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?"

Le Chien, Seddon

There's quite a mural at Le Chien, 5 Gamon Street, Seddon, Tel +61 3 9362 7333. A young lady-comrade down on all fours, impersonating a dog, presumably. Up in the corner, a scowling posh-spice look-alike declares: "I wanna be your dog". It's all very colourful and edgy.



But was it a dog's breakfast? Certainly not. Quite the opposite. My scrambled eggs were the dog's bollocks. Served up on some nice sourdough, with smoked bacon, and some perfectly ripe avocado. It would have been a prize-winning poodle, but for a couple of mongrel sausages. I tried smothering them in HP sauce, but they still tasted funny. Maybe the black pudding would have been a better option?



The vego crowd might prefer "lots of avocado and tomato" on toast (with or without goat's cheese), Bircher muesli with rhubarb and pear compote, or plain old Promite on toast.

16/20 "nice mural dawg"



Eggs & Bacon $10.50 BB100 +5%

Julio Gives Good Doughnut

No fancy Italian names at Julio, 171 Miller Street, Fitzroy North, Tel +61 3 9489 7814. Just good old-school doughnuts, stuffed with house-made custard or strawberry jam. Forget the eggs. Just order yourself one of each doughnut, a cup of Coffee Supreme organic fair trade coffee, and enjoy one of life's great food combinations. They go together like Simon and Garfunkel. Never mind that Julio is named after Paul Simon's first solo release after breaking up with Art (Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard).

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%

Cavallero, Collingwood

This morning, in an effort to dodge the Grand Prix crowds, I headed North to Cavallero, 300 Smith Street, Collingwood, Tel +61 3 9417 1377. Actually, Cavallero sounds alot like the name of an Italian playboy-slash-f1-racing-driver. And, would you believe it, there was indeed a Cavallero who drove for Alfa-Romeo back in 1933, although he was no match for Nuvolari.



Cavallero the cafe performed much better than Cavallero the driver. It was, however, an Alfa-like performance. Lots of style. Not quite so much substance. But nonetheless seductive.

The menu is loaded with temptation: panettone french toast with rasberry marscapone and rosewater syrup; black rice pudding, fresh mango and coconut custard ("awesome" according to a tip from Penny); and avocado, roast garlic, caramelised chili and lemon on rye toast. My order of potato and fetta pancake with silician style beans, poached eggs and dukkah sounded good on paper. But it wasn't rave-worthy. The Sicilian beans are worth trying, but I still don't get the dukkah fad.

Cavallero's real strength is the slick venue, with all-white paint job, high ceilings and a solitary deer's head stuck on the wall. There's a great mix of seating, with tall stools along the green marble bar, some small tables up front, a couple of booths in the middle, and a communal table at the rear.

16/20 "black rice pudding"

Pushka, Melbourne

Pretty soon someone will be setting up a cafe in a sewer or an old lift well or a wheelie bin or something. Because the cafe down the alley off the laneway has been done. And one of the best examples is Pushka, Presgrave Place, Melbourne (that's the laneway filled with wheelie bins, milk crates and interesting wall art, out the back of the Capitol Theatre).



Pushka is ace. The serve cool stuff like coco pops, boiled eggs and soldiers, and "crazy toast" with vegemite and avo. And they do an impressive breakfast bagel called "The King" filled with cheese, prosciutto, avo, fried egg, mayo and something else but I forget what. Nice fresh bagels, which makes all the difference.

The ambience is best described as uber-grunge, with room for a handful of people inside, and a scattering of folding chairs, tables and milk crates in the laneway. There's a certain serenity to just sitting there, boxed in by buildings, sipping cappucino and staring up at the sky. It helps that they make an excellent cappucino (Coffee Supreme).

14/20 "crazy toast"