We had been meaning to try Hammer and Tong 412 for brunch since it opened, but every time we had gone by there was always a large queue waiting for tables, so we’d gone elsewhere. This time though we were lucky enough to walk almost straight to a table, so we were off to a good start!
While preparing for my upcoming move to my new apartment we have been trying to make sure we eat at all our local favourite cafes and restaurants before they become not so local anymore. This isn’t such a huge thing for me though as I’m only moving about 1.5km up the road, but given the number of cafes in that small distance it will probably be difficult to find the motivation to walk that bit further when hungry for brunch on the weekend! One cafe I will miss being around the corner from is Breakfast Thieves, which is located a street back from Smith Street, on the ground floor of an apartment building.
After successfully follow Cindy & Michael’s suggestion of trying Bayte cafe for brunch I had no hesitation trying out another cafe that they raved about in recent weeks – Monk Bodhi Dharma in Balaclava. Tucked away down a back lane way off Carlisle Street I probably would have never found this place, but I’m very glad I did! The have an entirely vegetarian (and egg free) menu and most items are able to be vegan-ised, made gluten free and in some cases sugar free as well. Impressive!
These potato rostis work equally as well as part of a weekend brunch as they do as an easy lunch or dinner. For brunch they are an excellent complement to some poached eggs and avocado and for dinner I serve them with a big green salad – talk about versatile! You can even make them a little in advance and just reheat them in the oven on a low temperature, so you don’t have to worry about timing if you are doing a brunch cook up for a few people. Wins all round!
One of my favourite things about living in Collingwood/Fitzroy is the abundance of quality cafes dotted through the backstreets. It means that not only is there no shortage of great food, but if one place is full you can hopefully find a seat at another cafe nearby! Recently we’ve been trying out a few cafes that we’ve walked past a million times but never ventured inside, and that’s how we ended up at Ici one Sunday morning. (more…)