A vegan breakfast at Empire

After reading here and here about Empire Cafe's new vegan menu I knew where I was heading on Saturday morning! I dragged D out of bed early & we made the trek across town, arriving just after they had opened.

It was very exciting to have a whole menu to choose from - it doesn't happen very often. I was in a savoury mood, and even though the ham & cheese toastie from the lunch menu sounds awesome, I decided on the 'Spanish Eggs without the Eggs'. This was described as beans in a napoli sauce, topped with herbed mushrooms, crumbled vegan cheese & served with ciabatta toast. D went with the 'Eggs with 3 sides' - choosing Hash Browns, Avocado & Tomato as his sides.My meal was huge! The beans & mushrooms were swimming in a massive bowl of napoli sauce that also hid lots of lovely chunks of vegan cheese (cheezly I think?). The sauce was full of flavour - though very rich for that time of the morning. I couldn't finish it all. Which was a shame, because I had been eying off the vegan cupcakes on the counter but just couldn't do it after such a huge breakfast.

Unfortunately there was a hiccup with D's meal - his eggs came out served with bacon & tomato, instead of hash browns, avocado & tomato. He was a little upset - but sent it back & a few minutes later was happy again, commenting that his breakfast was also delicious & a good size for a change.

Service is friendly & efficient & though the prices are higher than others in the area, the portion sizes make up for it. The coffee is strong, but not outstanding - it's all about the food.

Empire Cafe Gallery
295 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
Open for breakfast & lunch (possibly closed Tuesdays?)

After breakfast we made a quick trip to the CERES market for some fresh veg & just enjoyed wandering around in the sunshine for a little while. Then it was on to my next mission for the day - herbs. I basically kill all plants that I come into contact with, but I'm determined to at least try to have some fresh herbs on hand this summer. So we drove back across town to Poyntons in Essendon. I have heard about this nursery before - it sounded lovely & it was! We spent a nice half hour or so wandering through the plants, soaking up some more of that wonderful sunshine. Finally, I had to make a choice - you can see below Rosemary on the left, Italian Parsley in the middle & Mint on the right.
Don't they look lovely! I'm heading back soon to pick up Basil & Coriander, then my herb garden will be complete.