Breakfast Series - Moose & Gibson

http://www.mooseandgibson.com/

I love this time of the year, the sun is shining and its a little cooler in the mornings.  It's the type of weather that makes you feel guilty for not getting up early and going for a jog or doing some exercise.  It's also the type of weather that inspires finding a great little spot and enjoying a leisurely breakfast and the sun, just because you can.  SC and I had been invited over to check out the latest offering from Malcolm & Danielle Watts and their partner Scott Higgenbotham over at Wooloongabba and a beautiful Autumn Sunday morning seemed ideal.

Moose & Gibson is the newest cafe in the burgeoning cafe scene over at popular Woolloongabba, situated in Jurgens Street, just around the corner from the well established cafes and restaurants on Logan Road.  Set amongst the semi industrial area of Woolloongabba, Moose & Gibson aims to bring a different type of cafe to the area, operating as a cafe during the day but also a live music venue in the evenings.  The fit-out at Moose & Gibson fits in perfectly with its surrounds and has that semi industrial feel to it with polished cement floors and exposed water pipes on the wall.

We arrived at Moose & Gibson fairly early and were greeted by co-owner Malcolm Watts who filled me in a little bit about the concept behind Moose & Gibson and the philosophy behind the establishment.

"We wanted to bring something different to Woolloongabba and saw an opportunity that was lacking in the area.  The idea is to have a great space where you can come along for a great meal but also a spot where you felt comfortable coming along to listen to music in the evenings".

Malcolm also told me that Moose & Gibson would be a little different to his other venue Leaf Espresso Bar and that they would be offering table service the help with an enhanced customer experience.

The cafe style menu has been developed by head chef Luke Tye and features a range of smart modern Australian dishes.  The breakfast menu is no different and has a wide range of 'egg centric' dishes that are fairly traditional but with a contemporary edge.  There is also a small range of other options for those who don't like eggs for breakfast.

The team from Moose & Gibson have again paired up with Two Seasons coffee, with their boutique coffee that offers a high quality single origin bean that changes with the seasons.  SC wasted no time in ordering a half strength latte, and with her first sip sighed with the pleasure that only the first coffee of the morning can bring.  I was keen to have a smoothy, but as yet there is no smoothy options on the menu, so settled for a vanilla milkshake.  Admittedly the milkshake was superb, but I really felt like a berry smoothy.  Maybe next time!

SC loves pancakes and was happy to see that Moose & Gibson had a range of options available with the buttermilk pancakes.  There is the option of lemon butter syrup, maple syrup or caramelised banana to go with the golden brown treats and SC decided to mix it up with both maple syrup and the caramelised banana.  The pancakes were large and perfectly cooked with a beautifully smooth centre and covered in sweet caramel and banana.  It was quite a large serving with three large pancakes covering the plate and were covered in just the right amount of caramel.  With this type of breakfast there is a danger of it being too sweet, but the chef achieved the right balance of ingredients to deliver a knockout plate of food.  My only criticism of the pancakes was the overall colouring of the dish, it tasted great, but really needed a splash of colour on the plate for contrast, maybe some berries?

When looking at the menu I saw lots of great ingredients in each of the options, but nothing that I wanted as a whole.  The chef was good enough for me to mix and match to create a breakfast offering that was slightly different from those listed.  My huge plate of food consisted of scrambled eggs (of course), chorizo (wooo), roasted tomatoes, garlic mushrooms and bacon.  Usually when I order this type of breakfast, the ingredients are piled on top of each other.  Not so at Moose & Gibson, with a very orderly plate of food presented that looked spectacular and actually quite refined for a breakfast.  While the whole plate was delicious, there were some absolute standouts on the plate for me,  with the chorizo, roasted tomato and scrambled eggs full of flavour and amazing.  The garlic mushrooms were very nice, but an extra pinch of seasoning would have elevated them to spectacular.  I have been eating a lot of breakfasts of late and I would definitely put this in the top two or three in Brisbane this year!

There is a great feel at Moose & Gibson and the thing that sets it apart from some of the other dining in Woolloongabba is its location.  Being just around the corner from the more popular and established cafes and restaurants has allowed for a less cramped feel.  Moose & Gibson also faces the morning sun, so the cafe is bathed in beautiful sunlight and on a morning like this morning, is just perfect.  There is a mix of indoor and outdoor dining available, as well as alfresco dining on the footpath, so there are many ways to enjoy your breakfast.

I also love how Moose & Gibson was named, after co-owners Malcolm and Danielle's two beautiful dogs Moose and Gibson.  There is something cool about the way the team from Moose & Gibson go about their business.  The fit-out is amazing and they have put together a great team in the kitchen, with an excellent front of house team.  The service on the morning was brilliant, with friendly staff who seemed to know their stuff.

You always need to ask the question of any new cafe or restaurant coming into an already established area.... 'will it do well?'.  Based on what I have seen so far, the answer will be a resounding yes.  Only open a week and the weekend was already off to a winning start, with a packed Saturday and a rapidly filling cafe on Sunday.  This place has all the right ingredients to be a Woolloongabba classic.

Check out my post from the opening night of Moose & Gibson here

@FoodMeUpScotty

**We were the guests of Moose & Gibson for this visit

Moose & Gibson is a great space, with an industrial feel.  Live music is played from the top level

This will become a classic shot.  Moose antlers used as a light fitting in the cafe

Not sure if the bike is going anywhere!

A range of cakes and pre-made sandwiches for those on the go 

More cakes and a retro box to store the menus 

Boutique coffe house two seasons provides the beans for Moose & Gibson

I love the industrial feel and the exposed water pipes M G for Moose & Gibson!