Eat. @ Albert Street Food and Wine

382 Sydney Rd, Brunswick 3056 ph (03) 8354 6600

I am very fortunate to have made some really great friends from Mini Me's kinder group, and even though it's been a few years since kinder, we still try to get out to dinner at least once a school term.  For our recent gathering we dined at Albert St Food and Wine, as suggested by my friend Tepid Duck.  (That's right, no kids and no Hubby!) This gem of a restaurant, overseen by executive chef Philipa Sibley, boasts a great menu utilising excellent quality local produce, a wide ranging wine list, and a store which sells some of their favourite products as well as their own creations. 

The restaurant was buzzing with diners when we arrived at 7pm on a Tuesday evening.  The atmosphere was classy yet casual.  The lighting was dim, which added to the ambiance, even though it was of course not so good for my picture taking, as you can see.  It made for the start of a lovely evening.

The other girls shared a carafe of their wine ($35) while non-drinker little ol' me asked for something non-alcoholic.  Our waitress was great and organised a ginger beer mocktail with the the bartender (a virgin mojito I think?) for me which was a great drink.   In fact I had two!

We had decided to share, and therefore have the opportunity to try a whole lot of dishes that night.  While waiting we munched on some of their lovely bread and dip.

We started off with the Grilled Haloumi and pickled zucchini ($14).  This was delicious, the haloumi was beautifully textured and less salty than what I'm used to.  We all agreed that the pickled zucchini was a great addition to the haloumi, and you can actually buy jars of this in the "store" section of the restaurant.

The next dish was Olives & bocconcini, pesto Genovese and ciabatta ($14).  I used to have an intense dislike for olives when I was younger but somehow my palate did a 180 when I was pregnant with Bubs.  I loved the saltiness of the olives and the silky smoothness of the little bocconcini.

The Smoked salmon rillettes, avocado & cucumber salad, rye toast ($19) was an interesting contrast of cruchy bread with the delicate shredded fish.

From the grill we tried the Smoked sardines on grilled bread, capers, currants, pinenuts ($15).  The lovely bitey sardines on crunchy bread was a great combination.  A squirt of lemon juice brought extra freshness.

The Pizza Bianca – garlic, rosemary, parmesan, ($14) was beautiful in its simplicity. 

My favourite savoury dish of the night however, was the Spanner Crab Risotto, with pine mushrooms and chestnuts. ($26)  Risottos can often taste very similar even with different ingredients but this one was flavoursome and distinct.  I think I could've eaten the whole plate! (I probably had more than my fair share, sorry girls!)

We were surprisingly full by this time but could not go past the wonderful desserts.  Originally we were going to order 2 to share, but ended up with 3 as they all sounded so tempting!  First up a slice of Meyer Lemon Tart ($14).  An excellent lemon tart, with thin crust (just the way I like) and a smooth lemon curd filling.

The Poire Belle Hélène is traditionally a dessert made from a poached pear, served with chocolate syrup and  vanilla ice-cream.  Albert St's version ($17) delivered a twist in the form of a chocolate fondant with a flowing center.  Oh the indulgence!  It was gorgeous.

My favourite dessert of the night was the Quince, ginger breadcrumbs, and preserved lemon ice cream ($16).  Oh I loved everything about this! Having never tried preserved lemon in ice-cream before, this was a refreshing experience.  The crunchy bits of gingerbread left me wanting more!

I had a fab dinner at Albert St Food and Wine.  Lovely company, great staff, fabulous food and atmosphere.  A wonderful place for a catch up and I'm envious of the locals!  I wouldn't take young children here, but I think older children would quite enjoy the experience, and I saw a family with a couple of children aged about 10 who looked to have had a lovely dinner.  We ended the meal with a browse of the goodies in the store.  I will definitely have to bring Hubby back since he missed out!

Eat.Play.Shop. says - Simple, lovely, fresh dishes using local produce in a trendy restaurant, with goodies to shop for afterwards.  What's not to like? 

