Kinfolk: 673 Bourke Street Melbourne

Kinfolk is a cafe that is run the way I think the world should be - it serves seasonal, local and organic produce and is staffed mostly by volunteers (there are some paid staff) with profits donated to local charities.

All of this means a happy and eclectic place to enjoy breakfast or lunch that benefits the community.

The food is good, the drinks are even better and the atmosphere is wonderful.

For lunch, there are a range of salads, soups, curries, risottos and sandwiches. Senor Gringo and I both ordered a sandwich. For Senor Gringo the meat toastie (with ham, salami, purple sauerkraut, homemade mustard and bechamel sauce). His sandwich looked so good, I really wanted it. Why does cheese have to make everything better when I can't have it? Sad face. For me - the BBQ pork neck ban mi. It was a little too sweet for me but that was likely because I removed the jalapeno mayo (damn egg intolerance). You could taste the quality though.

We followed up our sambos with a navel orange and passion fruit homemade soda (I'm picturing a soda stream out back, a couple of scoops of fresh passion fruit and a squeeze of orange juice). Bless their hearts, it was divine.

I recommend you support this fantastic local cafe. They even have sugar free chocolate and a range of pastries and muffins to snack on.

West 48: 48 Essex Street West Footscray

This is my favourite café in Melbourne and the place that convinced me that living in West Footscray would be more than just okay.

The reason? They have vegan food options on the menu, which automatically means a dish that fits my needs – vegetables, no egg and no dairy. Plus, they know how to cook bacon. This my friend is how you cook bacon – crispy but still flexible.

My favourite dish at the moment is the egg dukka roll with no egg. Homemade hummus, plenty of dukka, greens and the aforementioned crispy bacon, none of that half raw rubbish that has me thinking about tape worms, eew.

The staff are also really nice. They have fresh juice and they don’t bat an eyelid when I change the menu. All round food goodness with many options for me to try in the future. Three ticks – I’m coming back again and again. Since the menu always changes and they have a daily special, I'm sure I won't get bored

Disclaimer – I ate half my meal before I took this picture and then I had to try reassemble it. I can never finish this and they have so many yummy yummy seeds and nuts in their dukka, which this picture does not clearly show. Tummy bliss.

Cornershop: 11 Ballarat Street Yarraville

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day but I'm getting to the point where I'm a bit sick of eating bacon on dry toast because the cafe cannot or will not do anything else for me. Nearly everywhere you go every single menu item has eggs or cheese, aioli, butter or some other tasty treat that my body just rejects (yes, I assure you I love these things as much as you do but having trouble breathing and feeling tired all the time is just no fun whatsoever, for anyone).

It was therefore with a little bit of trepidation that I approached my meal today. I ordered the smashed avocado and feta on toast with tamari and tahini roasted seeds and nuts (only with no dairy at all please). Senor Gringo ordered free range scrambled eggs with parmesan, rainbow chard, soft herbs and chilli, with a side of bacon. Sounds good right? Well it just wasn’t that great.

The second they put my plate down I noticed they had buttered the bread. Damn it. I rarely send food back because I don’t want anyone to spit in my meal, so cue the disgruntled scrapping. Not only was I annoyed they got it wrong, I get that kitchens are busy, people get into a routine and messing with the system can create poor outcomes, but come on butter and avocado? That makes two fatty foods together. You need strong flavours to overpower the avocado as it is without adding yet another fatty substance.

After I had scrapped half my bread away I tried to focus on the positives. They got a tick for the amount of greens –thank you, vegetables are good, I love them and appreciate when you include them; another tick for the lime wedge but they lost points by being stingy with the seeds and lacking a flavour substantial enough to create a good blend of flavours. All I tasted was processed white bread and avocado. Perhaps some spice could have made this a well rounded dish? The saltiness of feta could have helped, if they chose the right one, but then again it might not have.

Senor Gringo said his meal was similarly meh. Nothing outstanding. Even though the scrambled eggs were meant to have chilli and herbs he couldn’t taste them and some of the chard was not cooked enough, meaning there was a misplaced crunch. Plus, his bread was soggy as soon as it arrived and he needed to add sugar to his mocha, which I understand to mean his coffee had that bitter/burnt flavour. My chai on the other hand was homemade and better than a lot of places.

One tick for you cornerstore. Sorry we couldn’t get along better. The lunch menu did look more promising but there were so many things in there that were slow cooked and you probably couldn’t exclude the stuff that I can’t have. All in all, I won’t be back.

Advieh: 71b Gamon Street, Seddon

If you don't live locally, it's okay, Advieh is worth the drive. 

Advieh serves yummy Turkish and Moroccan food, including platters, mix and match entree sized portions and a wide variety of salads and wraps, many of which are vegan. Celiacs will also be happy here, as will everybody else with taste buds. Plus, they have genuinely friendly staff and a variety of desserts, some of which are egg and dairy free (though not vegan), yay!

I tend to match the Turkish sausage with three mini salads and a beautifully made coffee or soy chai (with actual spice, not that powder rubbish). Senor Gringo gets something different every time and has never been disappointed. The stand outs for him have been moroccan meatballs with three salads and yoghurt sauce; dukka eggs with pesto, avocado, rocket and sausage; sauteed mushrooms with Bulgarian fetta and poached eggs; and brushetta with fresh tomato and basil.

I'm trying to find some photos I have taken, I know I don't always just drool and tuck in but alas, I must have deleted them. Food pics will be added soon. 

This cafe is a stand out that consistently performs well above average with fresh, flavoursome food and coffee. Plus, bonus, if you have a lemon tree you can exchange four lemons for a free coffee - good for everyone. 

When it comes to breakfast I'm a bit of a bread addict but I don't need it at Advieh, which is a big call! 

Three ticks.

A platter customised for a fussy eater - falafel, home made Turkish sausage, roasted onion and peppers, green bean salad with tomatoes, tabbouleh, two dips, chicken for Senor Gringo and (off to the side) meatballs. Such a great meal and for only $22 we were completely stuffed - bargain. 

menu changes regularly

Red Door Corner Store: 70 Mitchell Street Northcote

I'm going to start this post off by saying - this place should be in the Good Food Guide. What are you guys doing? This is way better than other brunch places I have tried (West 48 aside).

My boss recommended I visit this place and she has not led me astray so far (well, not in a food sense anyway *wink*). Lots of vegan friendly options, local produce and organic choices. As food should be in my humble opinion. This is my dish: 

I wanted to give you a picture before I talked you through it. Those are corn, zucchini and quinoa fritters, otherwise known as little balls of fried goodness, sitting on piles of guacamole and topped off with super tasty red pepper sauce. In the centre is a charred corn and purple cabbage salad, with fresh dill and lime. The poached egg went to Senor Gringo who satisfied himself with a Gippsland grass fed flat iron open steak sandwich, with haloumi, sauteed kale, charred corn, chimicurri, lime and green tomato relish. His silence and closed eyes told me all I needed to know about how much he was enjoying his food.

Everything about this place was right. I loved it. My faith in cafes was raised once again. They even serve salad for breakfast, what a great idea!

Not only was the food amazing but I left with a jar of local honey from a bee keeper in Northcote. Apparently if you eat local honey regularly it can reduce your hay fever symptoms. No idea if that thought has any credence but as I like honey and have awful hay fever every year I'm more than willing to give it a try - what do I have to lose? Nothing!

Try this place. Make it your local if you have to. I want to. Thank you Red Door Corner Store.

 

More pics: