Movida and Melbourne laneways

Updated 21/09/2009: Let me start by saying Movida is very good. Very very good. But I'm starting to think Melbourne's restaurants are overrated compared to Sydney. Not by much, maybe by a point or so. If a Melbourne restaurant has 3 Hats knock a hat off and it will be about right. Movida is a case in point. As I said, very good, but 2 Hats? I dunno, maybe 1 Hat would be about right. Is it a full 2 Hats better than Bodega in Surry Hills? I don't think so. Same goes for last night's Vue de Monde. One of only two 3 Hat restaurants in Melbourne. Having 3 hats suggests it is up with Tetsuya's, Quay, Pier or Marque in Sydney. Sorry, but no way. 2 hats might be a fair call. Unfortunately they charge 3 Hat prices (they charge more than any of the 4 Sydney restaurants I mentioned) especially for the Grand Gourmand menu ($250) and frankly most of the 9 courses we had didn't have that "wow" factor a genuine 3 hatter has. What we had was very very good and the risotto, for example, was one of the best we've had but it was just a risotto (give Michelle a truffle and her risotto is just as good). Both Moira and Michelle thought our Spanish Don Juan sommelier at Vue de Monde was cute though. Flirtatious sod he was. ;-)