Mitchelton Bakehouse, Mitchelton

Where: Mitchelton Bakehouse, Blackwood Street, Mitchelton, QLD

For: Breakfast

What: Plain Mince Pie

Cost: $4.20

Plain Mince Pie, Mitchelton Bakehouse (Photo by the Author)

The Review:

Mitchelton Bakehouse is a new bakery that opened in Mitchelton (in the inner north west of Brisbane) today and, being a local and a lover of a pies, I could not resist checking it out.

I have long been a fan of meat pies and for a long time searched for Brisbane’s Best Pie (check out http://www.brisbanesbestpie.com if you are looking for a pie recommendation in Brisbane) and quipped upon the first bite of the pie I ate “Shit this is a good pie!”

What was it about this pie that made it so good? I thought I would apply the same metrics to this pie as I did when looking for Brisbane’s best.

Taste: This was a hearty pie that tasted quite meaty with a touch of pepper.

Meat and Gravy: The gravy in this pie was thick and mixed well with the mince. The mince was abundant and had been very finely minced.

Pastry: The Mitchelton Bakehouse plain meat pie’s best element was its pastry. A light and flaky lid of the pie was complimented perfectly by a well cooked base which did not break up during eating.

Temperature: The temperature of this pie was perfect. It was easy to eat (it did not burn the skin from the roof of the mouth).

Size: This was a largish pie.

On the Side:

I paired the plain meat pie from Mitchelton Bakehouse with a vanilla slice. It was excellent.

Will I be back?

I live in the neighbourhood and always seek to enjoy local businesses where possible so it is a given that I will be back. Equally, given how good this pie was, I would have been prepared to travel some distance for another visit!

The Final Word

By any measure this was a good pie. All of the elements were spot on. The vanilla slice I had with it was also spot on. I am looking forward to getting back to Mitchelton Bakehouse to test out the other pies on the menu as well as the other bakery products sold. It is a winner!

Beyond the Pale, Coorparoo

Where: Beyond the Pale, 3/300 Old Cleveland Rd, Coorparoo, Qld

For: Breakfast

What: Chilli Scrambled Eggs (Special)

From the Menu: Chilli scrambled eggs, pork and fennel sausage and goats cheese on sour dough

Cost: $18

Chilli Scrambled Eggs, Beyond the Pale, Coorparoo

The Review:

Any one who knows me will tell you that I am an avid breakfast eater. It is my favourite meal of the day and I like nothing more than sitting down in a café for some egg based sustenance. Whilst I have found a good breakfast somewhat easy to find but a truly great breakfast is as rare as hens teeth. This breakfast was, I am pleased to declare, a truly great breakfast.

There was no part of Beyond the Pale’s chilli scramble that I can fault. The eggs were perfectly scrambled, light and fluffy (yes I used the term fluffy in a food blog). The amount of chilli in the eggs was not overpowering but enough to “clear the nostrils”.

The scramble was obviously the focus of this dish but the accompaniments were just as good:

The sausages complemented the scramble well and there was just the right amount of them to leave me not wanting any more.
Goat’s cheese is an accompaniment I have not thought of as matching well with breakfast but I will be looking for it every time I eat breakfast now: it was so good I was trying to find a way to get a little bit in every mouthful.
The sourdough bread was toasted perfectly and was a great base for this breakfast.

I simply can not fault this breakfast.

On the Side:

This breakfast was paired with an iced long black. It was excellent.

Will I be back?

I am actively looking for opportunities to get back on the south side of Brisbane to allow for more meals at Beyond the Pale to be inhaled. I will definitely be back.

The Final Word

I have eaten plenty of breakfasts at cafes in my time and this is up there with one of the best I have ever had. Every element was spot on. I can only hope the team at Beyond the Pale will put this dish on the full time menu so that I can have it again. I can not give a higher rating for this meal.

Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co, Indooroopilly

Where: Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co at Indooroopilly Shoppingtown

For: Lunch

What: Spicy Chicken Burger

From the menu: Southern fried chicken, bacon, pickles,
lettuce, tomato, cheese, Sriracha mayo

Cost: $15

Spicy Chicken Burger and Onion Rings, Betty’s Burgers (photo by author)

The Review:

There are few flavours I enjoy more than chicken with a bit of a kick either from chilli or other spice. That being the case the Spicy Chicken burger was my choice on this visit to Betty’s Burgers. As is my usual practice I ordered it without the tomato.

