Tyranny of Distance

Today was brunch day at Windsor's Tyranny of Distance with my good friend Speedy Gonzales and Speedy's BF, Mr. T. As I was meeting Mr. T for the first time, it was great to be at a cafe where the music and noise weren't out of control so we could all chat comfortably.

It's a very interesting menu at Tyranny. I was interested to try the coconut-infused quinoa with yogurt and fruits, and it didn't disappoint. It tasted like pure health on a plate. The fruits were very fresh and delicious: kiwi fruit, strawberries, pear slices and little slivers of orange.

Speedy Gonzalez chose the chili scrambled eggs with house-made flatbread, and there was a good amount of chili in it.

Mr. T went with the excellent sounding potato rosti stack, with super fresh and tasty avocado, bacon and tomato. The poached egg on top could have been cooked less, it was quite well done.

My long black was strong without being bitter, and Speedy Gonzalez's coffee was good but she would have preferred it extra hot. Mr.T's hot chocolate was made with sweet syrup and lots of it.

The muffins on the counter, sweet and savoury offerings, looked fantastic and I wished I wasn't so full as I would have loved to try one.

The atmosphere is very inviting, alone or with a group, and the staff were friendly.

8 out of 10 brown chemist water bottles!




Tyranny of Distance
147 Union Street, Windsor, Melbourne
ph: 03 9525 1005

http://www.tyrannyofdistance.com.au/

Brunswick Flour Mill

I'm back with a bang!








After a promising start, then a three-year hiatus for this blog, I'm back.

The inspiration: a girly brunch at the Brunswick Flour Mill with my fabulous gal pals, Esmeralda and Cute A.

Cute A had bagged a table in the busy setting when I arrived - the bustle in this place was encouraging. I love a busy yet still-bag-a-table cafe on a Sunday.

It was nice that the staff did not bug us for our order even though we were still waiting on Esmeralda, but I would have liked to be asked if we wanted a coffee while we waited. My inner un-caffeinated monster was beckoning, yet I did not succumb to her grumblings...THIS time!

Esmeralda and I ordered the Vegetarian Breakfast (although I have recently become a certified meat-eater, after my 8 years of vegetarianism), and Cute A went for the chorizo omelet with slow roasted tomato haloumi and rocket.

Our coffees arrived first: One cappuccino, one strong soy latte, and one long black with milk on the side. My soy latte was creamy and smooth, nice and strong. Success! Cute A enjoyed her cappuccino ("I could drink buckets of this"), but Esme decided the long black was too bitter for her liking.

The food didn't take too long to arrive, in fact, it was a nice interlude between coffee finishing and food arriving. The size of the plates impressed! The vegetarian breakfasts, complete with eggs, mushrooms, grilled potatoes, sautéed spinach, grilled tomatoes & grilled halloumi were immense, and for $14.50, really good value.

My poached eggs had beautiful, vibrant yellow yolk and just the right amount of runny. There was a big field mushroom hiding under some sweet tomato, an intense slab of halloumi, very fresh, tasty spinach, and two generous slices of well toasted sourdough bread. The butter was in a little container on the side. The slices of potato were perfectly cooked and a nice addition to an already full meal. I had a minor moment when I didn't know what to eat first, then what to eat next, then what combination to put on my fork after that, but it was all delicious, and I think I managed to try every mouthful-combination at least once. Esmeralda asked Cute A at one point if she wanted to lick her plate clean! We all ate the large portions quite easily between chattering with our mouths full.

Esmeralda gave the food an 8/10 rating, and said it would have been a 10/10 if there was a vegetarian sausage in the mix as well. Cute A was also very happy with her omelet, her only suggestion was that the rocket was a little too bitter.

All up, we spent a leisurely 2 hours here, and the place was constantly busy with a good turnover. The lunch menu also looked very tempting, as did the varied loaves of bread and many sweet treats for sale behind the counter.

Brunswick Flour Mill, I will be back!

8 out of 10 Sourdough slices!


Brunswick Flour Mill
341 Sydney Rd
Brunswick, 3056
Ph: (03) 9078 0497
http://www.flourmill.net.au

The Green Refectory, Brunswick

Mmmm, mid-week breakfast on a day off work. Yay!

The Green Refectory is a modest looking doorfront place with no signage, but the huge mouth-watering display of muffins in the window instantly drew me in.

The Illy coffee was cause for celebration, as was the option of soy milk. Good coffee!

I was in a sweet mood today so I opted for French Toast, with yogurt on top and a full poached pear on the side. The toast was raisin toast, but the overall meal could have been better. The yogurt was a weird touch in my opinion. If I had cooked it myself at home I would be a little disappointed.

Friend #1 had a savoury homemade muffin made of pinenuts, pumpkin and fetta which looked great.

Friend #2 had the Breakfast Stack which was pretty impressive, which had a potato fritter topped with bacon, choice of poached or fried eggs, HALOUMI (expertly done) grilled tomatoes, a side of spinach, and housemade relish. Good food.

The cakes and salads on offer looked wonderful, and the staff were cheerful. You have to order and pay at the counter, there is no table service as such as far as ordering goes, but they did bring us water.

