Swanston and Flinders St, City
$4 pints in long bar, 8-11pm

Hotel Bakpak
167 Franklin St, City
$8 jugs

Spinach
Cnr Brunswick and Johnston Sts, Fitzroy
$5 jugs, 5-7pm

The Tote
Cnr Johnston and Wellington Sts, Collingwood
$1.40 pots all night - Pick of the night

The Evelyn
351 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
$8 jugs all night, 8pm-close

Parkview Hotel
131 Scotchmer St, Nth Fitzroy
$4 pints & $9 Jugs all night

Clifton Hill Hotel
89 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill.
$4 pints

The Old Bar
74 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots, 4-6pm

J36
36 Johnston St Fitzroy
$3.50 Local stubbies, 5-7.30pm

Big Mouth
168 Acland St, St Kilda
$1 pots 5-7, 10-11

Golden Gate Hotel
238 Claredon St, Sth Melbourne
$6 jugs (Tooheys)

The Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

Mentone Hotel
95 Beach Rd, Mentone.
$2 pots, 5-6pm



















Wednesday

F4
Level 2/322 Little Collins St, City
2 for 1 drinks, 9-10pm, 11-12pm, 1-2am. ($6 entry, students free)

Carlton Hotel
197 Bourke St, City
$1.90 pots, 12-2pm & 4-6pm

Prince Alfred Hotel
191 Grattan St, Carlton
$1 pots 9-10pm

Spinach
Cnr Brunswick and Johnston Sts, Fitzroy
$5 jugs, 5-7pm

Commercial Club Hotel
Cnr Nicholson and Westgarth Sts, Fitzroy
Paper Scissors Rock all night

Laundry
50 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots 3-9pm

The Old Bar
74 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots, 4-6pm

J36
36 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$3.50 Local stubbies, 5-7.30pm

Big Mouth
168 Acland St, St Kilda
$1 pots 5-7, 10-11 - Pick of the night

Mentone Hotel
95 Beach Rd, Mentone.
$2 pots, 5-6pm

Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

Racecourse Hotel
Next to Monash Uni, Caulfield.
$3 Heinekens all day

Cato
37 Cato St, Prahran
$2 pots, $3 basics, 8pm-midnight

















Thursday

Billboards
170 Russell St, City
$1 pots, $2.50 basic spirits - Pick of the night

James Squire Brewery
115 Russell St, City
Toss the boss all night

Carlton Hotel
197 Bourke St, City
$1.90 pots, 12-2pm & 4-6pm

Spinach
Cnr Brunswick and Johnston Sts, Fitzroy
$5 jugs, 5-7pm

Laundry
50 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$1.50 pots, 3-9pm

Parkview Hotel
131 Scotchmer St, Nth Fitzroy
$4 pints & $9 Jugs all night

Pugg Mahones
171 Elgin St, Carlton
$4 pints after 8pm

The Old Bar
74 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots, 4-6pm

The Purple Turtle
166 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots 8pm -2am

J36
36 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$3.50 Local stubbies, 5-7.30pm

Big Mouth
168 Acland St, St Kilda
$1 pots 5-7, 10-11

The Saint
54 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
Two for one drinks all night

Vibe
140 Acland St, St Kilda
$5 long necks

The Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

Mentone Hotel
95 Beach Rd, Mentone
$2 pots, 5-6pm

Prahran Hotel
96 Greville St, Prahran
$1 pots 8-9pm, $1.50 pots 9-10 pm

Cato
37 Cato St, Prahran
$2 pots, $3 basic, 8pm-midnight

161
161 High St, Prahran
$2 pots, 9-11pm (+entry for bands)













Friday

The Loft
117 Lonsdale St, City
2 free drinks on arrival

Dallas
195 King St, City
$1.50 pots, $2.50 basics all night

Khokolate
43 Hardware Lane, City
1/2 price drinks + finger food, 5-8pm

Carlton Hotel
197 Bourke St, City
$1.90 pots, 12-2pm & 4-6pm

Fiddler
577 Little Collins, City
Two for one, 5-7pm

F4
Level 2/322 Little Collins St , City
Assorted 2 for 1 drink specials/giveaways, free snacks, 5-10pm

Concrete
Cnr Lonsdale and Russell Sts, City
2 for 1 Heineken bottles, 5-7pm

Roo Bar
167 Franklin St, City
$2 shots

Odeon
Crown Casino, City.
4 cocktails for $10, 5-8pm

Exchange Hotel
Cnr King & Little Collins Sts, City
$8 jugs/$4 pints/$2 pots, 5-7pm

