Another morning, another serve of eggs. Having visitors is a really fine excuse to dine out every meal of the day, and Cindy and I took Doof to Mario's Cafe on Brunswick Street. Mario's has been around for over twenty years and, apparently, was the first to bring the all day breakfast to Fitzroy. It's maintained a good reputation as a breakfast place, so I was looking forward to it.It's a strange little place - a completely out of focus tv on one wall, posters promoting Mario's 20th anniversary wine and gift-packs on another and concert-posters covering the entryway. Despite the generally casual atmosphere, the waiters stroll around in black trousers and waistcoats, it's all very odd.
The menu is full of breakfast standards, without too many fancy options. Doof and I had both got a taste for poached eggs at Cafe Varda the day before, and we both ordered them again (me with hollandaise, and he without). Cindy's anti-egg agenda continued and she opted for mushrooms, hash-browns, avocado and tomato with toast. I really enjoyed my eggs - poached to perfection and with a sauce that wasn't too thick or gluggy. I'm pretty sure Doof was well satisfied with his eggs - they were demolished very efficiently. Cindy was a bit less enthused by her meal - all of the components were tasty enough, but it seemed like something she could have easily prepared herself. That's what you get for skipping out on the eggs I guess.
Address: 303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Ph: 9417 3343
Price: Breakfast from $7 to $15
I love the institution of Mario's, though I barely go there annually, compared to every week or 2, 15-20 years ago! I love the ambience, quality staff and sticking to their guns. They would never sully coffee with soy milk (I don't know if that's changed, I like soy coffee, but I don't blame them for it). The one thing though, that hasn't changed and puts me off breakfast there - is those bricks of hash browns. Frozen, catering pack variety! For a place that makes good food, I can't understand why they stoop to the level of the golden arches.
ReplyDeleteFor fish eaters though, their traditional putenesca has always been fab.
Yeah, it's pretty cool that a place like Mario's survives on Brunswick St and sticks to what it's always done. But likewise, I'm a bit disappointed when I see those neatly geometric, recently frozen hash browns rather than the messy but fresh prepared-from-scratch variety. At least they have a bit more crunch than a Maccas one that's been queued in the hotbox.
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