REVIEW: Pearl Cafe

The breakfast café scene in Brisbane has exploded in the last few year, perhaps even as far back as a decade ago.  In this world of revolving door restaurants, opening and closing with the wind, 8 years is literally a lifetime. Pearl Café is a Brisbane landmark, open since 2008. Tucked in the chic café district of Woolloongabba, the café is an anchor establishment. We visited on an overcast Saturday with hopes of some sunny eggs to brighten up our day.

The café was busy but not so crowded that a table couldn't be snagged quickly. We sat inside the café, which has exposed brick interiors and the atmosphere of a French bistro. Although perhaps because of the exposed brick, the noise of conversation and the din of café business bounced around with nothing to dampen it. It is a noisy space, but the ambiance is warm and so it's easy to rise above the cacophony.

I'd heard things about the Pearl Café butterscotch milkshake. It's legendary around the Brisbane milkshake scene...what do you mean you've never heard of the Brisbane milkshake scene? It's a thing, I'm telling you. And Pearls milkshakes are reputedly a pearler. Ha. Classic. The legend was true. The shake was thick, which is already half the battle won. The butterscotch flavour wasn't the strongest, but the shake wasn't cloying or overly sweet.

For meals, we stuck to what Pearl is famous for, the classics. We each chose Two Eggs Your Way with Toast for $11. I choose scrambled eggs with a side of mushrooms ($5). The eggs were scrambled perfectly, they were creamy and buttery. The mushrooms were not amazing, they were a touch bland and the serving size left something to be desired. More mushrooms. Boom!

My friend chose her eggs poached with a side of bacon ($6). The poached eggs were overcooked, which I confess I prefer. Runny egg whites turn my stomach. My dining partner though prefers her eggs in the conventionally poached way. Each to their own. The side of bacon though was something to behold. It was thick and caramelised, with lovely crunchy bits.

Pearl deserves its landmark status and it's clear to see why it's the anchor café of the Woolloongabba dining district. While some things weren't perfect, it's nice to have a place to go for those pared back, home cooked flavours. Others may buffet about on the winds of food trends, Pearl sticks to simple food, done well.

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

REVIEW: Apples on Ainsworth

An organic café without being obnoxious.

There was a time when doors turned into tables and rickety chairs was just shabby instead of shabby chic. The tides have certainly changed and some of my most favourite cafes (namely the groovy hole in the wall, Southside Tea Room) have adopted this decorating style. There's something comforting about repurposed furniture, old items that otherwise would have been disposed of are given a new life. But in their new life, they bring with them their history and there's a warmth in the history of old things. And there's warmth to this café, Apples on Ainsworth, which comes not only from it's worn and mismatched furniture but from the welcoming staff as well.

These cups of coffee need a pool fence and a CPR poster.

Not far back from Kessels Road, Apples on Ainsworth sits on it's namesake street in suburban Salisbury and I'm not sure I would have found it if it had not been recommended to me by a friend. We met with my parents for a Sunday breakfast. The café was fairly busy, but there was a table (made from a door, of course) available outside in the mild sun.

Looks like someone took a big old sip of my milkshake...that's my trick!

We ordered at the counter and drinks arrived soon after at our door-table. The coffees were big enough to drown in! And they were served in vintage crockery, consistent with the rest of the café. As I did spot that the milkshake flavourings were the old Cottees pump bottles, I went with a chocolate milkshake instead of my favourite breakfast milkshake, trusty caramel. I find that the caramel flavourings out of a bottle tend to be too sweet and don't give the true caramel hit I desire. The chocolate ones are passable though. This milkshake came in a steel canister which is always a good sign, but it had cream on top, which I don't like and I would have liked it if I were asked if I wanted it on there, as I didn't see it stated on the menu. Also, it wasn't filled up all the way, and was a even a fair way from the top. It was okay in flavor though. See where it ranks on the Milkbar!

Me and that toast could be related, we're both pretty pale.

We didn't have to wait long for the meals to come out. The first of the three dishes was the old classic, Bacon & Eggs ($12), a piece of organic sourdough with scrambled eggs, bacon and a side of halloumi ($3). The bacon was blissfully well-done, so often bacon is pale and undercooked, so it was nice to see it cooked through and the fat rendered. The eggs were also well cooked, a yellow, fluffy cloud of morning goodness. The halloumi was a little chewy, it would have fare well with a squeeze of lemon. And although the bacon was well cooked, the toast could have used a minute or two longer in the toaster. But considering the price, it was pretty decent.

