Friday 5 August 2011

Mures Marinade

“our own special recipe”
Snack $12.90
Meal $16.90

I don’t know what the sales of the menu item Mures Marinade (available in Lower Deck restaurant) are, but to countless in-the-know locals, this dish reigns supreme as THE fish dish to eat when you patronize the Lower Deck. I have had a nearly-lifelong romance with this dish and it never fails to please.

A craving for it last Sunday afternoon caused two friends and I to drive down to the docks, order two snack sized servings of it (to be shared between the three of us – it was heaps), and enjoy the built-in entertainment, which involved much hilarious people-watching. We gossiped, slowly worked our way through the marinade and chip meal, then finished up with an ice cream.

It was the most relaxed and pleasant meal I have had for ages, and made all the more so because there was no guesswork involved in any of it. We all love the dish and have had it many times before. We know the food standard, service level and price at Mures Lower Deck. We picked our time to go there, cleverly missing the peak hour meal time, so the wait for food wasn’t too long, and tables were available.

I would kill to know the recipe for their marinade, but whatever it is, I am more than happy to go there and eat it in situ. You can buy jars of the marinade in selected outlets, so ask at your local shop and see if they can get it in from Mures.

The Mure family have been operating a seafood restaurant in Hobart since 1973, when the original Mures Restaurant opened in the Mures Cottage in Battery Point. It was THE place to eat at in those good old days, with George and Jill Mure being large presences in the restaurant, and in the hospitality scene generally.

When they got permission to establish their new (dockside) restaurant in 1986, we, the general Hobart populace, were all delighted, except for some owners of similar businesses in the area, who quietly wondered what had caused the Mures to get this much-desired permission to continue their business in such a highly-prized position!

I have to admit though, that when they opened, I questioned the rationale behind building a restaurant in such a magnificent position, splat bang on the waterfront – with no view at all of the harbour, and no window looking out at the harbour! All views were looking at the mountain, and the dock area. Go figure!

Anyway – much as I have been disappointed, and even embarrassed, by past meals in the Upper Deck restaurant, Lower Deck has never failed me with their marinade.

Upper Deck is run as a separate business by Mures daughter Sarah and her husband Rick McMahon. Downstairs, Lower Deck is the domain of son Will Mure. Next year will see celebrations of their 25th year dockside. They intend it to be a celebration of all things seafood in Tassie. I can’t wait for that one, being an avid seafood lover.

So if you have seen the Mures Marinade on the menu at Lower Deck, and never been curious enough to order it, do yourself a favour and give it a go. I’m sure you too will become a convertee.

Posted on by Rita
22 comments

22 comments:

Veronica Weatherby said...

Since the marinades are available in local shops, does this mean that I can also enjoy this sort-of guilty pleasure at home? Oh this is such a treat!

On more thing, eating with your friends will always be fun, whatever it is you're eating. Plus ending the whole thing with ice cream just feels right. Right?

Rita said...

To be honest Veronica, I have never seen the marinade for sale in any shop, and didn't even know it was possible to buy it till I called Mures factory outlet in Glenorchy, and they told me.
It was suggested that I ask my local shop about the possibility of stocking it, then the shop can purchase it from Mures, as they only wholesale it to shops, providores etc, and not to the general public via their outlets.

I mentioned it/enquired about it at West Hobt Hill St Grocers, and they said they'd look at it. So I'm hopeful that some day I may get to make my own at home, but meanwhile am more than happy to pop down to Lower Deck and have it.

Tassiegal said...

I have seen it in shops...but I cant remember where though!

Anonymous said...

The Swansea IGA Corner Store stock the Mures products - including said marinade.

PaulV said...

what's happened to the Ethos blog?
what I had read didn't justify pulling the thread - in fact i thought the comments were quite constructive and informative.

Christina said...

I'm with PaulV. It was a good discussion topic and couldn't see a problem with it at all. It was informative for the feedback alone and shows there are sometimes a hundred sides to every story.
And of COURSE we can all make our own minds up.

Anonymous said...

Ethos-plenty of othere reviews out there already. I didnt see a problem with this post. Anyway if you go there now they are aware of who you are and they'll look after you

Civil Libertarian said...

