easy like sunday morning

like anyone with taste buds and an appreciation for lazy weekend mornings (or...let's face it...afternoons), i love a good brunch. combine delicious sustenance with the appropriate company and ambiance and you have just the recipe for culinary nirvana.

which is essentially what i reached this easter morning at mart 130, melbourne's best brunch according to this renowned epicure. the location is an old tram station at stop 130 (hence the name, mart being tram spelled backwards; please note the backwards "r" in the sign a la toys 'r' us), which was unexpectedly awesome and very "fried green tomatoes," minus the racial and lesbian overtones. i think a companion of mine said it best when he stated that he'd feel comfortable sitting on the front porch with a beer and a shotgun. it has that type of down-home facade, but with yuppie sensibilities. we sipped tea and lattes while reading the roster for the melbourne comedy fest and discussing the circa 1972 globe on our table (i.e. bangladesh was still east pakistan and zimbabwe was rhodesia. nothing like a hearty portion of british colonial interests in the morning).

besides the bonus points for locale and decor, the food that i had the privilege of devouring was both delectable and more-than-reasonably priced. the shofferhoffer and i split corn fritters (layered with aussie-style bacon, tomato relish and sour cream) and a B.L.A.T. sandwich (an improvement upon the classic B.L.T. with avocado and a generous smear of pesto mayo). i am still drooling over it despite the fact that i've been eating for about 12 hours straight today. most of the other members of our party went for some sort of version of eggs with toast, all of which looked wonderful. unfortunately, we were all too occupied with our own meals to do much active sampling, but i can safely say that a return visit is imminent and i will be sure to expand my repertoire.

the single downside is that they don't have mimosas, but i am not allowed to bitch as it is not really a common australian brunch custom. i might smuggle in my own piccolo of champagne next time to mix with the organic OJ they have on offer. i think the only thing that could have improved my experience at this establishment is a slight vitamin C and champagne buzz. however, we had planned for just such an occurrence and had plenty of vino chilling in the fridge back home for our later pursuits. i think jesus would have wanted it that way.