A GTG at Scopri Italian Restaurant

Scopri
191 Nicholson Street
Carlton
VIC 3053
Ph : (03) 9347 8252

A week after having spent a few days in Melbourne, I found myself there again for the Melbourne Watchband’s end of year dinner last month, having been talked into the overnight visit by a watch friend in Perth who would also be there for the occasion.

They'd booked out the private room at the top of Scopri, an Italian restaurant in Carlton which, happily, is BYO, allowing the wine buffs to bring a bottle or two. Despite being a group of 15 in the private room (or floor, rather), there was no requirement to abide by a set group menu, so apart from some shared starters, we chose from the a la carte menu. 

First up were some shared primi piatti:

Insalata caprese

Simple sweet flavours of good tomatoes, plenty of basil, good buffalo mozzarella.

Affettato di Bresaola di Wagyu

Local air dried Wagyu beef Bresaola with rocket, parmesan & cherry tomato salad

Unfortunately, because I was so distracted by trying talking and watches, I only managed to get one slice of the bresaola. Suffice to say that I wish that there'd been more of this smooth, rich charcuterie.

Stuffed zucchini flower

The mains :

Pappardelle al ragu` d’anatra

Ribbon pasta with slow cooked duck ragu $26

The ragu was my choice. The pappardelle was nicely cooked but the ragu was probably less of a ragu than I had expected i.e. the duck meat didn't break up easily as meat does from an extended cooking period.

Gnudi di Ricotta e Spinaci al Burro e Salvia
Ricotta and spinach dumplings with butter, sage and fresh parmesan $24

Costoletta di vitello alla Milanese
Crumbed veal cutlet with eggplant parmigiana and ‘crema di burrata’ $37

Ravioli al Nero di San Pietro
Squid ink ravioli filled with John Dory & zucchini in potato and crayfish bisque $27

Crostatina ai frutti di bosco - Vanilla custard tart with mixed fresh berries $14.50

Delizia al limone

Traditional Sorrento style cake - sponge filled with organic lemon curd & covered in Chantilly and strawberries $14.50

Tazza di Caffee’ dolce

'sweet coffee cup’ crisp wafer shell filled with coffee zabaglione on sweetened buffalo ricotta

$15

Tortino caprese
Flourless chocolate cake with orange reduction, creme anglaise $13.50

Of course we cannot forget the watches; what an amazing group of them I was privileged to see.

Part of Tom's watchmaking project

Patek Ref. 2526

The Ref. 2526 was introduced in 1952 and was Patek Philippe's first self-winding watch. Containing Patek's calibre 12-600 AT, this iconic enamel dialled rarity was produced in only 580 pieces, in yellow, pink, white gold and platinum. With a dial that truly has become a classic, it is seen by many to be 'the' Patek, or the 'perfect wristwatch'.

Patek Ref. 6000

The Ref. 6000 proved to be one of my surprises for the night. A watch that I've never much liked in photos, this was the first time I'd seen one in the metal. I did a complete turnaround, and really took this watch. It's surprisingly sporty yet elegant, and sits very comfortably on the wrist. It also confirmed my view of how important it is to be able to see and handle a watch before buying it.

Vintage Rolexes that speak for themselves

Seriously - what's not to like about this trio? It was an honour to see them.

AP ROO Alinghi

Philippe Dufour Simplicity

Simplicity indeed. It was a privilege to see a Dufour for the first time.

Two F.P. Journes in the house!

Independents tableshot :
Peter Speake-Marin, F.P. Journe, Vianney Halter Goldpfeil, F.P.Journe, Philippe Dufour

Not a bad subset of watches for an end of year GTG, is it? My heart was captured, as I'd expect it would be, by the VH Goldpfeil. I told its owner that if it went missing, I would probably be the culprit. Here it is on my wrist :

A Tissot that many of us liked.

And a final tableshot, including the edible interloper, a pocket watch from flour and stone. Embarassingly, I was so distracted by the horological overload that there were watches that I didn't get to photograph individually, but you can see some of them at this link.

After a great evening of food, wine, watches and conversation, Sopri’s owner finally managed to get rid of The Persistent Four at just after 1am, but not before one of us explained how similar food and watches can be – you have your mass produced items, you have your boutique items, you have your artisans...You would be surprised at the similarities.

Many thanks to the Melbourne 'watchband' for inviting me along and for being so welcoming. It was a wonderful night, aptly capped off by an amusing trip afterwards with my fellow interestate visitor, during which we found ourselves being motored through Melbourne by a Patek Nautilus wielding taxi driver.

[AP]