5 & Dime Bagels – NYC Goodness in Melbourne

panda 4 rating

Menu:
5&Dime Menu

5 & Dime has finally launched in Melbourne bringing New York style bagels into Melbourne CBD, and we have Zev Forman to thank. 5 & Dime is located in Katherine Place, near the Spencer Street end of the city.

Forman formerly from New Jersey grew up having bagels everyday with his grandparents in New York and started baking his own bagels and selling them in markets such as Flemington and Coburg Farmers Markets. For research he travelled to America to work with the most celebrated bagel makers in New York, to ensure he had the perfect recipes and techniques.

5 & Dime is a dedicated bakery and carries a simple fit-out by Brand Works and Beyond the Pixel – with wooden accents, tables and clear circular glass display for the bagels. Seating is limited but available for those who wish to have breakfast and lunch.

The bagels themselves are a labour of love – it begins with a starter that sits for 24 hours, then they are rolled into rings and fermented for another 24 hours. The last steps involve being boiled, baked and finally served fresh. The current flavours are Dill, Poppyseed, Everything, Cinnamon & Raisin, Onion, Plain, Salt, Sesame and Rye.

The usual spreads are available – Cream Cheese, Butter, PB&J – along with some different spreads – Strawberry Cream Cheese, Spring Veg Cream Cheese, Bacon Maple Cream Cheese, Smoked White Fish Cream Cheese and Vegan Cream Cheese. You can also get extras with your bagel – Tomato, Red Onion, Pickled Shallots, Capers, Radish, Vegemite, Avocado and Cured Salmon. All ingredients are of the highest quality with Foreman smoking his own salmon, curing his own Gravlax and using Goldfields real cultured cream cheese.

Coffee is also served and is provided by one of Collingwood’s new comers – Promised Land. They serve batch-brewed filter coffee (which can be available immediately to serve) and offer rotating single origins as well.

I order a latte and a Cinnamon & Raisin Bagel with Cream Cheese. I love the toastiness on the outside together with the soft pillow like texture on the inside. The combination of the crunch and softness is brilliant. The Cinnamon flavour is vibrant throughout the bagel with accents of sweetness thanks to the raisins. The cream cheese is the perfect accompaniment. The latte is strong, rich and full of coffee goodness that packs quite a bit of kick.

If bagels are your thing and you want to watch them being made – via a huge machine that has come all the way from Canada – then I suggest you try out 5 & Dime Bagel.

NOTE: 5 & Dime also supply their products to various cafes around Melbourne – you can find a full list on their website – http://5dimebagel.com.au/great-places-using-5d-bagels-1/. You can also purchase bagels from a variety of places other than their CBD store – this info is also on their site – http://5dimebagel.com.au/great-places-using-5d-bagels/

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $$$$
Menu – Refer to Picture above or you can find the menu at http://5dimebagel.com.au/5-dime-cafe/
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Modern and Welcoming
Standout Dish: BAGELS
Service: Friendly and Welcoming
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
5dimebagel.com.au
16 Katherine Place, Melbourne
Tel No: 0433339367

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 7:00am–3:00pm

5 & Dime Bagels on Urbanspoon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/5-and-Dime-Bagels/451649908200685
Twitter: @5dimebagel
Instagram: 5dimebagel

Advertisement

Filter by Small Batch – Coffee Perfection

panda 5 rating

Menu:

Breakfast  Lunch  Lunch  Coffee  Made to Order Coffee  Espresso  Tea and Cold Drinks

Where can you get great tasting coffee, as well as getting to try out an interestingly named “sandwich” called smørrebrød? The answer is the newly opened Filter by Small Batch Coffee – opened by Andrew Kelly (founder of Small Batch Coffee and its flagship Auction Rooms) – in the Melbourne CBD at the corner of Collins and King Street.

Filter came about after Broadsheet announced a competition called The Keys – giving a change to one of Melbourne’s reknowned and established coffee owners the change to pursue a new venture with the help of them and Bank of Melbourne. To perfect the process of getting Filter perfect – Kelly had the mentorship from some friends including Kate Bartholomew (Coda, Tonka), Nathan Toleman (Top Paddock, Two Birds One Stone), Chris Lucas (Chin Chin, Kong, Baby) and Bank of Melbourne’s Vanessa Hastie. The journey that was experienced in opening this venue can be found at Broadsheet at http://bankofmelbourne.com.au/thekeys

Filter is a spacious, light filled, warehouse like space at the bottom of the Denmark House building. The fit out is minimalist and simple – complete with light wooden tones and colourful yellow sunflowers dotted throughout the venue. There are two main counter areas – the one on the right displays the smørrebrød, desserts on offer as well housing the coffee machine and sparkling water – the one on the left is where people can sit down at, as well as having another area where you can view the filter coffee making process. Thru the centre of the area where you can sit are displays of all things related to coffee – such as a weighing scale, coffee cup and other coffee paraphernalia. I really do like the layout of Filter.

Filter is all about the coffee – and as the name suggests – the main focus is on filter coffee – which is coffee that is strained through paper. It does however serve espresso as well. Filter coffee is generally less intense than espresso and has a much “cleaner experience.” Filter also serves smørrebrød which Kelly believes is the perfect accompaniment to the perfect coffee. A smørrebrød is an open sandwich served on a thin slice of eye and commonly eaten by people from Denmark and Sweden. Smørrebrød consists of a piece of dark rye (a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg) topped with anything really – from pickled fish and remoulade to cold cuts, pieces of meat, cheese or spreads. The smørrebrød here at Filter have been designed by Auction Rooms head chef Boris Portnoy.

