Edit 30/01/2025: New Day Rising has now closed. Their sibling cafe Zen Arcade still operates.
We've been meaning to check out New Day Rising for ages - certainly since Lisa named the coconut, lettuce, tomato (CLT) bagel as one of her favourite dishes of 2010. There's no particular reason that we've taken so long to get there, although given how small NDR is, I've been a bit wary about turning up and having to wait for one of the 5 or 6 tables. We finally took a chance on a fairly drizzly Saturday morning, turning up at around 9am to find the tiny room fairly empty. It's a cosy little place, possibly the smallest cafe we've been to, with no real separation between the tables and the 'kitchen'.New Day Rising has a fairly extensive vegetarian breakfast menu, with coeliacs and vegans well catered for. Cindy was tempted by the grilled cheese and pickle bagel, but in the end had to sample the CLT (smoked coconut, rocket, tomato and avocado bagel, $10).
The key to this is the smoked coconut - crispy little shavings soaked in a delicious marinade based on pecan liquid smoke. Cindy was very impressed - we're going to figure out how to make this at home in the not too distant future.I was sorely tempted by the haloumi bagel ($11), but ended up settling for New Day Rising's homemade baked beans (cannellini beans with tomato, garlic and fennel seeds, served with avocado, Persian feta and sourdough, $13).
This was an incredibly generous meal - three pieces of toast, a massive pile of beans and a good chunk of excellent avocado. The beans had a sweetness to them, along with a fairly strong fennel aftertaste. The saltiness of the feta went really well with the beans - I'd have enjoyed another big dollop of it, but that's just my greediness kicking in.We were pretty happy with our experience - great well-priced food, friendly service and finecoffee, all in a teeny tiny package. Definitely worth checking out on your way to or from CERES.
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New Day Rising has been enjoyed by Melbourne's veg-bloggers Lisa Dempster, In the Mood for Noodles and Crosslegged on the Front Lawn, as well as by a bunch of others: Dear Melbourne, Grounded Pleasures, Bean There, Read That and Brunch with Brice.
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New Day Rising
221d Blyth Street, Brunswick East
veg brekkies $5-13
Accessibility: A small step up on entry into a fairly crowded interior. We couldn't figure out where they were hiding the bathroom.
You know what, this sounds sooo good. I've never been to NDR - I must try it, especially the CLT bagel (even though I shouldn't be eating wheat...shhh, don't tell anyone!)
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for doing this review. Otherwise I don't think I would've discovered NDR any time soon! Good timing for the vegan easy challenge I'm doing next month :-)
all looks v good and your comment about ceres has made me realise where it is as I have seen it en route to and fron ceres. I remember lisa recommending the coconut bacon and have recently seen a recipe online - looked fantastic - but can't remember where
ReplyDeleteOh, please please please do figure out the smoked coconut! The will-to-live of we non-Melbourne folk depends on you!
ReplyDeletei've never tried the beans. i shall try them on monday. i love this place so much, though feel the need to shave half my head to fit in with all the cool peeps. thanks for the linkylink. xx
ReplyDeleteHi Mindful Foodie! You could always ask them nicely to make this on gluten-free toast for you - it's all about the coconut, after all. :-)
ReplyDeleteJohanna - a quick google search turns up lots of coconut bacon recipes online, many with marinades resembling what we've done with tempeh... plenty of inspiration for messing around in our own kitchen!
Hannah, I consider it my duty! Be warned: you're gonna need some liquid smoke for this one.
You're welcome, kate. :-) I can't wait to return and try some of the other options, though it'll be tough to tear myself away from the CLT.