Stephi's on Tremont, Boston

It was something of a hash frenzy, my Boston Summer breakfast spree. Duck hash at Mistral. Potato hash at Henrietta's. And last but not least, meatloaf hash at Stephi's on Tremont. I am, as you may have guessed, a sucker for anything hashed and brown. Especially when the brown component happens to be meatloaf, one of America's great contributions to world cuisine. The verdict? Stephi gives good hash...



Which is not surprising, when you consider that the "Queen of Patio Dining" just happens to be married to the "King of Ambulance Chasing", James Sokolove. With Jim making a motza from slip-and-trip lawsuits, Stephi clearly doesn't need the money. So the restaurant must just be for fun. A community service. Because Massachusetts deserves good meatloaf.

Mistral, Boston

Talk about slack. So many months, so little blogging. And so many breakfasts to catch up on. So here goes nothing. A highlight to kick things off, courtesy of Mistral. A rather fancy place in Boston's South End, serving a rather delicious confit duck and root vegetable hash topped with fried egg...

Mike's City Diner, Boston

I really wanted to pay tribute to the Celtics victory with a nice plate of green eggs and ham. But I had to settle for plain old eggs and ham. They don't do green eggs at Mike's City Diner, 1714 Washington Street, Boston, Tel +1 (617) 267-9393. Which would make the eggs at Mike's about the only thing in Boston that hadn't turned green in the aftermath of the Celtics destruction of the Lakers in game 6 of the NBA finals.



Mike's is also one of the lucky venues not to have been destoyed by rioting Celtics fans in the aftermath of game 6. But I digress...

Back to Mike's Special of ham and eggs. The ham was extremely good (thick, meaty and tasty). The fried eggs were average. The home fries were extremely bad. And my side of french toast was a bit dry and crusty.

A better choice might have been the Emergency Room, with two eggs, three sausages, grits, toast and a couple of blueberry pancakes (a bargain at $8.50). Or the Intensive Care, with 3 eggs and a 10oz steak. Or maybe, if you want something green on your plate, an East Springfield omelette, with spinach, broccoli, tomato, mushrooms, onion and cheese.

Canteen, Spitalfields

To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day - Somerset Maugham

It's all very well to say that breakfast is the only British food worth eating. But have you ever tried ordering eggs and bacon after 5pm? Fat chance. Unless, of course, you stumble upon Canteen, 2 Crispin Place, Spitalfields. Tel +44 845 686 1122. Day time... night time... it's always brekky time at Canteen.



And not just any brekky. They serve a very fine bubble and squeak, topped with crispy bacon and two fried eggs. The bubble was a nice fat cake of mushy spuds and veggies, presumably leftovers from yesterday's roast.

My main disappointment was the coffee, which was pale and weak and looked disturbingly like a cup of Thames. I did manage to drink it, so I'll give it one point for OK, but I think I'm being generous. It's no wonder people drink Starbucks in this city. Good coffee is about as common as a punctual train.

16/20 "nice bubble"

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%