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.

Blackwood Cafe

Where: Blackwood Cafe (32 Blackwood Street, Mitchelton, Qld)

For: Breakfast

What: Eggs Benny with Bacon

From the Menu: All eggs benny’s come with sourdough, spinach and hollandaise

Cost: $19

Eggs Benny with Bacon, Blackwood Cafe (Photo by the author)

The Review:

Another Mitchelton based venue for this review. Blackwood Cafe is the heart of the Blackwood Street Precinct and always seems to be busy whether for breakfast or lunch seven days a week.

I can not remember the last time I had breakfast at Blackwood Cafe and did not have the Eggs Benny with Bacon. It is simply consistently one of the best breakfasts I have had.

The eggs benny eaten for this review was no different: the eggs were perfectly poached and the hollandaise creamy. I prefer bacon with my eggs benedict (not being a salmon eater and preferring bacon to ham at all times expect for Christmas) and the bacon with this eggs benny had just enough crisp to give a satisfying crunch.

The piece of this dish that really pulls it all together for me is the sourdough. The bread is lightly toasted and the perfect amount in proportion to all of the other parts of this dish.

I keep coming back to this cafe and this dish because it is consistently spot on. The reviewed eggs benny was no different.

On the side:

I paired this dish with an iced long black.

Will I be back?

Yes

The Last Word

If you are looking for a quality and reasonably priced breakfast or lunch in the inner northern suburbs of Brisbane you should look no further than Blackwood Cafe. Those attending on Saturday or Sunday mornings should plan their attendance at this venue well because tables fill up quickly on both days.