Molly's (Maroubra) 30th July 2011

In deference to Andrew's need to dine locally later due to his planned BBQ with 1000 of his students, we agreed to try a little local number from Maroubra which was recommended by, yes, one of his students. So we found ourselves on another of Sydney's gorgeous sunny saturdays by the beach and at Molly's...

This cafe will probably be remembered for the strange service and quirky accoutrements rather than the food. Which is a pity, because the food was quite good, albeit limited in range.

To give you a sense of the strange 'tude that is the 'Bra, our waiter responded to our request for further info re the blackboard menu about what was meant by 'the Perfect Breakfast', he responded with eyes diverted and in a mumbled carefree (read: careless) tone, 'Well, it's the perfect breakfast'. And we were left with that. Mmmm.

Other 'quirks' included a half bottle of water but no glasses on table; when requesting glasses only two came. Coffee arrived sometimes with a spoon other times not. When one was requested it was taken as a presumptuous intrusion. The highlight, however, were the coffee receptacles. Not only did they come in all shapes and sizes, they required different maneuverings to master ingestion. And to top it off some of them were clearly stolen property - one was clearly marked and shaped as a Max Brenner chocolate jug!

All this prompted the regular jollity and none of this put us off our quiz. We scored 13/15 and while a little annoyed we didn't get the Cassandra answer, we were not surprised to be unaware that Will Powers (yes, true!) was a motor sport champion. Who cares!


SAL: 3 golden eggs. All for the food which was pretty good. I liked the ricotta especially. No eggs for service this week.

ANDREW: 4 Golden Eggs. I have to support my local (especially if I want to come back). I've always found it wise to keep the local Bras on side.

BRAD: 3 Golden eggs max. Same reasons as Sal. First time I have audibly (to fellow brunchers, not the man himself) called the waiter a dick. Apologies for the vulgarity but, in my defence, I was provoked.

LEON: 3 Golden Eggs despite the horrific exchange rate!

Bill's (Crown St. Surry Hills) 23/07/11

BILL'S

On this wet saturday morning(the wettest July in Sydney since 1961), Brunchclub found ourselves at an uber-cool spot on Crown st. Joining us for this wet one was our scientist quiz qns expert and longtime friend of Braddles, Mr. Andrew Shelley (3rd time for brunch - attaining regular guest status).

The two Andrews had a scrumptious big breakfast (the scrambled eggs and mushrooms were superb), Sal had ricotta pancakes which were also delicious with excellent honeycomb butter as well as a hot Bloody Mary, and finally Brad had the corn fritters which were also up to his very high standards.

Particularly robust conversations flowed this morning from Victoriana (Knights in fancy bling), to the Tour de France, to the carbon tax, to the Murdoch scandal, to the difference between British and Australian parliamentary standards (Cameron was very impressive in fending off questions we thought as opposed to our bogans and our political apathy as a nation).

Overall, the cafe was very crowded and quite competitive for seating. The atmosphere was cosy and the staff were terrific; definitely worth tipping. The crowd was diverse with lots of fashion statements. However we did notice that a few tables spent more time texting than talking to each other. This disease is spreading uncontrollably and its victims often include one of our brunchers in particular. Though in my defense (Lampe here), I mostly text only from the dunny and it's usually highly witty.

SAL SAYS: 4 golden eggs (as opposed to golden nuts) for food.
LAMPE SAYS: 4.5 golden ovaries I mean eggs for food. Delicious.
BRAD SAYS:4 golden eggs but I can't talk now I have my friend to host, we're hitting every single art gallery in Sydney.
SHELLEY SAYS: Hmmmmmm. 3.5 eggs, an egg deducted on account of the texting addictions of the clientele.

QUIZ: 13.5/15...who gives a rat's fart what the dumb elephant was called.

The Deckhouse (Woolwich) 10th July 2011

With one of our number interstate (if you can call ACT a state!), we happy few were joined by a guest to try out this much vaunted venue. Well, it lived up to its reputation.

A beautiful Sydney winter's sun dappled through the eucalypts that framed the priceless views from Woolwich point (on the north side) out towards the harbour, with the Harbour bridge and CBD in the distance. Yachts sailed by, birds sang and... the coffee was plentiful.

The conversation flowed, assisted by sensitive but obliging service, and the food was the perfect pitch for this tres tres Sydney brunch spot. To give our readers a sense of how much we enjoyed this morning at one point the waitress asked, "Is there anything else I can get you? More coffee? The lunch menu?!" Was it really that late?...

Perhaps the rose-tinted take on the morning was enhanced by the fact that our Quiz score was...15/15!! Only our second perfect score.

Ratings:

BRAD: I admit it the food was probably reasonable but I was so swept up in the whole morning that I really can't fault it. Reasonable prices, great service and perfect setting. Five full golden eggs.

SAL: Simple Darling. Five Golden Eggs. I'll be back.

JAMES: "This is the life! Sign me up! What's that you say about golden eggs?"

Jackie's Cafe (Glenmore Road, Paddington) 2nd July 2011

Bonjour mon amis!

Must be the hint of Bastille Day approaching, but we headed off to the chi chi sweetie darling oh so absolutely fabulous world of Jackies in the respectable end of Paddington. And, you know, it was actually very nice indeed.

Great service from the beautiful wait staff, interesting menu and plenty of people watching. Sal was a clear local and Brad tried his best but Andrew, well, hard to tell if Ethiopian is chic or not this year. Either way, he carried it off with confident aplomb as always.

Quiz: A disappointing 11.5/15. We  rushed the final answers but will not do so again.

Ratings:

BRAD: Yeah, I'm happy here. 4 Golden Eggs

SAL: Me too. I like this place.

ANDREW: Hold that thought. I've just got to go and top up my parking money. I have been known to receive parking fines on this oxford st strip..