Vodka bar 173 Chapel St. Prahran VIC Australia

I slud in a breaky coffee at a new place (for me), The Vodka Bar! I have to say I felt a little out of my psychographic for this place. The young hip, slightly bohemian scene, while aspiration wise is me,…. Well, its not actually me (any more).

The place is, after all, a bar, so its not where I would find myself doing business or mapping out the next entrepreneurial venture. I did consume a rather tasty breaky, and the staff were very attentive. The coffee was strong, but hey, I needed that at the time. Long Macchiato’s are hard to get wrong, except for bad coffee. This was not the case. No bitterness, the temp was on the hot side and they did offer water... man is not a camel. I left feeling happy to have visited, but I think I’ll be looking for the Vodka bar after 5pm next time!! 1 good bean.

Beetroot, 123 Hardware Street Melbourne.

Daryl Cook and I hit Beetroot this morning. We were on a quest to find something new and catch up on what Zorba called “The whole catastrophe of life” (Wife, Kids, Mortgage etc)..

At a glance I thought Beetroot looked a bit plain, but my perception was quickly oriented. The staff were delightful, attentive and preoccupied with our enjoyment of the coffee and meal. I was a little slow in downing my Long macchiato, given I had to use my hands to use my hands to explain my point to Daryl (Greek Heritage). I was subsequently quizzed to ensure my coffee was indeed in order. And indeed it was,.. the coffee was not bitter at all, it was served at the appropriate temperature (hot but not burnt) and volume was right on. I followed it up with a weak latte (I had a long day ahead) and that was lovely, creamy and even had a bit of coffee art happening.

Daryl made me promise to comment on the breaky which was delicious without a doubt. They do have a thing with pesto however, and my scrambled eggs looked like a Dr Zeus book…. 1 solid beaner..

Pete

PS: I’ve been thinking about all these supposed ‘race’ riots in Sydney (idiots fighting idiots). I think we should end this argument between all the nationalities via a coffee off rather than fighting like animals! Yea, a “Coffee off!!” in Centre Way & Degraves… break up into your nationality teams, and drink coffee until the ambos arrive to take your twitching bodies away… whoever can tolerate the most coffee, will claim true Aussie status… whose in? I’m a three coffee screamer… so the Greeks are stuffed!!… Paul may come to our rescue. Arabs, Persians, Lebs, Anglos, Scotts, Indigo’s whoever…..

Café 117 – Swan St Richmond

I was early for a meet this morning (very unusual for me) so I shot down Swan Street for a pre breaky coffee. I noticed this place had “Numero Uno café” on their board, so, hey, who am I to doubt?

I had noticed another, seemingly more funky place closer to Church Street, but I didn’t want to venture too far away from my transport of the day, Connex.

The place was funky, relaxed, and quite friendly. I ordered my obligatory café latte, and was less than happy at the end. The coffee left me with what can only be described as a bitter taste in my mouth, and the milk, heaven forbid, may have been either burnt or off.

I'll go back for another crack, but for the moment, ....Not good I’m sorry.

Mystery Cafe

I had a client push out a meeting today while I was on my way to the said meeting so I lobbed in at a cafe for a 45 min cafe latte and a paper read..... where? well, I'm not sure,.. It was a way groovy little place on chappel and something, about 500 meters from Dandenong Rd, heading to High Street. It had a big outside area, and they did Vittoria Coffee... it was quite bohemian, arty, and friendly.. which I like. Did my coffee, forgot to review, forgot to photo...forgot my name... Anywone know who it is?

So anyway, I will make amends soon... I feel however compelled to redeem myself by doing something nice...

A young man emailed me from NZ saying he is heading over, an seeks work as a Barista. He considers himself a Barista of choice. If anyone can help him with a job, let me know and I'll come over and do a review, which I am sure will be favorable... how can it not?
Click here for a 1 pager on him.