$10 parma at the EBC, or: we all get together to meet a vegan blogger from the hot humid north

At the magnificent $10 Monday Pasta’n’Parma at the EBC last week, fellow bloggers (is there an appropriate contraction for veg*n bloggers? Obviously not vloggers; maybe ve-logging, like spelunking? Or vegging, something I do quite a bit on the couch? …anyways…) Cindy and Lidia and I were talking about our particular blogging habits. I hate typos but was under the impression that if I went back in to edit them my entries would be re-posted as a brand new one (I now know better so please expect multiple edits shortly). Lidia is the same but as she has not written in a while (please? Pleeease?) I will simply beg her to resume. Cindy’s ‘thing’ was that she couldn’t bear to be a week out of date with her entries.

This is made a little easier by the duo-blogging with Michael, but I have to admire her commitment to timeliness. And admire it I must, because I cannot emulate it. Snaps Cindy! In fact she already wrote about it here (and has even been and written again since! I am put to shame).

So here, definitely more than a week later, is my post about our dinner at EBC to meet the lovely Theresa of Tropical Vegan who was visiting the south. At the table were the newly-married and newly-returned from O/S Caroline and Tim, Kristy and Toby (who arrived ravenous after a very frustrating evening), Lidia, guest of honour Theresa, and fortuitously-at-the-right-place-at-the-right-time Cindy and Michael.

My first visit to EBC, on my birthday this year, was a little disappointing as I had spent all day stuffing myself with La Panella. At my second meal, a couple of months ago with Lisa, I braved the parma again and was happy to review my opinion, especially with the peanut butter cheesecake at the end. And this time – a big dirty yum.

I had the bacon and cheese burger, and boy was it a big ol’ hunk-a hunk-a burnin’ love. It really was massive; with a 2.5-3cm pattie, bacon, mustard, lettuce, cheese, pickles etc etc in a huge doughy bun. I really was very impressed with myself that I finished it.

The pattie was very dark and well-textured, and I just loved the pickles. The fries on the side were a little underdone but still, fries are fries and it’s not like I refused to eat them! The burger was big, filling, chunky and full of straight-at-you-ma’am flavours. Mmm I likey. Grunt.

I wasn’t going to get dessert until I saw the choc-cherry cheesecake. I am neither a berry nor a cheesecake fan, but now that I am unable to eat cheesecake whenever, something in my lizardbrain sees the cheesecake, desires the cheesecake, and buys the cheesecake in case of imminent famine.

The cheesecake was really cheesecakey, and by that I mean it had the thick squishy texture, slight wobbliness, and the almost savoury aftertaste at the back of your tongue that dairy cheesecake does. I was glad that I shared with Kristy as after slaying the dragon of the enormous burger, I think that backing it up might have undone me (or at least my jeans button anyway). The cheesecake also came with a vegan cream, which we tasted like pros and declared it to taste like … soy? Rice? Agave? Ah, but it was good.

My only gripe is illustrated below: I got two fresh cherries but the others got lots and lots of lovely dripping cherries on top!

You gotta love the EBC’s deal. Big serves, big pub food plates, knockout desserts, good prices even not on a Monday, and vegan-cool. I do wish they’d stop advertising $12 jugs of Carlton with the vegan menu though … Cooper’s anyone?

EDIT: this is me practicing uploading from blogger, and I am more than getting by with a little help from my friends - with advice from Lisa and Mandee amongst others, I present to you my first Flickr upload, a rare and valuable shot of a vegger vegging in the wild: Cindy hard at work! Thanks guys :)