The Thousands

Herb quarks: not just a God particle floating in the Large Hadron Collider (probably) but a milk-based food floating somewhere between sour cream and cream cheese. It’s not even 9am and I’ve already learned something. That’s what Backstreet does: feed you and teach you.

Spinoff sitcom to the popular Birdman Eating, Backstreet is taking a softly softly approach to starting something new: while it operates for now as a nice but otherwise unassuming café (perched across the road from Fitzroy staple ICI), it will flip the lid very soon. For one thing, as soon as they get their liquor license (next week, fingers crossed) they’ll be closing late, which means their cold cuts will get an appropriately staggered airing (cured meats, pickled vegetables, marinated cheeses – all made in store and served from 4pm).

The ground level décor is simple, but head downstairs and Backstreet becomes a cosy, cellar-lit abode with a store room selling takeaway lasagne, a table for group dinners and a workshop where owner Tim will not long from now teach classes on how to butcher your own meat and actually use a Thermomix (these are separate classes, presumably). Back to the quark: Backstreet will put that on pumpernickel bread and then serve you coffee in floral print cups. This is the breakfast of 2012 (#prediction).