Little Victories
617 Rathdowne St, North Carlton, Melbourne
http://www.smallvictoriescafe.com.au/

Wednesday morning. Just got to work. Feeling a bit down and flat. And remembered it was only Wednesday. Shit. Computer on, diary checked, to do list consulted, emails loading, phone bleeps: “Hey lady, how you doing? I want to check out Small Victories for breakfast on Saturday, care to join me?” YES!!!

This girl is great. We’ve only been friends for like 5 years or so, starting work as travel consultants in the same store a few weeks apart, but I feel like I’ve known her forever. We got to be better friends after a few days in Christchurch together (see above) and bonded over a shared love for eating, cooking, photographing and reading about food, as well as a mutual understanding that most people are morons most of the time. She also has this uncanny knack for always texting me at the exact time I need to hear from someone not full of sunshine and lollipops and “oh yay, be happy, life is great!”

Anyway, breakfast at Small Victories. It’s a cute little place, designed to be clean and simple, and tucked into a little strip of Rathdowne St amongst a few other cafes. The menu is gorgeous, and hard to pick from, but in the end, @jessicavee (if you need a delicious new Instagram account to follow, this is it) went with the buttermilk waffle, candied pecans, gingerbread ice cream, toasted vanilla marshmallows, pumpkin custard, maple syrup ($17.00), which looked magnificent and I believe wad quite delicious!

I went with the poached eggs, ricotta fritters, roast pumpkin, walnut purée, brown butter, 18 month ages prosciutto and crisp sage ($17.00): amazing! Eggs were poached perfectly, the sweet roasted pumpkin and ricotta fritters were delicious against the salty prosciutto, and the walnut purée, though not nearly enough of it, was a great addition.

While the service was a little cold and impersonal, the food was fantastic; I spied a few other dishes rolling out of the kitchen that I’d be keen to try, too. They’re open all weekend, too, so if you need a reason to get out of bed before lunch time tomorrow, scroll back up to those waffles and eggs, and call a friend!