JACK'S STIR BREW COFFEE | WEST VILLAGE | MANHATTAN | NEW YORK

Perfect for: A quick coffee stop, or an all-day hangout

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 10/10

Food / Coffee: 10/10 Service: 10/10 Ambience: 10/10

I'm sitting in this quaint and rustic West Village coffee shop as I'm typing this post. I'm munching on this delicious slice of cornbread (after overhearing my friendly table-neighbours talk excitedly about it), and sipping on my jasmine and pearl tea with honey. I couldn't be happier. 

The magic of this neighbourhood coffee shop tucked in the heart of West Village isn't so much that it does great cornbread, great cookies, great tea, great coffee, but it's that I come here and the barista knows my name after two visits. They know everyone's name. And Jack, the owner, will pop in and say hi to everyone, then go back to doing whatever else he does. 

Everyone here talks to everyone else, because it's your local coffee house - when Jack first started this joint, he would come in and close people's laptops and get them to talk to their neighbours, because that's the sort of vibe he wanted. 

It's amazing. It's cozy. It's homey. And it smells like coffee or freshly baked cookies all day.

Don't even get me started on the coffee. I originally thought Joe (a couple of blocks away from Jack's) was my favourite, until I came here and everything changed. Not to mention, they serve me a damn good flat white - it really is my home away from home.

Meal: Coffee break

Cuisine: Coffee / Snack

Address: 138 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10014, USA

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DOUGHNUT PLANT, LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A snack!

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 9.5/10

Food: 9.5/10 Service: - Ambience: -

Are these the most delicious doughnuts I've had? Yes. Are they the most delicious doughnuts to exist? Probably not. But if you're near the Doughnut Plant, you most certainly need to try them. Even if it's just to embrace the American culture like I did (that's what I tell myself, I eat doughnuts to fit in, yeah.)

And because we're so lucky in this city, there are actually two locations, making it just that much more accessible. What's even better is that if you're not going to the Doughnut Plant, you can still get them from cafes and such all around the city. For example, my favourite coffee joint, Joe, stocks plenty.

I got the creme brulee doughnut. It tastes exactly as described - the shiny coating resembles the hard cracked surface and the filling inside is like the part underneath. I could eat five more in a heartbeat, but that wouldn't be so good for my heartbeat, would it?

They have square-filled doughnuts, yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts and more. Seriously, just go and get one.

Creme brulee filled doughnut

Meal: Snack

Cuisine: American

Address: LES (379 Grand Street) CHELSEA (200 W 23rd Street)

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HOME/MADE, RED HOOK, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A lazy Sunday morning brunch, dragged out for most of the day

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 8/10

Food: 6/10 Service: 9/10 Ambience: 10/10

After a somewhat mild hiatus from posting, I'm back, and blogging from New York. So far, it's been an incredible food adventure - name any food, any food at all, and you'll find it in this cauldron of cultures. Okay, maybe not Harkarl (Icelandic fermented shark...) but that's probably for the best anyway.

One of the things I've been doing since I've got here is exploring some of the more interesting outer-boroughs of New York. It's a huge city, and it's not confined to just Manhattan - shock horror! Brooklyn has become my go-to weekend spot, and having been to Red Hook twice now, it is really what I consider a low-laying gem in the city. 

Red Hook is one of those suburbs where it feels like it's a destination in itself (some call it a 'staycation') and this neighbourhood cafe, home/made, certainly adds to the feeling. home/made is the local go-to spot for locals for brunch and as soon as you step inside you'll know why. It has a very distinct I'm-hanging-out-at-my-best-friend's-house sort of feeling, with the comfy couches and the somewhat communal-like dining room. And by dining room, I mean the 5 metre by 4 metre space where the hipsters of Red Hook would lounge and sip freshly brewed coffee. It really feels like your home away from home.

I am not going to rave about the food - because it will go to prove my theory that I will never find good brunch in New York. I ordered the truffled egg and parm scramble, which came with grilled walnut toast and potatoes provencal. I'm constantly in search of good Australia-like brunch in New York and haven't succeeded - it feels like every brunch meal here is overloaded with oil and butter, not light and fresh like the brunches in Sydney or Melbourne. (I will continue this rant in a separate post, I'm sure of it.) Anyway, the scrambled eggs were fine - definitely by no means the best I've had, in fact, I know I could scramble better. But I did enjoy the walnut toast - the texture was similar to a sourdough but the bits of walnuts were quite a treat.

