Bowery to Williamsburg

So it's been roughly a lifetime since I last posted, but the itch to blog about some of the food I consumed last time I was in Melbourne has caught up with me. Most of the pictures from my dining adventures turned out fairly blurry, so this might be a limited series.

First up though, a post on an American-inspired cafe in the CBD: Bowery to Williamsburg.

As a side note, living in America, I find the new wave of American-inspired restaurants in Melbourne amusing although somewhat strange (because I haven't found American food on the whole to be all that appealing). Regardless, I came for the company and the coffee and wasn't disappointed.

Long Black

Serving Padre coffee, there's definitely something to be admired about the silky smoothness of Melbourne coffee. My taste-buds may have been burnt by my time overseas, but this was a wonderful cup of coffee, with the sweet taste of being home. 

I was unfortunately less enamored with the food. I ordered the Lox & Potato Latkes consisting of mezcal & cucumber cured lox salmon, zucchini and potato latkes, horseradish, picked fennel, asparagus and poached eggs.

Lox & Potato Latkes

While the eggs were perfectly poached, and the salmon tender, I was sad to find the potatoes weren't crispy, and overall that the dish rather lacking in flavour. Which is surprising given the ingredients should have combined wonderfully.

My dining companions ordered the vegetarian version of the Shakshouka baked eggs:

Shakshouka Baked Eggs with Zatar Pita

The vegetarian version included sweet potato, silverbeet, feta and pinenuts. I didn't taste it, but the dish got both their stamp of approval, and their kiddo's (who ate most of the eggs). Their better informed view of the food in general is that "their burgers really are the star, but their brunch options are varied and fun". 

Being a bit behind on the Melbourne food scene these days, I feel like Bowery to Williamsburg is a pretty standard foodie cafe: good coffee, interesting (although not necessarily the tastiest in Melbourne) dishes, efficient service, and a bustling atmosphere with a line pretty much any time of day.

Bowery to Williamsburg

Mon-Sat 730am-3pm, Sun 830am-3pm