Melbourne Patron

There's a new kid in town. Addict Food and Coffee (240-242 Johnston Street, Fitzroy) is so on the mark, it's almost ridiculous. Occupying a bright site on the corner of Gore and Johnston Streets, just a block from Smith, Addict already has a strong local following, attracting custom from Fitzroy, Collingwood, and beyond. It focuses on fine coffee, great food and serious hip-hop, in a sparsely-decorated, modern venue. Open seven days for breakfast and lunch, the cafe is currently commanding the kind of queues customary for the hippest new joint in town. It's not a huge site, but it does offer a smattering of outdoor tables, bound to be packed out as the warmer months approach. So if you're heading there for brunch, especially on a weekend -- get in early. We didn't have to wait too long for a table, but once seated, we did have to wait a while before we were given menus. Attracting the attention of waitstaff to place our orders was also harder than...

(As seen in GRAM magazine) Now officially THE CLOSEST cafe to my house, I am delighted to announce that new Collingwood addition, Lemon, Middle and Orange (25-31 Rokeby Street, Collingwood) does a decent dose of caffeine.  Secondarily, it is a few doors from my local watering hole, the Prince Patrick Hotel  (135 Victoria Parade, Collingwood) -- so now I can trot directly from brunch to the pub. Score!  Kidding. (Sort of.) Of course LM&O (or "the citrus place", as my housemate and I have taken to calling it) has benefits other than its proximity to the pub.  For instance: the decor. Originally an old paint factory, LM&O's premises were dolled up by upstairs neighbours John Wardle Architects , next-door neighbours Spacecraft Studio , and branding-crew-to-the-hip-and-delicious, Projects of Imagination . It's all pared-back blank surfaces of concrete, stainless steel, brick and loads of timber joinery -- with touches of yellow and brig...

My former housemate, a chef, knows a few people in the hospitality industry. From what I can see, they all hang out together, drink together when they finish service at two in the morning, and give each other silly nicknames like 'Fluffy'. So as soon as one of them branches out to open their own venue, or changes to a different role, the news spreads like wildfire. That's how the buzz surrounding a new venue starts. A coupla press releases and launch events gets the ball rolling, foodie mags and publications do their initial reviews, food bloggers get onto it, the locals flood in, and hospitality legends are born. When it's a quality new venue in a suburban location, the buzz seems even bigger. Such was the case with West 48 (48 Essex Street, Footscray), a cafe based in a quiet suburban street in Melbourne's inner west. I heard about it through my housemate - who knew someone working there or opening it or something - after which I promptly forgot about it. T...