Las Chicas
| Where | 203 Carlisle Street, Balaclava—View map |
Contact | 03 9531 3699 |
Website | — |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Sunday 7.00am til 4.00pm |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Vegan, Soy, Gluten free, Caters to special diets |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Unwelcome |
Delicious breakfast blow out
Ellie Parker 15 December 2008
‘The chef is concerned that you are stealing his menu’, said the waiter as he peered over my shoulder and into my notebook.
‘Oh please,’ I thought, ‘what on earth am I going to do with bagel toppings?’.
To be fair, stealing Colin Bernice’s menu would actually be difficult. It’s a weighty tome. The breakfast list goes on and on. The vegetarian offerings alone take up an entire page. There is width, breadth and quality to the menu. Stock standards like eggs Benedict sit side by side innovations such as the shallot omelette with enoki mushrooms, sesame, spinach and Japanese dipping sauce. I admit, if it was my menu I probably would be a bit protective.
In addition to extensive choice, Las Chicas offers massively generous portions and a refreshing attention to detail when it comes to the execution of dishes. The ‘BBB’ (Bikini Blowout Benedict) is a tumbling mound of crispy fried bacon, avocado, poached eggs, bagel and hollandaise. If you ever want a Benedict, this is the mother ship. It is delicious, without being excessively gross on the fat front (well, visually at least).
Whilst my sister-in-law happily blew out her bikini, I savoured a brilliant Bircher which arrived in a tall fluted glass. The Bircher was sweet, creamy and elegantly presented. One of the better Birchers around town. The real highlight however was the shallot omelette with enoki mushrooms. It’s an inspired breakfast dish and represents vegetarian nirvana. Good on chef Bernice for utilising the subtle beauty of enoki mushrooms on the breakfast menu.
There are 'faster items' on the menu for the time precious- bagels, brekkie loaves (such as pumpkin, spinach, polenta with avocado salsa) and yeast free sourdough toast. There is also an impressive assortment of homemade condiments and accoutrements like sweet ricotta, fresh salsa, bratwurst or vegan baked beans, allowing you to mix and match flavours with your eggs.
My little nephew mowed through his pile of fluffy scrambled eggs in no time, pronouncing them ‘really really good’. On the kid front, Las Chicas is superb- they take kid’s orders first and ensure that they are the first meals to come out of the kitchen. They know what they’re doing here- even the hot chocolate is the appropriate non-scalding temperature.
Las Chicas is a local favourite because it’s good. Really good. There is consistency and quality in the kitchen department and a permanent Sunday charm in the front of house department.
Go there with great expectations.