Eat. @ Bluebird Espresso

134 Johnston Street, Collingwood ph (03) 9078 9047

We stumbled across Bluebird Espresso by accident as we were stuck in traffic on Johnston Street one morning.  Bubs and I were on our brunch roulette mission and decided to just stop and check out this cute little cafe.  

It's a cosy little space and well loved by the locals.  It seemed quite popular and space is limited so a big pram may be difficult.

Judging by the stream of people coming in to get caffeinated, the coffee must be good, and my mocha ($4) did not disappoint.

I actually ordered off-menu on the day and tried their special of the day, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and salad of roasted sprouts, capers and raisins.  It was amazingly delicious, I loved loved loved the salad and believe it or not I got Bubs to eat sprouts!!!  

I also ordered a side of "Little Bogan hash browns" ($4) for Bubs, since he's made for potato hashes lately and the the name was cute.

Melbourne seriously has the best cafes in the world.  Sometimes unintended adventures are the best ones!

Eat. @ 8bit

9 Droop Street, Footscray 3011 ph (03) 9687 8838

The great thing about visiting the Science Museum with the kids is that it gives me an excuse to go over the bridge and try some of the places I'd been hanging out to try over in the west.  One such visit landed us at 8Bit for a burger and shakes dinner.

So we ordered a whole lot of burgers and fries and shared.  Starting off with the 8 Bit with Cheese ($8.5), with beef, tomato, lettuce, red onion, pickles, mustard, cheese and 8bit sauce.  I love this burger, which I guess is their "cheese burger".  Simple, perfectly proportioned and hits the spot.  If you need a bit more than the Double Dragon (love that game!) at $13.5 is for you, as it's essentially an 8 Bit with cheese with double the filling.

I was a video geek growing up, and I ordered the Golden Axe ($9.5) purely because it was one of my favourite games. (And yes I played the totally inappropriately dressed Amazon in the bikini.  You didn't think I'd play a dwarf did ya?)  Anyway back to the burger, which has crispy fried chicken, cheese, sriracha mayo and slaw as its filling.  A no nonsense fried chicken burger with a crispy coating that went really well with the spicy mayo.  

Next up is Hubby's favourite game Altered Beast ($9.5), which in its burger form is filled with beef, bacon, cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, 8bit sauce AND BBQ sauce.  One for the bacon lovers!

Can you believe they ran out of onion rings just as I got to the front of the line?  We made do with beer battered fries ($3 for small, $5 for large) and a serve of potato gems ($4 for small, $6 for large).  A necessary and delicious part of a good burger meal!

All washed down with a couple of milk shakes ($6.5).  We had the salted caramel, and you can also choose from peanut butter, strawberry cheesecake and chocolate bar.

And if that's not enough retro fun for you, you can fight with the kids and have a go at the arcade game in the corner.  

8 Bit is cute, bright, and cheery with a good dose of tongue in cheek fun.  A great fun meal if you're in the area.  (Makes me look forward to our next trip to the museum!)
  

Eat. @ Cibo Espresso

Chadstone Shopping Centre 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone 3148 ph (03) 9568 8474

I still haven't found a decent coffee place at Chaddy.

Cibo opened up where the old Deli used to be. (They were the only deli I found that sold ox tongue!)  The space was open and modern, and I was keen to try it out.

I ordered a mocha and unfortunately there seemed to be a problem with the machine and there was a long queue of people waiting for their take aways.  In the meantime I tucked into my Brioche al Prosciutto ($7.5), which was a cute little snack sized brioche bun.  Quite tasty and I think the onion jam really gave this a lovely flavour.

Once the coffee machine issue was resolved and the queue was cleared I got my mocha.  Unfortunately it was quite bitter and wasn't quite up to what I expect as Melbourne standard these days.

I still haven't found a decent coffee place in Chaddy.

Eat. @ The Broadsheet Restaurant

166 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 3065 

The good people at Broadsheet have opened up a pop up at 166 Gertrude, which is the ground floor for a future apartment complex development.  The space is modern, open and spacious, yet subtly divided into cosier sections.  Bubs and I dropped by on one of our brunch roulette mornings. (I am so going to miss this next year when all my kidlets will be at school!)

The menu is a collaboration of notable eateries around town, which is a pretty cool concept.   The day time menu have items from the likes of Auction Rooms, Top Paddock, The Kettle Black, Grainstore and  Coda.  I started off with a mocha ($4) made by beans from Small Batch, which is of "Melbournian" standard as expected.

Bubs ordered "off the menu" as he wanted apple juice instead of the the OJ ($5) on the menu.  Our friendly waitstaff kindly accommodating him with some pressed apple (and blackcurrant?) juice.

Brunch started with a Toasted Reuben Sandwich ($17) on dark rye, with corned brisket with saukraut, Swiss and Russian dressing, from Five Point Deli.  I always find reuben sandwiches a very substantial meal and this was no exception.  The pickle on the side cuts through the tasty but heavy sandwich.  There was plenty to share between Bubs and I.

I could not say no to a sweet at brunch, so I also ordered the Twice baked brioche French toast ($18) with fennel poached pears, pear and burnt caramel sorbet from the ever creative bunch at Top Paddock.  The plating is beautiful as with all their offerings, and I loved the combo of crunchy and soft, warm and cold, and of course sweetness contrasting with the slight spiciness to the pear.  

As I was paying I couldn't help drooling over the baked goodies from Tivoli Road Bakery, and took the opportunity to grab a salted caramel donut (okay, two) to go.  Come on, I can't give up a chance to grab their delicious goodies without having to cross the river!

The Broadsheet Restaurant night menu includes dishes from some of my favourite restaurants including The Town Mouse, Estelle Bistro, Coda and Huxtable.  I hope I get a chance to come back for dinner before the Pop Up pops out!