I like variety in my lunches. Sometimes I want soup; sometimes I want a salad. Sometimes I want one of those blindingly white ham and cheese bread rolls from Woolworths (don’t judge, I know you poke them too to feel their softness).

I was therefore pleased recently to see the wide variety of cheap lunch options at Sol Bread in Paddington. If you’ve ever wandered past this cafe/bakery and dismissed it as only selling bread, think again: pizza, muesli, savoury pastries, fruit salad, sandwhiches, salad, and cake were just some of the offerings I saw on the day I visited.

The price was right too; my small pumpkin salad was $7.50 and was a very generous serve. My only complaint? Cheese OVERLOAD. I know, I know, there’s no such thing as a cheese overload, right? Well, when you order a pumpkin salad and a bowl with a thick blanket of fetta hiding a tiny amount of greens, pumpkin, and pine nuts arrives, you start to re-think your devotion to the wonder blocks of calcium. A more even ratio of vegies to cheese would have been brilliant.

Momma T ordered a slice of vegie pizza, and had no complaints. The pizza was also of a generous size. Our coffees were just average – their main letdown was the fact that they were very luke warm.

This little cafe is cosy, comfortable, and cheery, and service is swift and laid back. It’s a great place if you’re after a cheap and healthy lunch, plus they’re well-stocked with the famous Sol bread varieties. I’ve had the fruit sourdough bread before and it was hearty and delicious.

Although if you prefer a sneaky piece of cheese’n'bacon, I totally understand.

Sol Bread

Bakery and Cafe

20 Latrobe Tce

Paddington (also locations in West End, Newstead, and Toowong)

 (07) 3876 4800
http://ishop.solbreads.com.au/default.aspx

Tognini’s has been somewhat of an institution for deli-lovers in Brisbane since the nineties. The other night I was lucky enough to attend a sneak preview of their re-vamped Spring Hill location. What was once a humble (albeit fantastic) deli has now grown to be a bit of a casual restaurant and bistro. Tognini’s Spring Hill will also now open their doors on Sundays, giving us yet another excuse to go out for a late Sunday breakfast (with brekkie dishes like French Toast with Chocolate Sauce ($12.50), and Parmesan Toast with Bacon and Spicy Tomato Salsa ($12.50), I don’t blame us).

The refurb has turned the deli into a very cool and sleek venue, with a centre counter that is reminiscent of a chic bar. In the centre of the bar is a charcuterie cabinet (don’t worry, I had to google it too), which holds a wonderful array of fresh meats that might tempt even the strictest vegetarian.

Mark and Narelle Tognini spoke with passion of their recent visit to Turin in Italy, and the restaurants, delis, and food they experienced that inspired them to transform Tognini’s Spring Hill into more of a bistro. “The kitchen will never close!” Mark declared, referencing the location’s new later opening hours for dinner. The licensed bistro will now stay open for dinner, offering such yummy dishes as Grilled Quail in Vine Leaf with Pistachio Sauce and Labne ($24.50), or Scallops with Oloroso Sherry, Asparagus and Migras ($16.50).

I sampled a few of their ‘sputini’, which are small, tapas-style dishes. The Polenta Chips with Sour Cream and Sea Salt ($8) were soft and fluffy with a crispy shell; while the Scallops with Smoked Pancetta ($14) were the clear favourite. Perfectly cooked, these little guys were perfectly contrasted with the saltiness of the slightly crisp pancetta.

I’ve been very cheeky and haven’t taken any pictures. You’ll just have to go see the new Tognini’s Spring Hill for yourself when it re-opens its doors tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ll keep trying to turn my ‘ehs’ into ‘sis’ – possibly with the help of a little dolce.

Tognini’s Spring Hill

Bistro Cafe Deli

Springhill Marketplace

Cnr Turbot & Boundary St
Spring Hill
(07) 3831 5300

www.togninis.com

I fulfilled half of my quest recently when I visited The Newsroom Cafe, in Toowong. Lots of seats? Check. Good coffee? Check. Sugary treats? Check. Open late? Bahm-bahmmm. This saddens me – Newsroom is a great little cafe, it’s independent, it’s cheap, it’s in an easily accessible area, but it seems to shut on most days well before 6pm.

