No Comments Written by Uncle David Jester on March 16, 2010 – 9:00 am

‘Un bon repas doit commencer par la faim’

(’a good meal begins with being hungry’- French proverb)

Just one of those mornings again. Waking up with a sleep deprived brain only to realise that you have twenty minutes to get yourself human again before fighting the other insects on the ant tram…

You travel just slow enough to get irritated by the early morning mumbles of Melbourne city. Who amongst them decided that ‘most def’ is a suitable and hip rephrase of words like ‘precisely’ or ‘absolutely’? Why must they go suit shopping together? Do they all share the same hair stylist? Pondering such issues forces your stomach to give you a crude reminder of one of those basic man desires, food.

Damn you’re hungry,  but all of these city cafes look the same. Blank grey walls with one  minimalistic, abstract painting loitering around. Ready-made salad paninis with a toasting option for the new-age creative type. Hospitality staff on the brink of lusty homocide, armed with nothing but a pair of three inch Tony Bianco work heels and eyes full of vacant endurance.

C’est la guerre!

(this means war!)

I won the war last Monday morning with a fresh baguette from Waffle On down Degraves Street, Melbourne city. Belgian born owner, Mark Laucher is a wild renegade with a crazy dream. A dream where take-away food in the city doesn’t have to be greasy, pre-prepared, gluten free or sushi. He has five baguettes on the menu as well as waffles made with imported beet sugar that you would murder your kin for. The flavour is exclusive to his cafe. Everything from the freshly baked baguettes, the marinades, the mustards, to the roasted corn beef fillings are all made on-site by Laucher and his merry staff.

Modern day chefs are too caught up with over complicating their menus with items and additives that human tongues were not designed to utter. I highly recommend Waffle On for a simply delicious feed. As Laucher says, ‘You don’t have to be a chef, you just have to do it…’  and he sure does.

Prices: $3 - $8.50

Service: Quick, efficient with a side dish of northern European charm. Kinda like visiting a close family friend who owns a waffle house without having met before.

Where: Shop 9 Degraves St, Melbourne 3001 VIC