Small Victories

(3/7/12)

Was tossing up between Coin Laundry & Auctions Rooms for Brunchon blog today. Then reading the Epicure happened upon the section -  unexplored territory, featuring a cafe 'Small Victories' in Rathdowne St Carlton Nth. It used to be known as the Rathdowne Street Food Store, & happens to be very close to my most favourite gift shop Belki! so it was a done deal the other two can wait until another day. :-) 

 It certainly is a nice bright, streamlined looking cafe that is split level, lovely wooden floors & a few nice little knooks with tables other than the window or marble bar seating.

Smiling, warm greeting by staff upon entering, there weren't many people dinning when we entered but by the time we left a lot of the tables were full. There are a number of eateries along Rathdowne St to choose from so the lure of people already in a cafe can be a definite draw card.

Breakfast is served until 4pm, Lunch from noon onwards.

Freshly squeezed Apple juice was choosen by my two companions at ($6), there was also choice of Harcourts Cold Pressed Apple Juice. They verdict was that the juice was very tasty.

Wide Open Road Blend Coffee (3.7)

Not a huge menu, but quite a few items you would not find on a lot of cafe Breakfast Menus, for example Black Pudding which along with the sausages are made on the premises. Also a really tasty alternative to potato rosti - a Leek & Cheddar Croquette with crunchy outer. There are a list of Sides you can order such as Bacon, Breakfast sausage, Oven Baked mushrooms, garlic & rye crisp, Baked Beans, Leek & Cheddar Croquette.

 The biggest negatives for the sides is the price! Most were ($6) with exception of Baked Beans, Croquette, & Wilted Spinach which were ($5). So if you order eggs on toast & couple of sides it would take your breakfast dish over the ($20) mark!!  There were no sides such as Tomatoes or Avocado (staple at most cafes) but maybe that was their decision to set them apart.

($15)

Waffles, Poached Pear, Chestnut butter, smoked muscovado sugar, fenugreek syrup & candied & caramelised chestnut. 

Yes today I got my sweet choice he he, Waffles that were so light & fluffy. However  they could have done with just a little more of the fenugreek syrup (fenugreek - plant used as spice in fake maple syrup) or chestnut butter as they were a little dry on the outer. The Chestnuts crumbed, candied & caramelised added a really nice crunch to the waffles.

($10) + ($6) + ($5)

Scrambled Eggs on toast, side of Bacon & side of Baked Beans

The plates used for the meals were a lovely deviation from the standard white used in most cafes, they were a type of stone ware. The only problem with breakfast above was that most of the said plate was covered with food & with the raised sides it was a little tricky to eat, but don't worry he ate it all!  Only negative apart from the hefty price of the sides was that the bacon was a little under cooked & a little rubbery, otherwise was a lovely smelling & tasting dish.

($18)

Small Victories mixed Grill: Sausage, Black Pudding, Croquette, Streaky Bacon. Baked Beans

Having never had Black Pudding before there was a little hesitation with choosing this dish! ..... it has what in it ??? Always the adventurous one he stuck to his choice and wasn't disappointed.

The dish was also stoneware & was  served on a wooden board that had the slice of crunchy toast on it, very attractive presentation.  The croquette was extremely nice, and even the Black Pudding went down well.  As with the above meal the only criticism was the Bacon was a little undercooked & bit rubbery.

We finished off with another coffee & a Green Tea. Very friendly staff, nice atmosphere, just a little expensive, hopefully it wont be too much of a negative as they deserve to do just as well as all the cafes around them. :-)