Yum. Population: this dish.

I love the current trend of baked or Mediterranean eggs or whatever they want to call the tomato-y medley that is usually served in some sort of earthen ware. And at Apples on Ainsworth, they call is Spanish Eggs ($10), Baked Eggs in a Spanish Salsa mixed with homemade house mix beans & organic mince, served with organic sourdough cheese fingers, with bacon ($3). The toast served with the Spanish Eggs were little solider fingers of toasted cheese sandwich, which was so cute. The side of bacon was generous and also well cooked.

So healthy.

I went with a veggo option, the delightfully named Mushroom Boat ($12), Organic grilled mushrooms served on a bed of spinach with avocado and halloumi topped with a sunny side up egg and dressed with pesto. This was a lovely dish, very fresh and light...maybe too light for my cavernous stomach. If you're anything like me, order a bit of toast on the side. The milkshake did go a fair way to filling to void.

So much stuff.

All in all, Apples on Ainsworth is a suburban gem with great service and decent food. With the authentic vintage feel, the ambience feels like a visit to grandma's kitchen...not my grandmother, her kitchen is rather contemporary but perhaps a TV grandmother or your grandmother or the nice lady down the road who doesn't have any children but is just a really nice, older lady.

Food: 3.5/5Service: 4/5Price: 4/5Atmosphere: 3.5/5

REVIEW: Harveys Bar + Bistro



Lovely Harveys is a great place for people watching.

Can I just ask why, if they're going to serve breakfast at an establishment, why do they not serve it all day? Do they not know that I drank one and a half bottles of the second cheapest wine from a inner city pub last night and had to sleep til 9 then lay around in my pants for an hour watching reruns of The Love Boat? And therefore cannot possibly be expected to present for breakfast before 11 am? Do they not know!? Outrageous. And this is why we did not have breakfast at Gerards Bistro but instead made the perilous journey across the carpark driveway to Harveys Bar + Bistro. And you think I'm joking when I say it was perilous, but I'm not. Range Rover drivers think James Street is their personal Grand Theft Auto game and we're nothing but dispensable street walkers scurrying out of the way.

I'm not a fan of Dave Hughes, his voice annoys me but the women who sat down after he left were more annoying.

In any case, we made it across the driveway like frogs in a Frogger game, in the rain no less. We were seated with a slightly peevish attitude which was offset by the plum table in the corner of the outdoor patio area. We ordered drinks, two Bellini's to get the morning started in true New Farm style. While we supped our breakfast cocktails like two extras from Ab Fab, we did happen to spy a well known comedian (who I won't name, lets just call him Dave Hughes) seated at the table next to us.


I want all the liquids!

After we'd sated both our a.m. alcohol and celebrity spotting needs, we got down to the need of food. I was pleased to see a caramel milkshake on the menu and did my honourable duty of ordering one. And I was pleasantly surprised, I had not picked Harveys for the makers of a fine milkshake but they proved me wrong. The texture was silky and thickened with good quality ice cream. And though I could taste ice cream, I could taste milk. Which sounds strange, but with ice cream and caramel flavour, it's rare to actually taste the milk. The caramel flavour was a little weak but overall a very good milkshake. Check it's ranking on the Cassie Cakes Milk Bar.

I took all those chilli flakes and it was awesome.

Our breakfasts were delivered soon after. First was the Confit Potato, Ricotta and Spinach Omelette, with Tomato Chutney and Chilli Flakes with Serrano Jamon for $19.90. The omelette was packed with flavour, the egg was soft but also cooked through. The omelette is often a skill test for chefs, a simple dish but when done well, it's light, yet rich in flavour. And the omelette cooker at Harveys had it down. The jamon was perfect, salty and tasty. Had we not gone with the optional ham though, the dish might have been lacking a little.


Oh I wish I had this now. I'm jealous of past myself.

The second dish we ordered was the Potato and Feta Roesti, Creamed Sweet Corn, Poached Egg and Herb Salsa for $17.90, with bacon for $5.50 extra. The rost, or roesti as it was written, was really squat and fat, which usually means the insides would be stodgy and dense. But this roesti was really transcendent! The outside was crisp and the inside was light, fluffy potato, like it had been whipped by the wings of angels. The bacon was salty, thin and crispy and there was a dollop of sour cream that paired perfectly with everything. Also, creamed corn is amazing and I love it and I want to marry it. I was hugely impress with the poached egg, also perfectly cooked, no translucent white bits that can turn me off my breakfast. That's a lie, nothing turns me off food.


