Miss Marie – Dani Valent

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Miss Marie: 45 Beetham Parade, Rosanna, no phone

My score: 3/5

In the inner-city cafe crush, the various Melbourne tribes find their own slots. But in Rosanna, there’s Miss Marie and not a lot else so all the tribes gather here. The day I visited, there was a granny with a trolley filled up (or emptied) at the op shop next door. There was a goth-girl knitting, so perfectly pierced I suspected she was an installation. There were a couple of soldiers, elbows planted, knees wide, eyes laughing. And, up the back a large table was commandeered by prams and their caffeinated wranglers. Babycino central.

The constant soundtrack was the coffee machine: grinding, extracting, frothing, each coffee examined with a careful, critical eye before being sent on its important mission. All was abuzz. All was good. It’s lovely here. The shopfront cafe, open since January 2011, is broad and spacious with recycled timber tables and schoolroom chairs. Sunny yellow accents come in the form of metal stools, cheerful pepper grinders and vintage grocer scales on the counter, where they fail to draw much attention because they’re surrounded by excellent house-made cakes. The moist, lovingly spiced carrot cake with thick cream cheese frosting deserves particular mention.

But I am getting ahead of myself. The savoury menus are exuberant catalogues of breakfast and lunch favourites. Breakfast, served all day, showcases everything that might be done with the humble and wonderful egg. Pleasing side orders include a thyme-tinged hollandaise and ‘potato crush’ that’s cooked up with onion and parmesan. Lunch is mostly a festival of the sandwich. A chicken baguette is emblematic: parmesan-crumbed chicken fillet is stuffed in a crunchy baguette and layered with lettuce, swiss cheese and aioli. It’s hearteningly normal, simply tasty. There’s a little ritz from the cheesy crumb but nothing that will frighten the horses. Servings are generally massive. A heaping pile of baked beans is scattered with rocket and crumbled feta. Way down below, sourdough toast is slowly squashed by the delicious tomato and chilli-rumbled starchy rubble.

Miss Marie is a quick sprint to Rosanna station. You can watch eucalypts sway by the tracks from the extremely commodious pavement seating. Forget the quarter-acre block; the real attraction of the suburbs is that you can stretch a leg out at a pavement table without having it run over by tram or pram. It’s just one more reason to be charmed and disarmed by the lovely Miss Marie.

See their website.

More near the station:

Hawk & Hunter, 8 Glen Eira Avenue, Ripponlea, 9528 2719
New from Brighton’s Little Ox crew and right opposite Ripponlea station, this attractive and lively cafe has the neighbourhood excited. Interesting dishes include barbecued pork, manchego cheese and pickled cabbage sandwich.

The Final Step, 1C Murphy Street, South Yarra, 0414 503 248
Caffeine desperados stumble here from South Yarra station and walk away sparky and sorted. The food menu is tiny but the offering is good and the cakes are great.

Roller Door, 13 Stawell Street, West Melbourne, 0449 208 681
Close to North Melbourne station, this tucked away cafe is something of a happy warren with a surprising and cute crazy-paved courtyard. Try the ciabatta with glazed ham and creamy slaw.

First published in The Age, June 17, 2012

2017-09-18T17:31:45+10:00

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