FoodMeUpScotty: Breakfast Series - The Spring Hill Deli and Produce

Sunday, 7 September 2014

Breakfast Series - The Spring Hill Deli and Produce

https://www.facebook.com/springhilldeli

I really love being able to tell people about those little hidden gems that are dotted around Brisbane. There are so many breakfast spots to check out, you can get a little bit lost trying to decide where to try next (well, that happens to me every weekend!). I'd been struggling running through the list on Urbanspoon, a list that has almost nine hundred breakfast and brunch options before I came across a name that tingled my memory!

Very good friends of ours and regular breakfast buddies have lived in and around the Spring Hill area for a long time and once I came across the Spring Hill Deli, a hazy memory of DruBoy telling me that it was a top spot just popped into my head. It was possible that I'd imagined the memory as well, we've been told about a few placed by DruBoy, but I was positive that we were onto a winner.

While the Spring Hill Deli was technically close enough for us to walk to, we were feeling a little bit lazy and decided to drive. If it had been summer instead of being in the final throws of winter, we might have walked, but it was a tad cool and I reckon we'd made the right decision, especially when a little drizzle of rain hit us on our journey. Located on Boundary Street, the Spring Hill Deli really stands out in a very quiet part of Spring Hill, in fact its almost impossible to miss - its painted bright red and was like a beacon for our cold and hungry bodies.

Stepping into the cafe, we were struck by how ordinary it looked inside. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it did feel quite homely and without some of the more eclectic furniture and layout that's pretty popular in the 'funky' and 'cool' cafes. The only elements that paid homage to the funkster cafes around town were the exposed light fittings and the huge and colourful wall mural that dominated part of the cafe. What really made it feel comfortable for us was the book case filled with a cross selection of books and some stuff for sale!

We'd arrived fairly early for breakfast, which is just what we've been doing lately and had our pick of tables, and we tucked ourselves to the back to the cafe, right in front of the mural so I could get a good view of the cafe and kitchen area. We were handed a couple of menus to look over and ordered some drinks, a banana smoothie for myself and a half strength latte for SC. There weren't a heap of smoothie choices and given an option, I'd never go for a banana smoothie, but this one was alright. SC's latte was superb, really well put together and perfect for the cool morning.

The menu at the Spring Hill Deli was not what I would have called extensive but had an interesting range of contemporary breakfast options. What was conspicuously missing though was a list of ingredients that would have allowed me to build my perfect breakfast, so I was going to have to change my routine and go for a sweet breakfast. SC was super happy with this outcome though, it allowed her to get the eggs without feeling like she was letting the team down!

So, unsurprisingly, SC ordered the eggs benne, which came with toasted sourdough, baby spinach, maple bacon, the poached eggs and a beautiful hollandaise sauce. The breakfast looked sensational on the plate with the twin stacks tasting as good as they looked. The hollandaise sauce was perfect but the real highlight was the wonderful flavour from the maple smoked bacon, which looked a little darker than your normal bacon, obviously from the smoking process. There was a lot of food on the plate but SC did her best to devour the lot and enjoyed her last bite as much as her first...

I'd never had Belgium waffles for breakfast before, usually reserving them for desserts or for sweet treats at shows or fairs (normally in Europe). So, I decided, what the heck, waffles for breakfast... I thought it was a bit too much to get the full package, which came with caramel sauce, banana and toasted pecan nuts but the strawberries, maple and ice cream sounded doable. Wow, I've been missing out, the waffles were sensational. There was a light dusting of icing sugar over the waffles which were sweet, but well balanced when incorporated with the fresh strawberries. I liked them best when I added a bit of the vanilla bean ice cream, a strawberry piece and the light and perfect waffle. I really did love the sweet detour for breakfast, but I struggled to get through the lot and had to settle for eating two thirds. I'd definitely have waffles for breakfast again.

The Spring Hill Deli and Produce was pretty quiet when we first arrived but there was a steady stream of customers coming though, to the point that we were glad we'd come early. It seemed as if the Spring Hill Deli wasn't the obscure little cafe that no one knew about after all!

The staff at the cafe were all really friendly and our breakfast ran through very smoothly, in fact, it was one of those meals where you don't notice the passing of time because everything is running so smoothly. I thought the meal was sensational and SC loved her coffee, perhaps the only element that I could see where it could have been better would be with a few more smoothie options. Oh, and perhaps some scrambled eggs as an option as well :)

Since I've been to the Spring Hill Deli, I've had a few friends ask where they should go for breakfast in the Spring Hill area. I had no hesitation in mentioning the Spring Hill Deli and had immediate feedback that I'd given out some winning advice.

I'm sure that the Spring Hill Deli is quite well known in and around Spring Hill, but I'm guessing that it's still the hidden gem I suspected. I'd definitely recommend travelling from far and wide to check it out, it's that awesome!

@FoodMeUpScotty