The spice of life

My weekday breakfast routine normally involves a very slow toaster, the choice between pumpkin seed or original seed, butter on naughty days and a juice or black earl grey tea to go with. It seems like a lot of variety for what's essentially toast and juice/tea. But it's having that choice - of butter or margerine, of Vegemite or plain - that is the gift, and one that should not be taken for granted.

The variety expands come weekends, especially if it's not home based and particularly if it leans more towards brunch or lunch in timing. A neighbourhood cafe that does good breakfast is indispensible - especially if I were still inclined to have a hangover every Saturday/Sunday morning - which I'm not. Anymore. Newtown is a veritable smorgasboard for breakfast options, especially down the southern end of King Street.

Charlies's old fashioned lemonade from Anise, King Street, Newtown

Anise is one of these many options, but reliably good for coffee and a reasonably priced feed. Breakfast out is a bit of a treat for me, so it's much appreciated when places get it right. And on that topic, Charlie's old fashioned lemonade hits that sweet and sour spot just right.

Mixed berry fruit crush

A sizeable icy crush of berries, juice and ice also does wonders as the cool morning (natural) sugar rush, especially on a promisingly hot day.

Anise breakfast - poached eggs, corn fritters, bacon, chorizo, haloumi and sourdough toast
with hollandaise sauce on the side

Big breakfasts are my nemesis - the all sorts, combo, all-in kind of breakfasts. I enjoy my bacon, eggs, toast, tomatoes, sausages, spinach, mushrooms, beans and all - I just can't seem to have them all at once. Some others don't seem to have this problem, which is good for me when I can help myself to samples of big brekkies. Samplers, I may be on to something.

The Anise breakfast is the big one, with a twist. Eggs come poached, with a rasher of bacon and sourdough toast. But there's corn (and zucchini?) fritters, haloumi and a bit of chorizo for your breakfasting variation. The fritters are light and not at all doughy and the chorizo adds a little savoury spice - but the haloumi is excrutiatingly salty, and not a one-off either. Thank goodness for the complimentary table water.

Chicken sourdough sandwich - with cheese, avocado, mixed leaves and pesto

My lighter option ends up being a chicken sandwich - but not nearly as boring as that sounds. Start with toasted sourdough bread, flavour-full with a chewy crust. Add juicily cooked chicken breast, mixed lettuce leaves, tasty cheddar cheese and nutty, ripe avocado - and that's a sandwich. But don't forget the meal maker - the pesto elevates the meal from lunchbox to weekend breakfast. Okay, brunch.

We're oftern spoilt for choice in life, but I can at least say I'm getting better where food is involved. While variety is the spice of life, having it all is not a sustainable option.