Velour Bar
121 Flinders Lane, City
$2 pots, $3 wine + champers, $3.50 spirits + free finger food, 5.30-7.30

Bliss Lounge
11 Queen St, City
$2 pots 5-7pm

Republic Cafe
299 Queen St, City
$3 beer, wine & spirits

Treasury
394 Collins St, City
$3 tap beer, 5.30-9.30pm

Spinach
Cnr Brunswick and Johnston Sts, Fitzroy
$5 jugs, 5-7pm

Trades Hall Bar
Trades Hall Bar, upstairs Cnr Lygon and Victoria Sts, Carlton
cheap drinks, 5-7pm

The Builders Arms
211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
$2 pots, 6-8pm

The Old Bar
74 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$2 pots, 4-6pm

Prince Alfred Hotel
191 Grattan St, Carlton
$2 pots, 5-8pm

Commercial Club Hotel
Cnr Nicholson and Westgarth Sts, Fitzroy
$2 pots, free pizza & other drink specials, 5.30-7.30pm

J36
36 Johnston St, Fitzroy
$3.50 Local stubbies, 5-7.30pm

Big Mouth
168 Acland St, St Kilda
$1 pots 5-7, 10-11

The Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

Eden on the Park
6 Queens Rd, Albert Park
$3 wine, $3.50 botted local beer, $4.00 spirits, 5-7pm

Earl of Lincoln
59 Church St, Richmond
$20 all you can drink, 7-10pm - Pick of the night

Bridie O'Reilly's
462 Chapel St, South Yarra
$4 pints, 6-8pm

Mentone Hotel
95 Beach Rd, Mentone
$2 pots, 5-7pm

Hawthorn Hotel
481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn
$2 pots, $3.50 basic spirits, 5.30-6.30pm

Lotus
172 Toorak Rd, Toorak
$3 basic spirits + beer, 5-9pm

Burvale Hote
Burwood Hwy, Nunawading
$3 Crownies

Geebung Polo Club
339 Racecourse Rd, Flemington
$4 pints, 6-7pm












Saturday

Young and Jacksons
Cnr Flinders and Swanston Sts, City
'Beer Ambassador': free beer tasting 3pm

Roo Bar
167 Franklin Street, City
$7 Jugs

Carlton Hotel
197 Bourke St, City
$1.90 pots, 2-4pm

The Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

Bridie O'Reilly's
462 Chapel St, South Yarra
$4 pints, 8-10pm. - Pick of the night



















Sunday

Young and Jacksons
Cnr Flinders and Swanston Sts, City
'Beer Ambassador': free beer tasting 3pm

Roo Bar
167 Franklin Street, City.
$3 pints

The Greyhound
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda
$2 pots, 5.30-7.30pm

The Cricketers Arms
327 Punt Rd, Richmond
$2 pots - Pick of the night




















All Week

Bar at Ong Asian Food Court
Basement, 265 Little Bourke St, City
$3.30 bottled beer

Saluti
525 Collins St, City.
$7 long necks

Cheers
25 Little Bourke St, City
$3.80 Crown Lager bottles

Normandy Hotel
139 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill
$2.50 schooners, $3 bottled beer

Queensberry Hotel
593, Swanston St, Carlton
$4 pints (Tooheys)

Red Eye Bar
17 Carlisle St, St Kilda
$2 pots (xxxx) all day. 2 for 1 Tooheys pots 5-6pm.

Royal Oak
527 Bridge Rd, Richmond
$3 schooners/spirits - Pick of the night

Hawthorn Hotel
481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn.
$2 pots, $3.50 basic spirits, 8-9pm.

Rathdowne Tavern - $10 steaks Tue night

Yes, last night it was time to try out the Rathdowne Tavern's $10 steak offer. On first read, it does sound a little too good to be true: $10 for a steak and a pot? In Carlton?

But along we went to investigate, and I'm happy to report that all this goodness was completely true. They offer a range of steaks - the $10 option is the 200 gram steak complete with roasted vegetables and a pot of Carlton draught (they also have bigger steaks on offer for higher prices).

