Made
| Where | 60 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington, 3031—View map |
Contact | 03 9372 6429 eat@madecafe.com.au |
Website | www.madecafe.com.au |
Open | Tuesday to Sunday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Breakfast until 1:00 pm |
Payment | Cash |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Get a baby sitter |
Pets | Welcome |
Made's got it made
Francesca Fogarty
‘Breakfast till one,' announces the menu discreetely. It's not a joke! At five to one, the mushrooms and Porotos con chorizo are sold out. Poached eggs are a no-go, and only charm will enable a look into the remainder of the delectable breakfast menu. You have to be in it to win at Made, and by that I mean (a) do not go late on the weekend; (b) expect to be seated; (c) expect your favourites will still be available.
A quiet crowd keeps the small tables full, mainly couples, chatting about life and love and reading Gourmet Traveller or the property section of the paper. Outside, the seating is minimal. Crates and small tables might give you a look at the menu, but no matter how cosy you feel, it's still the footpath.
The breakfast menu has organic rye sourdough, fruit toast, Margie's muesli, Bircher muesli, and a number of Spanish-influenced treats. These include Huevos rojos-baked free range eggs with a beautiful paprika-infused sauce; Porotos con choriza-slow baked beans with chorizo; and Made's take on the big breakfast-free range eggs with jamon, roast tomato and a lemony pine nut spinach. Yum. Fresh and filling, it's the thinking man's big breakfast.
A local favourite is the roasted mushrooms with pine nuts, spinach and crumbled feta. It's small, flavoursome and gives you the cooked breakfast satisfaction without the greasy aftertaste.
The food presentation is rustic and beautiful. The meals aren't massive (big breakfast aside), but they're served with enough bread to mop up any residual juices, and you certainly aren't left wanting.
As far as drinks go, every now and then in life you stumble across something that soothes as well as excites. Something that you wake up craving at 3 am, something that you want to taste again and again. It's a taste sensation that leads you into a folly of purchasing gadgets and silly things that don't work, until you realise, with a sigh, that you can't recreate the past, nor should you try. At Made, it's their orange juice. It's freshly squeezed and is really truly beautiful. I'm not sure why it's better than other, freshly squeezed juice, but it is. Take my word for it.
The coffee is Supreme, my favourite (kiwi bias aside), and it's served with antique saucers and an antique spoon delicately resting on the side. It's the kind of cute touch that makes you swoon and murmur sweet nothings about how you'd like a spoon like that at home.
Dogs are welcome (tied outside of course), but I wouldn't bring the kids along. The green mural on the back wall may lead you into a false sense of security that little Annie and John would be tolerated, but in my opinion it's deceptive, Made is just too small. The kids would go bonkers, and so too would the surrounding patrons.
Made is tiny. What you see is what you get. The kitchen is also the counter. The staff are incredibly relaxed, considering that they are on show, constantly. No running into the kitchen to swear or nibble, the chef can't bang and crash, muttering obscenities and pinching waitress's bottoms. Instead, owner/chef Gabriel calmly keeps the meals coming, frying, poaching, assembling-he makes it look easy.
Get there early and enjoy.