25 Cookson St, Camberwell (map)
9882 1649
***UPDATE 11/10/08: REVIEW FOR ARCHIVE PURPOSES ONLY
It has been brought to my unhappy attention by P, a reliable source, that in the months since the new owners took over Butterfly Cafe, both the atmosphere and quality of food/coffee have gone drastically downhill, such that this review is no longer a good indication of what you can expect. If anyone cares to report with an update, please let me know!***
We went out one recent Saturday morning to Camberwell and met A and P for a catch-up brunch at Butterfly Cafe, a pint-sized cafe opposite Camberwell station. A and P are regulars at Butterfly - when they walk in the guy at the coffee machine brings them coffee the way they like it without them having to place an order, and asks them how their kids are doing.
I grew up for a few years in Camberwell, and I never would have thought daggy old Cambers would ever contain such a funky little cafe! It must be something about the proximity of the train station: it's just a stone's throw from one of my very favourite bars in Melbourne, Bar None.
Wish I'd had one of these cupcakes that were in the display cabinet. According to M's Nemesis, the cupcake flowers are made by the owner's son at the former's bequest! I'll have to ask A and P whether they know if there's any truth to this rumour...
P laconically recommended the scrambled eggs, which he had, but I had my eye on the field mushrooms with feta and thyme on toast. They were bloody brilliant! Such a good idea to add feta and thyme. I liked them so much I recreated my own version of the recipe last week.
What d'you think of the homemade version? I know it's just sliced soy and linseed bread, but using some of the tub of Persian Feta I have in the fridge plus fresh lemon thyme from my fledgling herb garden (that's my Vietnamese mint just visible in the corner of the photo), it tasted pretty fabulous if I do say so myself. Of course, I almost always use my secret weapon when frying up mushrooms. And my not-so-secret-any-more weapon is...
These porcini mushroom stock cubes are the cat's pyjamas! A quarter of a cube (ground-up and added once the mushrooms start to sweat) is a brilliant way to butch up fried mushies and give them that woodsey porcini flavour. They're also great in risotti. Imported from Italy, the Star brand porcini cubes can be tricky to hunt down (not many places stock them) - but they're worth your while, if only for the slightly demonic-looking fifties housewife on the cover!
