It seems paying homage to pop culture is the plat du jour of late with these cult cafe eateries committing to some pretty cool themes, including the likes of Star Wars and Breaking Bad.
Toastface Grillah
Named after US rapper Ghostface Killah, Perth’s Toastface Grillah serves delicious cheesy toasted sandwiches down a nondescript laneway covered in street art. The toastie joint got more than they bargained for in late 2014 when the rapper himself showed up and did an impromptu performance outside.
Biggie Smalls Kebabs
As the name suggests, this Melbourne establishment is not your typical kebab shop, though it does still promise a belly full of late-night goodness. The Collingwood takeaway store is inspired by the late rapper of the same name, with New York-style diner seating and an audio track to match.
Burgers Anonymous
Tonight, we cook. By we, we mean Sydney’s Burgers Anonymous. With a Breaking Bad theme, including a giant mural of Walter White, Burgers Anonymous in Darlinghurst is where you can chow down on a Heizenburger (a double beef patty cheeseburger with crack bacon).
Deathstar Canteen
Not quite a reality just yet, this Brisbane Star Wars-themed eatery is set to serve gourmet coffees and sandwiches. To get prepared watch Eddie Izzard’s skit on YouTube!
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A town charmingly paused in time has become a hot mountain biking destination.
There’s a forest reserve full of eucalyptus and pines surrounding town – when you combine all the greenery with a main street of grand old buildings still standing from the Victorian Gold Rush, Creswick looks more period movie set than a 21st-century town.
Grand buildings from the Victorian gold rush. (Image: Visit Victoria)
This entire region of Victoria – the Central Goldfields – is as pretty-as-a-picture, but there’s something extra-special about Creswick. I used to live 30 minutes north; I’d drive in some evenings to cruise its main street at dusk, and pretend I was travelling back in time.
It was sleepy back then, but that’s changed. Where I used to walk through its forest, now I’m hurtling down the state’s best new mountain bike trails. There’s a 60-kilometre network of mountain bike trails – dubbed Djuwang Baring – which make Creswick the state’s hottest new mountain biking destination.
Meet Victoria’s new mountain biking capital
This historic town has become a mountain biking hotspot.
Victoria has a habit of turning quiet country towns into mountain biking hotspots. I was there in the mid-2000s when the tiny Otways village of Forrest embarked on an ambitious plan to save itself (after the death of its timber cutting industry) courtesy of some of the world’s best mountain bike trails. A screaming success it proved to be, and soon mountain bike trails began popping up all over Victoria.
I’m no expert, so I like that a lot of Creswick’s trails are as scenic as they are challenging. I prefer intermediate trails, such as Down Martuk, with its flowing berms and a view round every corner. Everyone from outright beginners to experts can be happy here. There’s trails that take me down technical rock sections with plenty of bumps. But there’s enough on offer to appeal to day-trippers, as much as hard-core mountain-bikers.
I love that the trails empty onto that grand old main street. There’s bars still standing from the Gold Rush of the 1850s I can refuel at. Like the award-winning Farmers Arms, not to be confused with the pub sharing its name in Daylesford. It’s stood since 1857. And The American Creswick built two years later, or Odessa Wine Bar, part of Leaver’s Hotel in an 1856-built former gold exchange bank.
The Woodlands is set on a large bushland property. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)
Creswick is also full of great cafes and restaurants, many of them set in the same old buildings that have stood for 170 years. So whether you’re here for the rush of the trails or the calm of town life, Creswick provides.
A traveller’s checklist
Staying there
Inside the Woodlands, a chic 1970s log cabin. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)
RACV Goldfields Resort is a contemporary stay with a restaurant, swimming pool and golf course. The Woodlands in nearby Lal Lal comprises a chic log cabin set on a 16-hectare property abundant in native wildlife.
Eating there
Le Peche Gourmand makes for the perfect pitstop for carb and sugar-loading.
The menu at Odessa at Leaver’s Hotel includes some Thai-inspired fare. Fuel up for your ride on baguettes and pastries from French patisserie Le Peche Gourmand. The Farmers Arms has been a much-loved local institution since 1857.
Playing there
Miss Northcotts Garden is a charming garden store with tea room. (Image: Visit Victoria)
Creswick State Forest has a variety of hiking trails, including a section of the 210-kilometre-long Goldfields Track. Miss Northcotts Garden is a quaint garden store with tea room.
