Practice makes… well, better, anyway. The last few coffees: three from three.
If this whole theology thing doesn’t work out with the exams over the next two weeks, I won’t quite be putting in an application to Campos, but maybe somewhere more third-rate might take me on.
Kristy’s birthday was on Sunday, so over the weekend we had a good excuse to sample a variety of Newtown/Erko eateries. If you’re in the area looking for a bite, here are some goodies:
Twelve is a slightly-upmarket (relatively speaking) restaurant on King St, Newtown. It’s got big glass windows for that fishbowl/watch-the-world-go-by effect. For the first time I can remember for ages, all 5 of us at dinner (my family came along too) had no complaints or regrets in our meals. Beautiful food, well made & presented, good service, and a dessert menu that’s worth going back for alone.
Particularly the sticky toffee pudding.
Burgerlicious was Sunday lunch. Fresh, tasty, and just like your traditional local burger-shop, only a step up in quality.
Shenkin was a real winner. This little cafe in Erskineville (Erko rd, up towards the Newtown end) is run by a family from somewhere in Eastern Europe I suspect, although I don’t know where. They do decent coffee, have a decent menu, and make simply fantastic chocolate croissants. Often when I’ve had them before, particularly from French bakeries, I’ve been very disappointed in the little hard pellet-like chocolate filling. These, however, were the real deal. The chocolate seems to be an integral (load-bearing) pastry ingredient. Excellent gear.
Finally, although this wasn’t birthday fare, The Bank near Newtown station has a brilliant Thai restaurant underneath it, Sumalee Thai. For Newtown it’s definately pricey, but absolutely wipes the floor with every other thai place, including Pothong Thai. Up in the pub, however, from 6pm on a weekday night you can get a beer plus a thai curry for $10. Delicious bargain.
Any other favourite dining places?
The politics of coffee isn’t just about free trade. My newest bean supply is from Campos Coffee, possibly the best coffee around. I bought a bag of the Obama Blend. The description runs like this:
“Great depth of character, strong, and eloquent. This very appealing blend unites coffees from Africa and the Americas to produce a cup which has gotten us excited. Formidable middle palate flavors, syrupy with an uplifting finish.
Excellent drink for going forward.”
As it turns out, it’s very good. I’m all for change.
The good news is I made a cup this morning in my machine at home, and it tasted just like one bought from the store. Needless to say, I’m pretty chuffed.
I was down at the local shopping centre earlier today. I was feeling pretty average, and my wife kindly made me go and sit down at a cafe while she did the first part of the shopping. This particular centre was a little short on decent places for coffee, so Gloria Jeans was the best I could find.
Yes, I am a coffee snob.
At the counter, I ordered a macchiato. That’s a shot of espresso, plus a dash of frothed milk on top. I started to suspect that things might not work out for the best when the conversation went like this:
Me: “A macchiato please, to have here.”
Shop assisstant: “Sure. Would you like that in a mug?”
Me: (perplexed). “Ummm…” (holding fingers up, about 2cm apart), “A macchiato is about this big.”
Shop assisstant: “Yes, but we also do them in mugs.”
Me: “Ummm… no, a small glass will be fine.”
I know that upsizing things is all the rage in chain stores, but needing a mug for what is a very tiny drink seems, to me at least, to be indicating that priorities are a little askew.
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