SMALL FISH, BIG POND @ Three Bags Full

It’s funny how once you start food blogging, every social occasion becomes surrounded by food. Every catch up is another opportunity for a post, another meal with someone I love spending time with. This is the upside of writing this blog. The downside is that because I have so much on right now, I am eating and working more then blogging and thus, my little patch of internet has not been tended to for some time. I’m going to try and rectify this.

My mum and I went to brunch at Three Bags Full, which sit around that Abbotsford, Richmond area. You know how occasionally in American shows, when a place is really busy, someone will say something like 'It’s like Grand Central Station in here' ? Well, at 10AM on a Sunday, Three Bags Full is Grand Central station, for breakfast.

The vibe of the cafe was good and due the number of people inside and the levels of noise, the pace of the establishment is energetic, maybe even too energetic for a Sunday morning. It's a little dwarfing walking in It's also huge and is spread over the multiple rooms of a converted warehouse. Diners belong to no specific crowd and instead, there are just all kinds of bods, everywhere, on every table, and on every stool, eating, drinking or waiting to do both.

We arrived just- and I mean, just minutes before the cafe got seriously crowded, right on 10am.
 Not wanting to join the line for a table inside, we scooted outside in the slightly windy sunshine. At the rate Three Bags Full fills, if you find yourself in the same situation, I strongly suggest you do the same. You’ll also be able to hear your eating companion talk, which is always nice.

After a while pondering the menu, I ordered the Roasted pumpkin + sage fritters ($16) with grilled haloumi + a parsley, pinenut, parmesan + pomegranate salad, while my Mum choose the Roasted field mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, goats cheese + almond dukkah ($15)

I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy my meal as much as I thought I would. Although it looked great and was nicely arranged, it was lukewarm, and the fritters were dry. For this reason, I suspect it had been sitting on a counter somewhere for a while before it got to me. I love haloumi, I eat it like it’s a magical, wonder food, but halomui cold has the texture of rubber. That was kind of a bummer. - because if all the temperatures had been right, it could have been a great dish. Although for $16, I also expected it to be a little more substantial then it was.

My mum on the other hand, loved her choice of mushrooms. Her dish was sizable, and the mushrooms large and meaty.  You can see from the pictures that the goats cheese was also plentiful and according to her, the meal was a substantial and well cooked brunch.

I don’t quite know what to make of this eatery. The menu is fantastic- versatile, expansive, and presents lots of options for the variable modern day Melbourne eater. And, the coffee was good, but could have been hotter (I seem to be finding this a lot, is this a 'thing' now?)

But organisation seems to be a problem, and getting things from the kitchen to the table quickly was certainly an issue that Three Bags Full needs to work on, especially in the case of my meal, and the coffee we had. I know that Sundays are crazy for most businesses, and I have an inkling this is may be an issue of staffing. The waitstaff in fact, were very friendly and weren’t slacking off by any means - the problem was that there just wasn’t enough of them to go around.

I was disappointed; I've read so many great reviews, and heard so many great things about Three Bags Full that it seems my expectations had been set a little too high. I suppose the obvious answer to this is that everyone else has read these same reviews too, and perhaps peak-hour on a peak day isn't the time to really enjoy this cafe.

THREE BAGS FULL  

60 Nicholson St

Abbotsford

Open daily: 9am- 5pm

Good for: A really great menu. Hopefully next time I visit, it will live up to its promises.
Vegetarians: Have lots of options for interesting and fulfilling meals. 
Wait time: Quite a while - I strongly advise visiting outside regular weekend brunching hours. 
Food waiting time: Quite a long time- Half an hour during peak time over the weekend. 
Cost: Including a latte, my meal sat at $19.50. Had the dish been delivered sooner, I would have considered it better value.


 

THE BEST HASH IN TOWN @ Proud Mary

I just started a new job this week, so the week before I began, I took advantage of my short lived freedom to eat like crazy and brunch like there was no tomorrow mornings off.

 This was breakfast. This is why they tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If everyone started their day like this, Melbourne would be a beautiful place.

The first port of call was Collingwood’s Proud Mary to begin a chilly Wednesday for breakfast. I used to visit Proud Mary a lot when I was an intern in Collingwood but as it’s almost on the other side of town, I don’t get there too much now. Either way, as I was reminded, the cafe is well worth the trip and food here is top notch.

Crowded for breakfast, lunch and take-away coffee, Proud Mary is a Melbourne favourite for all of the above. Despite being packed almost every time I've visited, wait times are minimal and it’s not a huge challenge to find a table on a weekday morning. When we arrived, menus were distributed within a few minutes of sitting, and our coffee arrived a few minutes after that. Generally, service is fast and organised, without lacking in care. At Proud Mary, they have crowd-management down to a fine art, and live between that fine line of wham-bam-thankyou-ma'am service and a nicely paced eatery.

We both ordered the Potato Hash, which usually is made up of a thick hash brown, grilled bacon, spinach, a poached egg, bagna cauda (a light italian sauce, made up of anchovies, cream and garlic) which proved to be a good choice on a miserable Melbourne morning.

My meal involved just the right amount of potato, spinach and salmon (my substitute for bacon) with a well poached egg. It was hearty and warm, but I was thankful for the salmon, which added a change of texture and some lightness to a heavy dish. However, my friend altered hers by swapping the eggs for tomato, and was just as pleased with her meal as I was with mine. Both dishes were perfectly sized, leaving us pleasantly full.

