Sometimes I despair of being a Melbourne food-blogger. We finally get around to visiting Proud Mary and feeling like we're catching up to the zeitgeist a bit and then a pile of trendy new places open up (I'm fully aware that the linked places have all been open for ages, we're just slow). So it was a relief for us to get ourselves organised fairly quickly to visit the recently opened and widely raved about Bell Jar in Clifton Hill.It's a really cute space - a bustling front-room, a laid-back communal table tucked around the back and a ...
Archives for “breakfast”
I’ve been wanting to go to Pearl Oyster since Steph blogged about it, so was happy to visit for breakfast today with Cindy, Michael, Toby and Kristy. I’ve ridden through that odd little pocket of Thornbury loads of times before, heading to High Street Thornbury or further on to Preston, and have noticed it gentrifying over the years. Funnily enough I’ve always thought that area was actually Coburg East, it’s that close to mine (10 minutes by bike, crossing Merri Creek). Pearl Oyster is a really cute and welcoming place, especially for vegans, as the menu caters to them really ...
On my recent request for breakfast recommendations, wanting kneading suggested Pearl Oyster, in Thornbury.Located on the corner of Miller Street and Gilbert Road in Thornbury, it is quite near to some of our friends, so when they suggested a Friday morning breakfast, it seemed the perfect opportunity to try it out! Wanting Kneading implied it was difficult to get to by tram, but actually it is no problem - catch the 112 up and there is a stop right outside.Like many of the cafes around Melbourne, Pearl Oyster has that quirky miscellaneous feel - spoons and plates that look like ...
We've stopped by Mixed Business a couple of times before, and this weekend it made for a convenient and tasty start to a 'lil road trip. The fruit toast with fig compote and ricotta ($7.50) was larger and more filling than I expected - very sweet with the double hit of dried fruit in the bread and spread. Perhaps a little more ricotta would have been nice. Regardless, it was an innovative topping and certainly more restrained than the banana split brioche.Michael ordered the poached eggs and veg beans on sourdough toast ($13.50), which he coveted but ...
I do like these new cafes that are sprouting up in the middle of residential streets, where the milk bars used to be. There's Mitte in North Fitzroy, Red Door Corner Store in Northcote, and my latest outing was to Squirrel Cafe in Clifton Hill. It's on the corner of Groom and Noone Streets, and proudly displays its milk-bar origins: Inside, it lacks the slick design of Mitte or Red Door, but
Pearl Oyster is a cafe in either Preston, Thornbury or Northcote - depending on whether you ask the White Pages, Urbanspoon or Threethousand.com.au. Wherever it is, it's one of the recent breed of suburban hipster Nanna's-kitchen-chic brunch-crowd cafes that are sprouting up all over the northern suburbs - think along the lines of Mixed Business, Red Door Cafe, APTE and Palomino. We decided to
Today was a very busy Saturday at the best cafe (that I’ve visited) in Clifton Hill, had to wait a couple of minutes before a table was ready for me and my fellow eaters. Though I must say, it was worth waiting for. Mixed business (486 Queens Parade) is the pearl of Clifton Hill. The minimalistic interior is somehow cosy even if the bare concrete floor and white tables wouldn’t normally convey that feeling. Maybe it’s the friendly staff or the laid back background music (Tom Waits the choice of the day). However if the weather is nice and you get the ...
In the suburb of Thornbury, Northcote’s smaller and not as ‘hip’ neighbour, you find the gem of the northern suburbs – The Northern Soul (843 High street, Tram 86 stop 41). In an area where many cafes and shops spring to life just to see themselves dying shortly after their grand opening, the British owners have succeeded to build a flourishing establishment with a vast customer base by providing great food and excellent coffee (Toby’s estate), all to a decent price. The modern interior and their iconic little owl in the window lures you in, the food keeps you coming back ...
I am going to let you in on one of my very favourite (if unconventional) breakfasts in Melbourne: breakfast at the movies. I go to the Palace cinemas in Westgarth, which is my local, but you could do it at any cinema that offers food beyond popcorn and Maltesers. (Unless you really want to eat popcorn for breakfast.) There's usually a session at around 10.15 or 10.30, which still allows for a
206 St Georges Road, Northcote; 0418 379 911It's amazing what a cafe can do in a small space to sate suburbanites. Amazing too just how many gorgeous sets of retro crockery are around for said cafes to utilise to good effect.This tiny cafe, tucked away amidst flats, houses and the odd shop on St Georges Rd could one day be as definitive as its namesake film. There may only be three or four tables
Mixed Business, 486 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill I'm going to come right out and say it: I love this place. I come here for breakfast once or twice a fortnight, have tried just about everything on the menu, and have never once been disappointed. My favourite dish on their chalkboard menu is the poached eggs with pancetta, tomato and parmesan. The eggs are perfectly poached (firm whites,
Fuel: 4 Margaret St, Moonee Ponds; 03) 9375 4499Red Box: 317 Sydney Road, Brunswick; 03 9387 8699Big Dish: 70 Wales St; Ph TBCWho would have thought that Moonee Ponds is only as far from Brunswick East as the city is? Probably anyone who'd taken the time to look further west on a map than Melville Rd! Puckle St, leading from Pascoe Vale Rd down to Moonee Ponds Station is dotted with cafes,
We're gradually expanding our breakfast range - Mitte was on the fringe of Clifton Hill, and this week's Sunday morning feast was at Mixed Business all the way across on Queen's Parade. Mixed Business has been steadily accumulating rave reviews across the internet, so it wasn't hard to convince Mike and Jo to meet us there and help us check it out for ourselves.It's a beautiful place for brekkie - all light and space, with some stylish touches (it's hard to go wrong with a giant sign promsing 'chips and gravy' on the wall). The tables are well ...
