Wedged down an alley between halfway houses, backpacker travel agents and a few seedy nightclubs, Miss Jackson is a shining beacon of class in an otherwise classless (apologies to the Melbourne Wine Room, none such to the ever-so-trashy George lane-way bar) area. The café itself is a converted house that reminds me more of a rabbit warren than a café, the smaller nooks don’t quite fit the tables that they contain. It’s nowhere near as cramped as Wall 280 in Balaclava and there it adds “character”. Nonetheless the place has character and the larger communal tables are comfortable and spacious. There’s also an outdoor area, which thankfully parents seem to utilise to entertain their wild children.

The menu is everything you would expect without being outstanding. Corn fritters, steak sandwiches, and eggs every which way. But what the menu lacks in excitement it makes up with in the execution. While you might cook everything on the menu at home, it simply won’t be as good.

The portions are great, the food looks amazing and best of all it tastes spot on. In fact, of all the cafés around, Miss Jackson is my favourite for a comforting, hangover curing breakfast – morning or afternoon. Perhaps this is cause of a subtle focus on booze. There is beer and wine on the menu and a few bottles of spirits peeking out from behind the bar – important for my personal favourite menu item.

The “superstar DJ” bloody mary is everything you could want in this breakfast cocktail – good spice and acidity and a healthy sprig of celery. A bloody mary is tricky to get right at the best of times and they come out with amazing consistency.

The guys that run this place (Steve and Matt) are clearly drinkers – it shows – they know what’s good for you.

More photos on Flickr.

It is amazing to think that since the opening of Seven Seeds there have been so many other great coffee shop openings. So many in fact that Seven Seeds feels as though it is one of the “old boys.” It will be fascinating to see how the “scene” evolves over the next year.

Putting it all into context I’ve constructed something of a timeline of the last years specialty coffee shop openings. The dates aren’t exact (and I would welcome corrections) but they are pretty close.

• Seven Seeds, Carlton. 1 June 2009.
• Outpost, South Yarra. 22nd September.
• Dead Man Espresso (review), South Melbourne. 25th September.
• Proud Mary, Collingwood. 4th November.
• Market Lane, Prahran. 10th November.
• Sensory Lab, (review), Melbourne CBD. 29th November.
• Three Bags Full, Abbotsford. 27th January 2010.
• Monk Bodhi Dharma, Balaclava. 5th January.
• Espresso 3121, (renamed and revamped) Cremorne. 3rd February.
• Padre South Melbourne (review), South Melbourne. 5th February.
• 65 Degrees, Melbourne CBD. 18 February.

Cafes opening aren’t the only thing that has happened in the last year either, the blog coverage of cafes in Melbourne has gone through the roof with the usual suspects spending as much time reviewing cafes as restaurants. There is one specialty coffee blog though that has been providing an attempt at objective reviews of the coffee being served across the city. Backseat Baristas is doing a great job and can only get better as they refine the concept.

Like in so many other facets of life Twitter has become the best way to talk to people who are involved in the industry and coffee is no different. I have created a coffee list of the people I follow. It’s a great way to keep an ear to the ground.

In a summary of the year I would be remiss to ignore the fact that the actual coffee has changed quite considerably. Seven Seeds, St Ali, 5 Senses, Market Lane and Small Batch seem to be all be expanding the number of cafes they are supplying with beans and places like Dead Man are making the most out of the variety.

Experiencing these coffees has never been easier either with Seven Seeds and Market Lane (that I know of) doing daily cuppings.

This isn’t to mention alternative brewing methods which seems to have had a massive boom. The syphon has gone from strength to strength with a good number of these cafes using it. Pour over seems to be the flavour of the day though, with it allowing some subtle flavours to really poke through.

Check it out, we’d love to hear how you and your coworkers find the best places to eat, drink and recover.

Update: You need to call 1300 615 786 and you’ll get an order number. They won’t serve you without it. A few photos are emerging, check them out here and here.

Another update: Berry travels has a blogpost about the whole experience. I can’t help but think we are going to hear more about this place.

Apparently people like this claustrophobic feeling. The place is packed and nobody seems to care that you have to push past someone to get to your table, or that there is newspaper strewn all over the biggest table in the place. Or perhaps it is that the food is great, the service is surprisingly quick and the prices are rock bottom.