In all:

• Good prices for the budget impaired
• Illy coffee = great!
• Awesome range of muffins and cakey things
• Nice atmosphere, I like the rustic walls and easy-going vibe

I give the Green Refectory:

6.5 out of 10 muffin high tops!




The Green Refectory
115 Sydney Road
Brunswick
Ph. (03) 9387 1150

My Fruit Salad

Disregarding the mildly awful amateur photo, this fruit salad was superb! All fruit was bought by me on the weekend at the Vic Markets. It was so worth facing the crowds for the bargains! Be strong, yet polite, and the seas of people shall part before you!

It contained:
1 crisp fuji apple
1 banana
1 kiwi fruit
1 mandarin
A handful of red grapes

This breaky kept me going all morning, I was so impressed with my energy levels after polishing this bowl off in record eating time. I even missed my morning coffee, and was feeling ok til about lunchtime when my stomach angrily demanded more food, and caffeine.

Sometimes I forget the simplest things can be wonderful.

I rate my fruit salad - 8.5 out of 10 healthy pats on the back!

Breakfast with El Beardo& his Folks at Bistrot d'Orsay

Faced with the prospect of taking El Beardo's mum and dad out for breakfast on a blustery Saturday morning, and given the destination "city", I frantically scrabbled around until I came up with what looked like a suitable place: Bistrot d'Orsay.

Small-ish, dark, cosy - it was perfect for escaping the elements of Melbourne's wintery Saturday offering. The french style ornaments, pictures and beautiful painted ceiling lend the atmosphere a classy touch.

The breakfast menu is very simple - museli, muffins, fruit toast, and several egg dishes make it easy to choose. After a boozy night the night before, I couldn't face eggs, so I chose the muesli with fresh fruit option. And strong black coffee. NO SOY MILK is points off in my opinion.

The coffee was very good, just a little bit bitter on the aftertaste. But it was strong and flavoursome. We were served water without having to ask - excellent! Good service, if a little cold.

My muesli (toasted) was served with a jug of cold milk, but disappointingly not enough 'fresh fruit'. Just some thinly sliced strawberries and shaved apple on top. And a side dish of greek yogurt.

El Beardo had eggs benedict, which he described helpfully as "yeaaah, pretty good" which if decoded into the (un-forthcoming) longer conversation version, means, "tasty, yes, and filling, but nothing here is really striking me as phenomenal or worthy of searching out again".

In all, the verdict -

• Everything was well-presented
• The coffee was very good
  
• The atmosphere was very nice
  
• NO SOY MILK! GAR!
  
• Not my favourite place for a return visit, just compared to the high standard of other places I've been to.
  

I rate Bistrot d'Orsay:
5 out of 10 French inspired fresco ceilings!




Bistrot d'Orsay
184 Collins St, Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9654 6498

Breakfast at Galleon Cafe, St. Kilda

At Galleon Cafe, the settings are retro and remind me of my nan's 1950's dinner setting. Cute plastic covered chairs, nostalgic simple tables and rickety stools of varying heights are clustered around the reasonably spacious room. The kitchen is open and bustling.

Me and El Beardo Bacon Chops enter and spy that the only available space is a spot in the window on a couple of the stools. I tower over El Beardo on my slightly taller stool, but all is well, because the friendly staff spot us straight away and offer menus, water and coffee service. Great stuff!

Our soy latte and flat white arrive in good time, and are just above average in quality. I survey the room to sticky-beak on other people's food choices. The porridge with strawberries and banana looks creamy and comforting. The museli is generously enhanced with fresh fruit and yogurt. The savoury big breakfasts look huge and brightly coloured.

Unfortunately they have run out of rice pudding, my first choice. I choose instead the bircher museli. El Beardo goes for the Drunken Sailor breakfast option, which is eggs, bacon (of course), tomato, spinach and mushrooms on toast.

The bircher comes in a tall glass, with poached pears and yogurt on top, delicious! Just enough to fill me up, but if I was hungrier I would need to order another small dish. However, for $5 this is great value!

El Beardo's big breakie is certainly huge! The food is well cooked and fresh, with copious amounts of poor dead piggie on his plate. (BACON). I steal some of the mushrooms and spinach on a bit of toast, and it's good quality food.


In all, the verdict -

• Great value. Lots of cheap options for the budget-impaired.
• Coffee could be better. Not at all bad, but not near the best I've had.
  
• Perhaps an upgrade of the rickety stools would be good, I love the look, but I'm a clumsy eater, and a few lurches on my stool caused a few more spills than normal!
  
• Good staff.
  

I rate Galleon Cafe:
7 out of 10 rickety stools!


Galleon Cafe
9 Carlisle Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Tel: 03 9534 8934

How exciting! I made a BLOG! Welcome to technology, Nanna Jaye!

I have finally been inspired to share my breakfast culinary experiences after reading Cindy and Michael's fabby blog, "Where's the Beef?". I am a vegetarian, so that will influence my ratings, but my breakfast partner-in-crime, El Beardo Bacon Chops, is a full-on, grease-dripping carnivore so that should even things out. YAY BREAKFAST!