Nineteen Squares is a tiny cafe but it makes a big sandwich and a mean coffee.  Everything about the place is petite from the proportions of the cafe itself wedged on the corner of Blessington and Barkly street to the child size chairs and milk crates that form the outdoor seating area.

If you eat at Nineteen Squares be prepared to perch on a milk crate

The place has a ramshackle appearance but it is hard not to be charmed by tables made out of bread boxes and a vintage tea spoon collection.

The "world famous" chicken sandwich

The short but sweet menu is scrawled on a blackboard and offers a range of brunch and lunch type items from mushrooms and thyme on toast to poached fruit.  There's a claim to fame with what is promised to be a "world famous" chicken sandwich ($9.50).  The sandwich appears to be famous for its sheer size.  It's a behemoth of a thing served on thick Baker D Chirico sourdough bread.  There's good quality poached chicken and rocket all held together with mashed avocado and lashings of house made aioli.

Bacon and egg muffin

Better than the sandwich though was the bacon and egg muffin ($9) featuring a sunny yellow egg baked wrapped in bacon and then teamed with a toasted English muffin.  

Coffee then beer time - don't judge me

On the drinks front the coffee served at Nineteen Squares is  Supreme Fair Trade, conjured up by David who is also the barista from an ageing La San Marco espresso machine.  It's smooth creamy and a little nutty.  We managed to do that post brunch morph into lunch lounging around at Nineteen Squares so it was good to discover that the cafe  is also licensed so we were able to have a very reasonably priced bottle of icy cold Tui beer ($3).

Nineteen Squares is nothing fancy and does not try to impress but I liked it all the more for that.



Essentials
Details: Nineteen Squares, 31 Blessington Street, St Kilda (Ph +61 3 8598 9919) Open: Mon-Friday 6.30am-5pm; Sat - Sun 7am-5pm.
Damage: Such a bargain my mother would approve
7/10

I'm not anti share plates.  I like getting to try other peoples food and I feel the pain of sacrificing some of the food off my own plate to my dining companions is compensated for by avoiding a case of food envy.  However, a lunch at The Aylesbury showcased the problems with Melbourne's love affair with share plates.

Pig and fig at The Aylesbury

Oakdene is not the sort of place you expect to find on the outskirts of Ocean Grove.  It's a winery and a restaurant alongside a fantastic sculpture collection.  It feels like it belongs on the Mornington Peninsula not on the Surf Coast.

The vineyards at Oakdene - they are also growing lavender alongside

It's all just a little bit confusing at My Mexican Cousin.  Perplexingly the food isn't Mexican at all.  Rather obscurely the name of the place does not refer to the cuisine being served, instead it is a nod to St Ali's most popular breakfast dish (St Ali owner, Salvatore Malatesta, is also involved in My Mexican Cousin).  To add to the bewilderment the food is in fact supposed to be Creole but then was lambasted by @BurgerMary for lacking authenticity and being an "adult version of a theme restaurant".  So what is it?

Inside My Mexican Cousin

For a pub that used to host schnitz and tits nights* the Newmarket Hotel has come a long way.  The venue has a touch of the trendys about it now with a modern but retro feeling fit out thanks to Six Degrees.  Concrete arches span the ceiling and there is the same indoor/outdoor feel as The Royal Saxon.

Inside the Newmarket - featuring Greedy Diva's cardigan