1. Choix Creperie Cafe - Venue #38

    Shop G22 Liberty Lane, Melbourne  

    26th July 2011

    • BLT - Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayonnaise $8.50
    • Jammy Bastard - Apricot Jam $5.50
    • Bacon and Maple Syrup $7.90

    This little creperie is found all tucked away in a laneway near Southern Cross Station.  What can I say, I think a crepe is an excellant way to ingest a significant quantity of well cooked bacon drenched in maple syrup. As a bonus, it’s a cheap and filling breakfast that’s made quickly. Choix Creperie Cafe is well worth heading into the city early before work one morning.

  2. "The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you."
    Brenda Ueland (via bitchville)

  3. Bean Counter Cafe - Venue #37

    15 Railway Place, Fairfield  

    24th July 2011

    • Queens Breakfast - Smoked Salmon, Free Range Poached Eggs, Hash Brown, Spinach, Avocado and Hollandaise Sauce $17.50
    • Big Breakfast - Free Range Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Herbed Mushrooms, Potato Rosti, Grilled Tomato, Avocado and Sourdough Bread $19.50
    • Canadian Pancakes - 6 Mini Pancakes w. Crispy Bacon and Maple Syrup $12.50

    One rainy Saturday morning we made the trek out to Bean Counter Cafe in Fairfield on a rainy Saturday in July. We had just a short wait for a table in the bustling cafe. I do love a cafe with an assortment of menu items, something more than the 2 eggs, as you like them plus your choice of extras. Luckily Bean Counter is one of these.

    I chose the Canadian Pancakes, a tower of fluffy, perfectly round pancakes topped with well cooked bacon drenched in maple syrup that dripped into a large puddle of still more maple syrup. I don’t think I even came close to finishing the tower of pancakes as lovely as they were, but I did manage to demolish the caramelised bacon. And as you can see from the pictures, the Big Breakfast certainly lives up to its name as does the decadent Queens Breakfast.

    Bean Counter Cafe is certainly worth the trip out to the ‘burbs, and helpfully, it’s located opposite Fairfield Station.

    4/5 Stars

  4. "Without effort there is no food."
    Turkish Proverb

  5. Two Fingers - Venue #36

    Shop 2B, 27 Russell Street, City

    21st July 2011

    • Lamb Special - Slow Cooked in Red Wine & Rosemary served on Spaghetti $13
    • Vietnamese Stew $13

    This cafe is tucked away on south the end of Russell Street. The upstairs is dark and cosy though it seemed to lack table service on this day. There’s a limited set menu with hearty hot dishes amongst other items. I chose the Lamb Special. I don’t make lamb dishes myself so I rarely have the chance to eat it. The dish was served with spaghetti which made the eating a little bit messy as it invariably does. The lamb was beautifully cooked and practically melted in the mouth. All in all this was a pleasant meal. 

    3/5 Stars

  6. "Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to heaven is edible."
    Cantonese saying

  7. Babka - Venue #35

    358 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

    20th July 2011

    • Zucchini, Mint & Feta Fritters w. Mild(ish) Chilli & Apple Jam and Avocado $12.80
    • Almond Croissant $4.25
    • Chocolate Chip Biscuit $1.40

    Sometimes the deciding factor for a meal when perusing the menu is an item or food combination that I haven’t tried before. I’ve tried a number of things for the first time during this project – waffles, hollandaise sauce, smoked trout and clams, just to name a few. At the bakery, the item that caught my eye was the chilli & apple jam they serve with the fritters. I like (mild) chilli flavours and I like apple jellies and jam and the chilli & apple jam had properties of both of these things. The sweetness of apple combined with chilli made for an appealing jam that had the flavour of the chilli without an overwhelming mouth heat, which would be too much for this dish.  The pan-fried fritters were lovely, and combined with the jam and ripe avocado it made a pleasing dish that I would gladly eat again.

    I purchased the almond croissant and chocolate biscuit on my way out, as the bakery café has a minimum eftpos limit of $20 and I’d forgotten to bring any cash.  This of course gave me an excuse take home a soft and buttery croissant stuffed with ground almonds (another one of my favourite things) which I then ate for dinner. The sugary sweetness of the chocolate chip biscuit overwhelmed the chocolate chips within, but it was still a pleasant eat.

    4/5 Stars

  8. "Cooked food is not sold for goats"
    Kikuyu Proverb
  9. Mixed Business 486 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill Gingerbread Waffles w. Maple Syrup Baked Apple, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Candied Walnuts $14.50 Now I realise that I’ve reviewed Mixed Business before, but when I went back there for brunch not so long ago, I had my first 5 star dish! I think this certainly warrants Mixed Business another review.  It will be no surprise to the regular readers of this blog that a dessert-like brunch has secured 5 stars. The gingerbread flavour of the waffles is quite subtle and not at all overpowering like gingerbread can be.  The baked apple is firm but not crunchy and wonderfully sweet and sticky from the maple syrup coating. Vanilla bean is an agreeable choice of ice cream and ties the dish together nicely. Candied walnuts provide a delectable crunch and a little more sweetness to this enjoyable meal. Without a doubt this is one dish that is much more than the sum of its parts, and the sum of these parts make for absolutely heavenly dish. 5/5 Stars

    Mixed Business

    486 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill

    • Gingerbread Waffles w. Maple Syrup Baked Apple, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Candied Walnuts $14.50

    Now I realise that I’ve reviewed Mixed Business before, but when I went back there for brunch not so long ago, I had my first 5 star dish! I think this certainly warrants Mixed Business another review.  It will be no surprise to the regular readers of this blog that a dessert-like brunch has secured 5 stars.

    The gingerbread flavour of the waffles is quite subtle and not at all overpowering like gingerbread can be.  The baked apple is firm but not crunchy and wonderfully sweet and sticky from the maple syrup coating. Vanilla bean is an agreeable choice of ice cream and ties the dish together nicely. Candied walnuts provide a delectable crunch and a little more sweetness to this enjoyable meal. Without a doubt this is one dish that is much more than the sum of its parts, and the sum of these parts make for absolutely heavenly dish.

    5/5 Stars

  10. "To eat is human, to digest - divine"
    Thai Proverb

About

I purchased The Age Cheap Eats (2011), then I declared that I would attempt to eat my way through it. Here I will display the evidence. Fair warning - I'm not a reviewer or a connoisseur, what is contained here is only my personal opinions.

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