Eat. @ L'atelier de Monsieur Truffe

351 Lygon St, Brunswick East 3057 ph : (03) 9380 4915
Wednesday to Friday 8am to 4pm/ Saturday and Sunday 8:30am to 4pm

Having recently been to Monsieur Truffe, I'd been very much looking forward to visiting its new post in Brunswick East, which I've heard is much more spacious and therefore more kid-friendly in terms of space.  On arrival at the address, all we could see was this bright red door. 

Yes, we did miss the door and nearly went into El Mirage next door.

This very pram friendly, enticing but unassuming red door opens into a bright, cheery, warm and spacious room. 

There's undercover parking for the bikes too, for those who can
cycle here - great to work off the calories!

The main attraction are 2 big (chocolate making) machines on one side of the room.

The seating was a mix of large communal tables and smaller tables for 2 and 4.  They had one high chair which we snapped up for Bubs in Pram.

First up of course is a warming cup of hot chocolate (house blend 70%).  This is the same hot chocolate we had at the Collingwood Monsieur Truffe of course.  Seriously smooth and creamy, it is a bit of a chocolate meal in itself.

Their Baby Chocolate is a smaller version of mine, but packs just as much punch.  It might be a tad strong for some younger kiddies used to a more watered down hot chocolate, but older kids will definitely enjoy this more "adult" version!

It was 11:20am, but I was keen to order from the lunch menu, which begins at 11:30am.  The friendly waitress let us order and I picked the Croque Monsieur, with braised leeks, whole grain mustard bechamel, Swiss Gruyere and Grandmother Ham ($13).  A very filling meal.  The ham was very tasty and the cheesy top of the toasted bread was a hit.

A pretty serious sandwich!

The Kids Blueberries Pancakes ($6) were 3 little freshly prepared pancakes with whole blueberries and a dipping sauce.  This was very yummy, and excellent for little hands to handle.

The pastries that we had at Monsieur Truffe in Collingwood are of course also available here.  We were way too full to have any on this occasion.

There were lots of other goodies to buy from the shop to take home, and the whole area is very kid and pram-friendly.

These Gingerbread Men were gorgeous!

The kids enjoyed peering through the window and watching the chocolate being made!

The toilets were spacious and a change table is available.  The staff were friendly, polite, and very helpful with the little ones.  The whole experience, from the yummy food and drinks, to watching the chocolate making and staring at the big machines, was very kid-friendly.  My only gripe would be that it took about 30 minutes from ordering for the food to arrive, fortunately for me the kids were pretty well behaved on the day.  Hopefully that's just a one-off, because we'd definitely love to visit again!  Oh why are all my favourite cafes to go with kids in Brunswick???



An understatement!



Eat.Play.Shop.Says : if you'd like to visit Monsieur Truffe with your kids, this is the place to go!

Toilets : Yes, with change table.

Highchair : they have only one, but it's a pretty cool one (maybe they can get more in the near future?  It's going to be a popular place for families methinks!)

Eat. @ Miss Marmalade

126 Union St, Brunswick 3056 ph : (03) 9388 8202

We have been really keen to come and check out Miss Marmalade since reading about it on Melbourne Gastronome.  We finally made it down during this lovely week of unseasonably (but most welcomed) warm weather.  Our thoughts? We should have visited this gem of a cafe much earlier!!!

Most of the patrons were taking advantage of the blue skies and grabbing a bite and a cuppa out front.  The front part of the store is dark, cool and beautifully decorated.  I have a thing for vintage bus rolls and the big one hanging on the wall is both nostalgic and modern-cool at once.  I can imagine catching up with some friends for a coffee here.  Or maybe indulgently just me and the paper!

However, my brekkie companions today are much younger and the staff took us down to the  backroom which had been renovated to cater for families.  In contrast, this room is bright, lovely and cosy and not in a play-centre tacky sort of way (thank goodness!)  A perfect place for Mummy-Get-Togethers.  Bubs in Pram got an Ikea highchair, and Macaron Monster went straight for the blackboard.  That left one happy Mummy to take a seat, and yes, take pictures!

I had my usual mocha while checking out the menu.  Excellent Five Senses Coffee made perfectly.

