Caffe Cortile, Melbourne

Segovia is clearly top dog in the Block Place pack. But is anyone nipping at its heels? This morning, in an effort to answer this question, I decided to check out Caffe Cortile, 30 Block Place, Melbourne, Tel +61 3 9650 1564. The presentation of my breakfast was excellent, with a particularly fine serve of thick, smokey bacon. Unfortunately, the corn fritters - the centrepiece of the dish - were dense and doughy, taking the edge off an otherwise impressive culinary effort.



I'm not a big fan of raw greens at breakfast, but the rocket combined reasonably well with the bacon and fritters. I'm also not a fan of the poached egg on the side, but there was nothing wrong with the execution in this case. The home-style tomato relish wasn't bad if you like it chunky, and once I learnt to smother each mouthful of fritter with a liberal dose of everything else, the meal was quite enjoyable. But let's face it, the part of the dish that holds naming rights should be its strong point, not the weakest link.