Truffled egg and parm scramble

But this place is much more about the atmosphere than the food. The fact that you can come here and lounge on the couches, people watch and sip on freshly brewed coffee is the drawcard for me. When we came here, the owners were perched at the counter, browsing a design website. That's the sort of vibe only your local cafe would have.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern

Address: 293 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Hours: Tue-Sun 9am-4pm; Fri-Sun 6pm-10pm

WEBSITE | YELP

ORTO TRADING CO., SURRY HILLS

BRUNCH @ Orto Trading Co.

Perfect for: A lazy or hungover Saturday morning meal

Hot tip: Reserve a table outside on a nice summer's day if you can

Must try: Try the juices - they're delicious. Watch out for the paper straws - while they might be rad, they're likely to disintegrate so don't be too shy to ask for a new one. 

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 8/10

Food: 8/10 Service: 5/10 Ambience: 10/10

I've told you all about what I think of dinner @ Orto Trading Co. the first time I came here, but brunch here actually feels very different (apart from the fact that it's during the day, of course).

I think the DNA of this place feels more like a cafe, rather than a bar / restaurant, so naturally I felt more at home when I came here the second time for brunch. The outside courtyard is more than perfect when you just want a nice dose of vitamin D with your coffee and eggs, and the place is usually buzzing on the weekend for brunch which just adds to the fun.

Passionfruit, lime and mint juice. Flat white.

I really like coming to this place for its food and drinks, but the ONLY thing that really lets this place down is the service. I go to brunch on a Saturday morning to be put in a good mood, but  the poor service here often does the complete opposite for me. Here, you really have to call out to the waiters, maybe twice even, before you get any attention from the cool dudes wearing cut-off denims. And even then, you might still need to wait a good ten minutes before you get your replacement straw.

The service aside, I really do think the food and the drinks at Orto are excellent. It probably has some of the best juices I've had in Sydney, and it's up against some giants especially in the Surry Hills area.

Tomato, avocado and basil on toast.

When we were here last (and we're here pretty regularly for both breakfast and dinner since it's only a couple of blocks away from where I live), there was a mixture of things ordered, but the most interesting two were definitely the breakfast platter and the corn fritters with ceviche. I had the corn fritters myself, and I thought the fritters were a little bit doughy, but I really enjoyed the combination with ceviche which was quite a bold move - my tip would be to sprinkle on a fair bit of salt because both ceviche and fritters aren't overpowering ingredients on this dish, so it could be a little bit bland without a bit of salt.

Eggs benedict with Berkshire Gypsy ham.

Breakfast platter with soft-boiled eggs, soldiers, muesli, baked ricotta and poached fruits.

Corn fritters with ceviche.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Address: 38/52 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills

Near: The Belvoir St Theatre - why not watch a show while you're close? 

Hours: Tue-Sat 8am-3pm 6-10pm, Sun 8am-3pm, Closed Mondays

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CLIPPER CAFE, GLEBE

Perfect for: A catch up with a friend on a sunny Sunday before wandering around the Glebe markets

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 7/10

Food: 7/10 Service: 8/10 Ambience: 8/10

Clipper Cafe is a cute little space on the bustling Glebe Point Road. If you're a sucker for retro bikes like me, this is the best place to be spotting them.

We went there on a busy Saturday where we had to wait ~20 minutes for a table. We were then seated at the large table, between others that had obviously also waited a while to get in for their Saturday morning brunch fix.

I tried the baked eggs with chorizo, while my friends all went for the more conventional bacon and eggs. I thought the baked eggs were not bad, but I also thought that the baked eggs I had at Fouratefive was a lot better.

What I really liked about Clipper Cafe was how nice both the interior was. It was decked out in quirky little pieces, there was even a bike hanging up inside! Outside the cafe, you would find funky wooden stools and tables just on the pavement, so if you were happy grabbing a coffee and a quick bite, then this would be your best bet.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Address: 16 Glebe Point Road, Glebe

Near: The Glebe markets 

ORTO TRADING CO., SURRY HILLS

DINNER @ Orto Trading Co.

Perfect for: A dinner with a close friend on a hot summer's night - get a table outside!

Price range: $$$ Exxy

My rating: 7/10

Food: 8/10 Service: 5/10 Ambience: 8/10 

Orto Trading Co. is a cafe slash restaurant slash bar nestled in the food-friendly part of Surry Hills. There are wooden tables outside in the courtyard for brunch, tables inside for dinner, and a bar if you're feeling a little thirsty.

I imagine most people try the brunch menu before they try the dinner menu at Orto, but I was starving when I walked past here one night and decided to give the dinner menu a go before I come back another day for brunch.

The first thing I notice about this place is that it's a little bit confused about what it wants to be. It has a pretty expensive dinner menu, signalling that it's a high-end sort of restaurant, yet it is blasting edgy indie music much more fitting of a cafe or a bar.

