Spargo’s Sidewalk Café Bar – 288 Bridge Rd Richmond VIC Australia

Finally got to hit my old neighbourhood Richmond in my coffee quest. I’ve been to Spargo’s a number of times and found the atmosphere, decor, and staff worthy of praise.

It’s 10am in the morning (ahhh what a life!) and Melbourne has put on its cold and gloomy face again today. Fear not, I have secured a spot right by the smouldering fireplace. I could actually write poetry right now!! (kidding,,relax).
My massive breaky and latte have arrived, and I have to say, while the food is great, the coffee was less than smooth, and slightly burnt. They use Genovese here, and I, once more, suggest that a young attractive girl is not where excellent coffee is found. No disrespect intended,..and she is indeed a beauty! I’m abstaining from making a call however, its unfair…. Someone needs to mention that the coffee could be better, and I’m sure that the appropriate adjustments could be made.

I'll be back (next week probably)

BellZain and BZC2 - HMAS Londsdale 1 Beach Rd Port Melbourne VIC Australia.

I ventured out to Port Melbourne for breaky on Saturday with an old buddy of mine Mark. We had an awesome breakfast at Belle Zain Restaurant and Bar at HMAS Londsdale 1 Beach Rd Port Melbourne. Breakfast rocked our world and the coffee was seriously worthy of a mention. They take both very seriously in this establishment. But, the owner knocked our sox off with a concoction of his own called the “bell zaine coffee crumble” (BZC2) which combines a shot of coffee, ice-cream and a violet crumble (I think)… it sounds quaint but it was delightful, more so as a dessert I think.




The coffee tour continued with Mark and Xenia (my daughter). Mark lives in Sydney now with his new (and expecting) wife. Mark is one of these guys who I refer to as a renaissance man. He appreciates all that life has to offer, and coffee is no different. We talked over several hours and coffees about what fatherhood had in store for him, along with life, marriage, work, money, passion,.. “The whole catastrophe” as Zorba the Greek says. We ended up hitting a few coffee places in Bridge Rd Richmond, where I think I may have to focus my efforts in the next weeks.
1 good bean

AIX – 24 Centre Place Melbourne. Its in the walkway over from Australian on Collins.

As regular readers know, I’m a fan of AIX in Centre Way. I think the atmosphere there is the best in the city, and while there profess to be a French Crepery, I love Giani (John) and Mary’s wog oriented ways. They are however, and to my dismay, a Grinders house, but somehow Giani, manages to turn out (most times) a reasonable to damn good latte. I have also been enjoying their delightful crepe & coffee breaky’s for $6,.. Bloody bargain I say. Mary also acts as music master, who over this winter has provided for a funky, jazzy, Greek, and at times even Buddha atmosphere. For me these additional aural pleasures, combined with the essential solitary moments afforded to me in the early Melbourne mornings scribbling away at the back table, make AIX number one in my humble!!

Gianni


Rosey

Chocoholics Strike Back!

We'll it looks like the line continues to blur for the coffee and chocolate lovers of Melbourne. With their permission, I share with you some recent correspondence.

Peter

[Submission 1 from Maria F]

Hi Peter,

Interesting review re Coco black. We seem to be connected via the same cosmic coffee vibe, as sis and I were tossing up heading in to Coco Black yesterday for a coffee, before decided against it.

We ended up deciding on C&B (Cafe Biscotti) where coincidently some guys working for Nova interviewed me and before I knew it, I was preaching Melbourne coffee via radio broadcast!

As for Coco Black, I have been there a couple of times, but not recent enough to clearly recall the coffee experience.

What I find interesting between MB's (the bold man) and Coco Black, is that both outdo each other in different areas. For instance, my in-house experience of MB's wasn't the best. Those deadly hot chocolates sure are a novelty with their bells and whistles (grated chocolate, straw/spoon utensil etc), however all that preparation usually ends in a luke warm beverage which quickly ruins everything! Contrary to this, I have never tasted a finer rocher!!

