KING OF THE NORTH: B A R R Y COFFEE AND FOOD

This past fortnight I’ve been ticking off places I’ve long been meaning to eat at. After a deeelish brunch last week at Abbotsford’s LBSS next on my list was Northcote’s Barry.

I was only planning to  stop by for a coffee but as soon as I spotted homemade fruit & nut bread on the menu I was there for a meal. I’m on a personal mission to try every kind of fruit toast in the city. It’s a hard task but someone’s gotta do it. So far the leader is Stovetop. It’s super nutty and dense, more the texture of cake but that’s never a bad thing.

Back to Barry. The fruit toast came with whipped spiced orange ricotto and butter. Lots of butter. The whipped ricotta was balanced nicely by the spiced orange – neither too sweet or tart. The same could be said for the fruit and nut toast which came out in thick slices with an emphasis on spice rather than sugar.

NORTH-EAST NORTHCOTE

How did you spend your long weekend?

I was intending to go to Wanderlust Festival but my plans were slightly derailed by illness so I spent most of the weekend in bed watching Real Housewives of Melbourne – for blog research purposes, of course.

Prior to being bed-bound I did some exploring and finally visited Northcote’s High Street. I’ve been meaning to visit the area for some time after read countless delicious reviews of its cafés. I particular newcomer Barry,opened in October 2013 by the owners of popular Richmond café Pillar of Salt. I didn’t have time to stop but it’s high on my list of ‘places-to-brunch’. Peanut butter with heirloom tomatos and salt’n’pepper peanuts on toast – that’s my kind of food creativity (have a look at the menu to tempt your tastebuds – Barry Coffee & Food Menu ). There was a queue at 12pm though so keep that in mind if you’re planning a visit.