Kiss me with a bullet

hers

Annie, get your gun… because you’re going to need it to rid the long line of people waiting to eat at this joint. On each corner of the main drag’s intersection lies an eatery, bountiful with pleasures of the sweet and savoury kind. On one particular corner though, the wait just to get in can be up to 30 mins… and they don’t take bookings. Though once you’re acknowledged, seated and coffee orders are taken the menu before your ravenous eyes is so generous, varied and detailed you’ll have a hard time deciding what your tummy wants best. One waitress even dubbed me “confused” after scribbling down the mouth-watering descriptions and flustering about to make up my mind before the obviously-in-a-rush staff came back for another attempt at taking our table’s orders. Of course being of 18-24 tick-an-age-box group, my sharp eye went straight to the vodka cured ocean trout, spinach, poached eggs, sourdough and herbed hollandaise ($17.50). Though on second thought the Canadian brioche French toast with bacon, caramelised banana, pecans and maple syrup ($15.50) could solve my argument with his that maple syrup and bacon go superbly well together. However, it was not to be as my poached-egg-loving, rumbling tummy decided to stick to the usual bacon, eggs and sides dish. I had the double smoked bacon, poached eggs, tomato, herbed hollandaise and Turkish ($13.50) with a potato fetta hash cake with herbed sour cream as a side ($4.50). his grilled swiss mushrooms ($15.50) were very hot and flavoursome, unlike my lukewarm tomato. The Toulouse sausage with sweet potato hash, rocket, poached eggs and bush tomato relish ($17.50) looked very tasty and colourful, the other meals slightly undressed in its presence. As I tucked into my tasty-but-not-hitting-the-top-notes brekky, the banana French toast flew past about a million times making my head spin and the linger of saucy aroma tickle my nostrils. Maybe next time I’ll pass up the eggs. The French toast also comes in the strawberry brioche variety with vanilla ricotta, berry coulis and hazelnut crumble ($15.50). The coffee was small yet quite lovely, but the smoothie that went past looked like it was worth the $6 or so you have to pay for it (though on closer inspection it was merely a milkshake). The atmosphere inside is chatty but relaxing, with two-tone rustic brick walls, minted vintage doorways and window frames, but the out-the-back area is spacious, green, breezy and just a tad tranquil… a rare experience in the rubbish-lined streets of West End. Much like Cirque, your eyes will be kept busy in the bathrooms, which are basically modern day outhouses with a communal basin (they’re not supposed to know we go!). The place does a lot of business with all sorts lining up to eat at the best breakfast restaurant for 2008 and 2009. Maybe if they removed the sign advertising these honours from the main road they’d do less business and wise up on the customer service front… but that’s not really the idea, is it? Picture pretty perfect, with one eye on the clock.

Food 4/5
Coffee 3/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Price 4/5

his

The Gunshop cafe in West End is wedged between the formidable opponents of Three Monkeys Cafe and Freestyle Toút, on the corner of Melbourne St and Boundary Road, although all three restaurants provide a different kind of menu to a different kind of market. But one thing they all share in common is simple; they are awesome. As we waited outside for a table (not too long, we were ushered in quick as a bullet), and were gunning for a killer breakfast, we noticed Gunshop had won Brisbane’s Best Breakfast Restaurant 2009, so expectations were high from the outset. The inside itself was quite nice, exposed brick walls and intriguing artwork (I’m no art aficionado, so it’s all intriguing to me) lined the walls, with decent music (Bloc Party, La Roux for some examples) creating a pretty chilled out and relaxed ambience. Once we had placed our orders for coffees, we had to choose our eats, and let me assure this was a mean feat… Like shooting very small fish in a very large barrel. Everything on the menu looked spectacularly inviting (aside from the Black Pudding… seriously who actually eats that stuff?), so making our decision was harder than expected. As we rifled through the menu because we were starving, we began to see (on paper at least) why Gunshop had been awarded such a prestigious award. None the less, after a shotgun decision on the grilled mushroom, sourdough, creamed eggs and truffle oil ($15.50) we placed our order and waited for the plentiful bounty to arrive. The mushrooms were the best part of the meal, and combined with the eggs and truffle oil made for a pretty decent feed. I’m not the biggest fan of creamed eggs (I think they’re scrambled eggs with more milk and cream), but together with the sour dough and oil they were pretty damn good. One could see how Gunshop could have won the award for Brisbane’s Best Breakfast. However one could not see how such a competition could overlook Salt, which in my opinion was a slightly better than Gunshop in terms of service, food and coffee. None the less Gunshop was an excellent choice, which I would strongly recommend for anyone looking for a good, reasonably priced breakfast treat on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Coffee was also additionally tasty for some unexplained reason, and was just about worth the wait. Staff were friendly and always available to take orders.

