I managed to chat with Edward, owner of the small and cosy "Little Marionette" Café in Balmain over a Latte. We talked about why he opened this neat, tugged-away spot, what's popular with the guests and where he sees his own coffee roasting going. If this was a Melbourne laneway, we could rightly call the 15 square metres a "hole-in-the-wall". But the open view onto Gladstone park across the road and the warm and friendly atmosphere that Ed and his young (and hiply-dressed) crew create make "The Little Marionette" nothing like a coffee cave. Sarah Lorden's "Lifestyle" seemed to have agreed and made Ed their smiling cover star recently.
Thanks to Google, I was even able to find out that the mascot marionette on display in the cafe is a gift from Ed's mate and DJ/producer HookNSling. But since TLM plays rather mellow Soul, Reggae and the occasional Hip Hop we are not yet clued up to Hook's "monster electronic house tracks".
