The Birdman Eating on Gertrude Street is well known for breakfasts, which I’m assuming has something to do with the scrumptious looking baked eggs menu. Unfortunately I can’t speak to breakfast, I have yet to experience Birdman in the mornings (except for coffee, which is, of course, great).

I had dinner at Birdman over the weekend, and it was even better than expected. The wine list is extensive and the wait staff are very knowledgeable and can provide great recommendations.

The food was superb. I am always a bit wary of tapas menus, especially when I’m hungry for a solid meal, but the tapas was some of the best I’ve had in Melbourne. I had goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, calamari over rocket and zucchini fritters, and shared between two it was plenty of food.

Its always great to walk into a restaurant with high expectations, and then have those expectations exceeded. I can’t wait to get back there for some of those baked eggs!

I live clear on the other side of the planet from my mother. My boyfriend’s mother lives on the other side of the country. So on mothers day, the last thing on my mind was that people might be out and about treating their mothers to breakfasts and brunches (and flowers, walking down Brunswick Street I could barely squeeze past the queue at the flower shop).

So I was dismayed when it started to look like my brunch date with some out-of-town friends might not be possible, as there might not be any free tables at any café all along Brunswick street.

But luckily we found Mario’s, and the man himself had a table for us. That and a waiter in a waistcoat that was so attentive that a couple of times I looked up and realised he’d been perched by our table for a few minutes waiting for a lull in the conversation to ask if we needed more drinks.

The place isn’t glam, it’s not trendy, but it feels like a staple that’s been around for ages, knows it’ll outlast all the new young things, and sticks by the favourites it’s been serving for years.

And all day breakfasts. Did I mention all day breakfasts?

Now that temperatures in Melbourne are dropping, I’ve been on the lookout for a great little cosy pub for the winter. Somewhere to meet friends spontaneously for drinks, grab a warm meal, or go for a lazy weekend breakfast. Finally, I’ve found one.

The Gertrude Hotel is a great, classic, simple pub with street-side tables out front and warm leather couches by the fireplace inside. It’s down to earth, friendly, and a great neighbourhood retreat.

I’m sure that on chilly nights and weekends I’ll be popping in for a Pipsqueak cider or warm breakfast. Most nights during the week they also serve up featured $10 mains.

Its not often that I visit a restaurant and receive too much service. I’m an American, after all. But at Mao’s Restaurant on Brunswick Street, I experienced service so attentive I almost felt like my waitress was the third dinner guest.

Every time my glass was half full (empty?) the waitress was there with the water jug. When she brought the mains, she served them from the plate to my smaller plate and placed my chopsticks next to the dish. She even made sure to place herself at the door when we started to rise from our seats so that she could hold the door open on our way out and wish us a lovely evening.

Now, this could be due to the fact that we had dinner at 9.15pm and were nearly the only patrons in the restaurant. Regardless, it was fantastic service, and fortunately I can report that the food was equally good. My noodles had the perfect tingly-lips spiciness, and the entrees are inventive.

I’d like to go back on a weekend and see Mao’s at its best, busy and crowded with customers.

Like so many places in Melbourne, Sentido Funf looks extremely unimpressive from the outside on Gertrude Street near the corner with Smith Street. I’ve walked past the bar at least five times and hardly even noticed it. In fact, it almost looks like an office, with two windows covered by venetian blinds hiding what’s happening inside.

But what’s inside is quite remarkable. The small, crowded entrance leads to a narrow corridor and you feel like you’ve probably seen all there is to see and are about to reach the toilets, when you realise there is something at the end of the corridor.

The whole place opens up to a large room with glass windows, lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a large tree holding up the roof in one corner. This leads to a green, leafy outdoor area covered in vines and with picnic tables and a few large squashy chairs and fairy lights.

The bar keeps unfolding as you keep going, getting better and better. I went with a large group of friends, and would classify Sentido Funf as a people pleaser. Everyone likes a bar like this one, with well-known hits on the stereo and a laid back atmosphere.

In every city, I need a retreat. A local. A small cozy place I can feel at home in. A place where the baristas know what I mean when I say ‘the usual, thanks.”

I believe I have found mine. The Black Cat is a great little coffee shop which transforms into a bar at night, but somehow retains the same chilled out vibe through this day to night transition.

Awesome music, a green patch with vines growing around picnic tables for drinking at, a very chill atmosphere, and communal couch spaces. Plus some out-of-towners, like the French girl that asked me if the seat next to me was “busy.” (eg. Is this seat taken?)

Did I mention free wireless? I think you all know where to find me.

Today it’s forecast to be a blazing 40 degrees in Melbourne. I love the heat, so this isn’t much of a problem for me. Hey, I spent a year living in Perth. But a hot day is an especially good excuse to get to the pool and cool off.

I’ve been to Fitzroy pool at least five times in the last three weeks, and am very impressed. There is a student discount, decent shower facilities (of course harbouring everyone’s tendencies to stroll around starkers in a public space, something I’m still adjusting to), and a fantastic 50-meter outdoor heated pool. Even on chilly evenings the water has been toasty warm, but not too warm to swim a brisk kilometre in. But on hot days it’s been purely refreshing. The lanes are wide, the water is blue, what’s not to love? Plus, surprisingly membership is reasonably affordable and perfect for commitment-phobes like me, since members can use their sister pool/gym facilities in Richmond and Collingwood, which have indoor pools for the chilly winter months (I mean, Fitzroy pool is warm but not THAT warm).

All of that good stuff has swayed me, plus my first Melbourne celeb-spotting incident: the lead singer of The Panics strolling around the pool while I swim my laps.