Melbourne Patron

Saturday brunch [noun]: Re-caffeination and hefty dose of egg-based sustenance following a traditionally large Friday night out. Performed alone or with the support and company of equally hungover friends. I'd wanted to try Gas Eatery (253 Coventry Street, South Melbourne) for brunch the last few times I'd been to South Melbourne Market. Always waylaid by other plans or further shopping, it never seemed to happen. So when a friend suggested a group recovery Saturday brunch on Melbourne's south side, I suggested Gas. It was a lovely sunny day, full of Vitamin E and other such hangover benefits, so we were lucky to get a spot outside, thankfully under umbrellas. According to a handwritten sign perched on our table, the outdoor furniture was for sale and on loan from Pomegranate, the homewares store next door. Brightly painted, metal-based chairs and tables (apparently made in France), they added a happy touch to proceedings, but begged the question from more than o...

In Melbourne's coffee scene, there are two venues that come up a LOT (plus many, many more - this being Melbourne and all): Proud Mary , which I am privileged to live near, and St Ali, which until recently, meant a trip south of the river. It was therefore very exciting to hear that St Ali recently decided to bank on its good name and open a second venue in North Carlton, aptly named St Ali North (815 Nicholson Street). Bike parking It's easy to find - Velo Cycles sits on the Park Street bike path, just where it crosses Nicholson Street, and St Ali North is behind the bike shop. I imagine all those serious northside cyclists are a huge untapped market - and the northside locals will bolster the success of St Ali North. After our large Saturday night drinking sesh at Ferdydurke , my housemate and I dragged my hungover sister and her friend out for a recovery breakfast. We got a park right outside (despite this being the busiest I've ever seen Park Street - the...