I order the fish tartare with coconut jelly to start. It is basically a ceviche but with an interesting mix of textures - the combination of the coconut jelly that melt in your mouth, the crunch of the fried onions, the tender fish tartare, the bits of finely chopped fresh red onion, and the bits of lime flesh that pop in your mouth. I thought this was beautifully prepared and presented.

    

For the main, I tried the stuffed roast chicken on a bed of pureed peas. The chicken was stuffed with prawn and ginger - I thought that this combination of flavours was very odd and didn't enjoy it all that much. Furthermore, the chicken was too well done and the pureed peas were cold when it was served, so I was a little bit disappointed with this choice.

The service was a little half-hearted - the waitstaff weren't attentive and I had to wait around for a while before I got a table, despite the fact that the restaurant was half empty. Despite that, the food did arrive pretty quickly once the waitstaff got around to taking my order. I do think that service is Orto Trading Co.'s biggest let-down.

I would love to come back for the pork three-ways sharing board, and hopefully the service will improve by that time.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Address: 38/52 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills

Near: The Belvoir St Theatre - why not watch a show while you're close? 

Hours: Tue-Sat 8am-3pm 6-10pm, Sun 8am-3pm, Closed Mondays

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BIRDMAN EATING, FITZROY, MELBOURNE

Perfect for: A very late Saturday brunch followed by a stroll through the shops in Fitzroy

Hot tip: Try get a table outside if it's nice!

Must try: Ask if they have the 63 degree egg on their specials board. If not, you still can't go wrong with anything on their menu!

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 9/10

Melbourne is my favourite food city in the world, but I have to admit that I'm not all that clued up on where all the hip and good Melbourne cafes/restaurants/bars are. Luckily, when I'm down there, I always stay with a good friend of mine who is the definition of a true Melbournian (think: half-shaved head, rides a fixed gear bike, wears retro patterned button-downs and refuses to write on anything that isn't a Moleskin). Naturally, she was all over the trendy foodie spots in Melbourne, so we seeked out Birdman Eating as our Sunday morning treat.

A quick look at the Birdman Eating menu will explain why it's one of the more popular cafes in Melbourne. There are a selection of delectable brunch items, and some of the keywords that jumped out at me were smoked pulled pork; apple pikelets; honey and lime mascarpone; baked vanilla ricotta.

I decided I couldn't leave without trying the black rice, coconut yoghurt and mango - a very odd combination of ingredients for breakfast, and awfully reminiscent of a Thai dessert - and I never say no to dessert for breakfast! It was delicious and perfect - not too sweet but not too bland. The three ingredients complemented each other perfectly.

Although I already had the black rice for breakfast, I couldn't possibly leave without trying the 63 degree egg (cooked for 63 minutes) on black pudding and sourdough. Now that's a little bit different - how does the 63 degree egg work? It's like the sous vide chicken that I mentioned in the post on The Rabbit Hole. The egg is cooked in its shell at a water bath of 63 degrees for a long period of time in order to get the perfect custardy egg white (not at all like the hard gelatin-like texture we're normally used to) and a very gooey, thick and rich egg yolk centre.
It was the best egg I've had in my life. And if you're a black pudding fan like me, you'll love this dish even more.
(I hate to be a party pooper, but this gem was not on the menu - it was only on the specials board.)

I just had a quick look at the dinner menu, and it looks as crazy-good as the brunch menu. Fried haloumi with red rice, sour cherries and pistachio salad. Earl grey cured salmon gravalax. Pork belly with wasabi, radish and caramelised apple. Just to name a few.

The service was good, nothing that disappointed but also nothing that impressed. It's just a brilliant little cafe with a fantastic menu of interesting items. You'd be silly not to come here!

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Address: 238 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, Melbourne

Near: Some vintage stores in Fitzroy, so go for a wander

Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-10.30pm, Sat-Sun 8am-10.30pm

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THE BOOK KITCHEN, SURRY HILLS

Perfect for: Sunday morning breakfast and people watching (grab a table outside)

Something special: The cafe boasts a menu of organic and bio-dynamic food
Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 8.0/10

The Book Kitchen is a bustling little cafe on the corner of Devonshire Street and Bourke Street in Surry Hills. As its name suggests, it has shelves of gastronomy books for food-loving individuals like me to browse through or buy. And on the weekends, the cafe turns into a restaurant and opens up at night for dinner. 

I came here for a Sunday morning brunch with a friend and got a prime table outside, in perfect position to spot all the Bourke Street hipsters walk / cycle past to queue up for their weekend fix of Bourke Street Bakery goodies.