The menu is written on the wall and comprises mainly of gourmet pides with a few other bits and pieces. The coffee was good, a really dark blend which made my strong latte a little too strong flavoured. My second was a regular latte.

Baked beans and ham hock ($10) with basil and fetta.  This is such a great combination, the gritty texture of the ham hock contrasts really well with baked beans. The basil and fetta ($1.50 extra) adds an extra layer of flavour.

Not the best photo, this avocado on rye was really good. Very fresh avo, great rye bread with cottage cheese and a slice of lemon. Very filling for a small serve and only $8.

It was a quick breakfast, 4 coffees and 2 meals for $32. Can’t really complain when the food is this good.

The wine list is great. They have a great range of wines by the glass, varying not only in style but also price and a massive by the bottle, walk in wine list with a $15 dine-in premium over their retail price. This makes for a reasonably cheap bottle with dinner. The problem is, their lack of good wine advice. This seems to happen a lot recently, we asked for wine advice and our waitress told us what she had been drinking lately. That was the bottle we ended up drinking, but I really wanted someone to suggest a bottle that would complement our dinner.

Wine service aside, the rest of the table service was very attentive, not quite annoyingly so for the first few minutes, but as the bottle of wine emptied and our conversation continued, the staff interrupted less. The perfect amount of service.

Following up the great service was amazing food. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks and trying to replicate the textures and contrast at home. The bread was the sourest of dough – with butter, pink salt and pepper it was truly divine. I easily could have just eaten the bread and left content. The hand cut potato wedges with garlic were crunchy, tasty and a giant serving. The peas and broccoli were crisp and super fresh and the chilli butter was subtle and there was too much rabbit food for 2 people.

The paddock plains lamb was cooked perfectly, the rare lamb had that perfect tough to the knife-melt in your mouth consistency and the potato accompanement had a nice firm texture. I wish I could remember what else was served with this dish.

The standout however was the Tibooboora scotch with oxtails. The contrast of the clean texture of the perfectly cooked steak against the grittiness of the cooked down oxtails was astounding. The onion tart was crunchy and gooey against the crisp asparagus it was served on. This dish alone made my night, so good I was tempted to order a second helping.

In fact, I think I might drop in tomorrow.

Hardware Lane is becoming more like Lygon St every day, spruikers and menus on the street, good deals involving glasses of wine or cheap 2 course meals, good food all served up with a good price and a great atmosphere until well into the night. The atmosphere is spurned on by something that the Carlton strip doesn’t offer, live music while you dine and a friendly, lively atmosphere.

The Mill presents itself as an upmarket alternative in the laneway with a great cocktail list, a massive wine list and prices $5-10 higher than other restaurants and a distinct lack of promotions. The wine list is worthy of mention with 18 wines by the glass and a massive selection of Australian and international wines. It lacks an accompanying somelier which leave a diner confused and intimidated. Even if the staff were happy to offer some advice you would be more inclined to try different wines.

The mill provides a really great dining experience, the maitre d wasn’t pushy at all, and the waitresses kept our water topped up and offered drinks at just the right times. The portions were generous and the timing of the meals was good.

The scallops were very nice. Perfectly cooked and in a light tomato sauce.

The salted duck was only mildly ducky and perfectly salty. It worked well with the rich muscatel jus. The spring roll added an interesting dimension to the meal.

The rolled pork  belly again was perfectly cooked, cooked so well it literally melted in your mouth. It was served with garlicy mash and a sweet onion and proscuito jam. This meal was really well balanced, the flavours came together really well.

The smoked lamb rump was great. The smokey flavour was present throughout but not overpowering. The texture of the chickpea sauce added an interesting element to the dish. The flatleaf parsley garnish was over the top and everywhere.

The broccoli side was over garnished as well, someone in the kitchen was going crazy with the flatleaf parsley.

The dining room decor is dated, solid chairs and tables, almost too dark lighting, punctuated with elegant flowers and chopstick holders but the loud drunk girl was wrong when she crassly suggested that they “just get some new fucking chairs.” This setting is the background of a restaurant that is about much more than worrying about designer furniture and achieving what they want perfectly. Perhaps this fitout won’t endear itself to the materialistic yuppies among us, but what is served will leave an impression on the food lover.

