My Mexican Cousin

Opening hours:
Please note this venue has now closed.

Coffee: Sensory Lab

Mr LB:
#firstworldproblems – frustrations and complaints that are only experienced from living in a wealthy, industrial nationalised nation that third worlders would probably roll their eyes at.

“Twitter is a fascinating tool. Who would have thought that we could communicate all of our own personal successes, failures, frustrations and endless other emotions in 140 characters or less? We all have a voice and we are not afraid to say what we think whether it’s something good or bad, career damaging (yes twitter feeds has been used by lawyers) or just harmless rambling. One of my favourite hashtags is ‘first world problem’. My major first world problem is the situation where, on my way to work, I realise that I’ve run out of muesli and I need to pick up some fantastic but sort of quick brunch and coffee to kick start my day. Where do I go that isn’t going to be sub-standard with its ‘coffee and bacon roll’ deal? Never fear, Brunch Addict is on the case and one stop we believe you should check out for a quick weekday brunch is the very popular, My Mexican Cousin.

The decor and space of My Mexican Cousin is cosy, intimate and cleverly flexible. There is an arrangement of tables and chairs inside the L shape area for the dining scene, a large bar table were you can easily catch up with a special someone whilst sharing a beverage and/or meal, a convenient sliding window to cater for the takeway coffee orders and ample outdoor seating area to enjoy the cool summer breeze. It exudes a certain coolness with its selection of art work and dimmed lighting.

While Miss SL quickly visited her office to unload the numerous bags she carries, I went and ordered my house blend Long Black [$3.80]. Sometimes cafes buy reputable coffee labels but fail in its delivery; My Mexican Cousin is not one of those establishment. This long black was impressive having a tan coloured head, delivering a lovely crisp taste with subtle flavors to be enjoyed with every drop. It’s a quality coffee you would expected on a weekend that can be achieved on a weekday event.

With taking in all of aesthetics, I did quickly notice the Egg and Bacon Roll [$9] hot off the press and cooling on the kitchen service bench. Just like love at first sight, I was hock and immediately ordered. With two eggs panned fried and ample of bacon that was douse with a tomato relish, nothing could go wrong. The bacon was cook to my perfect, being slightly crisp but still having soft pork goodness. The tomato relish had well defined smoky taste which had complemented the bacon and with the egg being fried with a little yolk gooness mixing with the bacon made this Egg and Bacon Roll quite the impressive punch. Even better, it had me satisfied to around 11! If there was a time that you needed a bacon a egg roll before you hit the office and you’re in the vicinity, this is your pit stop.

A good and affordable weekday brunch is something of a rarity. While it maybe a little more effort to catch up with someone for brunch before work, My Mexican Cousin is worth the effort to provide some on the spot brunch flavours.”

Miss SL:
“When anybody says the words ‘My Mexican Cousin’ the first thing I think of is one of my favourite meals at St Ali. The second thing I think of is Breaking Bad, an intense HBO television show which follows Walter White – an ex-science teacher diagnosed with cancer, on the journey to becoming an infamous drug cook, eventually taking on (and winning against) the Mexican drug gang, the Cartel.

Salvatore Malatesta (St Ali) and Jerome Borazio (Sister Bella, 1000 Pound Bend) and Maurice Esposito (Esposito and Saint Peter’s) weren’t particularly thinking of the Cartel when they collaborated together when opening My Mexican Cousin last year – they were thinking about infusing St Peter’s Creole with St Ali’s Sensory Lab coffee and Sister Bella’s drinks menu.

Admittedly My Mexican Cousins struggled at first. A blast from food blogger Burger Mary saw them hire her as a food consultant to improve their authenticity (despite, apparently, backtracking in their authenticity). In the end cafes need to play to their audience and it was with this in mind that Mr LB and I set out for a weekday breakfast session.

We arrived just after 8am on a Tuesday morning and the cafe was empty. A few patrons here and there were milling about outside near the streetwalk-facing counter, waiting for their coffees to be brewed by the young female barista. We took a seat at the bar so we could see the coffee-action get underway.

Mr LB had ordered me a double espresso [$3.80] in advance and I was quick to follow through with an order of the House made granola, poached berries and natural yogurt[$12]. My dish was quickly served and it looked delicious. I was a little confused initially, as granola is typically served with milk. There was enough yogurt to provide that creamy texture and so when I enquired with the waitress she said she was happy to provide it, but that it wasn’t typically served that way here. I decided to stay with the original intent of the dish and tucked in.

The granola was wonderfully crunchy and perfectly toasted. There were many different kinds of nuts used to make it, adding to the variety of subtle flavours. The natural yoghurt was creamy without being heavy, acting as the perfect ingredient to bind the granola together. It was light and slightly sweet, carrying the flavours of the poached berries with it.

I had a cheeky taste of Mr LBs egg and bacon role, which we’d fondly dubbed the ‘man breakfast sandwich’. It was really delicious and I loved the tomato relish they’d used to make the flavours more interesting. For $9 it was huge and was well-worth the money.

Overall My Mexican Cousins for breakfast is a great place to go during the weekday on your way through to work. The prices were not exorbitant and the flavours were delicious – even if they didn’t really scream anything particularly Creole about them. It’s the perfect place to pit stop for a good coffee and a delicious meal.”

Final thought: “Great weekday pit stop”