Scoring System

As hard as it is to compare brekky venues, I still need a way to answer the question "where do I find the best eggs in town?" So, I've devised a system for scoring each venue, which, all going well, will allow me to rank them from best to worst.

The score-card covers the eggs, the extras, the rest, the coffee, the help, the buzz, the price, and whether the venue is worthy of a repeat visit, and looks like this...



The eggs are scored from 0-4, where...
4 = flawless
3 = very good
2 = good
1 = just ok
0 = not good

The extras, rest, coffee, help and buzz are each scored from 0-3, where...
3 = very good
2 = good
1 = just ok
0 = not good

You can get -1 penalty for price, if the price represents bad value (admittedly a subjective judgment). This is represented by an X above the price symbol on the score-card.

You can get +1 bonus if the venue is worthy of a repeat visit (again, this is pretty subjective, but I find the question "would I come back?" helpful in sorting the sheep from the goats). This is represented by a tick/check above the repeat symbol on the score-card.

It all adds up to a total score out of 20. To get a perfect score, you'd have to get top marks for eggs through buzz, be worthy of a repeat visit, and not be a rip-off.

Why eggs?

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast" - John Gunther

This is a blog about breakfast. More specifically, it's about my ongoing search for great eggs.

Rather than just annoy a close circle of friends with my views on who does the best benedict in town, or whose scrambles rule the roost, I've decided to share these views with anyone silly enough to listen (or read, in this case). I figure there's at least a handful of breakfast nuts out there who, like me, will welcome some tips on where to find the best breakfast spots in town.

So, why eggs? Why not pancakes, or toast? Why not porridge? Because eggs, for me, are the best test of a good hot brekky. They're quick to cook, easy to compare, widely available, and, in most cases, a pleasure to eat. Although eggs will be the focus, I won't totally ignore non-egg subject matter, like muesli, fruit salad, and the like. No point alienating the health freaks. But who's ever craved a nice-healthy-bowl-of-muesli the morning after a big night out?

My plan is to blog my way through breakfast at two levels. First, I'll do reviews of breakfast venues - good and bad - and rate them according to the eggs, the extras (sides, seasonings, sauces), the coffee, the rest (other food), the help, the price, and the buzz (crowd, venue, atmosphere, etc). Second, I'll dish out my own set of gongs for "best whatever"... the Golden Goog awards, if you like. Without boxing myself in, I'm thinking of gongs for best scrambled, best omelette, best poached, best benedict, best beans, best hash browns, best coffee, best doughnut, best toast, best pastries, and best muesli. Feel free to add to this list.

As you'd expect, I'll probably start close to home (right now, that's Melbourne), but I'm hoping to spread my wings as time goes by.

Feel free to drop me a line if you've got any news, views or reviews to share on these subjects. I'm especially keen to hear about the latest and greatest brekky spots, just waiting to be (re)discovered. And I love a good argument. So, please, jump right in if you think I've got something wrong.

Maybe I should call this a blegg? No, cancel that thought. Very dorky idea, indeed.