Food: 3/5
Coffee: 4/5
Service: 2/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Price: 3/5

The Gunshop Café
53 Mollison St
West End
Ph: 3844 2241

Some like it tasty

his

With an interesting name and even more interesting menu, Sassafras in Paddington is hard to miss. Located on LaTrobe Terrace, Sassafras is a little breakfast cafe jam packed into a small area, but with a big taste explosion to make up for it. The cafe itself is pretty retro, with old movie posters, paintings and pictures lining the walls, as well as old wooden cabinets strewn across the cafe. Sassafras is great for catching up with friends over coffee, or if you want to follow down the alley of his & hers, good for a large breakfast to satisfy those Sunday morning cravings. Sassafras despite all its retro-vision lining the walls, has a decidedly indie feel to it, with staff laidback (without being aloof) and alternative posters lining the front of the cafe. I have visited Sassafras on several occasions in my travels, and each time I have not been disappointed… That having been said however, I have always gone for the same dish… The Big Breakfast ($18.20). Sassafras has one of the most satisfying and complimentary big brekkies going around, with all the food in some way complimenting the other portions on the dish. The addition of beef and basil sausages as well as tomato relish give an unusual taste to a big breakfast, but one which is not unwelcome by any stretch. Eggs are also cooked to perfection at Sassafras, and I’m not sure if they add anything to them in the process, but they taste amazing. Freshly squeezed juices and fruit frappes are a feature of this little taste-machine of a cafe, with hundreds of possible combinations of fruit to choose from. At $6 each however, they may be a little out of your price range for a juice. All in all Sassafras is a nice little chilled out place to go for a relaxed brekky. Prices are pretty standard, and service is great.

Food: 4/5
Coffee: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Price: 3/5

hers

There are two things hungry Brisbanites should come to Sassafras for: one, the heaped avocado on sourdough with sea salt and lemon infused olive oil ($8.90) – the staff say it’s like everywhere else, but it seriously is not – and, two, the Sassafras grilled three cheeses on sourdough (also $8.90). Cue Homer: Om nom nom. Light, cheap and worth their weight in gold, these meals (yes, they’re that filling) are finger-licking delectable. Though the food isn’t the only draw card at this home-away-from-homes. The array of people that pack this block chockers come in all shapes and designer couture. There’s the preppy Ralph Polo boys who can’t drag two tables together to save themselves; the two fully-grown and career-driven women tucked in a corner giggling and complaining about the current beaus in their lives; the families (complete with grandparents) enjoying an assortment of full and kid-sized meals; and there’s us weirdos in our matching Ray Ban sunnies, taking photos of our food and staring googly-eyed at the days-gone-by interior design and vintage knick-knacks. I would move in if I could fit a futon in a corner not occupied by stacked suitcases, eclectic wooden sitting apparatus, or a food cabinet screaming “Eat Me!” The deli cabinet boasts the usual lip-smacking lunchtime goodies like Mediterranean oilies, fresh salads, mummy-made lasagnes and frittatas, and sweets, and the juice bar basically squeezes itself. We had the Big Breakfast with eggs how you like, thick toast, relish, crispy bacon, beef and basil sausages, housemade baked beans, mushrooms, and avo ($18.20). Though when it arrived there was no avocado. No quite sure why – maybe I dreamt it was on the menu because I really wanted the avo on toast as a side? Hmm anyways… other pretty plates that flew past with the attentive-but-not-nosey staff were the buckwheat pancakes with mixed berries, honey and Greek yoghurt, the French toast with caramelised apples and double cream ($11.70), and the eggs Benedict with your choice of ham/avo ($14.90) or salmon/bacon ($16.90). If I was one of the kids spending time with my doting grandfather I would have got the melted cheesy-mite toasty fingers ($4). You have to fight for a seat at good ole Sass, but the wait is usually worth it. While I thought our plate of eggy goodness could have been prettier with a spray of greens (obsessed much?), it was rather scrumptious with my three free range delicately poached eggs topping my list for tastebud tingles. To save the disappointment of discovering there is a wait for tables in the sunny front, cool inside and leafy outside patio areas after ordering and paying at the counter, you can make bookings. But be warned you may still need to eat communally. So if you’re picky, get in early and get out quick. But if chit chat and cute boy watching is your thing, then Sassafras surely provides in that department too. A+ for décor and location. With the antique and vintage havens that inhabit Paddington just a short stroll away, you too can create your own clock-wound-back wonderland.