I also forked out an additional $8 for a side salad - which I liked, I thought the lime/citrus dressing was nice and tangy, but my dining companion was unimpressed with the salad. In fact he may have muttered "You could just spend an extra couple of bucks and eat more steak if you're that hungry". And yes, it does kind of negate the point of the whole "$10 dinner", I admit.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When we arrived, possibly a little on the late side of 8pm, the place was packed. We got the last table, and were feeling quite chuffed about it until it eventually dawned on us that being this packed meant very slow service. Table service only, for ordering your dinner, and it took us a good while to be attended to. I would hazard a guess that there were only a couple of wait staff tending to all the tables in the hotel, but I could be wrong. Just take my word for it and get down there early if you're hungry, but if you're happy to kick back with your mates then you won't be worried. Its a nice venue, the big flatscreens seemed a little out of place to me, but horses for courses and all that.

Once our orders were taken, the steak appeared in no time flat. That kitchen is seriously pumping them out!

One small word of warning here: if you are ordering the $10 steak, we were advised that you can't specify how you'd like it cooked. It all comes out just a shade on the rare side of medium. So if you really like it either blue & bloody or seriously singed, you'll be dismayed by this news.

But for most people, I'm sure you'll cope - its a great steak, really good for the price, the roast vegies arrive tucked underneath the steak, a sprig of oregano and gravy across the top. Definitely worth a visit, if you are up for a good cheap steak in Carlton on a Tue night.

My cameraphone is still not playing by the rules unfortunately, so I might have to start carting a camera with me. If I can get it sorted there will be pics here soon.
Til next time, cheers!

Details:
Rathdowne Tavern, 184 Rathdowne St, Carlton

Back in the saddle

Last night we ventured to a favourite from the old days. Now, admittedly, its not a pub, nor did we partake in $10 steaks or parmas.
But Shanghai Dumpling, located tucked away down Tattersalls Lane off Little Bourke Street, deserves mention for a couple of reasons. It was always a good spot for a cheap feed back in my younger days, and having not been there in a couple of years, I felt it was time to revisit. Plus I haven't been around for a bit so it was also time to report in on the blog, and its the only place I've been since I got back.
Shanghai Dumpling used to be a place where you could squeeze in next to a couple of strangers all sharing a table, tuck in to a plate of dumplings and some chinese broccoli and leave without much fuss to the wallet.
Well, things didn't seem to have changed terribly much.
There has been a little bit of a decor shift - a few more booths in place, the grungy old plastic tea mugs have been replaced with shiny new white ones, and things are slightly rearranged (tea urn at the front of the restaurant instead of tucked down the back, etc) - but nothing alarmingly new to upset the mad, busy place we remembered. I also noticed that corkage has been introduced (different prices depending on whether you bring in a stubbie, a tallie, or a bottle of wine) and a few beers were now available for sale onsite. We figured we'd take advantage of that particular new feature and had a Tiger stubbie from the fridge, for $4.80.
I did note that the chinese broccoli in oyster sauce seems to have bounced its way up the price list to become one of their more expensive dishes, at $9.90. It was as delicious as always, however. A very generous plate of steamed vegetable and mushroom dumplings was $6.50 and a plate of fried pork dumplings was $6.80 - as you may notice, I strongly believe in eating the dumplings at a place with said item included in the name of the joint. We enjoyed the meal, enjoyed our noisy tablemates, and were happy to note that whilst things have had a marginal spit and polish, nothing really seems to have changed much. The only thing I did notice was that the old clientele didn't match the new one. Not so much a mix of everyone you could find in a teaspoon of Melbourne, and more just a bunch of groups of people heading out for the night. I reckon I only saw two students in the whole place which leads me to suspect that Shanghai Dumpling must have a newer, cheaper competitor that this old fogie doesn't know about.

Stepping out for a breath of fresh air

Thanks for the visits and comments so far guys, its great to know that my mates and I are not the only ones keen on this idea.
I'll be keeping up the blog but just a heads-up that things will be quiet on the home front for a couple of weeks whilst I take some r&r out of town. Yes, sacrilege, I should really be spending my time off in knocking over all those places on my list. If I'd planned my trip a little later/started this blog a little earlier in the year, things might have been different. As it is, I'll be back before you know it. And of course, if anyone's got any reviews or comments about places that they think belong here, just keep 'em coming!

Father Flanagan's $10 steak - Review

We started out this evening with the plan to tackle the Sunday roast at Don't Tell Tom in Sydney Road. Sadly, we were informed by the friendly bloke checking tickets at the door, that they had a tickets-only show on at the moment, as part of the music festival. So folks, if you are chasing a sunday roast, right now don't pay any attention to my list. I'm hoping things will be back to normal in a couple of weeks, but if they aren't I'll have to do a bit of updating.

