Range
February 2nd, 2008 Posted in Pets Guide Luscious ripe berries and crisp apples from Stanley, sweet
Rutherglen lamb, Mount Buffalo hazelnuts and Milawa free-range
poultry. These are just some of the regional enticements at Range,
a fine country restaurant that happens to be in north-east
Victoria, in case you haven’t heard. The snow road has never had it
so good.
Plenty of ski-minded folk know Myrtleford because the Great
Alpine Road cuts through the middle of it. But for the past two
years, gastronomes and the hungry have sought it out for Michael
Ryan’s food. And since Range took out The Age Good Food Guide
2008’s country restaurant of the year award late last year,
there’s been a mini-stampede around these parts. Let’s see why.
Back to that produce. Such items are not part of the menu
because they’re local, but because they’re good: there’s no place
for parochialism in this modern restaurant. They mix it with gems
from further afield, such as Bultarra saltbush lamb from NSW, or
the fish that goes into a Catalan seafood stew ($30). “While I like
to support the region, I use and source good produce no matter
where it’s from,” says the softly spoken Ryan.
Part of Range’s charm is its simplicity. The dining room is
understated and contemporary and the restaurant is part of the chic
Motel on Alpine, although run as separate businesses. Two leather
couches flank an open fire that gets a lot of use - maybe not quite
as much at the moment, but it’s still a nice spot for a pre-dinner
drink even in summer. Sliding glass doors open to an outside dining
area while allowing plenty of light into the dining room during
lunch. Tables are uncluttered.
The wine list - just eight A4 pages, and not jam-packed either -
deserves more than an honourable mention. Devised by Ryan’s partner
Jeanette Henderson, it too follows the menu’s cue in listing local
wineries that deserve to be there: for example the unusual
marzemino frizzante from Chrismont ($27) or the excellent Cirko V
viognier 2006 ($45). These wines, all the wines, match brilliantly
with the mostly Mediterranean-influenced dishes. There was plenty I
wanted to drink - gems such as the Von Buhl riesling ($30) or the
2005 Spinifex grenache blend known as Esprit ($49). Notice how they
don’t include city mark-ups either. This wine list is proof that
quality drinking doesn’t have to run to a hundred pages. Bravo
Henderson.
The Pieropan Soave Classico ($46) turns out to be a perfect
match for some pre-lunch starters of tender pickled octopus ($8)
and an exceptional caponata ($6) delicately - and unusually -
flavoured with cocoa, and “an anchovy and its fried bones” ($4),
which might not sound so appetising but it is. The salty tangy fish
is split in two, the backbone intact and fried until it’s crunchy.
Simple and delicious. But entree proper begins with a stunning
goat’s cheese terrine ($17) that turns out to be Ryan’s variation
on a Greek watermelon and fetta salad. The terrine, in this case,
is goat cheese blended with cream, yoghurt and lemon rind. A decent
slice of it is surrounded on the plate by small pieces of
watermelon, black olives, shallots, mint and slivers of pickled
watermelon rind. A tangy red wine vinegar and watermelon juice
dressing - just the right amount drizzled over everything - lifts
the dish, while a deep-fried vine leaf atop the terrine adds
crunch.
Another stunner is the main course of tea-smoked Rutherglen
venison served with beetroot, pommes dauphine and cherry compote
($29). The smoky flavour is subtle rather than strident and while
the venison is tender and pink it’s not gamey, as I’d expect and
want from this meat.
It partners well with some pieces of roasted balsamic
vinegar-flavoured beetroot and the spicy cherries. (And the only
time I’d ever have pommes dauphine is in a restaurant - the creamy
potato mix is deep-fried - and while light, it’s still decadent.)
An impeccable reduction lightly flavoured with chocolate, a classic
companion to venison, finishes the dish.
This and another outstanding main, the braised Bultarra saltbush
lamb ($29), are not exactly summery but Ryan’s cooking shows a
lightness of touch.
The Stanley berry and rhubarb salad with strawberry jelly and
rhubarb ice-cream and yoghurt foam ($13) is definitely of the
season. Plump, fresh, perfectly formed boysenberries and
raspberries are plated with strawberry slices, poached rhubarb
pieces and cubes of jelly fragrant with the essence of
strawberries. Between the fruit are about five blobs of fluffy foam
- don’t fear, it’s not a kooky El Bulli thing, merely a tangy light
counterpoint. In the middle of this dish sits a scoop of terrific
rhubarb ice-cream, made by Kiewa Valley dairy farming company
Gundowring Fine Foods. After years of denial, maybe I am a dessert
person after all.
I’m glad Ryan calls Myrtleford home. It means he’s not going
anywhere soon and Range will remain a focal point of this
beautiful, bountiful region.
Jane Faulkner is The Age Good Food Guide’s country
co-ordinator. John Lethlean returns next week.
Score: 19: Unacceptable.
10-11: Just OK, some shortcomings.
12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14:
Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really
good. 17: Truly excellent. 18:
Outstanding. 19-20: Approaching perfection,
Victoria’s best.