Food 4/5
Coffee 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Price 4/5

Sassafras
88 La Trobe Tce
Paddington Qld 4064
Ph: 3369 0600
Breakfast til 2pm

What’s your Alibi?

hers

I used to trek here a lot, for the low-budget brekkies and the Tuesday $2 taco-fests. However, upon my Morning Glory travels I’ve since realised that I’d prefer to sacrifice more shiny dollars for better quality service and better tasting grub. Salt would never have let me miss my hair appointment. So yes I was stressed and yes I was cranky at trying to fit in all my endless household appointments that day, but Alibi Room wrecked its reputation in my eyes the day I had to forfeit pretty new hair for a not-so-great-tasting brekky. So we walked in – no one noticed us. No problemo, we’ll seat ourselves. Menus? We’ll get them ourselves. Would someone like to take our group’s order? Nope, not likely. We waited about 40 minutes before staff even inquired into whether we had ordered yet. Then the coffees and juices took another ancient breathe. The food – another 30 minutes. This was just not cricket, in an eatery sort of way. While the wacky stuff on shelves and walls entertain me and the clock that doesn’t tick always frustrates me to figure out how to start it again without the staff noticing, I had an appointment to get to and I ended up having to cancel it after waiting an hour for the mountainous pile that is the Trucker’s Breakfast for two ($35) to arrive. In my anger, however, I did manage to engorge more of the fat-sweaty-man-sized meal than ever before. I even tried the steak (pause for gasps). This buffet of grease fit for Thor offers bacon, fried eggs, hash browns, chips, savoury mince, spinach, mushrooms, toast, snags, steak, beans, tomato and is served with a juice and coffee. The juice at Alibi is freshly squeezed and thirst-quenching, but the amount of oil saturating pretty much every surface of the ‘ungodly amount of food’-stuffs makes you want more healthy juice and less dehydrating coffee. I missed out on my coffee due to the lack of service and long waits. The staff seem to have taken the word ‘relaxed’ to a whole new level – to the point of absenteeism – which is sad because in the past they’ve been pretty snappy. At the price, it’s a bargain investment in a fat, full belly, but if your tongue wants to be teased, tingled and left wanting more, then troop somewhere else. When our meals finally did arrive the bacon and mushrooms were cold, there were only three eggs (you do the math), and the toast was a little sad and burnt looking. This home-grown, popular-with-the-kids shack is good for getting drunk, good for hang-overs, a good place to stalk bands (I’ve seen Michael from YKB thrice), and good for a uni-povo budget, but not so good if you actually enjoy even a half-healthy, eggy brunch that stimulates body parts not normally food-fuelled.

Food 2/5
Juice 4/5
Service 1/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Price 3/5

his

As the name suggests, Alibi Room really has something to answer for. I used love the place, when we would go on a Tuesday night and the Cerveza’s would flow and the 2 dollar tacos would appeal to the uni student in all of us. Now unlike hers, I didn’t have a hair appointment to go to. That having been said however, it is still a joke and a half to wait 40 minutes for service. Not only that, but to be half a foot away from the kitchen and look up and make eye contact with staff every 30 seconds and STILL for no one to come and serve was even more frustrating. So we grabbed our own menus and sat calmly waiting, waiting, waiting until FINALLY a young boy came over and said “Hey guys are you ready to order?…” I am proud at how I held back. Also note it becomes very difficult to manoeuvre off a stool and they are very uncomfortable after 40 minutes. None the less we ordered and the food came out some time later. The Truckers Breakfast ($35) for two is literally an ungodly amount of food, with everything you could possibly conceive on the plate. A mountain of bacon, eggs, sausages, chips, steak, spinach, mushrooms, beans, toast, hash browns, tomato and savoury mince including a juice and coffee for each of us, kept us busy for the next 20 minutes. By the end I FELT like a trucker, and was well and truly ready to hit the road. However for this amount of food, the juice was really the best part. The bacon and mushrooms were cold, and we only were given three eggs, which between two people is difficult as runny eggs don’t divide so well. Whilst the venue is pretty cool with retro style objects linking the walls (I think I saw a Land of the Lost lunchbox in a cabinet), I was almost amused for the duration of our wait. The staff are usually pretty good, but this time they seemed to just be going with the flow, and at times seemed to snap out of their daze to serve customers, much to the surprise of patrons. The Truckers is really a bargain for what you pay (It also comes in a vegetarian variety), but this time it just left me feeling sorry for myself. I say Alibi, stick to what you do best, keep the beer and tacos flowing and if you’re going to delve into the breakfast business at least put in some skerrick of effort.

