Saturday, January 02, 2010

Mitte, North Fitzroy

For Melbourne's best poached eggs, go to Mitte, 76 Michael Street, North Fitzroy, Tel +61 3 9077 7379. I'd like to say the world's best poached eggs, but there are two good reasons not to. First, I have not yet tasted every poached egg the world has to offer. And second, I try to avoid saying things that make me sound like a total pillock.



But trust me. These were some seriously good eggs. Nice shape. No puddles of poaching water. Deep, dark golden yolks, oozing to perfection. And a taste so good you'll want to eat these fellas nude. Just shove a bit of pure, unadulterated egg in your gob and enjoy. Or maybe smear it on some Dench toast. But don't dress it up in too many fancy flavours. Try to enjoy the simple pleasure of a fresh, free-range egg.

Which is not to say that Mitte doesn't also give good flavour. Having savoured some naked egg, you can move on to a very tasty chick pea bake, some goat's fetta, a leafy herb salad, half an avocado and a squeeze of lemon. All served up with a couple of slices of very fresh Dench sourdough toast. Ausgezeichnet.

The flavour continues with the Cheap-Eats-Award-Winning potato and chorizo omelette with Collingwood College kitchen garden tomato and fennel chutney, and a tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil salad. Or for those who like to start their day with dessert, the "breakfast crumble" of cinnamon poached pears and apples topped with a crunchy-granola-ish toasted macadamia crust. Personally, a gut full of such sickly goo first thing in the morning would make me want to barf. But each to her own.

Less sickly, but still sweet, are the pikelets, which I can highly recommend with lemon curd, fresh lemon, brown sugar, maple syrup and marscapone. Really, really good. You can also have them with berries, or with the exotic-sounding middle eastern fruit compote (although this has been said to lack a little zing).

I am, quite frankly, amazed this place has not had the gushing, raving praise it deserves (only Cheap Eats has stuck its neck out with a gong). The food is great. The Atomica coffee is excellent. The venue is a cute little white box in a quaint little corner location. The staff are polite. About the only thing wrong with Mitte is that you have to wait a bit. But that's what happens at good places. If you want fast service, go somewhere bad, where there are no other patrons to get in the way.

19/20 "poached egg perfection"

mitte scores 19

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11 Comments:

Blogger Kelly said...

Good to see that the REAL Breakfast blogger is back in town!!

2/1/10 16:31  
Anonymous Minnie said...

I love the food at Mitte and would also highly recommend the salmon eggs and the muesli. I have found the coffee to be a bit bland at times, however it seems to have developed a bit more oomph lately, which is pleasing to this caffeine fiend.

5/1/10 14:57  
Anonymous Ken said...

WOW... he is back in town. For good?

10/1/10 17:09  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Today the poached eggs were ok, but not perfect - 30 seconds too long I think, yolk staying together...

Mitte is good though. The storied omelette grows on me as I eat through it. The portions are impressive - plenty of Dench's bread with everything. I actually like how they produced the Atomica coffee, even if it was marginally less strong than Ray.

Service a bit slow however, and a wait to sit down. 16/20.

23/1/10 18:04  
Blogger Tales from the Birch Wood. said...

Really delighted to have found your blog.

Shall use is as a sure guide from now on.

Thank you.

Regards from Dublin, Ireland.

6/4/10 22:02  
Blogger meetmeatmikes said...

You are right! Mitte is delicious. The eggs were fantastic, the breakfast crumble a sweet, nutty delight, the avocado and mustard on Dench toast was super good. The relishes are rustic and yum. The coffee is great. And the staff were lovely and attentive without being overbearing. Excellent. Thanks for the rec.

1/8/10 10:09  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Finally tried this place. In terms of food - absolutely fantastic. Had the famed chickpea bake with avocado + poached eggs and was not disappointed. I have to say, this may have edged out Babka's baked beans for a place in my Top 5 Melbourne breakfasts. Richly spiced sauce balanced with creamy goat's cheese; expertly poached eggs; a handful of lush, delicately dressed coriander; and half a pristine avocado dusted with a pinch of flaked sea salt.

However, service was below par, with more attitude than Babka or even Palomino, if that's possible. It was a weekday morning with approximately half the tables occupied, perhaps less, so they weren't overly stressed. Was pounced on by the waitress upon taking my seat, and asked for drinks orders before having a chance to check their menu. Ordered a chai latte off the cuff and was told in lofty tones with eyebrows raised that 'we don't DO chai lattes, we only DO chai with milk'. Fine, no worries, I'll have one of those thanks.

Said 'chai with milk' came out in a small pot, with nicely frothed latte foam. Brilliant (and amusing). However it hadn't been strained and no strainer had been supplied, so had to ask for one. Despite the hiccups, the loose-leaf blend was delicious.

When we approached the counter to pay, as we were in a rush, we were asked by the same waitress 'Are you paying together, or separately?' Given the offer, we were pleasantly surprised and happily responded that we'd pay separately. Eyebrows drew up and lofty tones again ensued 'oh no, we don't DO split bills'. Well I hope you got your kicks from the tease, then? Weird, anyone?

There were a few more things like this that niggled in that 'too cool for school is so yesterday' way. I don't want silver service, but my food would taste even better without being seasoned with condescension.

Still, the food was just that good (and I get the impression it would be consistently so) that, like Babka and other places, I will go back again. And again.

17/11/10 11:53  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Went there the other day and got the worst service I've had in a while. I agree their poached eggs are great, but i don't feel like their dishes come together that well. I find them a bit too deconstructed or something.

11/1/11 10:40  
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