If you're lucky enough to have a flock of feathered friends in your backyard, you'll know just how great good eggs can be. Chickens make delightful pets (my mother has six and they sit on her lap) and lay the perfect food: an egg-cellent source of protein that's low in fat and contains all nine essential amino acids and 13 essential vitamins.

Not only are eggs great for you, they're on trend right now, with two new Melbourne venues poaching inspiration from cult egg-centric joints Eggslut in Los Angeles and Egg Shop in New York.

In April we'll meet Eggshack cafe at Flinders Street Station, which promises egg tarts, steak and eggs, schnitzel a la holstein (crumbed schnitzel topped with eggs sunny-side up) and bacon and egg sarnies from 7am until 3am.

But quicker out of the blocks were Nick Devereux and Greg Bremner, of Balaclava cafe Wall Two 80, who hatched Good Egg, an homage to the humble egg sarnie, opposite South Melbourne Market in December.

Their version slides a glistening, crisp-bottomed fried egg inside a soft challah bun (similar to brioche but without the butter). Try the classic bacon and swiss cheese combo or a sliced avocado, corn and bean salsa version with corn chips and jalapenos. They're rich, hand-held and scoffable.

Bunless options include a Japanese-inspired breakfast bowl of soft-boiled egg, broccolini and red rice with a spiced yoghurt dressing or two cracking variations on the scotched egg: one encased in a pork and fennel mince, the other in verdant green falafel with harissa and tahini.

Good Egg's eggs come from Real Eggs in Daylesford, where the stocking density is eight hens per hectare. I know small children who don't have that much roaming space.

The decor is low fuss, with room for 15 to 20 diners inside around squat tables with taxi-cab yellow stools and a couple of outside bench seats. It's very much an eat-and-run environment – perhaps that's why Devereux and Bremner decided to use cardboard packaging (albeit recyclable) for both dine-in and takeaway, although you can have a plate if you ask for it. At least the cutlery isn't disposable. My knife was a little yolk smeared, but everyone knows how hard that stuff is to wash off.

It's a shame that the coffee offering doesn't aim as high as the menu: serviceable espresso made from stock standard Genovese, but a mint and lemon iced tea (maddeningly served in a plastic cup) is refreshing.

Did we mention it's cheap? An egg sarnie and a flat white will leave you with change from a lobster. Last in line's a rotten egg!

Pro Tip: Non-market days (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) are a more relaxed time to hang out in South Melbourne.

Go-to Dish: B&E;: bacon, egg, HP sauce, mayo $10.

http://goodeggmelbourne.com.au/