A tribute to those tucked away, suburban treasures that the locals don't want you to know about. My apologies in advance to those who claim homage to their small slice of cafe heaven 'just around the corner', the secret WILL be out. For those of you on the other hand, who are happy to boast about your local landmarks, please let me know so I can pay them a visit.
The Pantry on Egmont
2 Egmont Terrace
Hawthorn
South Australia
8271 4409
http://www.thepantry.net.au
Tucked away in the backstreets of Hawthorne is The Pantry on Egmont. The food is homely, the decor is simple and the atmosphere relaxed. The Pantry serves breakfast and lunch and they also do degustation dinner nights.
At lunch time The Pantry is busy and I get the feeling there is a steady crowd all day long. The reason being, of course, that this place is great. There are a few choices off the menu, with the bulk of food sitting on the specials board. This to me is appealing as you know you're more than likely getting what's in season, and it also shows the chef's are continually inspired to create food for their customers. So the only problem I faced was deciding between hearty looking salads, big homemade healthy burgers, wraps, vegetable stacks, fritattas..... the list goes on. In the end I went for the 'Eden Burger' for $16.90 which was HUGE and stacked full of roasted vegetables. This was served with a delicious smoky capsicum mayo and french fries. I'm yet to try and recreate the capsicum mayo but be assured it's on my list. The mayo was fantastic and used as a dipping sauce for the fries, as well as to moisten the burger itself, well, it was superb. My friend (god bless her for accompanying me for the bulk of my reviews) had the vegetable stack with a trio of salads. I must admit, when hers was served I did get a little food envy as it looked really good and really healthy.
I guess The Pantry is a little on the expensive side in regards to meals but the size of the serves are really big, so you most definitely get your money's worth.
After a successful lunch I'm looking forward to getting to The Pantry again for breakfast. Failing that, it's my kind of place for coffee, some cake and a long childless relax when I can next find some me time. Bring it on.
The Eatery by CK
Queen Street Cafe
12 Elizabeth Street
Croydon
South Australia
8340 0708
In the depths of Croydon, a very small stretch of street is clustered with shops and eateries taking on somewhat of a 60's retro vibe. Perhaps the most iconic of the group is the Queen Street Cafe. The appeal of the cafe not only lies in the great food, but equally appealing is the style and casual feel about the place. The cafe has a simple, no-fuss feel about the decor. Wooden screen doors, rustic floor boards, and chalk boards serving as menu's for both food and wine. The tables and chairs are old and basic, there is a long communal style table in the middle of the room, a set of green velour couches to the side and a long bench style seating arrangement across the front window. The relaxed vibe completely works and you feel like you want to sit in the cafe for a very, very long time. Fortunately the food is also in line with the casualness of the place itself. All day breakfasts and a lunch menu that screams eat me. The choice is tough. I find it pretty hard to get a decent salad when I go out, particularly one that serves as an entire meal. This saddens me as there is nothing I like more that a hearty, healthy, vibrant salad that contents me to the core. Queen Street Cafe has exactly what I like. A great choice of salads that use big ingredients like beetroot, haloumi and yellow fin tuna, together with some other lunch time options like a steak sandwich, blue cheese tart and risotto. The Beetroot and haloumi salad with tahini dressing comes highly recommended. I also tried the chicken salad which unfortunately came with a poached egg that was undercooked. This was the only negative, and given that every other aspect hit the mark, the raw egg was able to be overlooked. The pricing sits around the $20 mark for most of the food options and the serves are large. There is also a good range of drinks including some stellar beers and wines.
Queen Street Cafe is not so much of a secret these days and you'll be hard pushed to get a table on a weekend morning. But if you hold off till late morning for breakfast or go in for a lunch then you'll be sure to secure a position which you can happily make your own for as long as your heart's content.
The Eatery by CK
Coming Soon:
Whisk, Goodwood
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