Food 2/5
Coffee 2/5
Service 1/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Price 3/5

The Alibi Room
1/720 Brunswick St
New Farm QLD 4005
Ph: 07 3358 6133

Cirque dú soft-eggs

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Usually when one imagines the circus, they imagine trapeze artists, elephants and crazy clowns. Now imagine all those things in a 3×3 metre square… Seem cramped? Good, because this is probably a to-scale analogy of Au Cirque, if the 3×3 square was the cafe and the elephants and trapeze artist were the people. Au Cirque on Brunswick Street on the Valley/New Farm border is a cramped, over populated little breakfast/lunch cafe with a bit to offer the not-so-average breakfast enthusiast. On my second outing to Cirque I was rather impressed with the food offered, but not so impressed with the food given. Whilst I was full to the brim from a Chowdown ($16), which included a healthy offering of eggs, bacon, mushrooms, toasted sourdough, tomato, potato rosti (hash brown type thing) and sausages, I was not too impressed with the quality of the food offered. The poached eggs weren’t runny, the bacon was greasy, and the sourdough was probably stale… These may only be the little things, but when you pay premium for these sorts of things it isn’t an unreasonable expectation. By far the best part of the meal was the orange and blood orange fresh juice ($6) I had, which was to die for… but let’s face it, squeezing juice into a glass really isn’t rocket surgery. The coffee ($4) also tasted like a boiled foot, which was an unwelcome conclusion to my meal, and I was even further angered that I had to sit at a small bench barely bigger than my plate to eat all this. The atmosphere of the place is pretty good, and the knick-knacky things on the wall are pretty cool. Wait staff (as per most of the places we frequent) are pretty helpful and attentive, which surprised me given we were tucked away somewhere in the deepest, darkest corner of the cafe. However the combination of the matchbox-esqe seating arrangements and bland food are enough to allow me to label this place “not that special”.

Food: 2/5
Coffee: 1/5
Service: 3/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Price: 3/5

hers

The first time I went to Au Cirque was with a rock star. Now I’m not usually one to brag, but it was quite a memorable moment for this aspiring journo and I didn’t even taste the food. My photographer buddy and I picked up a tour-tiresome Alex Burnett of Sparkadia and decided breakfast was in order to please the palate and soften the blow of an otherwise formal interview. I only had coffee that time and though it was small, was quite the treat. My photo-genius pal and I returned for an afternoon breakfast one day after the first fairytale meeting. Though with depression from a too recent breakup lingering and the thought of or need for food a since crumpled page in an ancient history textbook, my 5-day empty stomach had brought on a killer migraine with the only cure (minus a large dose of happy juice) being food. I had the avocado on toast with rosti on the side for about $10… a uni-student-pocket-friendly delight. This is when I found a new love in the potato and parmesan rosti. The second and third time, however, my rosti failed to please so much. These times it was a tad burnt, taking away from the flavoursome centre the outer usually encrusts. Breakfast at Cirque, it seems, is a game of hit and miss. Sometimes it’s crowded and you have to enjoy your coffee on the rickety stools out front, sometimes you’re swished to a table (usually communally shared), and to my experience sometimes into the street-facing green-tinged sunroom upstairs. Here his and hers had the Chowdown, mine the vegetarian variety ($16). It came with soft poached eggs, roast tomato, mushrooms, rosti, onion jam, avocado, rocket and sourdough. Unfortunately my rosti didn’t take the cake, and neither did the very hard-to-chew crust of the sourdough. The tomato, however, was delectable. Though don’t let my words leave a sour taste in your un-egged mouth, it just wasn’t my cuisine-romantic day. The café does very good business and offers specials for the more adventurous. The guy next to me tried the omelette with fennel, tahini, smoked salmon, shredded beetroot, spinach and sesame seeds ($14.90) and seemed rather whelmed. For the sugar sucker, the French toast or buttermilk pancakes with their choices of choc hazelnut spread, grilled banana and chocolate cream, or berry compote, pouring cream and peanut and almond praline ($13) toppings are sure to tickle your fancy. I have to say in the absence of a good rosti, the blood orange/orange juice concoction I slurped was this week’s foodgasm, a succulent and tree-fresh taste sensation. The ambience is bright and cheery, suited to families and hung-over youth, with breakfast running all day (a lunch menu existing for the later hours too). The budget making brekkies include mushrooms on toast and fruit-topped porridge all marked under $10. The toilets are also worth a quick trip to even if just to read up on the latest Brisbane events.