Yolk porn.

It is obvious to me why Harveys is a New Farm institution. Everything on the menu was simple but it was done so well. For this approach, I would really love to visit Harveys for dinner. And besides a slightly unhappy greeting, all the other staff were lovely and helpful. And hey, maybe that one member of staff was hungover too.

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5 

REVIEW: Moray Cafe

Straight off, I'll tell you this post guest stars the cutest dog ever.

In Queensland, there seems to be some confusion as to when our public holidays should be. One political party puts Labor Day one place, the other party puts it back and now we're all so confused as to where it's supposed to be. But a curious thing happened to the Queens Birthday holiday. It used to be in June and so it was for years and years. I know this because the Queens Birthday weekend was also MY birthday weekend. Some may suggest that the logical connection is that since the celebration is for a queen and my birthday is that weekend, that I am in fact a queen. A fact I can neither confirm or deny but I will say that I have grey hair, am 89 years old, was born in Mayfair and I look bloody good in a crown.


Oh my days, will you get a load of those eyes?

In any case, they took my holiday away and now it's sometime in October where Labor Day is and Labor Day is going to May. Confused? Me too. Take home message: we went out to breakfast and this is my review. We were meeting friends and discussed places to eat, we thought about Bitter Suite as I haven't tried their breakfast but they only served breakfast to 11am and I do not need that sort of negativity in my life. ALL DAY BREAKFAST OR NOTHING. So Moray Café it was.


Not even sorry about the number of photos of Stompy in a food review. SORRY, NOT SORRY!

Moray Café sits on a pretty corner, a couple of blocks back from the river. I did a quick search online to see if they were dog friendly and they seemed to be so we decided to take along the hairy wrecking ball herself, Stompypants aka Puppy Cakes. A place can be dog friendly, but it's another matter if our dog is place friendly. When we arrived, our friends had snagged a great spot inside but for some strange reason, places generally don't want a 37.5 kilo German Shepherd in narrow spots. After a small wait, the kindly staff arranged a spot for us outside. The whole time we were there, the staff we so nice about us having our dog there.

Right, this is a food blog...not a puppy appreciation blog...why not have both?

We sat outside a caught a lovely breeze coming off the river. The café sits on a pretty corner with a great big Moreton bay fig lending it's shade. We started with some coffees, juices and a caramel milkshake for me. It came in a sort of mason jar hybrid that is popular in many places. The flavour of the milkshake was fairly mild, it tasted a bit like bought caramel. The texture was fine, a bit thin. So all in all, it was okay and will probably hover towards the lower half of the Cassie Cakes Milkshake Bar.

Yep, thems some eggs.

The breakfast menu has a good mix of classics and a few adventurous dishes. Though despite my pleadings, no one would order the Fried Chicken and Sweet Waffle - $20.50. We stuck with the classics. First up, was the Smashed Avocado with House Marinated Feta, Crushed Pistachios, Poached Eggs & Preserved Lemon on Dark Rye for $17.50. The rye bread looked under toasted and was dry, but this was remedied with extra butter. The avocado was a little on the shy side but the feta was creamy and generous. The eggs were slightly overdone.

And thems some more eggs. Yeah, they were okay. :/

Next was the Scrambled Eggs and Bacon with Turkish Toast, Streaky Bacon, Dukka Roast Tomato & Tomato Relish, $15. The bacon was cooked well with crispy edges. The Turkish toast also benefitted from the butter we requested. The dukkah tomato was nicely roasted - often they seem to be almost raw so it was nice to see it cooked through. The scrambled eggs were the same as the smashed avocado eggs, dry and overcooked.

 

More scrambled eggs! Man, people love eggs scrambled.

Obviously there were some fans of the old scrambled eggs, me included as I ordered the Haloumi Stack with Mushrooms, Avocado, Poached Eggs, Smashed Hash Cake, Fresh Spinach & Roast Tomato for $16.50, swapping the poached eggs for scrambled. This could have been a mistake as I too was underwhelmed by the eggs. The haloumi was nice, if a little cold. The hash cake didn't blow me away, it was all a little bit bland. Not terrible, but not memorable either.

This Turkish toast is very sun conscious, big on the SPF.

Eggs were not having their moment this day. The Poached Eggs & Bacon with Turkish Toast, Streaky Bacon, Dukka Roast Tomato & Tomato Relish - same as the scrambled eggs and bacon dish $15 - was not great with the poached eggs being overdone too. The Turkish toast on the other hand looked very pale. It was as though the meals got cooked but then the toast was forgotten about and everything had to wait while it cooked. Most of the eggs on this dish went uneaten.

