Mitte Café

By: Lucy Modra
Date: 2nd Sep 08
Venue: Café
Meal: All day

What:
Mitte Café

Where:
76 Michael St (corner Rowe St), Fitzroy North

When:
Mon 7.30am-4.30pm, Tues closed, Wed-Fri 7.30am-4.30pm, Sat-Sun 8am-4.30pm

You know how it happens: you light some candles, pour another glass of red wine and before you know it you're standing on the street watching the fire brigade hose down your rental property. That's what happened to the tenants of number 76 Michael Street in 2007. Happily, Mitte has risen phoenix-like from the ashes, bringing with it tasty breakfast and lunch treats.

Mitte, the central borough of Berlin, is known for its cafes, and the Melbourne incarnation lives up to this culinary standard. Both the pikelets and the vanilla-cinnamon poached apple and pear crumble are served with marscapone, supporting cream as a legitimate breakfast option. Egg offerings include a chorizo and potato omelette, and poached eggs with middle-eastern chickpea bake, both served with Dench toast. Mitte even embraces the local-produce zeitgeist, with some ingredients grown at nearby Collingwood College.*

Enormous windows drench Mitte in sunlight even in darkest August, ensuring this property is now a candle-free zone.

*My boyfriend helpfully pointed out that if he were a schoolkid he would piss on the vegetables. Don't worry though, a) he's too old to be at high school, and b) most of the Collingwood College ingredients are made into jam (ie: they are not vegetables).