Demitri's Feast, Richmond

Growing up in 70s Melbourne, my sponge-like mind was drenched in a singular image of Greek food: the souvlaki. So it was quite a shock to my culinary foundations to be sitting down for a Greek-inspired breakfast at Demitri's Feast, 141 Swan Street, Richmond, Tel +61 3 9428 8659. Can you eat souvlaki for breakfast? If Mark Philippousis went on MasterChef and cooked Cougar-glazed French toast with ouzo foam, would George Calombaris call it Greek toast? Is Nana Mouskouri the original cougar?



You can make up your own mind about Nana. And we can all hope that the Scud stays out of the kitchen. Because when it comes to Greek toast, it's hard to imagine anything better than the Baclava French Toast at Demitri's Feast. Take a big fat slice of fresh Tsoureki. Dip in egg and fry till golden brown. Drizzle with yoghurt and orange-honey syrup. Sprinkle with blitzed walnuts and serve. Delicious.

The rest of the menu is similarly sprinkled with Greek twists. Like ouzo-and-dill-cured salmon served with poached eggs and spinach; omeletta with lokaniko sausage, potatoes and kefalograviera cheese; and semolina pancakes with thick Greek yoghurt, rose jam, pistachios and more of the aforementioned orange-honey syrup. In some cases, there may be just a hint of Greece, in the form of goat's feta added to creamy scrambled eggs, or manouri cheese added to sage mushrooms.



The only thing missing was a breakfast souvlaki. For that, apparently, you need to go Hellenic Republic. Tell them a food blogger sent you. George hates food bloggers.

17/20 "tsoureki is the new brioche"

Pops, Boston

Jaunts? Jaunts? You must be kidding. I'm over here in America dodging snow-scrapers and monster trucks, eating trans-fat for breakfast and people accuse me of having a jaunt? Then start moaning about the declining quality of Breakfast Blog content? Ex-squeeze me for a second while I purchase an automatic weapon and go postal. About the nearest thing I've had to a jaunt in the past 6 weeks was this brunch in the South End, at Pops, 560 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, Tel +1 (617) 695-1250.



For those stupid enough not to figure it out, I am working my fanny* off over here, and there may, accordingly, be some temporary interruptions to the usual schedule of Breakfast Blog transmissions. Sue me.

If you happen to get lucky with your own Boston boondoggle, one place you should not miss is Pops, where the salmon with soft scrambles is exceptionally good: delicate eggs, fresh salmon, crunchy shards of potato galette, and a delicious drizzle of Dijonaise caper sauce.

Another great dish is the "Deconstructed Red Flannel Hash and Eggs", which turned out to be a pile of finely-diced home-fries alongside a pile of finely-diced (and fried) corned beef, topped with a couple of perfectly-poached eggs. And just to be a pig, I had a side of griddled banana bread.

I won't attempt to cover the whole menu, but I will point out a few other highlights: omelettes with goat cheese and sage, or mushroom and truffle oil; French toast Monte Cristo, with ham, turkey, swiss cheese and strawberry jam; and chicken fried steak, served with eggs, gravy and roast potatoes.

Service is very good, venue is slick, and best of all, everything is quite affordable, at between $10 and $12 (the chicken fried steak is $15).

17/20 "popstar"


*Note to Australian readers, "fanny" means "bum" in America.

Tom Phat, Brunswick

Say hello to the Cheap Eats 2007 breakfast dish of the year: the roti omelette at Tom Phat, 184 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, Tel +61 3 9381 2374. A monster dish of twisted roti, grilled bacon and asian-style omelette topped with roasted tomato salsa and fried shallots. A bit annoying to eat - roti is better ripped up in the hand than chopped up with knife and fork - but tasty and very filling.



Tom Phat is fusion food done well: viet eggs fried with chilli soy and spring onion; sri scrambled eggs with spring onion, curry leaves, cherry tomatoes and crispy roti; and uncle ho's breakfast with grilled marinated pork chop, crispy fried egg, tomato, cucumber and rice; and south african fruit toast with cracked wheat, sultanas and poppy seeds. They also have "normal" food, like toasted muesli, corn fritters, and a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomato, mushroom, avocado and hollandaise.