Macaron Monster is obviously going through a babycino phase. (Her third this week!)  This was served in a little cup with a marshmallow. ($1)

I ordered the Big Breakfast to share with the kids.  This was 2 free range eggs as you'd like (we had ours poached), housemade beans, avocado crush, braised mushrooms, chipolatas, and tomato relish on organic toast. ($17.50) A very pleasant version.  I would've liked a bit more of the scrumptious avocado crush if I was to be picky, but otherwise this hit the spot well.  It'd be too much for just me but worked well with sharing.  They also serve a separate kid's breakfast which is one egg, bacon and a piece of toast ($7.50).

I usually pack my big pencil case full of color pens, paper and books to keep my little ones occupied while we're out and about.  (Yes, from Daiso!)  If you forget to bring yours they have Cafe Kids Entertainment Packs for sale too,  although the gorgeous set up they have in the back room certainly kept my kids well occupied.

With all the controversy about dining out with kids these days, it's fantastic to see a cafe like Miss Marmalade manage it so well.  Families can have a cosy area to enjoy their great coffee and meal while the kids are entertained, and singles and couples can enjoy their cuppas in relative peace in the front room.  All with great coffee, yummy food and a friendly, relaxed attitude.  See, we CAN all get along!

Eat.Play.Shop.Recommends : the mocha here is one of the top 3 I've had in Melbourne.

Give it a Miss : no reason to!

Toilet - Yes, and they even have a change table!

Highchair - Yes, Ikea type

Eat. @ Pope Joan

77-79 Nicholson Street, Brunswick East, 3057 ph : (03) 9388 8858

This fantastic cafe with the cheeky name (I'm a history trivia buff remember?) epitomises everything I would want in my local cafe - great food, awesome coffee, friendly staff, and a kid-friendly vibe.

Brekkie with Macaron Monster and Bubs in Pram today.  The staff here are some of the friendliest I've come across.  I was quickly seated with a welcoming smile, and Bubs in Pram became Bubs in Highchair today as staff quickly secured an add-on high chair to our table. 

The menu items were readily suitable for kids.  On top of that they have a couple of items like cheese or beans on toast under the "For the Kids" Section of the menu. 

My usual Mocha was great.  Macaron Monster had a kid sized hot chocolate and loved it.



Mocha



The "Mini Me" Version of the Hot Chocolate

We had the Boiled Eggs, Soldiers, Bacon Bits, Herb Salt to start.  Two beautifully boiled eggs with gorgeous sweet centres ready for dipping with the crusty wholegrain soldiers.  The herb salt is the rock star of this dish! 

Served in a cute ceramic egg carton, with
an old fashioned knife.

Simply lovely!

We followed this up with Warmed Ginger Bread with Smoked Maple Butter.  Lovely combination that went very well with the drinks, and was really quite filling.  I took half of it away for afternoon tea!

Macaron Monster chose a Smiley Face Gingerbread bikkie to go.  Actually I think most of the kids at Pope Joan had one of these this morning!

Our brekkie at Pope Joan made me feel really... happy.  I am actually a bit apprehensive about "Family Friendly" eateries which provide lots of entertainment for kids, but often lack good food, coffee or service.  I find myself much more drawn to "Kid Tolerant" cafes serving yummy food and drinks even if they don't provide crayons or a box of toys - I'm happy to do my part to make sure my kids are behaved and don't bother other patrons.  The staff here are more than helpful and friendly, and I felt they went out of their way to make sure our meal went smoothly.  Pope Joan ticks all the boxes for me and I think it's an excellent example of how a cafe can cater for singles and families alike.

Matt Wilkinson (ex-Circa) and Ben Foster (ex-Kent Hotel) have set up a cozy space that has attracted locals and visitors to this quiet strip on Nicholson St.  Serving up great food and drink with a smile and a wink - I have only one request - can you guys please come and open a sister cafe for Joan in my neighborhood??

Eat.Play.Shop. Recommends - The Friendly Vibe!

Give it a Miss - Don't!

Toilets - Yes

Highchair - Yes