Melbourne Patron

As I was moving out of the area, I made a few nostalgic brunch visits to one of my favourite cafes, Three Bags Full (60 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford). It was on one of these visits that I picked up a postcard advertising French dinners at the very same venue. Two of the cafe's chefs, Nicolas Toll é  and Fabien Laville (better known as Nico and Fab), are French expats who came up with the clever idea to use the cafe's space by night to stage dinners showcasing their talents as chefs with French-inspired dishes. Two handsome young French men cooking me food with the novelty of a setting I only knew by day? Sold! It turned out to be a girls' dinner on Thursday 11 December 2014. Four of us met at 8pm (sadly the only booking time left - we were quite starving on arrival! luckily there was bread) among the quiet hum of chatter and clinking glassware. There were no great changes in the cafe's layout, however the tables were laid with floral fabric placemats, ...

On a 39-degree day, two days before Christmas, I wisely set out on foot (!) to find a half-decent cafe in my new 'hood. The one I'd aimed for, New York Tomato, was shut (boo hiss) and the next closest I knew of (proximity being the key factor when walking in 39-degree heat) was Three Bags Full (39 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford). Technically, I'd walked through three suburbs to get there (East Melbourne, Richmond, Abbotsford), so I was pretty adamant I wanted a table, water and caffeination ASAP. Fortunately, being on my own meant no waiting time as it is much easier to seat one patron than two, even at a place as regularly busy as Three Bags Full. (I should drop a 'four' in here somewhere, but frankly my brain won't extend that far today.) Happily seated at the window in brisk air-con with ice water at hand, I started feeling better. Much more so when my delicious 45ml shot coffee arrived, neatly accompanied by a sugary shortbready biscuity thing (possibly for...