Another strong point is the Coffee Supreme coffee. It had a superb, almost caramel-like flavour. It was organic. It was fair trade. And it was brewed up by a dude with a mohawk.

If you prefer your drinks cold and fresh, Tom Phat does a nice line of juices and smoothies with cute names. Pineapple, watermelon and apple is a "fruit tingle". Banana, apple and yohurt is "monkey magic". And watermelon, apple and ginger is "fit and fresh".

17/20 "phat"



Eggs & Bacon $9.90 BB100 -1%

Filter Cafe, Fitzroy

I want to go to culinary school because I love cooking. One day I'd love to open up a restaurant or cafe.

Mary-Kate Olsen (ex-child star, famous twin and fashion icon)

If the Olsen twins ever come looking for cafe inspiration in Australia, they really must do breakfast at Filter, 285 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Tel +61 3 9416 3752. It's an excellent cafe. It's run by twins. And Mary-Kate's bobo homeless chic look is just perfect for Brunswick Street.



The best thing about Filter is that the substance lives up to the style. I went for the signature dish of "Filter Eggs" and it came out looking quite the supermodel. Two eggs fried in a big slice of white sourdough (with two round holes in it), topped with crisp, tasty bacon, rocket and aioli. All of which was surrounded by a ring of pesto, with "filter" scrawled across the plate in balsamic reduction. Very fancy. And it tasted even better. A tad greasy, but very very good.

The all day breakfast menu oozes choice: 2 different mueslis with poached fruit and yoghurt; "Raw Hide" porridge with maple syrup; fruit poached in red wine with yoghurt; 3 stack of pancakes; various toasts, including gluten free; 3 different omelettes (including smoked salmon, dill and brie); a "Brunswick Brekkie" with the lot; Eggs Benedict, Florentine or Atlantic; "Classic Eggs" poached on muffins with asparagas wrapped in prosciutto and topped with hollandaise; and scrambled tofu for the vegan crowd (which looked disgusting, if you ask me, but I'm no vegan, so what would I know).

Service is friendly and good, the Di Bella coffee is very good, and the venue is spacious and tastefully fitted out.

Yes... with cafes like Filter, it's hard to disagree with the wise words of Mary-Kate:

Australia is so cool that it's hard to even know where to start describing it. The beaches are beautiful; so is the weather. Not too crowded. Great food, great music, really nice people. It must be a lot like Los Angeles was many years ago.

17/20 "eggs bobo"



Eggs & Bacon $9.00 BB100 -10%

Walter's Wine Bar, Southbank

Southgate was getting dangerously close to breakfast bankruptcy. But along came Walter's and saved its bacon. Now open for breakfast, brunch and other less important meals, Walter's Wine Bar, Upper Level, Southgate, Tel +61 3 9690 9211, is well worth a visit. Grab a spot on the balcony, order some eggs, and soak up the city view.



The Walter's Big Breakfast was very impressive. A nice crunchy base of sourdough toast, topped with a generous serve of sauteed spinach, two poached eggs and a slurp of fresh hollandaise. Throw a few rashers of tasty grilled bacon, a couple of beef sausages, and some mushrooms on the side and you have a breakfast of champions.

The whole place is impressive, really. Great, friendly service. Excellent Lavazza coffee. Stylish venue. And, if you're in the mood, a Bloody Mary, a Mimosa or a glass of Pol Roger.

17/20 "Mimosa?"

Three One Two, Carlton

Mrs Jones has been replaced by a number. She is now called Three One Two, after her Drummond Street address, Tel +61 3 9347 3312. And she's had a face lift. I particularly like the splash of military-issue cammo netting hanging in the front window. Extra protection just in case Hezbollah start launching drive-by rocket attacks from Lygon Street.



Food-wise, it's steady as she goes in the McConnell kitchen. The weekend brunch menu is very much Circa, Reloaded. The trusty smoked salmon and cream cheese croque monsieur. The scrambled eggs with truss tomatoes and skewer of bacon. Doughnuts with chocolate dipping sauce. House made crumpets with clover honey.