Now, this is where I admit I’m an idiot and can’t remember the prices. I wrote them down in a very stealthy manner, and now that grubby little piece of paper is gone. I will therefore refer to everything quite vaguely as ‘well priced’. This means cheaper than usual, but not chipped nail polish cheap.

One bizarre thing I can remember is that the delicious white chocolate, cranberry, and pistachio slice we ordered was from Melinda’s Gluten Free Goodies. I loved this – it was like a blondie, but with a much harder and heartier texture. This flavour combination is brilliant, and it reminded me of a treat I had with similar flavours, at the Rosalie Gourmet Market. It was well priced, as were the other cakes and savouries on offer. Our skim cappucinos were also – you guessed it – well priced. The coffees in question were good, although I remember mine being a bit on the strong side.

Newsroom opens pretty early (around 6.30am), and often have pretty cheap breakfast deals. Newsroom, please, please, please think of those poor saps who can’t be bothered tredging up the road to Milton or the city, and stay open later! A-dawg likes her blondies at all hours of the day, not just before 5pm.

Newsroom Cafe

1 High St
Toowong

(07) 3871 1577

Open daily, 6.30am-6pm

We had the ultimate in refreshing milk the other weekend at Milkbar. We passed Milkbar on the way to an errand in Newmarket, and it was a sign – I’d heard about them and had been wanting to visit. I believe there’s one at Ashgrove (is this a chain or a coincidence?)

Milkbar has tried to model itself on those old-school milk bars, offering the comforts of milkshakes, spiders, and old-fashioned lollies. I really love this concept, but I think Milkbar have fallen flat just a little bit. The little baggies of strawberries and cream are there, the extensive ice cream spider menu is there too, and there’s even kitschy seats and decorating. But let me ask you this: did your corner store have Asian Brown Rice Salad? No. No, you had a shrivelled up pork roll and you liked it. Did it have fancy little gingerbread cupcakes? No, you chowed down on stale doughnut men, damnit. While the cupcakes and salads looked pretty tasty, I’d love to see more old-school food. Pies! Doughnuts! Sandwhiches on blindingly white bread! We’ve heard of gastro-pub, what about gastro-milk bar? They do do an all-day breakfast though, which is very commendable.

So, like I said, we were craving some calcium. I got a Coconut Walnut Milkshake, and D ordered the Caramel Thickshake ($10.45 all up). There’s a huge range of milkshake and thickshake flavours, and you can order a ‘skinnier’ version made with skim milk. My milkshake was tasty and has pleasant hints of coconut, but not much of the walnut. D’s thickshake trumped mine – it was super thick, creamy, and really sweet. In a word, awesome. Plus, they were both served in those massive silver tin cups – oh yeah. I felt like I was six years old again, except I don’t know many six year olds who…never mind.

The milkshakes are really good, but it’s a shame that Milkbar don’t, erm, ‘milk’ their concept a bit more. After all, milk is never a bad choice.

Milkbar Cafe

Windsor Homezone
142 Newmarket Rd, Windsor

(07) 3357 3009

I remember two things about that date. The UDLs tasted good and the pizza did not. But times change; now I’ll only drink the lemon & lime flavour, and T4 Pizza has improved immensely. The last time I had it, it was just incredibly average. Ordinary base, decent enough flavour, but nothing that made me better about the fact I paid three times more for something that was marginally beter than Dominos.

Recently, I stopped by T4s because damnit, I felt like some pizza for dinner, and Dominos is only acceptable at 3 in the morning. I got a takeaway small Margarita ($9~), and a half serve of garlic bread ($2~). Their menu is pretty large, and they have a variety of regular and gourmet pizzas. T4s also do pastas and salads, and are BYO. There’s not a huge amount of seating, but it’s a cosy place to people watch.