The menu consists of a number of sections, starters, sashimi starters, sashimi mains and regular mains. The gyoza from the starters menu was  a brilliant start, steamed to perfection the lightly fried classic japanese dumplings were full of flavour, with a great texture. These are the sort of dumplings you could eat all day. The mixed sashimi starter, salmon, tuna, ocean trout and mackerel, was sashimi at its best. Fresh fish, good sized portions presented beautifully on an upturned oystershell and garnished with a pink orchid flower.

For mains, the chicken and fish soup was the only let down. The dish is served still boiling away with an impressive sizzling sound, the chunks of fish were tender and flavoursome, the chicken was nondescript and the broth lacked flavour. The grilled eel on the other hand, was the standout. The eel had been grilled perfectly giving the skin has a slightly crunchy texture, the soy based sauce’s (I’d love to know what this sauce was) richness was not overwhelming at all even when eaten just with the leftover rice.

Accompanying this great example of japanese cuisine was a very well priced, but minimal, wine and beer list. Topping off a great example of japanese cuisine, service and hospitality.

To the casual passerby these cafes seem to be near nothing and have no reason for existance but it is the ultra-hip fashion executives, designers and furniture salesmen that they service. Lunch time during the week is hectic as they rush in, grab a double shot, decaf, soy latte or perhaps a salmon baguette and then rush on their way. Or perhaps they might sit down at one of the crammed tables on the street and talk about the latest fads in swedish bathrooms

This assortment of coffee shops seems to do a great job of catering to these businesses but they don’t seem to be too sure of whether they are cafes or not. 7 grams, is a contradiction, home of the world barista champion it has copies of “The Gourmet Barista” (or some equally pretentious coffee magazine) for sale at one end of the counter and a bain-maree of death full of dim sims and potato scallops at the other. The fine-dining Enoteca and Pearl Restaurant lower their colours for lunch, offering cheap specials supposedly to get the more wealthy lunch crowd in the door. JE Cafe seems more intent on advertising itself as a catering service than servicing its own customers. Amsterdam Cafe seems less confused about its identity but has a limited menu on weekends, which noone knows what it contains. Perhaps the only cafe that truly knows what it wants to be is the fusion inspired Black Pearl but their breakfast finishes at 10 and it is usually packed and the service suffers.

At night the cafes shut, and the quality of Enoteca and Pearl create an interesting juxtaposition with the daytime chaos. Enoteca’s menu turns from a cheap lunch menu to a classic italian restaurant, amazing oysters, quail risottos and pastas with prices to match. Further down the street Pearl restaurant (sister of the aforementioned cafe) serves up a genuinely interesting menu with a combination of indian, thai, vietnamese and chinese flavours as if serving as a halfway house between Prahran and Richmond.

Don’t let the confusion bother you, this corner of Melbourne is wonderful in a strange way, great coffee, good food and great personalities are capped off perfectly with the fine-dining class that Enoteca and Pearl bring. All of this is tucked away from the crowds and surrounded by interesting shops to entertain between coffees. Next time you are in the area, drop in, you might not quite understand, but you will enjoy.

The breakfast menu is a very basic affair, eggs, omelet, bacon, mushrooms and pancakes.. Don’t let the lack of options fool you though, the fare is produced with the finest of ingredients, ham off the bone, fresh tomatoes and amazing bread. The eggs were poached beautifully, the ham and mushroom filled omelette moist and the bacon not overcooked. Each meal was served with toasted, olive oil drizzle bread to die for and a dipping sauce of tomato relish. After the fact, the bread and relish could easily have replaced the entire meal.

Generally the coffee in Clarendon St is nothing to speak of, especially when compared with Lygon and Brunswick St but Cafe Bastille’s lattes were great. Caramelly, hot and quick to the table, they certainly helped my hangover turn the corner.

At the end of meal, the most pleasing aspect of the meal was the price. $7 for poached eggs plus $3 for bacon on the side. $12.50 for the omelette and $14 for 4 coffees. 2 very caffeinated and content diners walk out with not only change from $40 but also happy with the service and the quality of the food.