In a departure from routine, after seeing Coco Inc's menu we decided breakfast looked a better option than an evening affair. Coco Inc sports a fairly standard bistro menu.I'm a fan of the home-cooked breakfast cooked anywhere but home, and to be fair my standards have been set by a few really good places.Coco Inc looks impressive from the street; open and stark, chocolate-brown-and-cream and strong shadows against the walls from uplighting and decorative sticks. Loudish yet smooth ambient music played - think Sade meets Massive Attack. You still awake? Sorry - my fault.If it helps, ...
Auction Rooms: 103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne; 03 9326 7749Enni: 915 High St, Thornbury; 03 9484 8288The press was abuzz with news of Auction Rooms when it opened in mid-2008. Matt Preston was particularly glowing in Epicure about its interior. Despite its soaring ceilings and double-shopfront width, it is a cosy place to be, and it offers one of the broadest range of seating options Melbourne
Located at the bottom of Northcote hill to the east of High Street, Red Door Corner Store (70 Mitchell St, Northcote) is charting new territory for good cafes. There’s really nothing like it that I know of within a 2km radius. What ‘it’ is, is a converted milk bar serving really good food and coffee. We tried the avocado, basil, cottage cheese, spinach and poached egg with fresh lemon on toast. While that sounds like one ingredient too many, it’s actually perfect, particularly the delicious cottage cheese. And despite only coming with a single egg, it’s reasonably filling and great value ...
Intro: Saturday morning weariness healed by Mixed Business Details: 486 Queens Pde, Clifton Hill, 03 9486 1606 Surroundings: A quirky cafe fitted out with nostalgic signs like Hot dimsim sims, no fuss wooden chairs and tables, white walls (one black feature wall), a door that doesn’t shut properly, menu on chalkboard, bright atmosphere. Alluring both the art and bohemian crowds. Liquid consumption: The coffee here is amazing. However, I’d expect that since its one of the few in Melbourne to use St Ali coffee, made at the South Melbourne coffee house of the same name. The Chai Latte was also ...
A Minor Place: 103 Albion St, Brunswick East; 03 9384 3131Giorno: 608 High St, Thornbury; 03 9484 2040I love a dish that combines two elements of the taste spectrum. It probably won't do my rep any favours to admit that in my formative years one my favourite indulgences was to dunk the fries from a certain corporate-evil fast-food franchise into said franchise's chocolate sundae. Sickly sweet
North Island: 111 Scotchmer St, North Fitzroy; 03 9486 8864Crunch: 669 High St, Thornbury; 03 9495 1655"It is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you," opined British food writer Nigel Slater in his memoir, Toast. I haven't quite fallen in love with the cafe staff who have provided me with a golden serve of carb with toppings in the last couple of weeks, but as long as the bread is
I'm not quite sure why it took so long for me to notice the Breakfast Club and tack it onto my to-do list of weekend breakfasts; it's already seen its share of blog attention. It could be my indifference towards the John Hughes movie that this cafe and a few of its dishes are named after, but it's not as if my dislike of Will Oldham prevented me from visiting and liking A Minor Place. More likely it's been my conviction that Northcote is a little too far and too difficult to travel to for breakfast. But ...
608 High St, Thornbury; 03 9484 2040; Weds to Sun 8am-4pmWe've known and loved Pizza Farro's spelt-based pizzas for some time now. The Thornbury restaurant has to be one of the best-decorated in Melbourne, with rolling pins hanging from the roof, stitched tea towels and quilts decorating the walls, and the space and natural light to make an always-welcoming venue. Happily, patrons can now enjoy
Pretty much any sort of space can be turned into a cafe these days. This seems to have fostered a false assumption amongst some people that running a cafe is easy. A case in point is The Breakfast Club (206 St Georges Road, Northcote), which ticks a number of boxes, but misses a few. The major issue is slow service, which may be a result of trying to squeeze too many tables into too small a place, with too small a kitchen. Perhaps they could reduce the number of choices from the varied, and interesting, menu. There’s only so many variations ...
I love that understated old fashioned Aussie way of naming things. Especially stores. "General Store" was always a personal fave. What do you sell? "Oh, you know, general stuff."And I love Mixed Business. In its glorious understated, low-key way it has its own perfection. Referencing milk bar aesthetic (can't go wrong with me on that one), they have some old-time milkbar signage, an industrial bench, some hand-knitted blankets in a neat stack - but it's really restrained. It's not a vintage clutterville. And restrain mixed with the spaciousness that has robbed them ...
I’ll travel far and wide for a decent breakfast, but luckily Mixed Business is in my hood. Well, not far, anyway. Unobtrusively perched down the railway-bridge end of Queens Parade, this little cafe serves good food at good prices. It’s also a large enough space to accommodate big and little people (i.e. children) comfortably. I’ve been subjected to screaming tots at close range one too many times recently in a certain other local cafe. The decor at Mixed Business is also fantastic, with lots of great little details, like doilies, kitsch figurines, retro teatowels, a vintage highchair for those who ...
695 High St, Thornbury; 03 9480 6222My waking thought had been of spreading something sweet onto toast. It was closely followed by the happy realisation that that waking dream could come true by popping into Tasos en route to the grocery shop at Psarakos.$4.50 at this Thornbury cafe buys two pieces of white toast, a tub of marscarpone and a tub of jam. The jam is not of the chunky nor pithy type;