On the other hand, these sausages look like a gold coast housewife who suns for hours every day.

Finally, never one to stray from a breakfast, with generous proportions - he likes his breakfasts like he likes his lady! - Mr Cakes ordered the Moray Big Breakfast with Poached Eggs, Turkish Toast, Streaky Bacon, Sautéed Spinach & Mushrooms, Kransky, Bacon & Cheese Potato Hash Cake & Dukka Roast Tomato for $20.50. And no one was denying that the breakfast was indeed big. The bacon was again cooked well and the mushrooms were garlicky. Other than that, this was more miss than hit. The Turkish toast benefited from butter and the hash cake was a bit soft and flavourless. The sausages looked like they were cooked before the rest of the meal was ready. It wasn't bad, it was just a bit...meh.

Stompy approves of this message.

And unfortunately, that was the how we all felt about our food. The staff were lovely and accommodating but as much I wanted the meal to be great so I could write a glowing review, it was all a touch disappointing. No flavours punched through and the elements of the meals seemed poorly timed, bits were cold and others were over cooked. With such a lovely spot and happy friendly staff, I hope we just visited on an off day. Moray Café has been around forever and there must be a reason.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5

REVIEW: Sassafras Canteen



Will you look at that sky!

On a fresh spring day, what better thing to do than brunch. And on a leisurely weekend, there's no reason to stay local so off we traveled to the other side of the city to try a café that's been on my must-try list forever and a day. Sassafras, the pronunciation of which I found inordinately difficult, sits on a bend on Latrobe Terrace right in the middle of Paddington. Parking was a little sparse and as such, we parked at the bottom of a basically 90 degree incline and used mountain goats to scale the sheer cliff face of suburban Paddington.

Lovely courtyard.

Once we'd thanked the Sherpa's, we made our way to the café. A cute shop with a awning and some stools at the front, the outside appearance belies the size of the building, with rooms leading on to rooms and back into a spacious, leafy courtyard. We took a couple of menus and sat down at a well-worn wooden table, complete with knee rugs. In the crisp morning air, with dappled sunlight over our table, we really felt like we had found a suburban oasis.

Hey table. Hey bench. Meet my butt.

After perusing the abundant breakfast menu and making some very challenging decisions, we went up to the counter to order. The staff behind the counter were very helpful and were able to help us narrow down our choices. We returned to our table and soon after, drinks arrived, with the waitress who dropped them off curiously apologising for the totally appropriate wait.


You might as well leave, juice. Ain't no one looking at cho.

Sassafras have so many cold drink options with smoothies, shakes, iced drinks and juices. For drinks, we ordered a Freshly Squeezed Beetroot, Orange, Carrot and Ginger juice for $7, which is lovely if you like beetroot in your juice and a Caramel Thickshake for $8. And here's the bit I've really been excited about telling you about. I am going to try to refrain from too many capitals and exclamation marks...BUT I'M NOT PROMISING ANYTHING! This shake was so flipping good! It was thick! It was flavourful! It was cold! It. Was. HUGE! I couldn't finish it. Seriously, can you remember a time when that happened? Because I can't. And I've known me all my life. Delicious. Creamy. Perfection. Do I need to tell you where this shake rates on the Cassie Cakes Milk Bar?

This is my porn.

Getting a shake that right put them at peak position for me. Sassafras had no where to go now but down. Our food arrived soon after and it looked as though Sassafras were not scare of lofty heights. We ordered two dishes, sharing both and they were both presented wonderfully. We started with savory, Potato, Feta & Mint Rostis with Poached Egg, Onion Relish, Mushroom, Tomato and Rocket Salad for $19. The rostis were delicious with what I think was semolina on the outside to make them extra crisp. There were flecks of mint which gave a fresh burst in the mouth. The relish and mushrooms were good too, I could have used some more mushrooms but since they weren't the hero of the dish anyway, what can you expect. The egg was also well poached with not yucky clear bits. It was a solid dish.

If I can eat fried potato at breakfast, I'm happy.

Because life is all about balance, we had the Belgian Waffles, Lemon Curd, Vanilla Ricotta and Fresh Passionfruit for $16. Plus, a side of ice cream for $2 cos this ain't my first time at the rodeo, son! The waffles were light and airy, not doughy and overly dense as some waffles can be. I wouldn't have minded if there were a touch more cooked, as the outside was a bit soft but as my friend pointed out, we did eat them second so they may have softened.The ricotta was lovely but I think I would have missed the ice cream if we hadn't ordered it. The lemon curd was tart and a perfect accompaniment. Again, it was a lovely breakfast treat.