So the three of us ventured down to Father Flanagan's, 484 Smith St (on the corner of Alexander Pde & Smith St) in Collingwood to sample their $10 steaks instead.
We were pretty happy with what we found, so without further ado, here's the story.

Salad: I can't rave about the salad, it had some squiggle of very ordinary creamy dressing across the top of some sliced onion and tomato over mixed leaves, but it was better than none at all, and didn't detract from the main event.
Chips: always a shame when they are placed under the steak, as there's the chance of sogginess, but these were fine. I'm always quick to shift the steak when it appears anyway, so any possible sogging avoided. Fairly generous serve of decent chips.
Steak: decent t-bone, everyone was happy with the way their steak was cooked to their liking, served with a basic pub-style gravy over the top. Thankfully it wasn't swimming in the stuff as I'm not the world's biggest fan of it, but its always good when there's something there to finish the chips off with.
Drinks: we had pints of beer and cider with our dinner, they were good, and not overpriced.
Atmosphere at the pub: tonight was fairly quiet, a couple of Irish boys sitting up at the bar chatting to the bartender, a handful of other people around, with Phil Collins crooning gently over the soundsytem. Definitely not a packed and jumping kind of place, although I have been here for St Patrick's Day and you couldn't move - packed in like sardines. From the looks of it they cater to the Uni crowd pretty well with lots of student offers, cheap drinks on certain nights etc.

Overall - good deal, definitely a bargain steak night to recommend if you're at a loose end on a Sunday and you've run out of dosh.

Note: I do have a shot of the plate on my phone but having trouble downloading it for some reason. Will get to it when I've had a word with the phone co.

More fodder!

OK I've gone forth and fetched up a few more places that are elsewhere for my southern & eastern-based cousins. I may have even dug up a couple from the west, too! Yes, not all of these are $10. I will slowly whittle it back as I go along. What I'd like eventually is to have the ideal list - the best $10 meal in Melbourne for every night of the week. Occasionally when I need a change of pace or I'm feeling a bit flush, I'll go all out and try one of these $12 or $13 nights...

How's this list looking? I'm pretty keen to give some of these a try-out. If anyone else has a review or a suggestion for me, please feel free to post it in the comments section. Or you can email me on 10dollarmealsinmelb (at) gmaildotcom

Monday
Father Flanagan's, 484 Smith St (Cnr Alexander Pde & Smith St) Collingwood - $5 meals & $6 steins
Clare Castle Hotel, 354 Graham St, Port Melbourne - All Meals $10
The Hawthorn Hotel, 481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn - Parma & a pot $10 (6-9pm)
Prince Alfred Hotel, 355 Bay St, Port Melbourne - everything on the menu is $13 (except entrees/bar snacks, which are $6.50 - $9.50)
Gertrude Hotel, 148 Gertrude St, Fitzroy - all meals $12 except for steak & salmon $14
Richmond Club Hotel, 100 Swan St, Richmond - $10 parma
Edinburgh Castle, 681 Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $9.99 for roo & glass of wine

Tuesday
Clare Castle Hotel, 354 Graham St, Port Melbourne - Choice of 5 Parmas for $10
Stag's Head Hotel, 39 Cecil St, Williamstown - Parma $10 (advisable to book)
Gertrude Hotel, 148 Gertrude St, Fitzroy - Pasta/Parma night $10
The Hawthorn Hotel, 481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn - Parma & a pot $10 (6-8.30pm)
Richmond Club Hotel, 100 Swan St, Richmond - $10 steak
Rathdowne Tavern, 184 Rathdowne St, Carlton - $10 steak night
Edinburgh Castle, 681 Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $9.50 pot and a pie

Wednesday
The Nash Hotel, 344 Victoria St, Richmond - Porterhouse with chips & salad, choice of gravies for $12, available both lunch (12-2.30pm) and dinner (6-9pm)
Stag's Head Hotel, 39 Cecil St, Williamstown - steak $12 (advisable to book)
The Hawthorn Hotel, 481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn - Parma & a pot $10 (6-9pm)
The Bendigo Hotel, 125 Johnston St, Collingwood - Parma (9 different varieties) & a pot $10
Cornish Arms, 163A Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $12 steak night
Father Flanagan's, 484 Smith St (Cnr Alexander Pde & Smith St) Collingwood - $10 monster roast

