The chicken schnitzel wraps are pieces of pita bread wrapped around sliced pieces of schnitzel, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. While this which might not sound particularly special, thanks to the quality of individual components, the whole thing tastes amazing.

Equally delicious are the meatball wraps, which are a cross between a standard wrap and a piadina. The meatballs are nicely moist, and complemented by leafy greens, tomato, cheese, and a hit of lemon juice.

Although I rarely pass up the wraps, there’s are generally two or three salads to choose from, which look and taste fantastic.

The quality of the food is matched by the staff, who are some of the most helpful and genuinely friendly around.

I do wish they made better coffee, as I have yet to get a genuinely good one there. The only other negative is that they often sell out of the wraps, so get in by 1pm to be sure of getting one.

What it lacks in style, it more than makes up for in substance. The coffee is the best and most consistent in Fitzroy – much better than many of Melbourne’s cafes that makes up the so-called ‘third wave’ of coffee.

Similarly, the food, while not particularly imaginative, is executed perfectly. Scrambled eggs are actually scrambled rather than being mashed up omelettes, and poached eggs are done just right. Side are equally good, with crispy bacon, ripe tomatoes, and beans that actually taste home-made, or house made, as other cafes might phrase it. Even the bread is even baked there.

Service is friendly, and when a mistake in service is made, the staff is happy to acknowledge it.

Next time you’re wanting a nice breakfast out, instead of queueing for a table at the latest cool cafe, give Atomica a shot.

The scrambled eggs were well executed, reasonably fluffy and nicely seasoned. They were also listed as free range, and the serving was pretty generous. Even better were the hash browns, a mount of buttery, salty (but not too much so) grated potato.

Apologies for the photo, taken after I’d started the dish

The dish was let down by the toast, which was made from thin slices of decidedly average bread. I wouldn’t quite say it was supermarket quality, but it was much too light and didn’t taste much like sourdough, as the menu promised.

My girlfriend ordered corn fritters, which came with a chutney, and were superb. The texture was just right, and you could actually taste the sweetness of the corn kernels.

The coffee wasn’t too bad, although I’m not too sure about the Bodum double walled coffee glasses my long black was served in. It did keep the coffee hot, but I don’t think it did the flavours any favours.

I only wish I’d re-read his post, or that of Where’s the Beef before visiting, because I could have ordered a lot better. Had I re-read either of these posts, I would have definitely ordered the Huevos Rancheros, which not only look awesome, but filling too.

Instead I ordered a sort of Chilean steak sandwich. It was tasty, but was very small for a steak sandwich, and at $15.50 didn’t represent very good value. Other cafes would have charged around $10 for a serving of this size.

My girlfriend chose the kidney bean gratin, which was delicious. We shared a delicious vanilla slice for ‘dessert’.

It took around half an hour for our meals to arrive (far too long), but I’d still give Juanita’s another shot.

We started with some fried dumplings, which served in a shallow pool of flavoursome liquid. Delicious. For a main I had the pork bulgogi, which was fantastic. The sauce was so good, I ended up scraping the sauce off the side of the bowl. We also ordered a potato salad, which was not what I expected, resembling a cross between a birds nest and an onion bhajis.

Needless to say, I won’t be waiting so long to visit again.

When our orders were taken, I opted for the veal schnitzel with parmesan, lemon and chips, which unfortunately had just sold out. My fallback choice was the Black Angus burger with chips and salad. Despite the wait to order, it didn’t take long for our meals to arrive.

The pattie was thick and juicy, and perfectly cooked. Instead of sauce or relish, it was served with mustard, which gave it an interesting flavour, but left the burger a little dry. The chips were cooked to the right level of crispness, and generous in quantity. At $9, it was great value. Other dishes, including some interesting sounding specials, are priced a little higher, but will still leave you with change from $15.

There are some good local beers available, and an excellent and reasonably priced wine list, including a few by the glass.

Given that the Rochester also offers cheap jug deals, I suspect that none of this is really going to matter to who I assume are the Rochester’s target clientele, uni students.

I remember visiting Brunswick Street as a child in the early to mid-80s. In the early 90s, in my early 20s, I spent quite a bit of time there, and already it had changed a lot. Jump forward to 2004, and living near Brunswick Street, it bears little resemblance to the street I remember from 25 years ago.

Brunswick Street jumped the shark some years ago, but I don’t think you can put it down to a single event. Rather, it’s been a gradual slide.

Some of the notable events in the dumbing down of Brunswick Street that I can think of are:

• the opening of 7-11 on the corner of Johnston and Brunswick streets
• the closing of the Punters’ Club
• the opening of generic cafes like Joe’s Garage and Red Tongue

I’m sure there are other events. Can you think of any?