We both ordered the scrambled eggs and smoked pork hock with spinach, feta and asparagus on sourdough. I personally found it a little bit bland and had to pour a large amount of salt in order to satisfy my greedy taste buds, but I thought that the scrambled eggs were cooked very well.

I drooled all over the lunch menu (especially the pan-fried pork belly) and need to come back here to try it out.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Address: 255 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills

Near: Bourke Street Bakery is across the road so drop by afterwards to get yourself a little treat

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-3pm, Sat-Sun 6am-9.30pm

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MCA CAFE, THE ROCKS

Summer is here, and you're after a long lunch with a beautiful view. This is the perfect place for you - MCA Cafe in the Museum of Contemporary Arts. We arrived in time for lunch and got seated outside, and the first thing I noted was that there were sweet delights up at the counter that weren't on the menu - so if you've got a sweet tooth like me, don't be deceived!

We ordered the pulled pork sandwich (above), and ordered another but asked for it in salad form (below). The salad actually looks a lot more delicious than the sandwich too (and was much easier to eat!)

The staff were very accommodating, especially since the salad wasn't an option on the menu, but they happily made it for us anyway. 

Meal: Lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Perfect for: A long lunch after a grand tour of the museum

Hot tip: Get a table outside if it's a nice day - but beware if it's windy!

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 8.5/10

Address: Level 4, Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George Street, The Rocks

Near: MCA - check it out while you're there

Hours: Fri-Wed 10am-5pm, Thu 10am-9pm

WEBSITE |  

TWIG CAFE, SURRY HILLS

If you walked past this wee café on Cleveland Street, you’d probably miss it because it is so well disguised as a garden store. In the front where it opens to the passerbys of Cleveland Street , you’ll find pot plants and garden gnomes in a serene store packed with foliage, but in the back, there is a sweet little café that serves cooked breakfast and lunch. There are tables inside as well as outside in the garden courtyard – perfect for a Saturday morning brunch if you’re in the mood for somewhere quiet and serene.

I live about a block away from Twig Café, and although it has been on my list of cafes to have brunch at, it really hasn’t been that high, just because I take it for granted that it is less than a 2 minute walk away. But on Saturday, we were after somewhere convenient, and this was the perfect location.

It was a little bit chilly so we decided not to sit in the garden courtyard, and we took one of the two tables at the back of the garden store. Upon first glance of the menu, I was slightly disappointed – there were only very generic options like eggs on toast (and choose your own custom sides), pancakes, eggs benedict etc – but I found out when the food arrived that the generic items can be very deceiving.

We ordered a couple of coffees to begins, and for the food we got the corn and mushroom risotto fritter with roasted tomatoes, pork and fennel chipolatas with the roast eggplant, caramelised apple and rosemary relish, as well as the buttermilk pancakes with fresh berries and crisp pancetta.

I was surprised by the fritters – they tasted amazing and sticky like arancini balls, and came with a side of delicious caramelised apple and rosemary relish as well as the pork and fennel sausages. The pancakes were delicious too – the pancetta itself was paper thin and delicious – I’ve never had pancetta like that before – and the buttermilk pancakes came with a bit of surprise in the middle – bacon and cream cheese!

We also ordered juices as well – a pineapple and mint juice, and an apple and ginger juice. Both very tasty, but I preferred the pineapple and mint juice a bit more.

The service was fine; we found the ordering to be very efficient and the waitstaff were very polite, however we did have to ask for the bill twice which didn’t come either time so we just ended up walking up to pay.

All in all, Twig café is a sweet little place that really does surprise you with its ordinary-looking menu items. I’m looking forward to going back in summer when it’s a little bit warmer and trying out their lunch menu in the outdoor courtyard!

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Perfect for: Saturday morning brunch and reading a book or the newspaper in the outdoor courtyard

Hot tip: Don’t be fooled by how ordinary the items on the menu might look

Must try: Buttermilk pancakes with fresh berries and crisp pancetta

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 8.5/10

Address: Cleveland Street, Surry Hills

Near: The Yoga place…

Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-5pm, Sun 8am-4pm

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THREE BLUE DUCKS, BRONTE

   

I wish I lived closer to Bronte just for Three Blue Ducks. But frankly, I think this is the sort of cafe worthy of a 40 minute bus trip, even at 9.30am on a Saturday morning - that is how highly I rate this quaint little cafe that does delicious brunches with a bit of twist and uses fresh local ingredients. Of course, I wouldn't complain if it did move closer to me - Sydney could do with half a dozen blue ducks. Yes, I went there. Get this girl a stage. 