Food 3/5
Juice 5/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Price 4/5

Au Cirqué
618 Brunswick Street
New Farm, QLD, 4005
Ph: 3254 0479

More healthy than hairy at Brown Dog

hers

As a kid I always had trouble keeping scrambled eggs in my body once consumed. After realising the repeated trips to the bathroom after breakfast weren’t normal, I scrapped the option from my menu. So when the friendly staff at Brown Dog informed us they were only cooking scrambled eggs today, I freaked a little, but decided to bravely give the fluffy goodness another go. Perched on the corner of a large table at the back of the café, we shared the breakfast experience with two young ladies engrossed in conversation. Each chair and table is unique, with a vintage farmhouse feel, looking like they’ve been pulled straight from the hunted and collected treasures of a frankie photoshoot. My skinny latte ($3) came with a hand-painted swirl, strong on the caffeine, Di Bella the preferred bean. The décor inside is a fusion of old brick and plaster walls, with wood and metal skirting. Beneath your feet are polished-but-worn wooden floorboards and paintings adhering to the dog theme line the walls. From the Hair of the Dog, Saturday Brunch menu I ordered the Dog’s Breakfast ($10) – baby spinach, Roma tomato, haloumi, avocado, and toast (Turkish, grain, corn, white). Ham and/or eggs can be added for an extra $3-6. The sharp, but not overbearing staff saw that our meals were delivered about 15 minutes after arrival. A chatty retired couple joined our table at this moment, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the plentiful perfection I was about to dig into. They ordered the same. An abundance of Turkish, there was enough to accompany both the lavish eggs and perfectly sliced avocado. The haloumi was the good Greek kind, not chewy or squeaky, and whole meal was light and healthy, a feel-good start to the day. However, don’t underestimate how filling this wholesome morning out can be – a sleep was in order when I got home. Other cheap eats at this homey corner café include the Super Dog Roll with ham, eggs, hp sauce, spinach, tomato, onion and cheese ($8.90), muesli with rhubarb compote, yoghurt and brown sugar ($6.50), and the Breakfast Bruschetta with fetta, rocket, tomato and pesto oil ($8.90). The eggs, much to my surprise stayed up and down, but my tummy did make a lot of odd gurgles 30 minutes later. Brown Dog Café is a humble location to enjoy a lift-out mag over flavoursome food, which is definitely worth its salt, especially if you get a sunny seat.

Food 5/5
Coffee 3/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Price 5/5

his

Set in the quaint suburb of Woolloongabba (not really, there are cranes as far as the eye can see, and more importantly the ‘Gabba cricket ground) Brown Dog Cafe has to be sought out to be found. The café itself is tucked away behind Logan Road, but upon driving past one immediately notices and can’t help but wonder what lies inside. Brown Dog is small on the inside, with decorations that adhere to its name lining the walls, such as dog-themed paintings, pictures and sculptures. The theme is maintained throughout all aspects of the cafe including menu and décor, which adds a fun element to Brown Dog. The atmosphere is very relaxed and chilled out, with barista staff very attentive and friendly upon arrival. First up the menu (named The Hair of the Dog for breakfast; cue laughter) is quite small, but not without its own little gems. Our experience was with the Dog’s Breakfast, which contained toast (from your choice of Turkish, corn, white or grain bread), baby spinach, grilled haloumi, a Roma tomato and avocado ($10.00) with optional extras of eggs or ham ($13 total) or eggs AND ham ($16 total). In this case we went with the eggs only, which came scrambled. The breakfast itself whilst not sounding overly filling, was in fact a meal to get through, and for $13 was worth every cent. Generous amounts of all different portions of the meal were given, making getting through this meal all the more difficult. The haloumi was easily the highlight of the dish, and was the good variety (not squeaky, chewy or rubbery) and grilled to perfection. The coffee is surprisingly tasty, with this small café bringing out the big guns with their perfectly weighted mocha ($3.50). Brown Dog is for those who enjoy a simple, relaxed setting with fine coffee or healthy drinks (from $2.50-$5.50) and well priced fresh food.

