OUR SHOUT
The Sunday Age
Sunday March 21, 2010
Joe's Shoe Store233 High Street, Northcote, 9482 7666Tues-Sun, 4.30pm-1amI can't work out if the guy in tight stubbies is the barman, plumber or the cleaner (he's doing all three jobs on this quiet Sunday night), but the casual hipness of this joint works well with the quirky yet kinda serious Northcote crowd who frequent Joe's.The shop that once housed Joe's Shoe Store (Australian and Continental, according to the still-present sign) is now soft art deco (the lights, the huge mirror) mixed with the best of the '50s (hints of Australiana and a selection of sporting paraphernalia), topped with a stunning vintage coffee machine.Peeps take up space in booths under a staircase, on stools at the bar and in the expansive fake-grassed courtyard out the back (around the bizarrely located red-light toilet). Joe's cocktail list is short, but caffeine fiends should get the razzle-dazzle coffee machine churning with the Espresso Martini ($16), while hunger pangs are soothed by pizzas delivered fresh from Pizza Meine Liebe next door ($15). Joe's Shoe Store is fun, showy and boozy: a permanent version of Northcote's annual High Vibes festival.
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