Back home in Australia and off to lunch with the Aunt and Cousin. After some discussion, the Aunt suggested this "toasted sandwich shop" and we ended up here.
The place does jaffles (which, bloody hell, I haven't eaten, or made, in more than 15 years), rolls, and slow-pressed juices. Youngest and I ended up with the pulled pork BBQ sanger. It was a hard choice as they had quite the selection aside from basic ham, cheese, and tomato. Lamb with tomato chutney and olive tapenade. Ricotta and tomato. Tomato, mozzarella, and pesto. Roll or jaffle. The option to design your own. Took us a good 5 minutes to decide.
The couple behind the counter were friendly and down to earth. Their work place was clean. And the smell...hints of buttered toast, warm veggies, fragrant roast. Damn it smelt tasty.
It's a canteen so seating is predominantly at the picnic benches off to the side although there are scattered clusters of metal chairs around crates-turned-tables. A paved section and plenty of grassy area. Plus a playground.
We sat and chatted while waiting for our food - which was delivered tableside on colourful plastic plates! Service with a smile!
The food.... Oh my gods the food. Quite basic - a pulled pork sanger was exactly that. A la carte. No sides or salad. This is not a negative but in today's world where so often there are all the extras to try and create value and appeal, it's something you should be aware of. There's no reliance on extras to create value for money, or distract from the sandwich. You get exactly what you ordered.
The roll was good. Crusty and firm on the outside giving a very satisfying crunch when you bite in. Inside the bread is light with a bit of chew and pleasant taste.
The pork was sliced from a roast. If you are familiar with American-style pulled pork, this is not the same. It's not smothered in BBQ sauce. It's not dripping with sweet and tangy sauce. It's slices of moist pork with texture and density. You need to chew it. There's a drizzle of BBQ sauce, a slice of swiss cheese and a tangy coleslaw of carrot and purple and green cabbage tossed with a chipotle mayo. No flavour overwhelms and they complement each other perfectly. Finally, the ingredients are well balanced with the roll so as to give the perfect ratio of bread to meat to cheese to coleslaw.
My aunt's ricotta and tomato jaffle vanished quickly. No stingly portions and the buttered exterior was toasted not burnt, and buttered lightly enough to not be overly greasy.
The Cousin devoured his lamb, chutney, and tapenade jaffle. His initial comment was that it had a odd taste - turns out he'd missed that it had olive tapenade and tomato chutney! That said, once he knew what was actually in it, he found it no longer odd but rather quite tasty!
If you are in the area, I really recommend this place. I gave it 5 stars although it's not a 5-star restaurant. The food is fresh, made from quality ingredients, well-constructed, and very very tasty. The canteen is clean and service is fast and friendly. read more