MB's also have great ideas for food, but tend to get the combinations wrong! For eg. their waffles are served with their infamous melted chocolate, which is mesmerising for the first two bites before the excitement quickly starts to dwindle! These waffles are screaming for an accompaniment of ice-cream or maple syrup which would also allow you to indulge in more chocolate!

But then there's that Chocolate Souffle they do and once again, all is redeemed!!

So you see, I find these places a little inconsistent! However the Coco Black in Carlton was something really special! Better than the city location in my opinion.

This is a big call I know, but to really throw a spanner in the works, I find that in terms of reliability and consistency across the chocolatier board, more and more, I am concluding that Haig's is the way to go!

Maria F

[Submission 2 from Kerryn V]

Hi Peter,

I'm a long time coffee lover but just a new subscriber to your
MelbourneCoffeeReview, which I thoroughly enjoy. However, after
reading today's update about Koko Black, I just had to tell you about
a place that does an amazing Hot Chocolate:-

Mrs Jones
312 Drummond Street, Carlton.
www.mrsjones.com.au

Strictly speaking, Mrs Jones is not a cafe, rather an intimate little
restaurant with an interesting menu that changes weekly.

I have been there myself for just coffee and while this was quite a
pleasant experience in itself, it was not a patch on the extraordinary
Valrhona variety of Hot Chocolate that they serve here.

It is simply to die for and has to be tasted to be believed. The best
Hot Chocolate I've had yet, better than Max Brenner's and even Koko
Black's. Praise indeed, but I stand by it!!

Thanks for your blog,

Kerryn.

Koko Black - Royal Archade

As some of you are aware, I occasionally do a chocolate review,… I can’t help myself, I like chocolate almost as much as I like coffee. Chocolate drinking houses aren’t as prevalent as coffee houses in Melbourne, so on the occasion I find something different I have to yell out about it.

Koko Black is in the Royal Archade off Bourke Street. It’s an unassuming little shop with an array of devilish chocolate delights on offer. It you venture upstairs you’ll be greeted with what could be a lounge from yesteryear, and a limited but delectable array of hot chocolate offerings. I went the standard Koko Black hot chocolate, and took a pun on the truffle as well.

I’m still staggering around in ecstasy. Damn that’s good! I feel kinda silly for having raved about Max Bremer’s now… no disrespect to MB’s… different league I suggest.

By the way,.. I also bumped into this for chocoholics online.. any feedback? Anyone tried it?

Knock Box - 390 Lt Bourke St Melbourne Australia.

Sorry for the delay in putting anything up for a week (been crook). My resurrection from coughs and sneezes was rewarded today with a real find. Knock Box at 390 Lt Bourke Street looks like an innocuous little place, but as I walked past, trying to tap into the Coffee Zen force which would guide me to the next big MCR post, I noticed a little book in the window of this place “Coffee, Sex and Health”… well,… how could I resist? They either had a sense of humour or something was up.

The place was nice, cosy, but I thought, it was more food than coffee… I persisted, ordering the obligatory lattes… I then noticed a pamphlet in the window promoting the Barista Institute’s Coffee Appreciation Courses. I haven’t heard of these guys before, but they were singing my song. Ok… the coffees arrived, and Paul and I took a sip…..

.. then something remarkable happened, that in my 39 years of knowing Paul, has never happened…. Paul said “Mmmm…this is nice I don’t think I need sugar!” Personally, I don’t have sugar with my coffee… if I do is that I want the coffee but its real bad… but generally, sugar I find kills the taste of the coffee. Paul on the other hand, pours 5 satchels of sugar into honey-flavoured coffee just in case… this was a unique moment.

This was a smooth blend.. well made… with a great deal of care…I’m thinking we have a solid 2 beaner here, but I’m not calling it until I have a few more try’s.

Back to the Barista Institute,.. There web site suggests a very new venture… I’ll be investigating to make sure they are not all talk… for all our sakes… after all, this is Melbourne, we have a reputation to uphold.