Forages Deli Cafe

I received a Sunday lunch invitation from my parents which usually means dining at their favourite cafe, Gossips at Toowong. I was slightly shocked when my mum asked me to recommend somewhere for us to go. Taking into consideration my Dad's conservative pallet and my desire to not have to wait for a table I began to think of cafes slightly off the beaten Sunday breakfast/brunch/lunch track which meant the exclusion of my beloved Paddington and Rosalie. Suddenly, I thought of Forages Deli Cafe, which I pass nearly 20 times a week on my way to and from university and work, so off we went ready for a good meal.



Skinny Cappuccino



Zucchini & Dill fritters



Forages Deli Cafe is located in the Gailey Fiveways complex along with King Of Cakes Bakery, Tippler's Seafood, Clancy James Butcher and Naturally Fruity fruit store which are all great businesses. You order and pay at the counter then table service applies. At about 12pm on Sunday Forages was probably 3/4 full with a short line of people ordering food and drinks. After perusing the menu mum decided upon the 'ham special' which was ham, cheese, tomato, pesto and avocado on your choice of panini, foccacia or Turkish bread. Mum went with the Turkish bread and opted for it to be toasted. My dad liked the look of the ham special but also had his eye on the open grill of turkey, bacon, cheese, avocado and mayo. Mum told him to go with the open grill so they had something different to each other and could 'compare notes' haha! I had trouble deciding on what I was going to order. I am an absolute sucker for all day breakfast which Forages offers, but I also liked the look of the variety of foccacias, paninis, Turkish breads and homemade burgers that were available. In the end I continued on my recent branching out streak and went with the zucchini and dill fritters with smoked salmon, sour cream and caper relish but I did substitute the smoked salmon for ham. A round of the standard skinny cappuccinos was the beverage of choice.



Turkey Open Grill



Ham Special



The coffees came out fairly quickly but there were only two placed on the table rather then the three that were ordered. After a couple of minutes the waitress came back and apologized about the missing coffee informing us it got knocked over on the way out and was being re-made. I am not sure what type of coffee Forages uses but it was pretty good and well made. The remaining coffee appeared with the food which came out very quickly, impressively fast actually. The servings were generous and the produce used was fresh. The ham on both mum's Turkish bread and accompanying my fritters was from the bone and delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed the zucchini and dill fritters as they were slightly crisp on the outside but soft on the inside. The caper relish had a strong tangy flavour which gave the fritters a nice zing but I only needed a tiny amount otherwise found it a bit overpowering. Overall I loved my meal and would definitely order the fritters again. The turkey and bacon open grill was an impressive looking lunch and my Dad raved about how delicious it was. The ham special Turkish bread met similar praise from mum.

Forages Deli Cafe is a great place to have breakfast, lunch or a sweet treat in between. They also have a deli cabinet with an abundance of cakes, muffins and slices as well as quiches, filos, salads available to take home. If you ever find yourself in the Indooroopilly/Taringa/Toowong area I highly recommend stopping in at Forages!

Poppy's Basket Bakery Deli

Today I ventured to Southbank to catch up with two old friends for lunch. As I haven't ventured to this side of town in a long time I wasn't sure where was good to eat (apart from Max Brenner's). I didn't have any particular food craving at the time and as we were standing outside Grill'd and opposite Toscani's and Poppy's Basket Bakery Deli these were our three options. I'm not sure how we came to the decision but we ended up crossing the road and having lunch at Poppy's.



Chicken Roll



Skinny Cap

Poppy's Basket Bakery Deli has a small breakfast and lunch menu but majority of the lunch is either specials of the day, design your own sandwich/rolls or pick from options such as filos, quiches and salads on display in the deli cabinet. I decided I would design my own bread roll and went with chicken, avocado with full salad (lettuce, beetroot, carrot, cucumber, tomato) on a whole grain roll and of course my standard skinny cappuccino. This meal was really quite pricey coming in at just over $13 for a bread roll and small coffee. My lunch companions ordered the Italian roll which had tomato, salami, cheese with a latte and the daily special of bruschetta with toasted bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar with an affogato.

Bruschetta

The service was very quick with our food appearing a few minutes before our coffees. My bread roll was really fresh but was quite small. The coffee was smooth and well made but had a little too much froth. The bruschetta and Italian roll met with no complaints. All in all, Poppy's Basket Bakery Deli is a nice place for a catch up over coffee and a morning or afternoon tea snack. For those a bit more serious about their breakfast and lunch cafes I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Comfort At My Table

Comfort at My Table is one of my favourite breakfast/lunch cafes in Brisbane. Everything from the menu to the decor is superb and I am yet to have a bad meal or coffee at this Milton located cafe. It is obvious from the size of the takeaway coffee line during work-days that it is a favourite to many professionals in the area, often extended from the counter to the front door! The breakfast menu offers a large variety of hot and cold as well as sweet and savoury options which is my idea of a perfect balance. The menu undergoes slight change depending on what produce is in season and there are daily specials to keep things exciting.

