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: 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