Caffe Panette, South Melbourne

It always seems to be a day of high gossip when I visit Caffe Panette, corner of Coventry and Cecil streets, South Melbourne, +61 3 9690 2803. Last time I was here it was Mark Latham dumping on Kim Beazley. Today it was Kylie dumping Oliver, Kate dumping Pete (again), and Dame Kiri dumping on Whispering Jack (whose on-stage snow-dropping antics weren't to her liking).



Unfortunately, Caffe Panette also decided to use our modified serve of Eggs Benedict as a dumping ground for some mangy off-cuts of smoked salmon. Actually, I'm not allowed to call it Eggs Benedict. According to our waitress, it was officially nothing more than poached eggs and salmon on toast with a side of hollandaise. "Once you take away the ham and the muffins, it's not Eggs Benedict" she told us smugly. She also told us that "sourdough only comes in white" (as in, they don't make it any other way... anywhere). It was the most educational breakfast I've had in ages. Rye sourdough was actually a figment of my imagination.



The lesson seems to be this: don't get too clever at Caffe Panette. They'll punish you for it.

If you stick to the script, however, the food is fine. Order scrambled eggs and bacon, for example, and you'll get a huge mound of very good scrambles and some tasty rashers of well-grilled bacon. The corn fritters with grilled ham and tomato relish were also very good. And Joe's melting muffins (topped with bacon, tomato, avocado and cheese) looked great.

Apart from the sourdough/benedict lesson, the service was good, as was the coffee. Panette is also a good place for people-watching on a nice day. They have a few outside tables from which to observe the market-going crowds.

Eggs & Bacon $10.00 BB100 +0%