Bring back the Ethos post! I didn't get to read it and I'm a nosey parker

Agrodolce said...

If you pulled the post due to negative comments and a guilty conscience then maybe you should look at other past posts?

Avid Reader said...

Fuck off Aggro-dolt. Dont be so patronizing!

Rita said...

There are many things to celebrate in being alive, and human, and able to enjoy life if we choose to. Writing a blog such as this one can be fraught with good things and bad, and you need to take them all with a grain of salt if you want to maintain the blog, your equalibrium, and be true to yourself, and who you are as a person.

I choose (generally, unless you get me in a moment of doubt or insecurity) to not respond to the criticisms - mainly for 2 reasons.

Firstly because, first and foremost, this blog is a forum for people to discuss things hosptiality-related, whatever that entails, and I don't want to stifle discussions.

Secondly, what people write is a reflection of their own thoughts and biases, and I have absolutely no influence or control over that. What I say will make not one iota of difference to their opinion. So when someone tells me (as a few did) that I should get along to Ethos and see what its like for myself before I write something, they are surely just expressing their opinion, and have not credited me with maybe previously having made that suggestion to myself?

Also they have obviously not read the post with eyes and mind unfettered by influence or bias, because I wrote it, and phrased it, with as much empathy and disbelief as I honestly possess, about Iain and his restaurant-establishing skills.

The post was exactly what I wrote it to be - an expression of disbelief at the large number of negative comments people have gone out of their way to pass on to me about Ethos. Maybe people, knowing I'm Rita, seek me out to tell me the bad stuff and not the good stuff, but I was just wanting to start a discussion about Ethos, and gauge people reactions to their experiences there, hence I would have a more accurate reflection of how things are.

Once again, I reiterate, my reverence and respect for Iain's skills are immense.

I expect no more or no less than the treatment all others receive at Ethos when I go there, so I can write whatever review I end up writing, honestly. And as I have said so many times in the past, once again, this review will be an account of the experience I had at that restaurant on that night - not a sycophantic, I-am-a-member-of-the-Ethos-you-will-not-be-negative-club!
Civil Libertarian - if you would like me to email you a copy of the Ethos post, and comments, I am happy to do so....just email me via the Email Rita direct facility on the blog.

Anonymous said...

Rita, I commend you for your attitude and sensibility but your last post seems at odds with your actions. I am still not sure why the post was pulled. If what you wanted was to start a discussion about Ethos, why remove it?

Anonymous said...

Just to get back to the subject of the post, the famous Marinade as pictured is now available in the Mures Fishmongery on the wharf!

P

Agrodolce said...

Still does not explain why the post was pulled?

PaulV said...

Agree. Still scratching my head.

Anonymous said...

Are your lives so empty that you need some shadenfreude to make you feel better? If you have some criticisms to make, tell the people who count, the rest owners not so some anonymouse twats can comment on a blog

sir grumpy said...

Hello Rita,
my wife loves her Mure's stuff from the shop at Kingston or local supermarket.
Salmon mousse or pate etc.
She says they have the right ethos behind these beauties.

Rita said...

Sir G - lovely to see a comment from you again. It's like meeting an old friend in the street! I agree wholeheartedly with the fair Lady. Now that commenter P has told us the Mures Marinade is available at Mures on the dock, I intend getting down there soon to buy it, and experiment with it myself.

sir grumpy said...

Good to see you going well, Rita.
In an earlier comment someone used shade `n' freude,
Didn't shade `n' freude have a hit with Paul McCartney's World Without Love?
Oh, hang on, that may have been Peter and Gordon. Easy mistake.
Sheeesh.

Rita said...

Don't know about the shade 'n freude, but it was definitely Peter and Gordon with The World Without Love!
As for going well....still plagued with heart problems, but booked for a heart operation in Melb on Tues 30/8. Fingers crossed it works for me, and I can resume life as I previously knew it.

sir grumpy said...

You know our thoughts are with you Rita. All the best.

Anonymous said...

All the best Rita for the op. I always enjoy this site with its cut and thrust of opposing opinions (to put it mildly), some robust posting happens here! Hope you enjoy a peaceful dinner at Ethos (he he) whenever it may happen. Take care.