Oh Cumulus Inc, where
have you been all my life?
With an intro like
that I’d better deliver, so let me tell you the story of my morning at Cumulus
Inc.
One Friday my friends and I were looking for somewhere new to have
breakfast that catered for our various requirements. I am coeliac, one of my
friends is a vegetarian, and my other friend is currently on the Low FODMAP Diet.
In case you’re not
familiar, FODMAP is an abbreviation for:
Fermentable
Oligosaccharides
Disaccharides
Monosaccharides and
Polyols.
These
are complex and slightly ridiculous names for a collection of molecules found
in food that can be poorly absorbed by some people [for more info see shepherdworks.com.au].
In laymans terms it means ‘don’t eat anything especially:
- Fructose (honey, apples, mango, pear, watermelon etc)
- Fructans (artichokes, asparagus, beetroot, garlic, oh god I couldn’t live without garlic! and various other items),
- Lactose (see you later all-things-dairy)
- Galacto-Oligosacharides (just google it I can’t be bothered explaining this one)
- Polyois (bye bye fruits, mushrooms and other random things).
My
friend is on this diet because she has, for many years experienced stomach
issues that so far the Low FODMAP diet is helping greatly. So, what with no gluten, meat or FODMAP based
foods it’s fair to say we, as a collective group, were a complete pain in the
ass.
Searching for these
things in combo proved challenging. Google didn’t uncover anything in the CBD
that seemed to give the variety we needed, so I changed tack and ran a search
on the term ‘best breakfast in Melbourne.’
The answer was Cumulus
Inc.
Cumulus Inc opened in
2008 in the art and fashion precinct of Flinders Lane, Melbourne. With chef
Andrew McConnell at the helm, the menu seemed to be simple, appealing and with enough variety to keep us all happy.
So Friday morning saw
us off to Cumulus Inc, and by the time we got there and our (always late)
FODMAP friend showed up we were ready to eat the paper the menu was printed on. I would blame her constant tardiness on her near state
of starvation, but the truth is she is just one of those chronically late
people (sorry Soula, but you know I'm right). So by the time she turned up I was famished.
 |
| A generous selection of preserves for my toast |
When we were seated I
asked if there was a Gluten Free menu, and while the answer was no, we were
assured by the attentive waitress that they would do as much as they could to
adapt any meal to cater for our needs - and they were true to their word.
The breakfast menu at
Cumulus Inc is one of those menus that leaves you spoiled for choice. Over
fifteen items of the menu, please let me mention the few that made my choice so
difficult:
- Candied orange and raisin toast
- Shakshouka – baked eggs with roasted peppers & shanklish
- Kurabouta leg ham & gruyere toasted sandwich with pickled green tomato
- Grilled Lyonaisse sausage, smoked hock, braised beans and 65/65 egg
I personally settled
for a serving of gluten free toast and the watermelon, strawberry and mint
salad. My vegetarian companion treated herself to toasted honey granola, and my
FODMAP friend requested poached eggs. The waitress explained that they did not
serve poached eggs, but if she ordered the CUMULUS INC Breakfast (boiled egg,
toast, preserves, yogurt, juice and coffee), they would give my friend an extra
egg, and include the toast I’d ordered, and the juice and coffee my other
friend had ordered as part of the Cumulus Inc Breakfast package. It ended up
being extremely good value and we were impressed with the lengths the waitress
went to in order to accommodate us. |
| my salad... |
So the watermelon, strawberry
and mint salad. Out came a generous helping of waterlemon and ripe
strawberries, scattered with mint and blueberries, dressed with a healthy dollop of vanilla
yogurt. It was sweet and refreshing and I actually struggled to finish it,
there was so much fruit! The gluten free toast was superb, rave reviews
were received from my companions and it's fair to say Cumulus Inc has successfully added to the happy streak of positive dining experiences in Melbourne for this little Coeliac.
I am heading into the
city this weekend with my fiancé to celebrate my anniversary, and I plan on
treating him to Cumulus Inc. I am sure he will enjoy it as much as I did (I predict he will order the Kurabouta leg ham and gruyere toasted sandwich).
Cumulus Inc: Coeliac
Sanctuary.
No comments:
Post a Comment