What I really noticed about our meals, and those of people around us, was that both dishes were beautifully presented, full of colour and delicately arranged. The salmon on my plate has been perfectly folded into a little round nest, while the other components of the meal looked wonderful alongside. There is no real benefit to eating food art, but it certainly made me slow down and enjoy my meal a little more then usual and I appreciated the effort that had gone into the look of our meals. 

I also liked how much choice the meals were. With a huge selection of sides on offer beyond the regular menu, you get the impression that Proud Mary is willing to cater for everyone. Although the hot breakfast menu is not huge, the set menu is adaptable to almost any taste, so if your favourites aren't there, try the 'sides'. 

Price wise, Proud Mary reaches, and almost exceeds my $20 budget, especially after I added my latte to the bill. But this breakfast experience was really, really great and with sufficient staffing, minimal waiting times and decent serves (the big three, am i right?) I left feeling more then satisfied that it was money well spent. So, if you're having a flash week and find yourself in Collingwood, head to Proud Mary.   

Proud Mary roast their own beans. Thus, best coffee out. 

PROUD MARY

172 Oxford St (off Smith Street)
Collingwood, Victoria 3066

Monday – Friday : 7am to 4pm
Saturday – Sunday : 8am to 4pm
Public Holidays : 7am to 4pm

Good for: Coffee; both the take-away and in-house options are quick and really good. Also good for groups of friends because of the long tables, but I'd stick to smaller groups during peak times.
Vegetarians: Will be able to eat well-  for breakfast, there are more vegetarian options then there are meat-options with additional vegetarian sides available.
Wait time: We walked straight in and found a spot on a communal table at around 10.30am last Wednesday morning.
Food waiting time: Not long at all- less then 15 minutes in total. 
Cost: PM added an extra dollar for the salmon, making the meal and my latte $21.00 all up.


 

COFFEE AND BAGELS @ Manhattan

I'm all for hitting the town hard on Friday and Saturday nights, but I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'd much rather wake up fresh faced and early so that I can sink a million lattes in a cafe and not feel like I've wasted the day. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen too often and usually by the time I wake, brunch time is over. Last Sunday however, was the exception and my friend Antonia and I visited Manhattan in Toorak Village for an early morning breakfast. I hadn't been here before but it always looks busy when I drive past on my way to work, so I was kind of keen to check it out.



 Without being chaotic or child-ridden, Manhattan on a Sunday morning is a busy place, but we got a table out the front and arrived just before the real breakfast crowd hit around 10am. We kept it simple by ordering smoked salmon bagels (The 'Lox on Bagel') and avocado and goats cheese on toast- pretty classic breakfast dishes. I was pleased to see that they didn't skimp on the salmon and my meal was just as I would have wished, but made better with the accompanying lemon and rocket. 

The staff were cheery and upbeat, which is always a winner- even if they brought out our coffee after we'd received our food, which is probably my biggest peeve in a cafe. But the guys serving us were friendly and fun, which is nice during their brisk Sunday morning trade.

All in all, brunch at Manhattan was a pleasant experience. The biggest qualm I have with the place is that the menu wasn't exciting and I didn’t get that nice little feeling of anticipation that I like to get when I order (this probably sounds really sad, but look, I just really love eating). I know that this isn’t the most substantial of issues, and for an area like Toorak, keeping Manhattan’s menu as a conservative one probably works well. However, Manhattan is an upmarket 'eggs and bacon' eatery. They are catering for the 'classic' breakfast experience, which makes it hard if you are vegetarian. Vegans on the other hand- don't even bother, unless you're willing to make some serious adjustments to dishes as almost everything has eggs, cheese or meat in it.

Although I wasn't dissatisfied with my meal at Manhattan, the experience did make me think about eating out for breakfast, and I realised that the more that I go out for breakfast and brunch, the more I've come to expect something a little different to choose from, instead of a dish I could create myself at home.



I do see Melbourne as a town that thrives on ‘food surprises’ and I’ve come to appreciate, and rely on creativity in a menu- especially as vegetarianism and to some degree, veganism are now no longer considered unusual. Now, it's almost a basic requirement now to cater for these eaters in a way that is both filling and interesting, instead of resorting to making substitutes within a classic breakfast fry up. We noticed this particularly here, as I have been avoiding meat since my jaunt to Huxtaburger, and my friend doesn't eat eggs which gave us some serious limitations when trying to make a selection.

But perhaps (actually, there is no doubt) I am spoilt for choice in Melbourne, and if you're looking for a classic breakfast experience I can recommend mornings at Manhattan to you.

MANHATTAN

448 TOORAK ROAD, TOORAK 

Good for: Family breakfasts, coffee and 'the bacon and eggs' experience.
Vegetarians: Should be fine, but you won't find anything super innovative for you. Vegans, don't bother- there are better places to eat.
Wait time: We walked straight in without issue around 9.30.
Food waiting time: Maybe 20 minutes- not bad as the restaurant was filling as we arrived, but our coffees did arrive after our meals.
Cost: I paid $19.50 for a latte and my salmon bagels. My friend paid $18.50 for latte and avocado and goats cheese on grain.