Food 4/5
Coffee 5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Price 5/5

Brown Dog Cafe
54 Logan Rd (Crn Nile St)
Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102
Ph: 3891 7355

Ripened on the tongue of an oyster

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For me, Pearl in Woolloongabba is somewhat of an enigma. The place is an all day eatery, with the strangest of food combinations and an inside which looks like something from a movie set back in the times of the Bubonic plague. Raw brick walls line the inside, with mirrors intermittently placed along the back wall. That having been said the restaurant/bakery has a very contemporary feel to it. The wait staff are alternate, the breakfast dishes are strange and foreign and the music is none I have ever heard. However, for the variety and oddness of the dishes, they all look and taste (or at least smell) amazing. The few times I have been there the main attraction for me was a baked egg dish, with sides of steamed spinach and pork chipolatas ($16). These were delicious to say the least, and combined with the atmosphere of the place make for a pleasant experience. They also make their own pastries and cakes, with the deliciousness of these needing to be seen to be believed ($6-10). A word for those big-eaters out there, there is no such thing as a ‘big breakfast’ at Pearl, so if you’re going for the standard feed of bacon, hash browns, eggs, toast, steak, chips etc prepare to be disappointed. Wait staff are highly attentive, with their first question often “How can we start you with coffees?” in a no-nonsense approach to breakfast. The coffee offered shames a lot of other high-profile breakfast joints in Brisbane, and for this I applaud. There is nothing worse than starting a morning out with a burnt coffee. Only downside I feel for Pearl is a lack of tables, making a wait between 9.30 and 10.30 on a Saturday morning anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. Pearl is also open for lunch and dinner.

Food: 4/5
Coffee: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Price: 3/5

hers

The first thing I always notice about Pearl is the wall. Brick, rustic, with mirrors carved into arches. The second thing I notice are the cakes, danishes and tarts lining the curved bartop. Mouth-wateringly irresistible, I always leave with one of expensive-but-worth-it delights in hand. Once your presence has been noted by the always attention staff, you’re rushed through the brass-handled door to your sardine-spacious seating and your coffee order is taken. When my skinny latte’s (slightly bitter, but enjoyable nonetheless) final garnish of a milk-flicked heart is completed by whichever barista is currently laden with the thick list of orders, they clap twice and another smiley staff member, adorned in tattoos, unisex jeans and cons, rushes to deliver the order. Pearl is probably not my favourite breakfast eatery. But the atmosphere, interior design and casually-stylish staff make searching the alternative menu for the traditional egg-and-sides feast all the more enjoyable. The table next to us ordered smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, corn bread, roe and lemon ($18), and the brioche eggy bread with lemon curd, mascarpone and rhubarb ($16), dishes my ‘big breakfast’ loving tummy failed to pursue. Always one to want poached eggs the morning after the night before, I order eggs on sourdough with mushrooms and roast tomato for sides ($14). Garnished with overly fresh rocket the meal was simple and filling, all elements bursting with hot-from-the-oven and hand-picked-from-the-garden zest. The distant sound of jazzy bass wafted above the chatty upper market patrons. If you’re up for flavours a little left of field in a cosy and still well hidden nook, then Pearl is certainly one for the breakfast list.

Food 4/5
Coffee 3/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Price 3/5

Pearl Cafe
28 Logan Road
Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102
Ph: 3392 3300

