Breakfast cafes are surprisingly weak around the Parliament Building in Melbourne.
A lot of places are Starbucks style coffee and pastry in the case.
The full cafes are often weak.
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By being a full and competent cafe,
Sir Osborn rises to the top of the pack.
In Lilliputia, a normal man is a veritable giant.
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However, Sir Osborn's provides its own distinctive advantages.
It is located in Orica house, a historically recognized architectural treasure.
It is NOT neo-Victorian arcade, as are the other famous buildings in Melbourne.
It is one of the first glass and steel modern skyscrapers in Melbourne,
And is an elegant beautiful example of the form.
Think 1950's retro modern here.
The walls on two sides are floor to ceiling glass.
The room is high ceilinged so you can just a whole lot of glass in those windows.
A whole lot of glass means a whole lot of light.
A whole lot of glass means a whole lot of view.
The view on the Parliament side are the official gardens of the Parliament Building,
Along with a wonderful modern steel fountain, and well executed formal plantings.
Parliament Gardens are small relative to the larger Carlton gardens that are kitty-corner.
The Carlton Gardens are one of the major attractions of Melbourne.
The Exhibition Building on their grounds is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Put the more modest Parliament Gardens are not bad and deserve to be a significant draw in their own right.
This is a nice thing to look at while drinking your flat white and eating your sausage roll.
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Non-Australians:
A quick diversion here about Australian Sausage Rolls.
They are not considered gourmet food, down here ...
But Australian Sausage Rolls are good eating.
Like Sausage Rolls everywhere, you are looking at a Sausage in a pastry crust.
What makes the Australian Sausage Roll distinctive is
a) The Sausage is huge, making the whole roll huge.
b) By design, the sausage is heavy on the potato.
I would guess we are looking at 50 percent meat and 50 percent potato ...
and I may have overestimated the meat content here.
c) If you think you are being ripped off by your sausage vendor here,
You are totally missing the point of the dish.
That potato is in there for a reason.
d) What you are really eating is a Shepherd's pie with a pastry crust around it.
You are eating savory mashed potato with enough meat to give it significant meat flavor.
e) One consequence of having a Sausage Roll for breakfast is that you will not have to eat again for the rest of the day.
Maybe even the rest of the week.
(Okay, for the rest of the day, but when you leave the cafe, you will be thinking for the rest of the week.)
You will be able to work like a demon for the entire day - even if you are out in the cold - because you have been properly fortified at breakfast.
I had to do a lot of long distance walking to get to my conference in cold penetrating rain.
Between my sausage roll and my coffee, nothing the winter weather could throw at me would stop me.
And I could attend conference sessions for hours and hours and hours.
f) If I could get an Australian Sausage Roll in the States, would I get it for breakfast?
You betcha!
g) Getting an Australian Sausage Roll in a historical legacy modern building is just that much better! read more
