Cafe Sweethearts

New year; old love

Posted on by Eatlovego

Le Tarte de Tatin de Tomate, corn fritters, Eggs la Mer with THE potato roesti, grilled lobster and scallops in shells. Not to mention fish and chips and all of this just in the last 48 hours.
It’s been a while since I posted.
Too long to count. I honestly thought that going to a Secret Foodies gig in October would kickstart some love. Not that it wasn’t great. Actually it was awesome and Miss Darlinghurst herself is onto something niche.
But what’s got the music started is my endless love for Melbourne.
A new year. An old love. And the best part has been to discover the city all again through the eyes of my 20 month old son…Running through Fern Gully in the Botanic Gardens, wandering through the senses-inspiring South Melbourne markets, walking through the streets pointing at trams and sifting warm sand through our toes. Lots of eats, plenty of gos and so many loves.
Tomorrow I’ll be traveling south to Rosebud – somewhere never ventured. Can’t say I’m not sad to leave but I know I’ll definitely be back. So here’s to more holiday and a brand new year to eatlovego!

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the importance of that first meal of the day

Posted on by Eatlovego

Ask most nutritionists “what is the most important meal of the day” and the answer that will likely roll off their tongues is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Most weekdays, breakfast for me on limited time consists of a smoothie made lovingly by my man which is quickly slurped down before I rush out the door and run for the bus. So when I wake up on a Saturday with far more time and the tummy is quietly rumbling, I immediately start to think what’s for breakfast? Do I poach some eggs with spinach and pancetta on some lightly buttered rye at home or do I throw some clothes on and hurry out the door to explore the big wide world of cafes at my fingertips?

This morning my man and I did the latter option and scurried around the corner to try the recently opened Caffe Dieci on Mallett Street, Camperdown Sydney. Having heard great things about this hole in the wall I was eager to see what would be on the menu to choose from. Sometimes I love a great french toast drizzled in copious amounts of maple syrup and other times, I can’t go past eggs with an assortment of sides. As I was sitting there waiting for my poached eggs, I started thinking about other breakfasts that I’ve eaten; those memorable ones that make you salivate just at the thought. Cafe Sweethearts in South Melbourne with their poached eggs and rosti obviously rates up there as my previous blog entry will attest to but locally I can never go past Flat White Cafe on Jersey Road in Woollahra and their brioche french toast or salmon omlette. Recently I also went to Bitton in Erskineville and ordered their ultimate breakfast which was poached eggs with hollandaise sauce on a bed of spinach and smoked Black Forest ham. My man ordered the exact same thing and as soon as it was placed on the table, both of us had basically inhaled it in a matter of 5 minutes, it was that good!

Back to Caffe Dieci and poached eggs with a side of prosciutto and halloumi arrived. I admit I wasn’t overwhelmed and the plate after I finished was certainly not spotless as it had been at Bitton. The eggs were a tad dry and I know I am a bit of a harsh critic, but there was no wow factor especially for the $15 charge. However the coffee was good and it was service with a smile so given its literally-around-the-corner factor I feel it will get a second chance in a couple of weekends or so…

Breakfast to me is important and no I haven’t just been to see a nutritionist. In fact it’s a critical and essential part of my weekend but then so is lunch and dinner and snacks in between because if you haven’t figured this out already, I just love to eat. Tomorrow, I think I will just play it safe and settle for some eggs at home.

A cafe for sweethearts in South Melbourne

Posted on by Eatlovego

Eggs; how many ways can one cook eggs?

Boiled, poached and fried are the usual ways most cafes serve their eggs. Sure, add hollandaise sauce, toast fingers, bacon, baked beans, BBQ sauce, sauteed mushrooms and maybe a hash brown. But this is all still pretty standard in my opinion. And although most people will probably have their favourite local cafe that they trudge up to on a Saturday or Sunday morning, sunnies firmly fixed over their eyes, snatching the best parts of the cafe’s newspapers to bury their head in, to probably find themselves ordering eggs in some capacity; I say when in Rome, do as Romans do. Or when in Melbourne, do as I do and head to Cafe Sweethearts.

The immediate thought which struck me as I first looked at the menu at Cafe Sweethearts on Coventry Street, South Melbourne was “how extensive is the EGGS menu?” A flipboard style menu introduces you to the many ways that eggs can be served – eggs la mer is my favourite to eat and savour the taste of with the I-must-not-forget-to-tell-you-to-order-the-ROSTI as it is the icing on the cake. As mentioned in a previous post last week in that some ingredients are just meant to be married; Rosti aka fried potato and eggs is a match made in heaven. And I am not just talking about the average hash brown here. But in order to soak up all of the previous night’s sins or to just taste a bit of oily heaven in one’s mouth, it is the outer crunch and soggy middle which gets my tastebuds tingling and just goes perfectly with my choice of poached egg.

Cafe Sweethearts is regularly written up positively in foodie circles so I’m not shouting anything new here but only recalling all of my yummy experiences. You will find when you go to this cafe that it is jam packed and unless you have called ahead and planned prior to have a rosti and egg combo (bookings are available), you may find you need to wait for 15 minutes before taking a seat. The rest of the menu is also mouth-watering and if eggs don’t light your morning fire then their pancakes, muffins and french toast certainly will in addition to the very well made Genovese coffee.

I am a Sydneysider through and through but when I do visit Melbourne which is quite often, namely because of this cafe and often “just because”, no matter if I am racing to the airport or have all the time in the world…a drop in to Cafe Sweethearts is essential.