The first time I heard about Three Blue Ducks, I immediately knew I had to move it to the top of my to-eat list. Former head chef at Tetsuya's, Darren Robertson, running this gig?! Sign me right up. And it certainly didn't disappoint. They do breakfast, lunch and dinner (have yet to try lunch and dinner and I seriously have to go back), and all the menus look delicious. 

Have I raved enough about how good I think the food is? I haven't even talked about what we had. We got the scrambled eggs with black sausage, dill cucumber yoghurt salad and red currant jam, and the trout with poached eggs, spinach and hollandaise. The essentially-eggs-bene-with-trout was tasty, but the scrambled eggs and black sausage was to die for. The combination of the black sausage, dill and cucumber and yoghurt, and the jam - how did they even come up with something so genius?

To add to that, the service was simple, quick and satisfying. Our waitress was lovely and smiley, and came back a couple of times to check on us to make sure we were okay. We thought for a cafe that popular and busy, the wait would be ridiculously long (think Bourke Street Bakery, Bills etc...) but we were seated within 5 minutes. That's what I call service...

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Perfect for: Brunch with your best friend or significant other, before spending the day out in the eastern beaches

Must try: Scrambled eggs with black sausage, dill cucumber yoghurt salad and red currant jam! Incredible.

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 9.5/10

Address: 143 Macpherson Street, Bronte

Near: Bronte Beach

Hours: Tue-Fri 7am-3pm, Sat-Sun 7.30am-3pm, Wed-Sat, 6pm-11pm

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LE MONDE, SURRY HILLS

If there was anywhere you'd want to make your local, it would be Le Monde. It epitomises the Saturday morning hangover cure - slowly sip your headache away out in the sun, people-watch if that's what pleases you, and enjoy your breakfast delight. Best thing yet - it won't even cost you as much as that cheap and dirty mojito you had the night before.

Back in the old days, Le Monde used to offer a breakfast degustation. A breakfast degustation! That sounds like the combination of all things I love. But it turns out that they stopped offering it in 2011. I think they should definitely bring it back for those of us in love with a good brunch. 

The menu is very decent, and as I mentioned before, it is very decently priced too. But don't just look at the menu and miss the blackboard specials and the baked goodness at the counter - we almost did. And the blackboard specials look insanely delicious too. 

Order the healthy option - soldiers and muesli. Beautifully presented, and perfectly soft yolks. 

Or live a little and order the potato hash with poached egg on chorizo and rocket. More than enough goodness to soak last night's tequila(s) up.

Meal: Breakfast / brunch / lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Perfect for: Lazy Saturday morning brunch

Also for: Lunch on a first date

Hot tip: Check out the blackboard menu too - there are some great items on there!

Price range: Cheap

My rating: 8.5/10

Address: 83 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills

Near: Crown Street shops (5-10 min walk), and El Loco is across the road but that's for another time...

Hours: Mon-Fri 6.30am-4.00pm, Sat 7.30am-1.30pm

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REUBEN HILLS, SURRY HILLS

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian / Latin American

Perfect for: Sunday morning post-run brunch

Must try: Salted caramel milkshake. All milkshakes!

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 8.5/10

Address: 61 Albion Street, Surry Hills

Near: About 5-10 minutes from Crown Street

Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-4pm, Sun 8am-4pm

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FOURATEFIVE, SURRY HILLS

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Perfect for: Saturday morning brunch

Must try: Banana cinnamon honey smoothie, pulled-pork sandwich

Top tip: Allow waiting time because it is always full - there are heaps of shops nearby to check out while you wait

Price range: $$ Not bad 

My rating: 9.5/10

Address: 485 Crown Street, Surry Hills

Near: The squash courts at Hiscoes Gym - go for a game of squash in the morning before brunch!

Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat 7.30am-4pm, Sun 9.30am-2.30pm

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SEL ET POIVRE, DARLINGHURST

Meal: Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: French

Perfect for: Casual dinner with friends before a big night

Top tip: Bottles of wine can just keep flowing at this place - it could break the bank!

Price range: $$$ Exxy

My rating: 6/10

Address: 263 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

Near: A lot of nicer restaurants on Victoria Street (in my opinion)

Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-late, Sat-Sun 8am-late 

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GNOME CAFE, SURRY HILLS

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Bar

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Perfect for: A quick and easy lunch while perusing the shops of Surry Hills

Also for: Meeting a new friend for a drink

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 7/10

Address: 563 Crown Street, Surry Hills

Near: Messina Gelato, 389 Crown Street - go get yourself something cool for dessert afterwards

Hours: Mon-Wed 7.00am-5.00pm, Wed-Fri 7.00am-9.30pm, Sat 8.00am-9.30am, Sun 8.00am-5.00pm

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