Dead Man Espresso, South Melbourne

Dead Man Espresso was a great start to my Tuesday.
 An easy going cafe with really good people who serve really good coffee. Looking around the room i note that the patrons are a mix of cyclists, yoga mums, trainee doctors, office workers, a couple of bums like me with a good book and one interesting guy who was sipping 3 cappucinos infront of him.
Ahh.... this must be the place where coffee snobs go to get their coffee.

 I ordered a double ristretto flat white on skim.  Their coffee blend was good, balanced and naturally sweet. The milk was perfectly stretched and carried the coffee well. It was good.

 For brunch I ordered the "Green Pancakes" which, according to their website is "green veggie pancakes w edamame bean salad, citrus butter, smoked salmon & poached egg"
 

It was really good! I loved the portion size. It looks healthy, delicate and light, but the protein from the salmon, edamame and egg kept me full for the next 5 hours. The green pancakes were moreish with a mixture of onions and some other unidentifiable green stuff (and potatoes i think). Egg was runny on the inside and I appreciate the decent amount of smoked salmon on the plate. I really liked the greens. I think they could have been wild rocket? Not sure, but they were peppery and went well with the dish.

Definitely a place i'd like to visit again
deadmanespresso.com.au
35 Market Street
South Melbourne
03 9686 2255

Eling Forest Cellar Door Cafe & Winery

Curiosity after multiple trips back and forth between Sydney and Canberra led us to Eling Forest Cellar Door Café & Winery.

It was a beautiful place that captivated us from the entrance. 

Nectarines

It was only 9.30am so we only ordered the Toby’s Estate coffee. There wasn’t a breakfast menu but they sold tarts and cakes. 

The coffee was a bit disappointing because (a) there was too much milk and (b) the milk was too hot. I usually love Toby’s Estate but this particular cup was a let down. 

cards for table numbers

On the upside, The décor was lovely. The displays and tablecloths gave the place a nice warm country feel while the gardens outside had rows of peach, nectarine and plum trees. 

After the coffee, I walked over to the wine counter and had a taste of the 2005 Botrytis Semillon ($15).

It was golden in colour and rather unremarkable. It smelt sweet like honey and toffee and tasted sweet. Um.. that’s it. It didn’t leave an impression on me unfortunately and I didn’t take any photos either.

 

That’s it! I have to admit, I was more interested/distracted by the surrounds (i.e. the cute magpies, federation style cottages and hens).

 

If you need a stop over, take a walk around Eling Forest café & winery, walk in between the fruit trees, have a coffee but don’t compare it to your normal swish city cafes. 

peach tree heavy with fruit

 

Eling Forest Winery
12587 Hume Highway
Sutton Forest NSW 2577
Phone: 02 4878 9155
Fax: 02 4878 9246
Email: winery@elingforest.com.au

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Mama's Cafe, Cessnock

Whenever I go travelling I like to go where the locals go to eat. This usually results in

a) good food

b) cheap food

 

It wasn’t until a sleepy breakfast on a Monday morning in Cessnock with the family when I learnt that I had inherited this understanding from my father. He had gone to the young man behind the bar at the local pub and had asked where was good around here. The young man then pointed us to Mama’s Café on the main stretch of road in Vincent Street. 

It was a bit windy that morning (there were heaters but they didn’t help much) so we opted to sit inside. It had a family friendly atmosphere with one wall covered with kids drawing as well as an old fire place with a fighting fish floating lazily in its glass home.

I wish i was a kid. pencils, crayons, colouring-in books, a toy corner...hours of entertainment here!

sleepy fish

Service was prompt and we ordered straight away. 

Piazza D'oro coffee. Not bad, just not amazing.

Coffee was ok. I ordered a skim cappuccino. It was standard and warmed me up. I felt that it was more so the coffee beans than the barista’s skill that made it slightly mundane.

Tea for two!

The origins of the tea for two was questionable- it came in a silver pot without any tea leaves or tea bags. Not a lot of fragrance so we concluded that the English Breakfast must have been brewed from a tea bag (quite possibly Lipton) which was then thrown out in embarrassment.

English Breakfast tea

However, we were quite impressed when the food arrived.

We didn’t have to wait too long and we were honestly still waking up.

I ordered the bacon, egg & cheese roll with BBQ sauce ($6.50). 

Giant egg and bacon roll. $6.50!

It was a decent feed for $6.50! Lots of rashes of bacon, bubbly grilled cheese and 2 runny eggs on a toasted burger bun. I love runny yolks. It was definitely a roll to be remembered. One that I would have again if I was driving through Cessnock.

There was also the Works Breakfast ordered that was made up of: bacon, eggs, sausage, grilled tomatoes, English spinach, hash browns and buttered toast for $15.90. This was shared between two adults and yet they could not finish it.

Works Breakfast $15.90

So when you’re in Cessnock on your way to/from the Hunter Valley Wineries, stop over for brekkie!

 

Cafe info:

Mama's

115 Vincent Street 

Cessnock NSW 2325

phone: 02 4990 2555

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Urban Food Store + Cafe, Canberra

 

We had just finished a 4 day long conference and needed to zone out before the drive home.  A coffee and tasty lunch was in order.

Across from our hotel was Urban Food Store+ Cafe which was just perfect because it was raining heavily outside. Ahh… it was going to be a good trip up.

Top: Mocha. Bottom: Skim Cappuccino

Coffee and mochas were $3.90 for a small. My friend ordered the mocha and I the skinny capp.

The blend was dark, smooth and rather mild. In the broad spectrum of coffees I’ve had it comes in as ‘ok -> good’; but the caffeine sure hit the spot.

 

The Hungries came and I ordered the special of the day: the Mo Burger for $15. It took 20-30 minutes to come out but when it did, I knew why. Fast food it was not.

The chips were delicious and golden – chunky potato strips tossed in rosemary and salt. Some of the best chips lots I’ve ever had.

 

The burger came with a tall stake through it because it was made so high!

It was definitely worth the wait. The bread was crusty on the outside, it was high and big oval air pockets all the way through it. It was so tasty and spread with butter that I would have been happy eating it by itself.

Next time you’re in Canberra and have over an hour or so for lunch, I recommend visiting Urban Food.

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Oliver Brown - Top Ryde

It's 9pm and one of those nights where you go out with a friend and you come to the realisation that dinner just wasn't enough.
Thank goodness Oliver Brown had arrived in Top Ryde.
Chocolate always has the ability to hit the spot and it was open til late which suited us perfectly. Oliver Brown opened in Top Ryde late 2010 but this was my first visit to the chocolate cafe.

The atmosphere was one where friendships were consolidated. Small happy groups gathered around tables laden with mugs of steaming hot chocolate and plates of waffles.
Lots of waffles.

So we ordered the waffles to see what all the fuss was about.
2 waffles with ice cream please! Nice and simple.

Yum. yum yum yum. 2 thick crispy waffles came out with TWO scoops of ice cream and strawberries all over.
I absolutely loved the chocolate ice cream - decadent and creamy with choc chips.
The vanilla was nice and creamy and went so well with the waffles.

Oh the waffles.

2 waffles with ice cream

Waffles.
They were amazing. Crunchy on the outside with bits of chocolate all the way through. Paired with the drizzled chocolate and I was in heaven.
(and then the gym afterwards)

Iced Chocolate

I ordered the iced chocolate and I have to say it was competitive with Lindt's. And $1-2 cheaper....it came out infront.




My friend ordered a skinny capp (calorie balancing) which came with drizzled chocolate over the top and a cute teaspoon filled with mini chocolate buttons.

I can't wait to go back again
Mmmm....waffles....



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