Cafe

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The General Food Store – Emerald, Victoria – Friday 22 May 2015 – Lunch

Roots ‘n’ All - Honey roasted Dutch carrots, beetroots, shallots and butternut, farro, parsley, toasted almond, currants, lemon crème fraîche, olive oil

Roots ‘n’ All – Honey roasted Dutch carrots, beetroots, shallots and butternut, farro, parsley, toasted almond, currants, lemon crème fraîche, olive oil

This is not the first time we’ve been to The General Food Store and my first review was all about whether the trip was worth it. Being the fourth time we’d travelled all the way to Emerald for breakfast or lunch I’d say the trip is undoubtedly worth it.

Since then we’ve learned a few things. The staff might be young but they can serve. The cafe might be small and popular, but we normally get straight in as we get there at more unusual times (really early, or just coming up to midday is a good time). Lastly, but most importantly, the food is always beautiful.

Kentucky Derby - Toasted sesame bun, citrus slow cooked pork shoulder, red cabbage slaw, spinach, house made barbeque sauce, mayonnaise

Kentucky Derby – Toasted sesame bun, citrus slow cooked pork shoulder, red cabbage slaw, spinach, house made barbeque sauce, mayonnaise

Today we were here a bit later for lunch. Catherine was torn between the Kentucky Derby and the Roots ‘n’ All so naturally I offered to have half of the pulled pork, and half of the vegies. The Kentucky Derby is a generous sized pulled pork burger kept reasonably straightforward in terms of ingredients. The ingredients themselves are packed with flavour though, and while the barbeque sauce in particular is incredible, nothing can match the gorgeous pulled pork as the star. Catherine especially enjoyed the bun too.

The Roots ‘n’ All is certainly not just an accompanying dish. It stands on its own and the honey roasted carrots are delightful. Why it is not just a side is the addition of beautifully roasted and caramelised shallots, and texture from the almonds and farro, all brought together with the lemon creme fraiche and olive oil dressing. I could be quite happy having this as the main event.

Some nice coffee, and some beer and cider later, and it has been another successful trip to Emerald thanks to The General Food Store. If there was ever a destination cafe within an hour of Melbourne, this is my pick.

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Reunion & Co – Richmond – Saturday 2 May 2015 – Breakfast

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There is instantly a reason for coming back here. The Vic Meats bacon, is cut thick, and oozes with flavour, and the fat is rendered beautifully. It is not the only delightful ingredient being plated here though.

Being a regular to the area close to Lumberjack and Touchwood it was never going to be long before trying Reunion & Co. What I didn’t initially appreciate is that Reunion has only been open for six days!

When several of us tried to grab a table for lunch on Wednesday it was full. I noticed then that there is a lot of space in the cafe, and that the predominant table setting was for two. It’s a lovely old room, previously a furniture store, but with more history than that, and gorgeous stained glass windows welcoming your entry. Coming back this morning I thought Catherine and I must be a good chance for a table for two and we were only waiting for a couple of minutes when that table came up.

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The Allpress coffee is a good standard, well made by the barista using a La Marzocco machine. Juices are supplied by Noah’s; Catherine’s “Summer Lovin'” very nice with apple, mango, peach, kiwi and lime. The food is the focus here though.

Catherine asked about the bircher, which is done in a coconut milk, and our waitperson confirmed it was quite sweet so she opted instead for the staple bacon and poached eggs. I decided to adventure this morning, and ordered the “house cured trout congo & kipfler potato, beetroot relish, goats curd and poached eggs on toast”. The house cured trout was superb, the absolute star of the dish, and combined well with the other ingredients, especially the relish and curd. I’d suggest the generous serving of potatoes is reduced a touch, and cut thinner, as several bites were dominated by it, until I decided to leave half of them alone, and let the trout sing without competition. The presentation of the dish is immaculate.

The bacon serving is extremely generous, and is amazingly flavoursome. Catherine’s poached eggs were cooked perfectly too. The only critique would be toast that is not buttered, and then having to wait over a minute to get any butter. Personally, I think the toast should be buttered, but if it is not, at least have butter on the table.

Which brings me to the service. The maitre’d is great and was pinch hitting for some of the misses by the floor, which is good to see. Not realising the cafe was doing its first Saturday I can accept some of the service misses, especially since everyone was polite and friendly. I’m confident a few aspects will be ironed out quickly but I did notice issues from delivery to the right tables, to providing the right bill, but as I said it is the first week and nothing overly important impacted our enjoyment of our breakfast.

It’s good to see another attractive cafe in Richmond that is serving some differentiated dishes, good coffee, and has the makings of a potential regular.

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