October 27, 2007: The Boathouse

This Saturday morning saw us venturing to a new suburb, Moonee Ponds, to knock a breakfast spot off Michael's wishlist. I think he first spotted a review of the Boathouse on the Breakfast Blog, and was no doubt excited by the prospect of pesto hollandaise over poached eggs. Actually the menu looks to have changed substantially since Jamie's visit and although most items begin with the standard fruit, muesli, toast or eggs, the full descriptions tend to include an interesting little twist. The muesli and granola have carefully chosen fruit and nut accompaniments, cheese on toast in prepared with corn bread and gruyere, and there's even a breakfast pizza! It's a shame that the breakfast menu runs so short, at 11 items, and includes only one meat-free fry-up for Michael.

That fry-up sounded pretty good nonetheless: a white zucchini, bell pepper and Bulgarian fetta omelette with spinach ($16.80). The photo below doesn't quite do justice to the enormity of it - it almost overhung the sides of an already super-sized dinner plate, dwarfing the standard-sized piece of toast perched atop. Rather than being mixed through the egg, the generous supply of zucchini, capsicum and fetta lay in wait in the centre, bursting across the plate as Michael delved in. I couldn't imagine that Michael would finish it all, but he couldn't help himself. It was a good omelette.

There wasn't any particular dish that jumped out at me, so I decided to eat lightly with the melon and seasonal berry salad with passionfruit and lime syrup ($13.50). The fruit were fresh and flavoursome, particularly the strawberries, and the tangy-sweet syrup prevented my interest from waning as a worked my way through. I really tried to get every drop of that syrup soaked into the watermelon!

The Boathouse deck is a very pleasant way to watch the weekend activity along the Maribyrnong River - or at least it will be, when it's finished. We were unlucky to hit a morning that involved an earthmover and a lot of dust. The menu is small, particularly for vegos, and on the pricey side. But if you're willing to take your chances on the choice and fork out a couple extra dollars, your breakfast will be impeccably prepared with a bit of originality. There's also the added bonus of a stroll along the river and through Pipemakers Park. Here's the History of the Land Garden....

Address: 7 The Boulevard, Moonee Ponds
Ph: 9375 2456
Price: veg breakfasts $8-$16.50
Website: www.theboat-house.com.au