Barry

85 High St, Northcote Vic 3070
Date visited: 20th April 2014

MerlinFan and I journeyed up to Northcote today for brunch at Barry today.  Yet another spot open on Easter Sunday - I love Melbourne.

We drove.  Initially we came across lots of one hour parking spots close by, however we chose to park a block down, fearing we would not be out by one hour.  Thinking back, we probably would have made it.

A table had just freed up as we entered, so we didn't have to wait.  We were seated at a lovely table by the window.  The interior was homey and the staff friendly.

It was a cool morning, so we were both after hot drinks.  MerlinFan had a Mork hot chocolate with peanut butter and I chose the Single origin in a latte.

Mork hot chocolate + peanut butter,
Single origin latte

MerlinFan loved her hot chocolate.  It was creamy and not overly thick, with crunchy peanut buttery at the bottom and topped off with a delicious shard of milk chocolate.  My latte was good too, smooth and velvety, slightly sweet without acidic tones.

We took a little while debating what to get - there were so many things that appealed to us in the all day breakfast menu.  MerlinFan was torn between a warm savoury or sweet breakfast - in the end her sweet tooth took over and she settled on the Coconut sago pudding, mango, lime syrup, strawberries and black sesame.

Coconut sago pudding

The coconut sago pudding was perfectly done and went nicely with the sweet juicy mangos and strawberries.  The sprinkling of black sesame added a nice crunch.  The concentrated lime syrup, although refreshing would be perhaps a tad acidic if we were to have it first thing in the morning. 

I realised I had been having more sweet rather than savoury breakfasts recently.  So, decided to revert to my default and had the Benedict poached eggs with potato rosti, slow braised free range ham hock, apple cider hollandaise and granny's apples.

Benedict poached eggs, potato rosti, ham hock, apple cider hollandaise

This was my attempt at a photo of oozing egg yolk porn, but alas, my yolk had sabotage up its sleeve and did not cascade down in its golden glory but rather just trickled.  >:(  So yes, epic fail, unfortunately.  

Anyway - this dish was fantastic.  Move over toast, potato rostis have taken over.  The nests of grated potato were soft and delicious inside, crispy and crunchy on the outside.  They went so well with the gooey yolk, tangy hollandaise and as for the ham hock?  Loved the flavoursome and tender, pull-apart meat.  The slivers of tart granny's apples also brought a freshness to the richness of the dish.

Barry is well worth a short trip up to Northcote - with friendly efficient staff, good coffee and a good range of lunch as well as all-day breakfast dishes to try, they've got it all.  MerlinFan was already talking about returning and has claimed dibs on the portobello and enoki mushroom omelette.



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