Should I book: Ish
10 Feb 2023
10 Feb 2023
Chefs make lots of great dishes, but at Dish Cult we recognise the very best...
…and this week, that honour goes to the Cacio and pepe toastie from Melbourne neo-traditional Italian eatery The Hardware Club.
Image credit The Hardware Club
Is that the full name?
No, on the menu it’s “Cacio e pepe taleggio crispy cheese toastie”.
Where can I get it?
The Hardware Club, Upstairs 43 Hardware Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
Why is it a winner?
Take all the things you love about the classic Italian combination of pecorino cheese and freshly cracked black pepper, but instead of tossing it through pasta, turn it into that most Australian of snacks, the jaffle. Now, add another northern Italian cheese champion, taleggio, crumb in panko, deep fry and shower with pecorino Romano, and what have you got? A very worthy winner of our inaugural Dish Cult dish of the week honour. We don’t know what’s better: the sight of the taleggio stretching lazily between the bread in oozy, gooey strands or the comfort and satisfaction that one can only derive from eating a very fancy, very delicious cheese toastie.
What does the chef say?
“
We’ve had the Cacio and pepe toastie on the menu since the beginning. We have tried to put old school traditional flavours into new interesting dishes since the beginning and the toastie is a good example of that. Pecorino and black pepper in a snack form, we have played around with a few different idea but then settled with one of the most iconic Australian snacks in our opinion. We added taleggio in the toastie for a full cheese-pull effect, the toastie is now forever lodged in the snacks section of our menu. We start all set menus with toastie and croquettes, made with all the flavour of amatriciana pasta. Two traditional pasta dishes, presented in a different form.„
Nicola Dusi, head chef at The Hardware Club
Anything else I need to know?
Not sure why you need telling twice, but go out and try it! If you can’t get to The Hardware Club, you can get it home delivered via Providoor.
