animal orchestra carlton

Animal Orchestra, Carlton

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: baked-eggs-in-a-pan is the

breakfast fad of 2007. And like all true fads, I'm tipping this one

won't last. Which isn't good news for Animal Orchestra, 163 Grattan

Street, Carlton, Tel +61 3 9349 4944. Baked-eggs-in-a-pan is all they

serve (unless you count muesli and toast). But as baked eggs go, the

flavours were good.

animal orchestra

My main objections to baked eggs are two. First, you sometimes get a

slight tinny taste where the food has started to react with the iron

of the pan. There were slight hints of this in my serve of eggs, beans

and cheese today. Second, the dish is just slightly more annoying to

eat than plain old eggs-on-toast. I can never decide whether to hold

the toast and dunk it in the eggs, or to rip up bits of toast and

sprinkle them through the dish like croutons. Call me picky.

I'm sure there will be baked-egg mavens who will disagree with my fad

prediction. And I am quite happy to be proven wrong. But once you've

experienced the tinny taste a couple of times, I can't see people

going back for more. Maybe the secret is to use enamel pans?

If you like baked eggs, Animal Orchestra certainly has plenty to

offer: bacon, tomato mushroom and cheese; potato, leek and shanklish;

caramelised witlof and goat's cheese; smoked salmon, dill, capers and

onions; and sardines and fetta.

The venue is quirky. Outside they have lots of little stools for

Melbourne Uni types to perch on. Inside it looks like someone

wallpapered the place with random magazine clippings, including a

sprinkling of soft porn (or maybe it was art?).

13/20 "fully baked"

score