The Melbourne Identity

"Ben Shewry's Attica restaurant, in a Melbourne suburb, has been on the San Pellegrino World's 100 Best Restaurants list for three years running, so I figure it's a must-visit for my eating tour of the city. A transplant from New Zealand, Shewry grew up on an isolated farm by the ocean. When he moved to Melbourne, he found himself passionately drawn to the native foods that some Australians might dismiss as "bush tucker." As he walks me through the restaurant's extensive gardens, he plucks a purplish two-lobed fruit from a towering tree. "Pine plum." He peels away the smaller of the two lobes, then hands the other one to me. "It's got this intense aftertaste. Some people don't like it. Try one." The inky juice of the fruit stains my fingers; the flavor starts like a stone fruit, then goes puckeringly piney. It's a challenging flavor, and one you won't taste outside of this region—which is just Shewry's point." - Julie Powell