Breakfast Series - The Shady Palms Cafe

http://shadypalmscafe.com/

Back in the day, there was a powerhouse precinct that had it all, discount shops, cafes and quite a happening scene.  It was a place where on Saturday mornings, there was a vibe, it felt real and just a little bit edgy.  That place was Stones Corner and for a while, it was almost everyone's go-to spot for cheap clothing and a good feed. Then, one day, it wasn't.

For years, Stones Corner languished as a forgotten location, there seemed to be more 'to let' signs in the windows of the shops than shops themselves.  At times, it felt a little bit like a ghost town.  I'm not gonna say that it was the introduction of the discount outlet store DFO, but it was around it's opening that things started to go awry.  Coincidence, perhaps.....

Languish as it might, Stones Corner was not forgotten and over time it has started to transform again, away from its bargain basement factory outlet days into more of a mature setting with cafes and bars.  It might be said that that transformation, while not complete, was kicked along by an enterprising young couple who'd turned to reality TV to help speed up their dream of being in the food industry and opening their own restaurant.  Bec Saul and Mal Gill took to season two of My Kitchen Rules, and while they didn't take out the prize, the exposure was enough for them to open up their very first restaurant.

It might have seemed like a strange choice to open their first restaurant at Stones Corner, which at the time was at perhaps it's lowest ebb, Bec and Mal must have seen something that others didn't. Lady Marmalade was their first restaurant, which quickly became an oasis in an otherwise desolate location.  Success often leads to more success, and after a few short years, it was time to crack on with another cafe/restaurant and since they'd been so insightful with their first cafe, stuck with Stones Corner for their second.

Breakfast Series - Billy Kart Kitchen

http://www.billykartkitchen.com/#welcome

During the week, it was my nephew's third birthday, I know, it's a pretty big deal turning three, the world starts to make more sense and from an uncle/s perspective, the little tacker is a bit more interactive.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get over to see him on his big day and give him his totally awesome birthday present, so we arrange to head over on the Sunday morning.  Never letting an opportunity pass, we thought we would check out a new cafe on the south side for breakfast first.

Like a lot of areas around Brisbane, the south side is becoming a hot bed of cafe goodness with a heap of great cafes servicing the diners south of the CBD, so it wasn't an easy choice to select our breakfast destination.  While there were a number of choices that we would have been really happy with, my pragmatic side shone through and we picked a cafe that was pretty much halfway to my brother's house and therefore the most convenient.

We picked the new Ben O'Donoghue cafe with the cool name, Billy Kart Kitchen.  Most people would know Ben as the celebrity chef who partnered up the Curtis Stone on the television cooking show 'Surfing the Menu' as well as his prolific writing of cook books.  As well as doing his thing on TV, Ben has worked with some influential restaurateurs in the UK including Jamie Oliver and Oliver Peyton (who is kind of a big wig in the UK and a judge on my favourite cooking show Great British Menu).  Most importantly for a great chef is working in restaurants and Ben has worked in some of the UK's top restaurants, including The River Cafe and The Atlantic Bar and Grill - not to mention consulting with Brisbane's own The South Bank Surf Club (see post here).

Breakfast Series - Cockadoodle Cafe and Espresso Bar

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cockadoodle-Cafe-Espresso-Bar/160876987300569

Over the weekend, we had a fairly loose plan to go to breakfast, that was if we got out bed in a timely manner. Because we didn't have any firm plans, I didn't do any research the night before for a breakfast but I did think that we would give Paddington a go.  As it turned out, we were up early enough to cruise somewhere for a leisurely meal in one of our favourite suburbs before it got too busy and after a quick search on Urbanspoon, we were off to check out Hamptons Home Living.

A funny thing happened on the way though.  SC was driving and went a totally strange route to Paddington from the CBD and we ended up at Waterworks Road and needing to cut down Enoggera Terrace.  As we shot around the corner (like the car was on rails), we caught a blurry glimpse of a little cafe that we'd been meaning to check out for a long time.  A quick look at each other and we knew that our plans for breakfast had changed and after a quick u-turn we were parked and heading off to Cockadoodle Cafe.

The little corner of Enoggera Terrace and Waterworks Road has been a cafe that we've wanted to check out for a very long time, in fact it could have been in the decade range.  Cockadoodle Cafe is a relatively new tenant in the spot and for years and years it was a restaurant called Oliveto's, which was a little Modern Australian bistro.  When we lived in the area, we always thought that there would be time to check out Oliveto's and continued to put it off until the next time.  As is normally the case with these things, but the time we finally decided that 'tonight would be the night', it had closed down and we'd missed our chance forever.  Bummer.

