Era Cafe for Breakfast

Era Cafe
102 Melbourne Street (corner Merivale Street), South Brisbane

I've mentioned my early morning roaming habits on this blog many times before. I wake up 7am at the latest on Saturday and Sunday and need to get up and do something right away. It's mighty annoying when I've had a late one the night before (which is usually the case) and can't find someone else who's awake at that hour (also a frequent occurance).

It's convenient staying in West End because I have South Bank, the CBD and potentially even Paddington at walking distance. Then there is West End itself. All up, there are enough cafes to keep my mornings occupied for years to come. It's just that... sometimes, I don't feel like wandering too far.

Lunch at Pho B

Pho B Vietnamese Restaurant
http://phob.menuasian.com/

Marc and I were just discussing how we rarely go to Chinatown in the Valley for food when an opportunity to do so came up. We met Garthritis there for lunch last Saturday. It happened to be Valley Fiesta weekend and there was a live performance at Duncan Street. We ducked around into Pho B where it was relatively quieter and started perusing the menu.

I noticed Pho B when it first opened, back when I was studying at uni. It came across as a fast food-style chain pho stall. I pictured big plastic bowls and lots of takeaway orders. Now that I've been inside, I have to ammend that to describe Pho B as a regular Vietnamese eatery with a multi-paged menu (including some Thai and Chinese dishes) and sit-down dining area. It's cleaner and furnished more pleasantly than the really authentic Asian eateries in Sunnybank and Inala but that's expected for an inner city venture.

Lunch feast at Little Greek Taverna

Little Greek Taverna
http://www.littlegreektaverna.com.au/

This restaurant has been on my radar, but elusive, for a couple of years. I've actually been once before back in 2010 (and blogged about it) but on that occasion, my friends and I only tried the wraps and a couple of sides. Whilst they were good, we weren't blown away. I received so many comments from readers insisting that there was more to Little Greek Taverna that I knew I had to go back. Online reviews were largely positive and everytime I walked past the restaurant, it was packed. Surely there was something I had missed on my visit.

I tried to eat there at least 3 times after that and each time, was turned away because I didn't have a booking and they were full. On another occasion, I called to make a booking but they were already booked out. I'd almost given up when a sudden craving for Greek food stuck.

The Laneway for Bar Snacks

The Laneway
http://www.urbanerestaurant.com/the-laneway/

I've been keen on the Urbane Group for a while, despite the fact that I've only been to The Euro one time. I think I'm somehow subscribed to the Urbane Group mailing list because I get newsletters with awesome photos and food updates for each of their ventures. As someone who's favorite weekend dinner combination is cocktails and nibblies, The Laneway instantly appealed to me.

The Laneway is a small bar behind The Euro, up a set of stairs. The decor is dark and contemporary. Blossom and I visited last Saturday night for drinks and food, plus a whole lot of girly gossip.

Dinner at Malt

Malt Dining
http://maltdining.com.au/

It's not often that an eating establishment comes to my attention through nothing but compliments. Usually, there's a mix of promising feedback interspersed with the occasional bad review that I'm willing to overlook to give the place a go. Malt, on the other hand, had an untarnished track record. I heard rave reviews from everyone who'd been there.

Last Friday night, Marc and I visited Malt for a late dinner. I had made the booking online ages ago but didn't get a comfirmation call so I rang to check if the booking had gone through. It hadn't but luckily that was easily ammended over the phone.

Ole Restaurant for Breakfast and Tapas Lunch

Ole Restaurant
http://olerestaurant.com.au/

I'd been interested in Ole Restaurant since it first opened. There was quite a bit of buzz online but I didn't cross paths with the restaurant so I didn't get a chance to see for myself.  I tried suggesting it a couple of times while I was out in South Bank Parklands but my friends didn't bait. I took matters into my own hands and headed to Ole Restaurant for solo breakfast one morning. This was a couple of months ago. More recently, Nina and I were planning on a lunch catch up and Ole Restaurant happened to be on her 'to try' list so we went along with it.

I'll start with my breakfast assessment. This was also my first impression of Ole Restaurant. I liked that openness, bar stools and sunny decor (the pops of yellow and metal lattice ceiling are lovely). It was fairly quiet when I got there but I am known for early roaming so the restaurant had probably just opened.

Quick Turkey Bolognese Pasta

Quick Turkey Bolognese Pasta
Home Cooking

I pan-fried a batch of 16 mini turkey patties and felt overwhelmed with how I was going to eat them all. 16 x turkey burgers is alright for some but my burger quota is maybe once a week. Sure, some of them could be used in wraps or even mixed with leaves in a salad but I felt like diversifying.

This isn't going to be a complicated, fancy or 'proper' recipe. I just drew on inspiration from what I had available in the pantry and pulled together a quick and easy bolognese-style sauce to top some pasta with (I had papardelle on hand).

Our Haus for Breakfast

Our Haus
http://www.ourhaus.com.au/

The most recent addition to my breakast dates with Kat is Our Haus in Hawthorne. We headed there bright and early last Sunday. The sun was already up. I could definitely feel the heat. Summer is making its move early.

Our Haus is a smallish cafe located on Riding Road. The inside dining space is limited but there are quite a few tables outside (thankfully in the shade). We decided to soak up the beautiful weather outside. Actually, it wasn't totally our decision. The place was already packed so the table we ended up at was one of the only ones available. As the morning went on, I even saw a queue developing. It looks like Our Haus is a weekend breakfast/brunch hot spot.

Turkey and Sage Burgers

Turkey and Sage Burgers
Home Cooking

As unlikely as it sounds, I 'accidentally' picked up a bunch of sage while grocery shopping on the weekend. It's not a herb I often use and I could have very well been stuck pondering over what to do with it, before following my usual strategy of spending $xxx to use up something that cost a lot less. Luckily, inspiration struck and I ended up pulling together a mishmash of what I had available.

Bistro One Eleven

Bistro One Eleven
http://www.bistrooneeleven.com/

After a brief absence from the Brisbane dining scene, I dived back in on the weekend starting with dinner at Bistro One Eleven. I recall seeing a press release for this restaurant back before it even opened. I'd been to E'cco a couple of times in the past and loved it so Philip Johnson's new venture definitely appealed to me.

We made a reservation for late dinner, 9pm on Friday. The restaurant is located in the recently revamped One One One building and the feel is distinctly corporate. We remarked that it was strange being in an open-style restaurant on the ground floor of a building. That's often the case with lobby cafes and hotel restaurants but I've never experienced it with an indepedant restaurant before. The decor is simple and sleek with a neutral colour scheme. Again, very corporate.