Auction Rooms

Errol St in North Melbourne is such a quiet street.  The street is creepily quiet and makes you feel as though some crazy person is about to jump out and stab you.  Perhaps I am just associating North Melbourne with some of the crazies that hang around the tram stop at Vic Market and all the way down Elizabeth St. 

This is why it is a particularly pleasant surprise when all the quirky cafes and shops pop up across the street, almost out of nowhere.  There are tiny boutiques selling buttons, clothes and toys for children.  Cafes like Auction Rooms and Fandango fill the street, along with quiet hairdressers and clothing stores.

Auction Rooms is definitely a favourite though.  The place is enormous, with a really comfortable spread of tables and wide open spaces, unlike some of the other more cramped places in the area.  The service is very efficient and the coffee is incredible.  I managed to have 3 coffees when I was last there, which is quite a feat for me as I rarely drink coffee.  The day long buzz I was left with is another story.

The Courtyard is very relaxed and is a great place to sit on a sunny day.  It is filled with smokers though, and is quite a tiny place so may be less appealing to some.

New favourite street in Melbourne!

Ate: poached eggs wtih spinach on Dench Bakers bread.  Yummy but tiny helping.

Cornelius cheese, wine and coffee

I've walked past this strange shopfront many times when walking down Maling Rd, always attracted by the bold lettering and hints of orange in the window.  I finally walked in yesterday to find a tiny cafe, filled with numerous types of cheeses, coffee beans, wines and many of the other nice things that seem to fill Melbourne cafe/food stores. 

We managed to sit at the front table by the window.  I'm not sure if it was the bright orange seats reminiscent of the House of Orange Store in Armadale (http://www.house-of-orange.com.au) or the sun streaming in through the window but I really did enjoy my afternoon at Cornelius.

I ordered a chicken club sandwich, with super fresh crusty bread, chicken and a spicy aioli sauce, on top of crushed tomato.  I'm not sure if what came out really did constitute 'crushed tomato' through.  It was more like just a bit of tomato surrounding the sandwich, but the description amused me nonetheless.

The pungent smell of our neighbouring table's cheese tart was slightly putrid, but I guess one should expect this from a shop that has 'cheese' in its name.  

A very modern cafe in the heart of Maling Rd Canterbury.  Will definitely go back to satisfy likely cheese cravings.  xx

http://www.corneliusfoods.com.au/

Fandango.

Their pesto scrambled eggs are incredible.  There's something about pesto that makes everything taste great.

The place is tiny.  We managed to grab the last remaining spots despite it only being 8am.   I guess this adds to the cosy, homely atmosphere they are trying to create.  I hate homely places, so I did not really love the general vibe but the staff were incredibly attentive and the food was great.  

TRY THE PESTO EGGS.