Breakfast Series - Pop Coffee Brisbane

http://instagram.com/popcoffeebrisbane

There is a real shortage of great breakfast spots in the Brisbane CBD, so lately I have been charging all over Brisbane suburbs looking for a great breakfast.  It turns out that there is a great new breakfast spot much closer to home, in fact it's right next door to me in Queen Street.  We first noticed that there was something new and crazy happening next door when we went for a walk into the Valley recently. Normally we escape through out back door and head to the Valley along Adelaide Street, but for some reason we went the front way, along Queen Street.  

There used to be a cafe slash carvery called 444 Queen Street, that hadn't been around for a while and in it's place was a funky looking new cafe called Pop Coffee.  Straight up I could see that the guys at Pop Coffee were looking to try something a little different by laying some 'grass' down in the middle of the CBD, giving the cafe the appearance of having a front garden.  I didn't think much at the time as we were on our way somewhere to do something and I promptly forgot about it.

Then came New Years Eve morning, we had slept in a little bit and wanted to go somewhere for breakfast but were feeling pretty lazy and didn't want to drive anywhere.  I'd actually thought about the cafe next door the night before and after some digging around on the interweb, found some info about the cafe and in particular it's name and Instagram address.  Hoping that Pop Coffee would be open in the morning I had sent a message on Instagram asking if they would be open in the morning.  Lo and behold, when I finally got out of bed, there was a response and it was good news, they were open for business!

Spring - Is Brunch really a legitimate meal?

http://www.spring.com.au/

We had a friend coming up from Melbourne to visit.  Well, they were visiting for some client Christmas parties and through it would be great if we could catch up before heading back home.  The idea was that we would catch up for brunch, giving PM a chance to sleep in a little bit after what would be a late night of eating, drinking and merry-making.  The challenge was not to find a great spot to do brunch, but to find a place in the CBD that did great brunch.  This is not as easy as you would think on the weekends, there are very few places that do brunch in the CBD on Saturday or Sunday mornings.

Who really does brunch anyway?  I've always thought the concept of brunch was for rich ladies of leisure, who had nothing better to do with their time.  I'm not sure I can really get to 10:30 for breakfast, I get really 'hangry' when I do and it's a bit early for lunch, and I like to have an early lunch.  So when we arranged a brunch with PM, I was a bit lost as to where to go.

We finally decided on Spring in the CBD, mainly because it's one of the only spots open locally that does brunch but also because it's only a short five minute walk from our apartment.  I have eaten at Spring before and have had mixed experiences, the first time I went I thought it was fairly ordinary but I have been and had some completely amazing food (see post here).  I wondered which Spring would turn up for our brunch, given we were dining with a Melbournian, I really wanted Spring to bring their A game.

Breakfast Series - Flute Fine Food

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1360653/restaurant/Brisbane/Flute-Fine-Food-Coorparoo

I've been hitting the usual breakfast locations of late, especially in the inner city suburbs, so I though about going a little further afield for breakfast this weekend.  There are a few cafes just a little bit further out of the city that are forging really good reputations and I wondered how some of them would compare.  Part of the trick is to figure out which cafe to visit.  This is where Urbanspoon can come in handy, not to mention reading recent bloggers posts.  So after doing my research I decided it would be the southern suburbs and a little diner called Flute Fine Food.

Coorparoo is not really that far away from the CBD, but it is outside of my normal stomping grounds so it was a bit of an adventure to find Flute Fine Food and with the help of Google Maps, we were soon pulling into the car park.  Flute is in a little strip of shops on Cavendish Road and I was quite surprised to see that the car park was full and most of the tables already taken up at 8am.  We've been getting to some of the most popular breakfast joints in Brisbane at this time and very rarely have the cafes had so many people already eating their breakfast.

Flute Fine Food opens up pretty early on the weekends and had clearly been in the swing of things well before we turned up.  While Coorparoo is not really suburbia, there is just enough of the suburban lifestyle that people get up early on Sunday morning and apparently all head over to Flute for breakfast! While I was parking the car, SC rushed over to get a table and took a seat outside the main dining area which was mostly protected from the elements by huge awning and plastic coverings to keep the wind out.  As I joined her, I was surprised to see the location she had chosen as the wind was quite fresh and SC hates the cold.  Choice made, it was too late to change over as the other tables were filling up fast.

