salford lads club, 1 fennell st, port melbourne

I made a mental note to return to salford lads club when I recently made a quick delivery there for brasserie bread melbourne. so many things appealed (as you can see from the images) but one thing that stood out was the tyre swing hanging from the old tree at the front of the cafe...my little ladies were going to love that!

a recent saturday morning we fronted up hungry and ready to drink coffee, eat and swing.

coffee was excellent! we ordered seconds. i had the fried mushrooms with perfectly poached eggs on mountain bread w parmesan...great! husb ordered the spiced scrambled eggs with roti bread & loved it...5yr old had a chocolate chip biscuit (too busy with the swing) and 8yr old loved her toasted muesli with poached pears.

a quick chat to the chef before leaving had me watch him make the baked eggs... looked so good!

their lunch menu sounded wholesome and delicious + they are licensed with a small beer/cider & wine list.
there is a lot to love about salford lads club... a worthy drive to discover them.

innocent bystander, 336 maroondah highway, healesville, vic

a recent chilly, windy and rainy sunday was the perfect day to drive to the yarra valley and explore.  no research was put into it, just a spur of the moment decision and we were off...gps said 1hr 20 mins to healesville town centre from our home.

we arrived close to lunch and after driving through the main street we came across 'innocent bystander'.  the place was packed.  a table was quickly sorted out for us and we settled in with a glass of giant steps chardonnay & a glass of giant steps pinot.

'innocent bystander' offers many things under the one roof...a winery - (giant steps & innocent bystander), cellar door, bistro, coffee roasting, beer, artisan bakery, pizzeria & cheese room.  so there is plenty going on in their industrial looking space!

we ordered two pizzas for our table...a classic margherita with shaw river buffalo mozzarella and the other pizza was pink eye potato, taleggio, mt zero olive oil, walnuts & rosemary...very delicious, great pizza bases too.  the housecut (organic dobsons potatoes) with aioli were quickly gobbled up!

matt had a coffee to finish...he claimed it was excellent whilst the girls shared a house baked canele.

'innocent bystander' will be on our list to visit next time we are in the valley...could be breakfast, some more pizza or dinner...all sounds good...see their website for more details...innocentbystander

l’atelier de monsieur truffe, 351 lygon street, east brunswick

an industry work colleague (who knows melbourne well) told me about monsieur truffe...he said he would class them as one of the best 'chocolatiers' in melbourne.  i had to go after that statement!  i wasn't disappointed...everything we tried (although light dishes not main meal items) were excellent. 

the space is great, love the use of industrial mixed with french 'sand blasted chairs', factory lighting & smooth operation.  admittedly they were extremely busy when we visited however we didn't care - the mood was set to sit, wait & enjoy. 

our coffees were great...the mocha a massive hit with 65% choc.  the kiddies loved their pastries with house made choc pots!

the menu (which i will go back to try) sounded very different & away from the normal...eg charred corn with eggs!  great.

lots of snaps for you to see.

wee jeanie, 50 anderson st, yarraville, vic

i am still working out my favourites in my NEW local area & i have now been back to 'wee jeanie' 4 times so i am classing it as one of my favourites!...+ the 5yr old adores it because she can watch the trains go by from the front door step...so happiness all round!

'wee jeanie' is the sister to 'the cornershop cafe', they are literally around the corner from each other in yarraville...both owned by the same clever operators, using supreme coffee & producing things with finesse!...sorry i have decided that the word 'finesse' should be used more often!

what immediately hit me about 'wee jeanie'...(apart from the cute name & the fact that i can't stop singing ooooh jeanie by elton everytime i think of the place) is the great interior layout, bench seating with adjoining tables & awesome stools + the white tiled bar area...it was all very cool, serviceable without looking clinical & well planned.

i went back after taking initial pics (for this blog) to simply try the house special of 'welsh rarebit'...it didn't disappoint.  it was spicy, cheesy & moreish...made with cheddar, guinness, cayenne pepper, mustard & worcestershire sauce.

i am also excited because the owners of 'the cornershop & wee jeanie' are opening in ferguson st, williamstown their 3rd venture...that will be literally 3 minutes from my house.  they should be open by end of september offering shared plates &...wait until you see the rusted bed spring chandeliers...fabulous!

market lane coffee, shop 13, prahran mkt, sth yarra

i visited prahran mkt recently & on arriving the very first thing on my mind was to get coffee!  i headed straight for market lane coffee orderd my latte with a baguette bread board, butter & raspberry jam...simple, excellent & so satisfying.  their menu is not too extensive but what is on there is well sourced, delicious & of a high standard...bit like their coffee!  on their website they state market lane is a specialty coffee roastery, cafe, and retailer...their primary focus is on delicious high-quality coffee.  i finished my great coffee, delish baguette & was ready to venture out into the throng of the markets gathering my bits & bobs for the week.

Market lane's gig - they source, roast with their coffee offerings changing throughout the year, depending on what's in season & what tastes good.  they buy & roast in small batches to ensure they bring out the best qualities in every lot.  visit their site for more info mkt lane coffee