I decided to try something new, so I took a punt on the pork sausage with white bean and tomato braise. Sounds fancy, doesn't it? Much fancier than beans and bangers on toast. And very nice it was, too. Especially the sesame crusted multi-grain toast, from Baker D. Chirico in St Kilda apparently. You only get one sausage, but I doubt you'll walk away hungry.

Perhaps the most unusual dish on offer at 312 was the prawn and sorrel omelette with green sauce. Prawns for breakfast. Hmmm...

17/20 "prawn omelette"



Eggs & Bacon $16.00 BB100 +60%

Greasy Joe's, St Kilda

Greasy Joe's - 68 Acland Street, St Kilda, Tel +61 3 9525 3755 - has got its mojo back. It's bigger than ever (they've annexed the place next door). The vibe is good. And you'll struggle to find a better fry-up anywhere in town. My breakfast with "the lot" was a hearty feast. The "triple bypass breakfast" may well kill you. Three eggs, three snags, three bits of bacon, three hash browns, fried onions... and a porterhouse steak. BYO defibrillator.



Back in the 90s, during a brief period of exile in Canberra, GJ's was one of the Melbourne experiences I missed and craved the most. The thought of parking myself in a booth for a lazy 3pm Saturday brekky of eggs benny made me wonder what I was doing in a freezing wasteland where they served lattes in poncy tall glasses with stems. Then, in more recent times, I had some dud experiences, and I feared that old school Joe's was dead (or suffering from serious heart problems).

After today, I fear no more. GJ's is back. The food is as good as ever, and the kooky but efficient St Kilda staff are on the job. One of the waiters (a bloke) looked like a cross between Nicole Ritchie and a roadie... skinny black jeans and sneakers with a super-size pair of pink sunnies. Very fetching.

The only let-downs were the button mushies (too wet) and the hash browns (too soggy). Otherwise, the eggs were superb, the meats tasty, and the Grinders coffee excellent.

17/20 "triple bypass breakfast"



Eggs & Bacon $8.50 BB100 -15%

Back to the Bot

This morning we achieved the impossible. We booked a table for breakfast at The Bot. I know this because when I asked for our table, I was told "we don't do breakfast bookings". Hmmm... then why did someone take a booking last night? Oh... that's odd... you do have a booking. How did you manage that?



After a short wait, they managed to boot some other poor sod off our table and ushered us inside for what turned out to be a great brunch. I went the full woody, otherwise known as the full wood-roasted Botanical breakfast. Served on a hot iron plate, this monster-truck of breakfast includes cheese kransky, smoked bacon, baked beans, black pudding, roasted tomatoes, field mushrooms, roasted kipfler potatoes and a toasted muffin topped with eggs (scrambled in my case).

The back pudding was probably the highlight, with a funky taste and almost fibrous texture. I think it was made with barley and walnuts... and fat and pigs blood, of course. A rare treat.

We also tried the salmon benedict which was almost too perfect for words. The poached eggs had been carefully trimmed and groomed like a pair of prize poodles, and the hollandaise was neatly flecked with just the right amount of salmon roe and a hint of chives. Pretty as a picture.



To wash it all down, I had a glass of the 2004 Delas Viognier. Excellent. Viognier may well be my new favorite wine. That, and Petit Verdot.

17/20 "moving up"

Galleon Cafe, St Kilda

If there's one brekky spot that's old school St Kilda, it's the St Kilda Galleon Cafe, 9 Carlisle Street, Tel +61 3 9534 8934. It's been there a long time. It's sufficiently "Off Ackland" to prevent tourists stumbling in by mistake. It's decked out in antique laminex. And it's veggo-friendly. So I gave the pig a day off, and tried my luck with the sweet-potato, basil and fetta hash browns. Not bad at all.



Which got me thinking. There's something quite wrong with the term "tree-hugging veggo". I mean, if you're a tree-hugger, and therefore a plant-lover, how is it that you can rip an innocent bunch of spinach from the ground, starve the poor fellas till they die, or worse, slice them up and boil them alive. It's barbaric. A true tree-hugger really ought to stick with the stuff that falls off the plant through natural causes. An apple lying on the ground, for example. Or some peas that fell from their pod.

Speaking of veggos, most people already know that Moby and Gwynneth are plant-murderers. You may even know that Einstein and da Vinci were too. But guess who else has gone veggo? Meatloaf. It's true. I read it on the Internet. Coming soon to a record store near you... "Nutloaf's Greatest Hits".

Anyway, back to my hash browns, which were served with spinach (sauteed alive), an excellent poached egg, and a splodge of house-made relish. The presentation was excellent, and the flavours worked well. But (for me) the hash browns were a little disappointing. It's not that I didn't enjoy them (I did). It's just that, on the inside, the grated strands of sweet potato were still a little crunchy, and not all soft and mushy (my personal preference).

If hash browns aren't your thing, don't worry. Since the 189 Espresso crew took over at the Galleon, the menu is oozing with excellent options for veggos and meat-lovers alike. There's vegan beans or Jonathan's snags. Scrambled tofu or meatballs on toast. Banana bread or Benedict. The list goes on. One of the best menu's I can remember, and I've seen a few in the last 12 months.

About my only complaint is speed. When the place is full, service is slow. But good things are worth waiting for.

17/20 "Moby friendly"

Blue Tongue, Elwood

I am coming to the view that Elwood is something of a breakfast heavy hitter. This morning we did Blue Tongue, 62-64 Ormond Road, Tel +61 3 9531 3011, and I tried out an old favorite... Eggs Benedict. To my great relief, the muffins were well toasted, and the hollandaise was superb. Very impressive.



Which is not to say that it was perfect. The eggs were a tad wet and overdone, and the hash brown was nothing to rave about. But the hollandaise, ham and muffins were of such a high standard, that a few minor poaching flaws didn't get in the way of an excellent benedict experience.

Another impressive dish was the baked beans, which came in its own baking dish, topped with melted cheese and grilled chorizo. Very good according to GB. I was almost tempted to try the kransky on cheese and onion polenta bread, with green tomato chutney. Maybe next time.

When a nearby diner starting tucking into his "French style Turkish bread" with grilled banana, bacon and maple syrup, it got me thinking about sweet vs savoury breakfast-orientation. Normally, you swing one way or the other. You go for the sweet stuff (fruit, porridge, muesli, hotcakes), or you stick to the savoury stuff (eggs, bacon, beans, bangers). But French toast (savoury), with grilled banana (sweet), bacon (savoury) and maple syrup (sweet)? Sounds like the breakfast equivalent of a bi-sexual orgy. I like it both ways. At the same time.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Apart from great food, Blue Tongue also serves up very good Grinders coffee in a stylish and relaxing indoor/outdoor setting. If it's a nice sunny day, the street-side tables with padded seats are hard to beat.

17/20 "I like it both ways"

Harveys, South Yarra

It's hard to escape footy fever on grand final day in Melbourne. Today's match might well be dubbed the battle of the birds, as the West Coast Eagles take on the Sydney Swans. So it was no surprise to be surrounded by several tables full of Eagles fans (and the odd Swan) as we settled in for breakfast at Harveys, Murphy Street, South Yarra, Tel +61 3 9867 3605. Very colourful.



Which makes me wonder. Has anyone ever had a swan egg omelette? I know you can get goose eggs and duck eggs. And I'm a big fan of quail eggs, boiled with celery salt... yum. But swan eggs never seem to make the menu. Maybe it's illegal? Who knows?

Getting back to the humble chook egg, I had an enjoyable serve of scrambles on sourdough, with a home made sausage and some pesto baked beans on the side. The eggs were a little bit watery for high marks, but the snag (quite gamey) and beans (sweetened with honey) were very good. They also did a good job with the poached eggs, sauteed spinach and hash potato (a tad salty).

For the egg-challenged, Harvey's has plenty to offer. The porridge was excellent, served with poached pears and dusted with cinnamon. Ditto the fruit salad. I also liked the sound of the thyme and garlic sauteed mushrooms (served with toast and feta) and the goats cheese on toast with fresh asparagus, pesto and roasted tomatoes.

