Commercial Bakery, Secret Eggs

Hidden away off Little Collins Street, just up from Elizabeth Street, and just down from the back door of the old McEwans (now tarted up and renamed The Foundry), lurks a new city venue known as Commercial Bakery, 360 Little Collins Street (up the rear), Melbourne, Tel +61 3 9670 7214. And hidden somewhere other than on the menu, is the fact that you can order a plate of scrambled eggs. I only know this because I saw said scrambled eggs served up to another customer, as I tucked in to my egg and bacon ciabatta (which seemed to be the only egg option on the menu).

A Minor Place, Brunswick

I wonder if Kelvin Thomson ever wrote a character reference for the nice people at A Minor Place, 103 Albion Street, Brunswick, Tel +61 3 9384 3131? Maybe not. Something tells me they might vote Green. Not that Kelvin needs to worry too much. With a big fat margin of 20%, this is safe labor turf.



Which means there's not much chance of Kevin 07 dropping by for an espresso and a quick bite of earwax. Better to focus on the marginals. Like Bennelong.

This is good news for the voters of Wills. They can eat their breakfast in peace. Simple things like homemade crumpets with blackberry butter. Sweet things like french toasted casalinga with pistachio ricotta, stewed rhubarb and maple syrup. Savoury things like a toasted "brontosaurus bagel" with currant relish, fresh tomato, cucumber, avocado, rocket and lemon mustard dressing. And satisfying things like "a minor breakfast" of poached eggs on toast with grilled ham, roast tomato, white beans and spinach (a few leaves of raw spinach, unfortunately).

The food is all good quality stuff (organic free range eggs, etc), but falls just short of top marks. And while the service is efficient (no mistakes), it wouldn't hurt them to throw in the odd smile.

16/20 "brunswick buzz"

Fandango, North Melbourne

Things are changing in North Melbourne. Women can walk up King Street without being groped by Wayne Carey. Children can walk down Arden Street without being offered smack. The Kangaroos are about to relocate to the Gold Coast. And you can now enjoy a very fine breakfast on Errol Street, thanks to the arrival of Fandango, 97 Errol Street, North Melbourne, Tel +61 3 9329 0693. But don't go there on a Monday. It's closed. Open Tues-Sun 7.30am-3pm.



This was, without doubt, one of the most delicious serves of scrambled eggs and bacon I have ever had. The pesto-scrambled eggs were rich and tasty (flecked with little baby chunks of pine nut); the sourdough toast was thick and buttery (with a distinct sour note); and the bacon perfectly crispy (by which I mean crisp, but not to the point of shattering). I also switched the grilled tomato for some fresh, ripe avocado, which was great.

Vegetarians will no doubt be tempted by the poached eggs with beetroot and fetta relish, which you can have with spinach and/or mushrooms. It looked excellent. Or, if you like it sweet, the triple stack of pancakes sounded pretty good, served with banana, strawberries, home-made honeyed cream cheese and maple syrup.

The venue is neither big, nor fancy, but it has a place-to-be buzz and the staff are friendly and efficient. I think there are some tables "out the back", but I didn't get that far. They serve a very good Coffee Supreme brew, too.

18/20 "best scrambled ever?"

Caffe Sienna, South Yarra

If you like posing and perving, then get yourself to Caffe Sienna, 402 Chapel Street, South Yarra, Tel +61 3 9827 1353. It is a poser's and perve's paradise. And if you manage to score a table fronting onto Chapel Street, there's generally plenty to perve at. You know... Ducatis and Lamborghinis and hot chicks and stuff like that.



The "mediterranean" pork sausage looked like it got caught in a Ducati sprocket, but it was tasty and good. The scrambled eggs Sienna were also pretty good, souped up with capsicum, spring onion, bacon bits and tasty cheese. The toast ("Jurgens cob") was a bit dry and stale.

The menu aims to cover all bases for its target customers. For the skinny, narcissistic, Posh lookalike, there's Special K (presumably a small bowl served with low-fat water). For the iron-man lookalike there's a bowl of Nutri-Grain, followed by a "Big Brekki" of eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushroom and mass-produced hash browns. Or your choice of muesli, porridge, bagels, croissants and omelettes.

Service was OK, but not great, mostly because it was slow and not very attentive. I hate it when staff are nowhere to be found, right when you need them. Like when you want to see a menu, or place an order, or pay the bill, etc.

12/20 "impressive sausage"



Eggs & Bacon $9.70 BB100 -3%