Loyal Patrons Follow A Star
The Age
Monday July 3, 1995
THE shooting-star logo traced in glowing neon lights in the window beckons on a wintry night with the promise of a warm welcome inside.
The promise, we find, is fulfilled.
We have driven past the Stardust Cafe for years without ever venturing inside, until last week. But for residents on this eastern edge of Elwood, it is the perfect neighborhood eatery: congenial, varied and affordable.
It has been here for maybe 20 years but looks like something left over from the 1950s, with hints of art deco, black-and-white, vinyl- tiled floor, white Laminex tables, an old-fashioned gas fireplace, and strange paintings of diminutive al fresco nudes viewed from gigantic curtained windows.
We have booked our Monday night table, which is just as well, because every downstairs table will be occupied, some more than once.
Here is a microcosm of the locality: singles, same-sex twosomes, young couples, three-generation family groups.
A lone fellow diner tells us he has been coming here regularly since 1979, when the place was more of an icecream-soda parlor and coffee lounge, and the eccentric owner was apt to flit around the tables on roller skates. (You can still order malted milks and spiders, along with a full range of alcoholic drinks.) The present owner-chef, Howard Fisher, who has been here eight years, puts more emphasis on the food, and what a cosmopolitan mix it is, drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean and Caribbean to the Indian Ocean and Pacific. Just about everything comes in two sizes, the generous ``small" priced at $7 to $9.50 and the dauntingly large from $10 to $15.50.
Guests can feel free to order as much or little as they wish. The three of us enjoy ``small" servings of an Indonesian-style gado gado of steamed and raw vegies with a spicy peanut sauce, a coconut-creamy chicken laksa, a trio of Mexican-style tidbits, bruschetta topped with diced roasted vegetables and bocconcini cheese, risotto with diced red peppers, rocket pesto and fontina cheese, and rolls of grilled roti filled with tea-smoked chicken, glazed onions and Monterey Jack cheese. Nothing very authentic or refined, but all very tasty and satisfying.
The beef burgers and aged porterhouse steaks are a speciality here, vegetarians are well catered for, and a couple of fish dishes are listed by the day. A select list of wines is offered by the bottle or glass at fair prices ($1 a head corkage if you BYO).
Desserts are no mere afterthought: we love the pear and banana crumble with double cream; the coffee is good; and the cakes, biscuits and hand-made chocolates on display are enticing.
Sunday brunch begins at 11am and goes on all day, with anything from Swiss-style muesli and traditional egg dishes to the regular dinner fare. On busy nights, the upstairs room (black tables; African abstract paintings) is brought into play, and in summer, there's a courtyard garden at the back.
Stardust Cafe seems to have discovered the magical secret of keeping its customers contented and loyal through good times and bad.
THE CHEAP CHECK.
Stardust Cafe, 97 Brighton Road, Elwood. Tel: 9531 2926.
Licensed and BYO (bottled wine only).
Owner and chef: Howard Fisher.
Brunch: Sunday from 11am.
Dinner: Daily from 6pm.
Cards: BC MC V.
Price: About $48-$64 for two, plus drinks.
© 1995 The Age
