Cuppa A Day

There's some things about Melbourne that I really like. Take the Melbourne Cup Day. Any state that shuts down business for a horse event certainly has it's priorities together. The Melbourne Cup is the equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, only it is always held on a Tuesday, and usually turns into a 4-day weekend. Very nice.

And, I hate to admit it, but Melbourne's got the edge on metro NY when it comes to coffee. The cappucino and latte and various styles exist here as well as New York, but here, your "flat white" (coffee with milk) comes frothed! Your latte is frothed! Your cappucino is even more frothed! Being a barista is an intensively trained, highly regarded position. They do a good cuppa here.

The fast food is pretty amazing well. Of course, they've got the usual world-reknowned heart-attacks-on-a-bun brands, as well as a few british heritage foods of their own, such the beloved meat pie, sausage roll and fish & chips. On the other side of the coin, they've got some amazing choices. In food courts everywhere you see souvlaki, indian food, chinese food, vegie wraps, sushi, noodle bars, stews, tappas -- all ready to be served up instantly.

Some things are different from what you expect. The pepperoni is different from Italian pepperoni I know. The greek style yoghurt is not like the yoghurt from Greece that I loved so much. Some things you have to keep hunting for until you find them, other things you do without. I did find Domino's Pizza, and I'm hoping the pepperoni is "normal"!