Breakfast Series - Eurovida

http://www.eurovida.com.au/

North, South, East or West, it doesn't really matter any more, you can head off in any one of these directions from the CBD and hit a decent breakfast spot.  When it came to deciding on where to go for breakfast this morning after a late night out on the Sunshine Coast I had to decide to which point of the compass we would head.  It would be great if I had a little spinning wheel with dining precincts, something like a twister spinner but instead of colours resplendent with dining areas.  At least then it might be easier to at least get a start on where to go for breakfast, spin the wheel and off you go!

After getting my somewhat foggy brain into gear, I decided that it would be West, inner West to be precise so I started to look for cafes in Paddington that we had not yet visited.  There are around nineteen cafes in Paddington that are doing breakfast on  Sunday mornings and we have been to most of them, so making a choice became a little easier.  One particular cafe caught my eye, somewhere that not only had we not been before, but I had never heard of, my spider senses were tingling, this could be the place.

Eurovida is an interesting name that conjures up images of European cafes and looking at their site, this is exactly the image that they are looking to portray.  In fact with a quite like "come and experience a little taste of Europe right here in Brisbane" you can guarantee this is the just the feel they are going for.  The cafe is located pretty close to the city at the beginning of Given Terrace and if we had been a little more energised we could have walked there in no time.  Energised was probably the last way you could describe how we were feeling so into the car we went and five minutes later we were cruising past looking for a park.

EDB13 - Solo Dining in Perth (Guest Post)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tuck-Shop-Cafe-Pie-House-and-Delicatessen/137377653025786
https://littlecreatures.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bread-in-common/514101252011636?fref=ts
http://www.must.com.au/

With EDB13 being held in Perth, I decided to tag along for the ride and have a long weekend away.  I knew that Saturday I would be on my own, with FoodMeUpScotty indulging in all things eating, drinking and blogging, so I decided to explore a little of the nation's western capital.

I'd hired a car for the weekend, and after dropping off FoodMeUpScotty at the Perth City Farm for his day of bloggy fun, took the trip back to Beaufort Street way for breakfast.  At dinner last night (see post here), I had been recommended the Tuck Shop Cafe as a great suburban breakfast spot, although was warned there may be a queue.  After driving around the block a couple of times (thanks GoogleMaps for the bum steer on a little alleyway), I was able to get a park only a little way down Newcastle Street and was early enough at this Northbridge favourite to score a table without having to wait (dining solo also helps!).  Not long after being seated I was provided with a big jug of water and a menu, and was able to order the usual half strength latte.

There is one thing I can say about Perth - they know how to do a good coffee over there!  Which was a relief, as while its only 2 hours behind Brisbane, my body clock was all out of whack. While I waited for my order I watched the crowds come and go, lots of locals getting takeaway coffees and the tables turned over pretty quickly.  I must admit it seemed to take a little while for my order to arrive, although I didn't really mind, as I had nothing else to do for a few hours and was enjoying reading my book.  Finally I was presented with my breakfast, a big bowl of poached eggs, tomato, bacon and sour dough.  As FoodMeUpScotty was not with me, I could indulge in a simple breakfast, and it was a good simple breakfast.  The eggs were poached well, the tomatoes really tasty and there were heaps of bacon rashers.  Unfortunately I felt I had barely scratched the surface when my stomach told me "enough is enough" and I had to admit defeat. 

Breakfast Series - Pablo of Newfarm

www.pablonewfarm.com/

It's no secret that I eat out a lot, I mean my blog is like a personal journal of how much food I've eaten in the last twelve months.  As a food blogger, I'm always looking for an excuse to go out for dinner or breakfast or lunch, well, any time or reason in fact.  You would think this amount or rich restaurant food would take its toll on a body and I've been pretty luck, up until recently that is...

I recently went and had my eyes tested and apart from getting the news that I now needed glasses, the optometrist dropped a bombshell for me, I had cholesterol rings in my eyes and she recommended a doctors visit.  Crap, it seemed as if my lavish eating out lifestyle had finally caught up with me.  Timing is a funny thing but the day my glasses arrived I watched a documentary called "Eat Fast and Live Longer" by a guy called Dr Michael Mosley (see documentary here).  Talk about serendipity, were was a solution to all of my problems, a way to reduce my cholesterol and solve a myriad of other potential health problems and a way to possibly live longer!!  All I had to do was fast for two days a week, then I could eat whatever I wanted for the other five days - a bloggers dream.