A Pinch of Salt

hers

Too much salt spoils the broth? I think not. Walking into this breakfast palace is like flouncing around the cloudy wonderland of eggy heaven. I’m yet to find even the smallest blemish on this Gemma Ward-face of eateries. No blackheads, pimples or even a misplaced freckle dwell here. I’ve been to Salt thrice – once for an afternoon vino, twice for breakfast – and it has never failed to colour me happy. And while I’m yet to venture past what is probably the most amazing breakfast-dish-meal-foodgasm EVER (can you tell I like it here?), there are plenty of customer-spoiling options. Please welcome to the stage the Potato Galette with smoked salmon or honeyed bacon, warm tomato relish, diced avocado, hollandaise sauce, poached eggs and toasted Turkish pide ($19.90). While your plate appears to have a lot of white space when delivered two minutes from ordering (I’m not even kidding, I hadn’t even sipped my coffee yet!) the dish is filling, healthy and a talented combination of what can only be described as a big-breakfast-cross-Eggs-Benedict-cross-avocado-on-toast musical. This also seemed to be the most popular choice with every bustling, surrounding table harbouring one of these creative palatte-pleasers or the Cyprian Haloumi Cheese with chilli tomato jam, diced seasoned avocado, tomato salsa, sheeps milk fetta on grilled Turkish pide with parmesan-infused olive oil ($19.90). True to its name, the bacon was well-honeyed, the avocado deliciously seasoned, and the potato a Galette like no other. Not knowing what a Galette is beforehand, it is one risk I sincerely encourage taking at every opportunity presented. For those interested, Wikipedia describes it as the French term given to flat, round or freeform crusty cakes. But in simple terms it’s the most incredibly flavoured hash brown your tongue has ever brushed. While the price of a meal here may be a little more than a student bargains for, the value-for-money factor is off the Richter scale. Coffee, for example, is another experience-and-a-half with each ‘cup’ the size of a soup bowl, and though the price wasn’t on the menu I worked out my skinny latte to be only $3.50 and his mocha $4. I thought it was odd when the waiter asked if we’d like a mocha when he took our coffee orders, as it’s not usually the first kind of grind to spring to mind. Turns out the shot glass of melted chocolate that accompanies your chocolate-dusted coffee is handmade on premises and “gives you a wicked arm burn” when preparing it says one of the playful staff. For the meat-loving male the weekend breakfast menu offers the Mixed Grill with pork, pepper and fennel sausages, lamb cutlets, honeyed bacon, poached eggs and toasted Turkish pide ($23.90); and while possibly too exotic for the kids, they may enjoy the Breakfast Pizza with chorizo, shallots, tom thumb tomatoes, fetta, diced seasoned avocado, bacon, dressing leaves and yoghurt dressing ($21.90). The extra touches (pepper in a grinder, juice in a tall-stemmed wine tumbler) complement the modern interior fittings, and I was delighted to see my favourite all-time beauty Audrey Hepburn lining the walls, the paintings by artist Lucie Cavalerie. From now on, I always want honey on my bacon.

Taste.com.au potato galette recipe

Food 5/5
Coffee 5/5
Service 5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Price 5/5

his

Residing in Rosalie (which incidentally isn’t in my Sat-Nav… apparently it’s Paddington), Salt is another one of those little gems hiding away in suburban Brisbane. I find it hard to fault Salt (get it?) as everything about it is wonderful. Portions are generous, taste is through the roof, and wait staff are hilarious and conscientious to all customers. The restaurant itself is quite large, seating about 55 both inside and outside. Wait staff and food aside, the most extraordinary thing about Salt is that within about three minutes of ordering our meal, it was already on the table. I couldn’t understand how the food was so quickly prepared, as it wasn’t exactly a simple array of foods. We ordered the Potato Gallette ($19.90, sort of like a hash brown type dish, but cylindrical and with parmesan in the potato), which came with honeyed bacon, avocado, perfectly poached eggs with hollandaise sauce on toasted Turkish. So clearly it wasn’t just a thrown together meal, with the avocado and potato galette served just right, it’s amazing how the food came out just after our coffee. The food itself is truly delicious, with not a single item on the plate not done to perfection. The honeyed bacon was a nice treat, and took some of the oily aftertaste out of the bacon which can usually lead to bacon-oil-hangover. The meal itself left me postponing my article for next week, in favour of going back to Salt for more awesomeness. On the coffee, my mocha ($4.50ish) came with a rather unexpected surprise. The coffee mug itself was roughly the size of a small soup bowl, just what I needed to pick me up on a cold winter’s morning, but the real surprise was a shot of melted chocolate supplied to add to the coffee to make the mocha. The chocolate was (according to staff) made on premises, and cause a “wicked arm burn” when they had to melt and stir it all up to turn it into the rich gooey sauce, which is the end product. This little surprise topped off what was all in all a flawless meal, save for it being a tad bit expensive than we’ve been used to.

