Some Bread and Butter?

Bread and Butter, 89 Parraween Street, Cremorne

Just 4 weeks ago a new coffee shop, named Bread and Butter, opened in Cremorne (yes, my hood!). It's the little sister of Foundry Fifty Three from Manly and it is so worth mentioning!
It is small, only a few seats inside and two tables outside, but therefor very warm and cosy. They buy their coffee from a boutique roaster named Barrel One, which is pretty strong, but that's the way I like it :-). You can even chose your own brew method (cold drip, pour over, aero press or chemex…). For lunch I ordered an organic fruit toast with ricotta, fresh figs and a winter ginger sauce, really really outstanding! The rest of their menu consists out of fresh breads, muffins, all kinds of eggs, bruschetta, wraps and delicious salads.

Next door they also just opened a furniture store, Warehouse Four Ten, where they sell beautiful industrial and timber pieces with very rare oddities. Bit French Provence / Northern Beaches style.
The coffee and furniture shop are run by a mother and her son and daughter. They are currently very busy as they will soon open a wine bar next door as well! As if that's not enough, coming Friday they will open the doors of a pop-up store, upstairs, with designer clothes and art. I will definitely check this out (and grab another coffee at the bar as well…)!

Warehouse Four Ten, 392 Military Road, Cremorne

On the grounds..

Today I checked out Sydney's suburb Alexandria. This inner-city suburb is well-known for its warehouses and trucks which does not make it very pretty. But nevertheless it is becoming very popular nowadays due to the great demand of the brunchers in Sydney. And going out for brunch is what you do in Sydney! A very special place is the Grounds of Alexandria. This beautiful area contains of a huge kitchen garden complete with a chicken run and lamb stable for the little ones. In the garden you can order take away coffees and bbq, while the kids are playing in a tiny but very cute playground.

 You can order delicious home made breads, cakes and fresh lemonade from the outside stalls or buy your fresh flowers for the weekend! On the grounds you can also find their own cafe, where it's all about coffee and rustic food. Every day it is packed with people who love to try their sustainable kitchen and their own roasted coffee. They even offer world class trainings where you can learn all the aspects of the coffee journey!

The Grounds of Alexandria, 2 Huntley St., Alexandria

On the same grounds you will find Salt Meats Cheese. This enormous warehouse is full of high quality imported food and... it's reasonably priced! The owners are Italian but you can find goodies from all over the world. They offer cooking classes and food demonstrations and sell delicious fresh pastas, meats and cheeses, yum!

                                                 Salt Meats Cheese, 41 Bourke Rd, Alexandria

La douce France down under!

After enjoying a delicious authentic French paté (with a good glass of red wine) in my friend's backyard, she revealed the secret place where she bought this extraordinary French appetiser: L'Ami de Pain Boulangerie Café in Cremorne.

Of course I immediately needed to check this place out and it is indeed very special!

Besides the beautiful paté de campagne (with pistachios or mixed herbs) they have a great choice of cheeses, confit de canard, escargots and of course croissants, quiches, pies, brioches and baguettes. Fancy something sweet? Try their exquisite chocolate truffles, florentines and tartes éclaires!

They serve their food from 6.30 am till 6.00 pm, all provided by the professional French chef Thierry. Outside they have put a few tables to enjoy your food and coffee in the sunshine and kids can enjoy themselves in the special play area in the corner of the restaurant.

The restaurant itself lacks a bit of atmosphere, it even feels a bit daggy! But as long as the food is great and the coffee outstanding, who cares? Just 'vérifier cela'!

L'Ami de Pain Boulangerie Café, 37 Spofforth St., Cremorne

Found it!

After being in Holland for a week, I managed to find the place for my cup of coffee; the Espressofabriek in Amsterdam. It happened this morning when they totally surprised me. When ordering, I already started my full story of how I like my coffee: 'Uhh, can I have an espresso macchiato but with more milk, not too much.., etc.' The guy behind the counter got a twinkle in his eyes and said: 'Ok..., you mean a piccolo?' Aaahh... really? This was the last thing I expected! Then he told me that it is not common in Holland, but that he got to know it from Australia! How nice! Their wifi password is even 'flatwhite'..., seriously!! Besides the easy way of ordering, their coffee was made in perfection and they even serve it with a cold glass of water, as it should be. Lucky me!

Espressofabriek, IJburglaan 1489, Amsterdam

Just too good not to mention!

This is absolutely not a hidden gem but just something too good not to mention. I am talking about Bills. This well-known restaurant is located in Darlinghurst, Surry Hills and Woollahra. After Sydney, owner Bill Granger also opened his Bills in Japan and the UK. Besides his restaurants Bill is also famous for his amazing cookbooks and his popular tv series viewed worldwide. But actually all of this is not the reason why I want to mention Bills. Last week I finally had my first brekkie at his cafe in Darlinghurst. I was not only completely in love with the relaxed atmosphere and the gorgeous interior, it was the food and the coffee what really blew me away! This sour cherry-apple loaf with ricotta and honey, combined with my strong Piccolo, was so good that it is definitely worth mentioning. That's why!

What's in a name of the perfect cup of coffee?

It took me 10 months living in Sydney to find the name for my perfect coffee. I know I am picky about the perfect cup, but how hard can it be? I like my coffee strong but softened with some milk. Not too much milk as I need to taste coffee and NO chocolate on top as I need to taste coffee!! The Macchiato made in Italy is the one I like. Great coffee with a dot of milk, not too strong, just simple and perfect.  But when you order a Macchiato in Amsterdam you will get a lot of milk and a tiny bit of coffee... When I am in Hong Kong I order a 'Macchiato with some more milk', as the coffee is way too sour when you ask for a regular one. In Perth you just have to say: a 'Macchiato topped up'. They just put more milk on your espresso, as simple as that! Unfortunately in Sydney they do not get this and I always get my Macchiato way too strong. For a while I thought I had the solution: a double shot cappuccino WITHOUT chocolate. That last request really is too hard for the coffeemakers. No chocolate on a cappuccino is completely out of the box and therefor I had a 50% chance I would get my double shot cap without the chocolate.... But finally, finally I found the name for My coffee: a strong Piccolo!! A double espresso in a small glass or cup topped up with just enough milk, that's it!! But the question is: what will I get when I order a strong Piccolo in Asia or Europe? Well, I am able to figure this out in 2 weeks. To be continued...

No need to cross the water anymore!

Two former chefs, one more experienced in pastry and the other more in bread, had the same vision: opening the perfect bakery which was small, homely and timeless. And so they did: in 2004 they opened their first one, Bourke Street Bakery in Surry Hills. After this came Marrickville, Alexandria and Potts Point. But the good news is, for people living on the 'other side' (like me!), they finally made it north of the bridge! They took over the Central Baking Depot in Neutral Bay, which is the perfect location to sell their famous loaves of sourdough and their chocolate and sour cherry cake. The only down side: Don't think you can only order your bread for the weekend... It is just too hard to resist all their lovely hand made bites with this delicious, honest, rustic, mouthwatering look and smell..., jumm!

The Bourke Street Bakery, Grosvenor St. 19-25, Neutral Bay