You may ask why I am telling you this?  Well apart from now being completely sold on the idea and have been recommending it to everyone, its the first time I have typed up a post while fasting.  I'm not sure how it's going to go.

EDB13 Perth Trip - Sayers Sister Northbridge

http://www.sayersfood.com.au/

Phew, it was the morning after the night before and we were feeling in need of a top breakfast to re-energise for our long flight home to Brisbane later in the afternoon.  It was hard to believe that Eat Drink Blog 2013 was over, it had been an amazing 24 hours of meeting so many other passionate foodies at the conference.  

The morning before had started nice and early, especially so as I had arrived early to check out the Perth City Farm, which is an organic growers market and a perfect spot to hold a food bloggers conference.  I wasn't the only early bird and it was soon apparent that some of the other Queensland and Victorian bloggers were going to get an early start too.  I'd made up my mind before the conference that I was going to step outside of my normal shy and introverted nature and meet as many of the other delegates as possible, starting off with meeting all of the male bloggers.  A pretty easy first step because there were only about fifteen or so male bloggers!

As EDB commenced and the day progressed, there were so many interesting and relevant sessions from speakers that were well versed in the world of food blogging, I had so much to learn.  I'd actually met my first goal of meeting the boy bloggers fairly early on in the day, so set about the fun task of meeting the rest of the hundred or so bloggers.  I was going to be the networking king!  The breaks in-between sessions and lunch became my opportunities to walk up to individuals and groups and just start talking and I did just that.  You know what?  As scary as it seems to walk up to people that you don't know, it's actually not so bad, on the whole, everyone is feeling just as apprehensive about meeting new people as me!

Room with Roses - a hidden gem in a hidden gem

http://www.roomwithroses.com.au/

There is a tendency in Brisbane for old stuff to get discarded and replaced with shiny shiny new stuff.  You really get a sense for this when you walk down the Queen Street Mall at the moment, there are no less than two major redevelopments happening and a third on the way.  This is on the back of the major redevelopment at the Wintergarden and the tearing down of the Regent Cinema complex.  While I generally love shiny shiny new things, I also have a healthy respect for keeping a city's old buildings and architecture, it's how a city builds character. 

It's an interesting dichotomy that Brisbane has been copying the Melbourne idea that laneways are the coolest things ever and attempting to build a laneway culture, but at the same time are tearing down our own unique spaces.  So it's totally refreshing to know that we have our own slice of laneway history that has not been torn down and recently celebrated its 90th birthday.  

Brisbane Arcade is our version of southern style arcade and runs between the Queen Street Mall and Adelaide Street in the CBD.  The fact that the arcade has reached it's 90th birthday and has not been torn down or completely remodeled is surprising given our propensity for shiny new buildings, and this gives the mall some much needed character.  Nestled away on the first floor in the Brisbane Arcade is one of Brisbane's hidden gems, a cafe that is a sea of tranquility in the hustle and bustle of the CBD. 

Breakfast Series - Ruby Cafe

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruby-Cafe/328593223818035

What happens when you turn off the alarm on a Sunday morning?  Of course you sleep in!  But when you had plans to head off for breakfast, sleeping in can be quite painful.  We had to decide if we were still going to go for breakfast pretty quickly when we eventually crawled out of bed.  The risk we ran was that everywhere would be packed, we would drive around looking for somewhere that wasn't and then eventually give up and come home for cornflakes.  On the other hand, I didn't want cornflakes, I wanted to be spoiled for breakfast and have someone else do the cooking.

Armed with a list of breakfast spots in the Paddington area we decided to give it a crack and jumped in the car to try our luck.  The plan was we would drive past a place and if it looked OK, I would jump out and score a table while SC went and parked the car.  A simple plan and if executed effectively it could mean the difference between eating out or coming home with our tail between our legs.  First name on our list was Ruby Cafe on Given Terrace and as luck would have it there was no queue.  It was a good start, so I was out of the car and into the cafe in a flash.  Unfortunately, someone else had the same idea and were just in front of me, fortunately there were two tables free and I managed to score one.

It didn't take long for me to have a good look around Ruby Cafe, it's not huge inside but does have two stories with a downstairs section available (which I didn't see) and quite a decent alfresco area on Given Terrace.  The cafe is very simply decorated with exposed lights hanging from the ceiling and little bird motifs in simple frames decorating one wall.  The rest of the cafe is kitchen and serving area where you can watch the shakes and coffees made by the barista.