Skinny cappuccino

Hot Choccy Bowl

On this particular winter morning, a large group of us ventured to Comfort At My Table in celebration of a friends birthday. As it was a particularly cold morning hot drinks were the popular order of the morning with most of the boys tucking in to bowl sized hot chocolates while others went with regular hot chocolates, cappuccinos, lattes and English breakfast tea.One lone wolf of the group ordered a berry smoothie, if they weren't so delicious I would have questioned his sanity for ordering a cold beverage on a winters morning!  The hot chocolate in a bowl is pretty amazing, a cereal sized bowl of hot milk with froth and chocolate powder, accompanied by a shot glass of pouring chocolate, whipped cream and marshmallows to add at your own leisure...pretty much a meal in its self! The coffee is of the Vittoria blend and is always perfectly made. It comes in three sizes, cup, mug and bowl but after seeing the size of the bowls I chose to stick to the cup size!



Nim's Eggs

French Toast







 After umm-ing and aah-ing over the many tempting breakfast options we were all ready to order. I decided to get something completely different from my usual order of muesli and went with the Nim's Eggs; poached eggs, pesto, roast tomato and bacon on sourdough with banana chutney. As odd as the addition of banana chutney sounded it was delicious. The chutney added a sweetness that balanced against the saltiness of the bacon, pesto and eggs much like the addition of BBQ sauce or maple syrup to bacon. The boys in our group ordered either the waffles with lemon curd, yogurt and strawberries or the french toast with bacon, ricotta, maple syrup and pistachios. The waffles were a massive winner with the boys who praised the deliciousness of the lemon curd and the crispness of the waffles. Having been to Comfort many times I understood what they meant because in passionfruit season the waffles and fruit salad featured a passionfruit curd which was unbelievable, I wish I'd had a jar of it to take home. The french toast met with similar praise but on this occasion I think the waffles won the battle of sweet breakfast supremacy. 

Waffles

Avo on Toast







Other breakfast orders included the muesli which was gluten free cranberry and macadamia muesli with sugar baked apple and yogurt. Being a muesli connoisseur I am pretty sure the muesli used in this dish was Brookfarm which is one of my favourites. It was a good combination and perfectly presented but was a bit dry because the serving of yogurt was a bit small. In the past the muesli has been bircher or a trifle which although less pretty was more enjoyable. The avo on toast served with grilled lemon, fetta and tomato relish was another winner, a simple dish done really well. The tomato relish really sets Comfort's avo on toast apart from other cafes, another condiment I wouldn't mind taking a jar of home. Remaining orders included the savoury mince with spinach, grilled lemon and poached eggs, the apple and cinnamon porridge with strawberries (special of the day) plus about 5 servings of banana bread for the table. Comfort's banana bread is some of Brisbane's best, served toasted with butter it is crisp on the outside and moist on the inside, a must order!

Banana bread

Muesli

Comfort At My Table is definitely one of Brisbane's premier cafes. It serves large, seasonal and high quality breakfast portions for exceptionally low prices (Nim's eggs & coffee for $15, bacon & eggs with hot chocolate and banana bread $18). The staff are extremely friendly and the service is always quick, meaning long waits for food and coffee is nonexistent. Every time I finish a meal at Comfort, I already can't wait to come back! p.s their lunch menu is pretty fantastic too!

Adelaide Eatery Adventures

I visited Adelaide for the first time over the weekend and took the opportunity to try a couple of local cafes. I was really impressed with the food scene in Glenelg, particularly the coffee and cafes. There were too many cafes and not enough meals in a long weekend to try them all. Here is a snapshot of my cafe adventures in the city of churches.

Zest Cafe Gallery

Skinny Cappuccino

Located just off Jetty Rd in Glenelg, Zest Cafe Gallery is a cute cafe offering a range of all day breakfast and lunch selections. Arriving around 9:30am I was in the market for breakfast, in particular I was in the mood for my usual order of a skinny cappuccino and muesli. On offer in the muesli department was Zest's own house blend with milk ($6.90), with Greek yogurt ($8.90) or with Greek yogurt and berry compote or yogurt and fresh fruit ($9.40). I decided upon the muesli with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit.

Muesli with fresh fruit

My skinny cappuccino arrived quickly and was accompanied by a complimentary spiral pastry biscuit which was a nice touch. I'm not sure what coffee blend Zest used but it was a great cup of coffee. A moment later my muesli arrived. It was an impressive looking platter served as a mixture of oats, dried apricot, figs and nuts topped with the fresh fruit which consisted of segments of mandarin, halved grapes and slices of apple. This bowl was accompanied by a side of Greek yogurt and milk to add to your own liking. I don't usually enjoy milk with my muesli but had to add a small amount to the muesli as there was not quite enough yogurt.

I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast at Zest Cafe Gallery and would love to return to try other some of there other breakfast and lunch options.



