Melbourne is geographically divided by the Yarra River, which gives a north and south to the city. I grew up in Frankston, which was one hour south of Melbourne and I never paid the divide any mind until I started to catch some pro-northside sentiments around the end of the ’90s. As time went on, I moved closer to the city but always stayed southside. Not sure why – I would sometimes hear myself saying stupid things like, ‘I just need to be near the beach,’ (even though I never went there when I was growing up), and my favourite, ‘There are just more trees in the south.’ The truth was the north was unknown to me and I was a bit scared.
A few friends had moved to Brunswick, an eclectic northside suburb with a strong Middle Eastern vibe. I visited a couple of times and began to love the kebab delights of the area, but I still preferred the leafy tree-lined streets of the southside suburbs. The problem was, southside rentals near the city were super expensive. Beci and I needed to move house and she suggested we check out a place in West Brunswick. I begrudgingly went along. I liked it but I had reservations.
One day, I went to Brunswick by myself and went for a little walk to see what I could find. I stumbled upon a tiny café just off Sydney Road, the main street in Brunswick, named La Paloma. There was no apparent menu – just a coffee machine, a turntable and soccer memorabilia. I asked the owner, who was called Todd, what he had for lunch. He replied, ‘We make one roll here. Would you like that?’ I was kinda shocked and excited at the same time. I said, ‘Yes I would.’ The La Paloma roll came with lettuce, mayo, avo, tomato, cucumber, Turkish pastirma (kinda like pastrami) and basil. I started eating it. I had to pause for a brief second while I was struck by an epiphany. This roll was everything I had ever wanted – delicious, simple, fresh, low-key and served by a very honest person. This roll represented Brunswick, or everything that I wanted from an area I could call home. After that moment, I pulled out all the stops to make sure we moved to Brunswick. We’ve lived there ever since.
Pastirma is more like a spicy bresaola than traditional pastrami. I really love the saltiness of the beef combined with the cucumber and the basil. Here is my ode to the La Paloma roll. You’ll need to begin preparing the pastrami five to six days before you want to eat this sandwich. You’ll also need a barbecue with a lid to trap the smoke and a thermometer so you can watch the temperature when smoking the brisket.