I have to confess I was a little disappointed with this burger. I like spicy food. Indeed the spicier the food the better for me. Unfortunately I did not find this burger to be all that spicy. The sriracha mayo was not without taste but it needed more sriracha than mayo to be to my liking.

Other than the lack of spice this was actually a very nice burger. The chicken was well cooked and tasted great. The bacon was the perfect accompaniment and was crispy. The salad was fresh and the bun toasted just enough to stay together well during the eating of the burger.

On the side:

I paired the spicy chicken burger with onion rings ($6) and a chocolate peanut butter thickshake ($8). I would have no problem recommending either side. Both were spot on!

Will I be back:

I have to confess that I have had a better burger than the burger tested but the experience of eating at Betty’s was good enough to warrant a return trip.

The Last Word:

As I said in the review, this was actually a very nice but I was left a little disappointed that the burger was not spicy as advertised. I appreciate that this is a personal taste and if you didn’t like a lot of spice this burger could well be for you however it needed more spice to be a hit for me. The onion rings and the thickshake I had were great though which made the whole dining experience quite agreeable.

The Woods Bar Redux: When one plate of fried pickles isn’t enough!

Last week I reviewed lunch at the Woods Bar in Mitchelton (the review is here https://wiatw.com/2019/07/06/the-woods-bar/) and I wrote that I absolutely would be back. Today I went back!

I am not going to do an “update” or “redux” review every time I revisit a venue but had to write about this experience simple because it was so good … again!

This time we ordered everything the same as the lunch reviewed save that the Cajun cauliflower Koftas were replaced with the pork belly bites. The other thing we did differently was order two plates of fried pickles.

Commenting on the second difference first: the only explanation needed is the fried pickles are the best thing I have eaten since I have been writing this blog. I will be back to the Woods Bar if only to have more fried pickles.

The pork belly bites, which came with a sherry glaze, were outstanding. So good were they that they did not last long enough for me to get a photo. The pork was cooked perfectly and the glaze sticky whilst being a spot on accompaniment.

If anything this visit to the Woods Bar only solidified my view that this bar, if it is not already, is about to become the next “big thing” in Brisbane’s north side. Get around it people!

Targa, Byron Bay

Where: Targa (11 Marvell Street, Byron Bay, NSW)

For: Lunch

What: Targa Beef Burger

From the Menu: Beef Burger with Monterey Jack cheese, tomato, pickled zucchini, American mustard and bacon (add fries +$3.50)

Cost: $16

Targa Beef Burger, Targa – Byron Bay (photo by the author)

The Review:

On the road this week to Byron Bay and sought the recommendation of a (quasi) local for the best place to get lunch. That recommendation was for Targa and it did not disappoint.

There were many meals on the menu that appealed but my eyes kept coming back to the beef burger. I ordered it without tomato (I do not eat tomato on burgers – it is a texture thing) but added the fries that the menu offered.

This burger was very good. The beef patty was cooked perfectly; it was just a little pink in the middle. I loved the addition of the pickled zucchini which added an interesting flavour and texture to the burger. The condiments (including a tomato relish which was not listed on the menu) were perfect: the zing of the relish combined with the mustard to enhance the flavour of both the beef pattie and the bacon.

One underrated aspect of any burger is the bun upon which the burger is served. The bun with this burger was excellent. Clearly it had been freshly baked and it did not fall apart as some burger buns can when the burger is rich with condiments.

I can not fault the burger. If I had to be critical the only disappointing (and it was a minor disappointment) aspect of this meal was the fries. Given the quality of the restaurant I was expecting something hand cut when it came to fries. What was served were frozen fries from a packet. It is a very minor complaint because I did eat all of the fries: I just was expecting something different.

On the Side:

Vegie Juice, Targa – Byron Bay (photo by the author)

I paired this dish with a fresh vegie juice which from the menu consisted of beetroot, apple, ginger, carrot and lemon. It was exceptionally good!

Will I be back?

Yes. There is much I want to try from the menu of Targa.

The Last Word

I love it when a recommendation from a friend turns out to be exactly as the friend stated: Targa and its beef burger were both excellent. The restaurant is well fitted out and the staff friendly. The prices across the menu are extremely reasonable. The beef burger I had could not be faulted. If you are in Byron Bay you should check it out!