Food 5/5
Coffee 5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Price 3/5

Salt
2/5 Nash St
Rosalie, 4064, QLD
Ph: 3367 0775
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Love Affair(s) with Little Larder

his

Once I went on a date with a beautiful woman named Little Larder. She was busty, sexy and cheap. Our first date ended well; we went home together and spent the night, it was amazing and we organised a second get-together. On our second date, she stood me up. Cold as ice, I waited and waited like a fool… I felt so betrayed. Never the less, I couldn’t shy away. She was like a drug. We went on a third date, and this one was almost as good as the first. In case you haven’t worked out yet, Little Larder is a breakfast restaurant. Set in New Farm, Little Larder is one of those gems tucked away off the main roads that you wouldn’t know is there unless someone told you about it. The cafe itself is quite small, with only about 6 tables inside (seating about 25) and about 4 tables outside (seating about 15) but packs a serious punch in terms of value and tastiness. The atmosphere is pretty chilled out, with wait staff happy to go at a leisurely pace, but not to the detriment of their service. For the three times I have visited Little Larder, I have ordered the big breakfast all three times. Two of those were excellent, and we can put the other one down to the regular chef being ill… none the less The Lot ($15.50) contains all the essentials such as bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, avocado and also a few nice extras like a hash brown, ciabatta loaf and chunky tomato salsa. For the big breakfast lover, you really can’t go wrong with Littler Larder. After struggling through the breakfast due to its enormity, we moved onto the drinks. Fresh fruit frappes ($5) are the order of the day, and while pricey are fresh and crisp and a great way to start the morning, while the coffee ($3-$4) is good, but not great. I find it hard to fault LL, but the only downside is between 9-10am of a Saturday or Sunday morning there is always a bit of a wait for a table, but once the wait is over the spoils are rich and the booty golden.

Food 4/5
Coffee 3/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Price 4/5

hers

For weeks I had been dreaming of a breakfast sensation of the sweeter kind. Layers of bready goodness, topped with grilled banana, smothered in maple syrup and a lump of ice cream to add moisture to an already saturated monstrosity. The tastebud tingling had been torturing me every time I smelt a waft of sugar as I went about my Larder-less mornings. About a year ago when I stumbled into Little Larder for the first time I was ravenous and ordered the pancakes with banana and devoured so much of the plentiful delish dish that I almost made myself sick. The second time I switched the pancakes for French toast and my tongue was tickled again. One usually magnetised to a big breakfast, on my third visit I tried The Lot – eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, hash browns, onion, tomato and toast ($15.50) – but unfortunately I think the chef was having a cranky pants day and the meal didn’t live up to the usual Lardy foodgasm. So it was to my great disappointment that this visit also resulted in the same melancholy. You see after weeks of craving the French toast, when I sat down in the well-loved wooden chairs all I really wanted was the savoury mince on toast ($10.50). This is not to say my breakfast wasn’t up to par, I just chose amiss for my slightly-hungover palate. Other pancakes/French toast toppings include berry compote and yoghurt, and passionfruit citrus cream, both $12. The pesto scrambled eggs served on sour dough with spinach and smoked salmon or ham ($13.50) is a popular choice and made my savoury-deficient stomach speak up as it was served to the New Farm cycling clan at the next table. One always exciting element of the trendy pit stop is choosing your own juice adventure – you can pick from their range or choose your favourite three thirst-quenching flavours. Reservations are a good idea to avoid a wait, though the matey staff are very accommodating and there’s usually a table cleared pretty quickly. Little Larder make everything (bar the bread and pasta) on the premises and are in “cahoots” as they say with a local farm for the fresh produce and free range eggs. Note: always take a peak in the front cabinet as you can often find tantalising mini-meals like a decadent raspberry/beetroot/chocolate cake or the crisp pastry pies.

Food 4/5
Juice 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Price 4/5

Little Larder
76 Moray St
New Farm 4005 QLD
Ph: 3891 7355
Open 7 days 6am-4pm

Morning Glory

his & hers have been frequenting breakfast joints of a Saturday morning for about a year now and have decided to unleash their eggy hotspots to rumbling Brisbanenite tummies. The breakfast dining craze has grasped the River City by the stomach of late and is the trend-setting, fancy-sounding place to be seen. Watch out for their tastebud-tantalising weekly reviews.

Venture to…

The Little Larder, New Farm
Salt, Rosalie
Pearl Cafe, Woolloongabba
Brown Dog Cafe, Woolloongabba
The Alibi Room, New Farm