Thursday
Gertrude Hotel, 148 Gertrude St, Fitzroy - Parma $10, Steak $14
The Hawthorn Hotel, 481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn - $12 steak night (6-9pm)
Palookaville, 416 Brunswick St, Fitzroy - everything $10
Father Flanagan's, 484 Smith St (Cnr Alexander Pde & Smith St) Collingwood - $11 parma & a pot

Friday
The Bendigo Hotel, 125 Johnston St, Collingwood - scotch fillet steak & a pot $10
The Hawthorn Hotel, 481 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn - $12 mains (6-7pm)

Saturday
The Rose Hotel, 406 Napier St, Fitzroy - mains $8.50 - $13 (12pm - 10pm)
Palookaville, 416 Brunswick St, Fitzroy - everything $10

Sunday
Don't Tell Tom, 420 Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $10 sunday roast
Father Flanagan's, 484 Smith St (Cnr Alexander Pde & Smith St) Collingwood - $10 steaks
Spread Eagle Hotel, 372 Bridge Rd, Richmond - Parma-fest (Choice of 5 toppings - Hawaiian, Mexican, Traditional, Bolognese and Meat Lovers) $12

Last night's $10 meal = fail

Went out in search of a $10 steak night last night. Failed miserably.

Its not always going to be good news when you go out for a $10 meal, and I will not be just reporting the good news. You need to know where to avoid, as well as the great places to go!

Drove around several pubs, before settling for Rajee's Instant Indian. $7.50 for vegie curry, $10 for meat. Came with your choice of one kind of curry, and a big plate of rice.

Short review: Don't waste your time people, I reckon there's got to be a better option out there.
I know of a curry place on Elizabeth St in the city which does a plate for $11 which is definitely better - 3 curries instead of one, plus the rice, and the curry is of a far better quality. The curry at Rajee's was lacking in flavour, watery, minimal on everything except sauce. Sure, people might suggest that you get what you pay for - but I say, the competition for my blue heeler is fierce, and I won't be returning to Rajee's.

A list for future reviews

I'm trying to map out my week.

Here's what I have in store so far (and yes, its all located in the northern suburbs - will update as I get info from further afield):

Tue
Rathdowne Tavern, Rathdowne St, Carlton - $10 steak night
or
Edinburgh Castle, Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $9.50 pot and a pie

Wed
Cornish Arms, Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $12 steak night (obviously if I find something for $10 on Wednesdays, the Cornish Arms will get dumped from the plans)

Thu
Palookaville, Brunswick St, Fitzroy - everything $10

Fri
Nothing as yet

Sat
Nothing

Sun
Don't Tell Tom, Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $10 sunday roast

Mon
Edinburgh Castle, Sydney Rd, Brunswick - $9.99 for a roo dinner & glass of wine

$10 meals in Melbourne - do you really need an explanation?

My mates and I love the $10 steak night you get at some pubs.

When you're a bit skint, but you still want to go out for some dinner, the $10 steak night is the undisputed champion of meals. I'm happy to disagree with those who would prefer the parma to take line honours - c'mon people, man up! I love a good $10 parma as much as the next human, particularly when they are, and I borrow this phrase from a good mate, "as big as your face". But surely, when we're talking about value for money here, the $10 steak is the outright winner? But I digress. Any meal at a pub, or anywhere else for that matter, that means you only have to part with a blue heeler, is the real winner here. We're not going to waste our time with 'meal deals' from various fast food joints around the place. I'm talking a real dinner, on a plate, preferably with a pot thrown in for good measure. And that's the point of this blog.

I've never been able to find this information all laid out in one place, nice and easy to find online. So I'm going to do it myself. Whenever I find a place selling a cheap dinner - especially one of those $10 steak nights I've been waxing lyrical about - I'll put it down here. I know I'll use the info myself. And I reckon, in these harsh economic times, that I won't be the only person to find this a mine of useful information. Naturally, if you're as keen on this sort of thing as I am, you'll want to give me a heads-up for your favourite $10 meal venue. Thanks in advance for helping out your fellow bargain-hunters!

Well obviously today its not going to be chockablock with the info you want. But I'm sure as the weeks roll by that you'll find this a great resource; one that you want to return to again.
Because lets face it - who doesn't love a cheap night out at the pub? And $10 steak nights are the best! Well, I don't want to talk it up too much - but honestly fellas, don't you think this information is the answer to our prayers?! I personally reckon the $10 steak night could be the saving of our hides in the global economic crisis, and I for one will be supporting them wherever possible.