I order a latte and from the very first sips I could tell that this would be my new favourite coffee joint. The flavour is brilliant – soft caramel tones with a note of creaminess and nuttiness through it. I usually have some sugar in my coffees, but with this coffee I didn’t need any at all. I really could have had multiple cups of coffee. There are coffees that are ready to go, as well as coffees that are made to order and range from coming from counties such as Colombia, Ethiopia, and Burundi.

Filter has 10 in house made smørrebrød to choose from – refer to the menu above for the different types. I ordered the Vegan smørrebrød – which consisted of Pine Mushroom Spread, Kale & Choke Chips, Carrot & Pasta Salad and has the Swedish name Dofta. This was my first time eating a smørrebrød and it was delicious! The rye was fresh and the saltiness of the mushroom spread worked well with the creaminess of the pasta and the crunch of the kale and choke chips. Smørrebrød’s are filling without giving you that heavy feeling of being full. I definitely want to head back and try some of the other toppings.

There are also tea’ from Storm in a Teacup (Collingwood) as well as cold drinks in the form of house made refreshing soda pops of which there are two flavours to choose from – Old fashioned lemonade called Citron and Fresh peppermint and vanilla called Mynte. These are next on my list to try out.

For coffee lovers, people who are still not quite sure about coffee or for anyone really – do yourself a favour and check out Filter. You really won’t regret it! If you want more information about Filter and The Keys story you can refer to the following link bankofmelbourne.com.au/broadsheetthekey

During Filter’s first month of trade, Bank of Melbourne customers who show their bank card between 7 and 11am will receive a free filter coffee.

Rating : 5 Pandas
Price: $
Menu – Refer to menu above – Breakfast, Lunch, Coffee, Tea and Cold Drinks menu
Atmosphere / Ambience: Casual and Relaxed, Warehouse feel
Service: Friendly and they sure do know all about coffee
Restaurant Details and Location:
filterbysmallbatch.com.au
555 Collins Street, Melbourne
Tel No: 9620 1211

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 7am–4pm
Saturday: 8am–2pm

 

Tivoli Road Bakery – Doissant Heaven

panda 4.5 rating

Menu:
The Menu

Tivoli Road Bakery has re-opened in the same location as what was once MoVida Bakery – with Michael James and his wife Pippa running the show. James has been the head baker with the MoVida group since the creation of Movida Aqui so this transition to owning what is now Tivoli Road Bakery was perfect.

The question on every ones lips (including mine) was regarding the famous Doissants that MoVida Bakery has been come to be known for – and indeed it is still for sale. As part of the change, the original products – and more – are definitely here to stay. This was my main reason for visiting Tivoli Road Bakery on a very rainy Melbourne day. I even called up beforehand to make sure they had some in stock, as I know they generally sell out by lunchtime.

As well as being known for these Doissants and Donuts, their main priority (as is for any Bakery) is Bread. There is a huge variety to choose from – sourdough, brioche, olive, rye, spelt, soy and linseed and multigrain being amongst the selection. There are also delicious pies, sandwiches, sausage as well as coffee from Small Batch. And of course for all the sweet tooths out there – croissants (plain, almond or chocolate, with the option of serving with jam), fruit Danishes in both pear and apple varieties, fat slabs of chocolate brownie and chunky as well as the famous donuts – with flavours such as the famous salted caramel, lemon custard, rhubarb and others. For lunch there are also additional specials such as soups and sandwiches.

Customers can also buy Myrtleford Butter and MountZero olives, as well as Small Batch Coffee that they use in store.

Back to the Doissants. What are they you ask? In New York, Ansel Bakery discovered the perfect balance between a crossiant and a donut and named it a “Cronut” – and had it trademarked. Here in Melbourne we have dubbed it the Doissant – how smart! – switching around the order of the two products. Here at Tivoli Road Bakery there are changing flavours and on this day that I went they had the Vanilla Bean Custard and Raspberry flavour as well as the Chocolate Custard. I was very tempted to order one of each but settled with ordering just one of the Vanilla Bean Custard topped with a freeze dried raspberry. The Doissant consisted of multiple layers of flaky pastry which had been fried (as a donut would) and filled with the delicious creamy vanilla bean custard. It really was like biting into heaven. They are quite rich and filling and as good as they were I definitely would have struggled at eating two in one sitting – but definitely take one home for later.

Tivoli Road Bakery is a warm, cosy and welcoming bakery and there is seating inside as well outside overlooking Tivoli Road where you can watch passer byers. There is a communal table with a fresh bunch of flowers where you can sit and overlook the kitchen and see where all the magic is made, or sit by the window – whichever you choose you are sure to enjoy your time here.

Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $
Menu – Refer to picture above
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Relaxed and Welcoming
Standout Dish: THE DOISSANT!
Service: Friendly and Helpful
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
tivoliroad.com.au
3 Tivoli Road, South Yarra
Tel No: 9041 4345

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday: 7:30 am – 6:00 pm

Tivoli Road Bakery on Urbanspoon