Liar Liar, Hawthorn

I don't normally like sweet things, but...

Magic Mushrooms

If I had a drug of choice, it would be magic mushrooms

Sienna Miller

They weren't magic, but they were magnificent. Delicious, soft, creamy mushrooms on crunchy sourdough toast. My breakfast of choice this morning at Walter's Wine Bar. Strongly recommended. And if, like Sienna, you love a cigarette with your mushrooms, you can grab a spot on the balcony and puff away: "I think the more positive approach you have to smoking, the less harmful it is." What a role model...

Gordon Ramsay Scrambles Eggs

According to Gordon Ramsay, the best test of cooking skills is whether you can scramble an egg. Breakfast chefs take note: don't over-cook; don't season too early; don't pre-whisk; and don't serve on soggy toast. It's also interesting to note his choice of vine tomatoes as the perfect side to scrambled eggs. Did Ramsay steal this idea from Andrew McConnell, or was it the other way round? Probably a coincidence...

Breakfast Blog BB100 Eggs & Bacon Price Index

Forget the FTSE. Ditch the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Say no to the Nikkei. Stock prices are, like, sooo 1987. There's a new index in town and it tracks the price of bacon and eggs. Actually, bacon, eggs and toast, if we're being picky.



The Breakfast Blog 100 index (BB100) is my new way of tracking changes to the price of a nice cooked breakfast, and also provides a benchmark against which to measure whether any particular venue is relatively expensive or cheap.

2006 is the benchmark year, and it turns out that the average price of eggs and bacon on toast was almost bang on ten bucks... $10.01 to be precise. This is based on my analysis of prices across about 70 venues, mostly in Melbourne, but also in Sydney.

From now on, every venue reviewed will be measured against the BB100 benchmark price for the previous year, so that you can see how much more/less they charge than the current average. So, for 2007, I will be recording variations above and below the 2006 average of $10.01.

This way, we all get to see where to go for a bargain, and where you'll be paying top dollar.

Looking back at 2006, two venues tied for most expensive plate of eggs and bacon on toast:

• Three One Two (Melbourne) $16
  
• Bills (Sydney) $16

Using the BB100, these venues are rated for price like this:

Eggs & Bacon $16.00 BB100 +60%

Whereas a bargain serve of eggs and bacon, like, say, Pronto, is rated for price like this:

Eggs & Bacon $7.00 BB100 -30%

In summary:

• What's the price of eggs & bacon on toast?
  
• Red means it costs more than the BB100 average
• Green means it costs less than the BB100 average
  
• By what percentage is it above/below the BB100 average?
  

So, you may not know the price of fish in China. But at least you'll know the price of eggs in Australia.

Dench Bakers, North Fitzroy

For some reason, every time I see a Bomboloni my subconscious starts singing that old Gypsy Kings tune... Bomba-lo-niiii... Bomba-lo-niii... la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la laaaa... As you can see, Spanish is not my strong point. The other thing that happens every time I see a Bomboloni is that I eat one. This morning, this happened at Dench's Bakery Cafe, 109 Scotchmer Street, North Fitzroy, Tel +61 3 9486 3554. With places like this, it's easy to see why our friends from Sierra Leone might want to stay in Melbourne.



In truth, I didn't really need a Bomboloni. I had just wolfed down an excellent plate of creamy, chive-scrambled eggs on toasted brioche with a side of bacon and avocado. But in the interests of giving this review greater depth, I decided I should try something other than eggs.

As you'd expect, Dench's excels at pastries and toast: croissant (plain, chocolate or filled with ham, cheese and tomato); sweet and savoury muffins; egg and bacon pie; mushroom and thyme pie; stoneground toast; raisin toast; olive toast; fruit bun; escargot; and more.

The venue has a good buzz, but it's a tight squeeze and probably not ideal for groups bigger than 3 or 4. And I challenge anyone not to buy a loaf of bread as you leave.

16/20 "sourdough heaven"



Eggs & Bacon $8.50 BB100 -15%