Grind It



Grind It is a cafe also located just off Jetty Rd in Glenelg. During my time in Adelaide I visited this cafe twice, once for lunch and once for breakfast. On my first visit I ordered a skinny cappuccino and a wrap from the lunch menu. The skinny cappuccino ($3.30) was great and made from Adelaide's own AAA Diamond Coffee. Grind It offers 10 sand which options ($9) available on baguette, rotti or Italian bread in addition to its main lunch items of gourmet burgers '(lamb, veggie), salads (grilled haloumi, nutty Asian slaw, fatoush) and house made soup. I decided upon the hummus, avocado, fresh tomato, cucumber and lettuce on rotti and added chicken for an extra $2.00. The house made rotti wrap was delicious and the chicken had been marinated in a light honey & mustard seed dressing. All the ingredients were very fresh and I would have to rate this as the best lunch wrap I have had. I would order this again in a heartbeat.

 

Chicken & Hummus Rotti

My second visit to Grind It was two days later and this time I was joined by a friend. We arrived about 12.30pm on a Sunday and the cafe was busy as it was prime time for the weekend brunch/lunch crowd. We were able to steal two of the few remaining seats at the long, high bench in the centre of the cafe and were asked if we would like a coffee straight away. I went with my skinny cappuccino which I had enjoyed a few days earlier and my friend went with a mocha. As we were seated near the kitchen we were able to see the stream of delicious looking breakfast orders coming out to other diners which convinced us both to order from the breakfast menu. My guest decided to have the 'Veggie Breaky' ($15) which featured 2 eggs (any way), roasted tomato, sauteed mushrooms, zucchini fritter and Turkish toast. I on the other hand changed my mind about 3 times but eventually ordered the 'Sam I Am' ($16) which was pesto and fetta scrambled eggs on rye with grilled ham (avocado added), a cute play on the Dr Seuss' green eggs and ham.

Skinny Cappuccino

Both breakfasts were very tasty. A highlight of the Veggie Breaky was the zucchini fritter as it was crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and packed full of flavour. The pesto and fetta scrambled eggs were definitely something I would not usually ordered but I really enjoyed the flavour combination of the pesto with the eggs. However, the grilled ham was a slight let down as it seemed like it was just sliced ham from a packet rather then fresh produce like everything else the cafe offered. I really enjoyed my rye toast, especially when spread with the cafe's house made strawberry jam.



Sam I am with avocado



Veggie Breaky

Grind It is the sort of trendy cafe that you might find in Paddington or James St. They serve really great coffee and food and I would highly recommend visiting it if you ever find yourself in Glenelg!

Gossips Wine & Espresso Bar

Gossips Wine & Espresso Bar located in the Toowong Village shopping complex is without a doubt my parent’s favourite cafe. They are serial weekend lunchers at this establishment and every now and again I join them for a meal. The cafe is located in the upper gallery, overlooking the lower levels of the centre. Gossips offer breakfast (all day on weekends), lunch and dinner on Thursdays (late night shopping). The lunch menu is quite extensive offering toasted sandwiches, gourmet Turkish/focaccia/Panini’s, burgers, pizza, salads and soups while the breakfast menu offers all the stock standard options from bacon and eggs to pancakes (no muesli unfortunately).



Skinny Cap

Arriving at the cafe around 12.30pm it was well and truly into full lunch service mode. We seated ourselves and within five or so minutes a waitress was over to take our order. My parent's being regulars at the cafe have their set order so we placed our food and coffee order at the same time. A round of three skinny cappuccino’s and two 'Deli' gourmet toasted Turkish breads consisting of leg ham, sun-dried tomato, olives, avocado and cheese for them and for me the 'New Yorker' toasted focaccia consisting of turkey, avocado, cranberry, lettuce and cheese. On other Gossip lunch occasions I have ordered the Gourmet Lamb Burger, fruit toast with strawberry jam and scrambled eggs with avocado, haloumi and bacon. All of these meals were thoroughly enjoyed, particularly the lamb burger and fruit toast! But I was in a sandwich mood this day.




Turkey Focaccia

The coffee took about 10 minutes to arrive after ordering which I thought was a respectable wait considering how busy the cafe was. Gossips use Piazza Doro Espresso which was smooth, strong and not to hot, just the way I like my coffee to be. In the time it took me to just about finish my coffee our food had arrived. All three sandwiches were perfectly toasted, having a golden texture and crunch to the bread. The Deli toasted Turkish breads were highly enjoyed as usual, I guess this is why they continue to keep ordering them! My New Yorker on focaccia was far tastier then I had anticipated. I love the classic combination of turkey, avocado, cheese and cranberry but the addition of the toasted herbed focaccia bread really impressed.



Deli Turkish

Gossips Wine & Espresso Bar is a great cafe to enjoy a coffee and meal at if you are in the Toowong vicinity. They have a wide range of selections bound to satisfy everyone’s cravings. On looking over the drinks menu I noticed a new addition of gourmet milkshakes including flavours such as hazelnut, white chocolate and rose & lychee which all sound super tempting. For the sweet tooths there are also numerous, cakes, scones and my personal favourite, Byron Bay Cookies for sale at the counter.  Apart from the good food and coffee, a real highlight of Gossips is the service. The wait staff are very friendly, attentive, fast and one of the reasons why my parents go back week after week.