Melbourne Patron

To say 'thank you' for loaning him my travel pack, a friend shouted me brunch at Grub Food Van  (87-89 Moor Street, Fitzroy) one day in July. It's one of those places you've heard of, but never think to go to until someone takes you. Knowing my penchant for blogging, my friend suggested this place specifically, and I'm glad he did, because it's definitely one of the more unique venues I've been to in a while. Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks, the Grub Food Van is essentially an outdoor site and greenhouse based around a retro silver caravan permanently ensconced at the front of the lot. Owners Mark Murphy and Tim Mann imported the 1965 Airstream caravan from the States and refurbished it for hospitality use. The van A caravan brings with it the notion of being immersed in your surroundings, and this is translated through to the menu via produce grown in the onsite greenhouse, with much of the rest sourced from local suppliers. I wa...

I've only ever been to The European  (161 Spring Street, Melbourne) for brunch, but apparently it also does quite a swanky dinner. It's a favourite of my family's for brunch when they come to visit me in Melbourne. I find it slightly austere, but classy. Its heritage and location (opposite Melbourne's Parliament House) pull it a notch above other places, and the food is on the traditional side, but wonderful. Last weekend, one of my (originally) Sydney friends was visiting, and, being early January, not much was open. So we decided to class it up (opposite of 'slum it', anyone??) and head to The European for a late breakfast. We nabbed a table outside - far more pleasant than being inside on a beautiful summer's day, although the inside is attractive both aesthetically and temperature-wise in winter. Our waitress was somewhat glum-looking, but polite and efficient. Coffees were delivered quickly, but the food was slow. It didn't matter a great deal a...

Birdman Eating (238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy) is one of those places I've been to for coffee or walked past heaps of times, without ever thinking to try the food. My new housemate informs me whenever she goes there, the breakfast special that always sounds really good has sold out, and she ends up getting the next special, which never sounds as good but is usually still yummy. I'd attempted to go for brunch here recently but it was packed, so we'd relocated. This time, it was happening! In a hangover-induced, zombie-like caffeine mission, we trudged in and sat ourselves at the window. It was hot and noisy outside, so we tried to swap to one of the footpath tables when someone left, but it had already been allocated so we had to wait. Third time lucky, we finally got a table outside (such a mission!) and our Espresso Syndicate coffees arrived quickly. Our friend simply wanted a manly plate of eggs and bacon, something sadly missing from Birdman Eating's offerings. All...