Posts tagged Canberra

My local grocer, the ANU food coop, has recently moved into the brand spanking new premises of the Lena Karmel building at the ANU. 

With a whole lot more space to use, the coop has been thinking about using a cosy nook of the whole space as a coffee shop. I first heard of this when chatting to the friendly folk when picking up my weekly vege box, but it looks like the idea has now fully developed. 

This proposal was posted last week, and is out for comment at the moment. I seriously hope this gets off the ground. It’ll bring a sense of community to high density area, as well as providing students with jobs and skills. And for me, it’ll mean that LSR coffee is even closer than it already is at the main store in Braddon.

I seriously think it’s a great idea. A cafe run by people who aren’t expert at running it, in a part of the city where there is some seriously good coffee, could have seriously failed. The involvement of a business which is well-respected, thriving and a well-oiled machine will be a learning experience for everyone involved.  

It’s amazingly community-minded of the LSR folk to get involved. Imagine what kind of vibrant community spaces we could have in Canberra if more local businesses were willing to share their expertise. 

Brodburger is set to reopen in it’s brand new and fancy home at the Canberra Glassworks on Tuesday 27 March. 

Andrew Barr, Deputy Chief Minister for the ACT, posted this today on twitter.

It’ll be interesting to see how the experience translates into a more “normal” venue. The photo Barr tweeted also mentions a new breakfast menu. I find this particularly curious. I’ll be fully supportive if this menu consists of breakfast burgers. But if they are branching out into a generic cafe, I’ll be a bit disappointed.

While it may seem premature for me to cast my judgement, and I know that the Brod owners have full-on chef qualifications and credentials, I’ve always been a fan of places staying true to what they do best, and cutting the rest of the stuff that is merely there to satisfy a variety of consumer choice.

It’s exciting to see that the Brod will soon be back in action. I don’t think anything can really replace the experience of lining up for a delicious burger from a dodgy looking red caravan, whether in the summer heat or the icy, howling lakeside winds in winter. But it’ll surely inject even more life into the booming foreshore area and create even more parking chaos. Not to mention, well, the delicious burgers that will satisfy the cravings of Canberrans for hopefully many years to come. 

Coffee and panini with scrambled egg, tomato and bacon.

Whole chorizo panini, with other delicious stuff, but let’s be honest, the chorizo is rather distracting.

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I went to Lonsdale Street Roasters again this morning. I had been a few times before, after it opened in late 2010. But it wasn’t in full swing yet. Last year when I first went in, there were a few menu items- hardly any- and it was all a bit haphazard. Sure, I was charmed by the polished concrete, hanging bikes, street art and exposed beams inside, the relaxed staff in flannel shirts and of course the excellent Single Origin coffee. But it wasn’t a well-oiled, reliable machine yet.

This morning I arrived at 7:15 and it was bustling with people. Anywhere that can do this in Canberra has to be a winner. Full of cyclists on the oh so Surry Hills-esque stools outside and the pre-work Inner North crowd on the inside, there was barely a seat to spare. I noticed a few finishing touches missing from the interior on previous visits- fun brightly coloured sugar bowls dotted with vintage/antique looking spoons and kitchy, arty cushions. 

There is an extensive range of panini here, spelled out on a charming blackboard with magnetic letters and a specials board to the side. I’ll let my friend, and excellent food writer, the Capital Gourmand, go into more detail, as I know he has sampled many more of them. Suffice to say, they bring the ‘panini’ as we know it in Australia, back to life. So often dry and unappetising from your everyday cafe, they are revitalised here with flavoursome and interesting ingredients in wonderful combinations. There’s a slow roasted pork shoulder one. Today I almost ordered one with mushrooms, among other things, and truffle oil. Among the options I settled for the whole chorizo panini. How can you say no to the most delicious of sausages in a Roasters panini? And my breakfast companion opted for a breakfast one - scrambled eggs, bacon and tomato.

It’s been a long held gripe of mine that cafes fail to do the simplest of things well. Sandwiches are a no brainer. And the combination of excellent bread, ingredients and toasting goes down a treat. It reminds me of a place on the edge of the markets in Modena, Italy, where I downed many a panini. This place was literally two squared metres and would invent fresh combinations daily based on the market ingredients. The bread would be crispy and delicious. And the ingredients, often with incarnations of the native balsamic vinegar, were off the charts. Of course, they cost three euro and you ate them on a street corner with a glass of Lambrusco (a brazen sparkling red native to the centre-north of Italy). 

Roasters also do dessert and a few other small and interesting things (muesli among them). And well there’s the main feature: the coffee. Served in those stylish old school brown cups, it’s rich, the milk isn’t overdone, and it’s sublime perfection really - so rare in this town. It’s got to be the best in the city. Or among the best. Harvest and Tonic are excellent too. But I’m going to say Roasters has an edge. A panini-themed edge at that.

It hasn’t taken long for locals to be convinced. I’m sure, soon enough, people will be flocking to Braddon from the wide expanses of our nation’s capital to get in on the deliciousness. Interstate food critics are noticing - Simon Thomsen mentioned them in his piece on Canberra in this month’s issue of Delicious magazine. If the crowd was anything to go by today, it’s onwards and upwards for the cool cats at Roasters.