And in the morning, I'm making WAFFLES!

I have to say, Sassafras has got to be one of the best breakfast places I've been to. It was comfortable, welcoming, the food was great and the shake was the best thing that's happened to me since Sam chose Snez on this years season of The Bachelor. #SamandSnez4eva. I thoroughly recommend making a visit to see for yourself. 

#CasseieandThickshake4eva... how cute are the ice cream rings!

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5

REVIEW: Dandelion & Driftwood

The lovely northside cafe, Dandelion & Driftwood

Guess who's back! Back again! Cassie's back! Tell your friends! I am not an Eminem fan or even a hip hop...or rap?...that-genre-of-music fan, but those sentiments are fitting as I am back. Where did I go? Well, no where but I was without a laptop to blog on for a long time and if Cassie have no telly, Cassie no bloggy. Did you miss me? You did!? You like me! You really like me!

Anyway, I'm back and I have a pretty exciting recipe post coming up but I just can't keep you waiting any longer so I've got a review to warm up the engine for me. I rarely get over to the Northside and then to the Northside that isn't Paddington...fuggedaboutit! So when the chance to eat at Dandelion & Driftwood in Hendra, I couldn't pass the opportunity to expand my reviewing horizon.

The side entrance to the Tea Garden.

We found Driftwood & Dandelion amongst the pretty backstreets, nestled at the end of a small row of shopfronts. Even on a workday, a park was not available close by as Driftwood & Dandelion as well as the cafe close by were very busy with almost all the tables taken. But not all. We snagged a table in the unexpected courtyard of Driftwood & Dandelion. The cafe was small with a compact kitchen but the owners have utilised every spare inch and have fit in a lot of tables. The cafe does feel full but not unpleasantly...just very cosy.

Wonderful selection of baked goods.

The menu was extensive with a great selection of all day breakfast items as well as baked goods and sandwiches. The coffee menu was equally as detailed with explanations on the different blends and roasts available. My caffeine connoisseur friend indulged in the very cutely named Piccolo Tasting Plate which was a choice of two of the piccolos for $6. She went with the house recommendations - the Dandelion Blend and the Driftwood Blend. Each came with a laminated information sheet about the coffee. Absolutely charming!

The piccolo "tasting plate". More of a pair of piccolos, but a lovely name nonetheless.

As a non-coffee drinker, there wasn't much on that list to interest me but fear not - there were juices, teas, hot chocolates and milkshakes too. Can you guess what I ordered? If you guessed a caramel milkshake, you would be correct. The milkshake came in a big, frosty steel canister, which is the best way to serve a milkshake. There was a definite taste of vanilla ice cream and there was a lovely frothy top. The texture was a little thin and I think the caramel flavour could be a little stronger but overall, solid effort. See where this milkshake ranks in the Cassie Cakes Milkbar.
 

Nice froth and cute straw!

The breakfast menu is pretty extensive with some of the more uniques breakfasts getting around. We decided on The Dandy Man ($18.50) to share and the Popeye the Bagel Man bagel ($13.50). The florentine bagel was topped with spinach (which may lend the bagel it's name), bacon, free range fried egg, tasty cheddar cheese, hollandaise and tomato relish. The staff were really helpful and the bacon on the side for our sole carnivorous diner. The bagel was toasted well and the hollandaise tasted like homemade. As bagels are, it was a little chewy and dense but bagel is as bagel does. For a breakfast on the smaller side, the cheese and sauces helped the bagel pack a punch.

In New York, they pronouce it bag-elle. o_0

The Dandy Man was the second meal which we ordered to share between two. It consisted of traditional corn and zucchini fritters with fluffy scrambled eggs, avocado, rocket, toasted pinenuts, sweet chilli jam and cream cheese. There were two decent sized fritters which were delicious with the avo, jam and cream cheese but I need to tell you about these eggs. They were the lightest, fluffiest eggs I've ever had. Ever. They were like a delightful, pale yellow cumulonimbus cloud on the end of my fork. How did you do it, Dandelion and Driftwood? Tell me. They were fantastic.


BEST EGGS EVER!

The northside is an unexplored treasure trove for me, I only wish the Northside roads made more sense and people didn't park in the left lane of what was a main road until 10 metres ago. I think if all the cafes are as nice as Dandelion and Driftwood, I might just be able to put up with that too.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5