The venue and service are very polished, although it gets a bit noisy when the place is full. And I was impressed by some of the little things. White linen. Plenty of fresh water. HP sauce. They even had Peugeot pepper grinders.

It is, however, expensive. The goat's cheese on toast, for example, will set you back 17 bucks. Ouch.

17/20 "très bcbg"

Ici, Fitzroy

This morning I finally made it to Ici, 359 Napier Street, Fitzroy, Tel +61 3 9417 2274. Apart from the name, there's nothing French about this place, unless you count the "French Toast" with mixed Winter berries, roasted chesnut marscapone and syrup. But who cares? This groovier-than-thou back-street cafe is an excellent spot for a leisurely brekky. Very impressive.



The Ici menu is anything but run-of-the-mill. There's scrambled tofu with Thai mint, white bean miso paste, mushrooms and spinach; Kedgeree spiced rice with smoked cod, egg and minted yoghurt; organic apple and oat porridge; semolina pudding with toasted almonds; and an indian spiced omelette with dukah and corriander chutney.

I played it safe with scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, house-baked beans, onion marmalade and a goat sausage. Yes... that's right... a goat sausage. Tasty. The coffee was excellent, too.

Next time I think I'll go the buffalo banger instead.

17/20 "nice goat"

Marios, Fitzroy

If there's one place that deserves special status as a breakfast institution, it's Marios, 303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Tel +61 3 9417 3343. The first to serve breakfast all day. The benchmark for high quality, smart alec service. The go to place for a Melbourne cafe experience. It's nice to know that despite all that's changed in the last 20-odd years, Marios hasn't. Good eggs and bacon. Good coffee. Excellent service.



Ask me what makes this place so special and the best I can do is quote Dennis Denuto, legendary constitutional lawyer and star of The Castle... "it's just the vibe". Mismatched, multi-coloured lights. A couple of antique black and white tellys stuck to the poster-filled walls. Waist-coated waiters. White linen tables. It's just a great place to be.

The menu covers all the breakfast classics, with eggs, omelettes, beans, bacon, sausages, spinach, mushrooms, tomato, hash browns, avocado and salmon. They also do a respectable eggs benedict or florentine, which comes with bernaise rather than hollandaise. About the only thing missing is pancakes, but you can always make do with french toast.

17/20 "best vibe"

The Green Grocer, North Fitzroy

Say what you like about the organic, biodynamic, birkenstock-wearing crowd... they make a kick-arse breakfast. At least, that's what you'll get at The Green Grocer, 217 St Georges Road, North Fitzroy, Tel +61 3 9489 1747. As Paris Hilton would say, "it's hot". But just in case her dubious trade mark ever gets up, please note that I am not in any way suggesting that she did say that, nor that she would, if she ever came here, which is pretty unlikely.



Enough about Paris, back to North Fitzroy... time for a rave review.

I'll start with my big breakfast. Take a herb and fetta pancake, load it up with spinach, mushrooms, bacon, pesto, avocado, hash browns and boston baked beans. Top it off with a perfectly poached egg, and dig in. Trust me, you'll be grinning for the rest of the day.

But why stop there? The Green Grocer menu bats right down the order. How about mushrooms in red wine butter on grilled polenta? Or granola sweetened with pear juice and vanilla bean, served with grated apple yoghurt? Even the toast is sexed up. As much as I enjoyed my pancake, the sesame-encrusted sourdough was hard to resist.

If you're looking for a certified organic breakfast, this place is hardcore. Anything less than 70% organic gets a little black mark, just in case dangerous chemicals lurk within. And if you like your sausage aligned with Uranus, then the biodynamic free-range snags will be right up your alley. It tasted like a pork sausage to me, but it was reassuring to know that the pig was tuned in to the forces of the cosmos.

My only gripe with this place is that it gives me sweet FA to whinge about. Bitching and moaning is, after all, much more fun than being nice. So, I won't go on about the slick service, the laid back vibe, or the Jaspers "o blend" organic coffee. All were good.

At somewhere between 10 and 20 bucks, The Green Grocer breakfast is not only great, but great value. Try it. I'll be amazed if you don't come back for more.

17/20 "best big (organic) brekky"