Pizzalicious.

On first looking at the pizza, I was surprised. It had a lovely thin and crisp crust, and wasn’t crazily saucy or overloaded with cheese-just how I like it. While there was a minimal amount of basil, it tasted really good! It was chewy and flavourful, and the simple flavours all worked together well. I really like this style of pizza, and find it similar to what I’ve had in Italy. The base also reminds me of New York Slice, another favourite. While the pizza was good, the garlic bread made me furious. LOOK AT THIS, people, look at this **:

What the hell is that. I know it was only a couple of dollars, and I know it’s a ‘half serve’, but seriously? The bread was too hard and not garlicky to boot. I had crumbs from the crust flying everwhere as I angrily gnawed on this sorry excuse for garlic bread.

So. Change can be a wonderful thing. T4′s, you’ve gotten it half right-now I just need to do the same and switch to Smirnoffs.

T4′s
Pizza Cafe & Takeaway
33 High St
Toowong

(07) 3371 6333

** Teh internetz is mad at me and this garlic bread photo won’t display on the home page. Simply click on ‘T4 Pizza Review’ to open the review in a separate page and see el carbo!

I had this conundrum recently at Blue Lotus, a lovely little cafe in Kelvin Grove. I ordered a massive Florentine cookie ($2.80). It appealed to me because it was the size of my head-and I have a big head. I’m not kidding, my noggin’ is large. That’s why I don’t buy hats. It’s sad, but I’m dealing with it.

The cookie was packed with corn flakes, peanuts, raisins, and covered in a layer of chocolate. It was tasty-in a way, a Florentine isn’t a cookie per se as it’s very crunchy and hearty. It’s a bit like a muesli bar in round, cookie-shaped form.

As I was munching away I nearly fooled myself into thinking I was eating something remotely healthy. But I looked closer, and saw the lovely way the peanuts caramelised together, melting in with the fruit and the cornflakes, and suddenly realised I was, in fact, eating a sugar bomb. That’s totally cool-but it didn’t taste bad for me, and I knew it was bad for me. Dangerous.

Now, if you’re not retarded about such trivial things like I am, then go get yourself a Floretine, or any of Blue Lotus’ other sweet treats-the Melting Moments look buttery and rich, and the Banana Bread is enormous. Plus, the coffee is always good-my Merl0-blend skim cappuccino ($3.30) on this visit was so creamy I questioned whether there was a mistake and it was in fact full cream milk. Nup, just good coffee.

The cafe has lots of comfortable bench seating and cushions, both inside and out. It’s really quite a lovely place to chill out in, and the service is always friendly and fast. Blue Lotus do lunch as well, and I am holding out for Summer when their sad-looking empty gelati case is once again full.

I might just make one note too: on a lot of websites, Blue Lotus is described as a ‘dessert bar’. It definitely isn’t. Yes, there are yummy treats and at certain times of the year, gelati, but I’d just classify it as a standard, good cafe.

Short of buying a deep-fried Mars Bar wrapped in bacon, I’ll just have to try harder with what I pick when I next want something naughty.

Blue Lotus

Cafe

Shop 16, The Village Centre

Cnr Musk Ave & Carraway St

Kelvin Grove

(07) 3832 9633

There is something about cupcakes that really bothers me. Or rather, there is something about how other people view cupcakes that really bothers me. A cupcake does not have to just be a pretty little cake made with plain vanilla batter, topped with some tasty yet plain icing, and a sugared rose bud on top. A cupcake can be, and I quote from some random cookbook in my momma’s kitchen, “absolutely any sort of cake in a smaller, individual form”. I am dying for Brisbaneites to use their imagination more with cupcakes. You’ve heard me rant before, so I won’t go into too much detail.

Recently I was very impressed with the imagination that had gone into the flavours in the cupcakes at My Sweetopia in South Bank. Was that a Turkish Delight cupcake that didn’t claim its name just because it was a plain chocolate cake with some Turkish Delight chucked on top? Were those cupcakes with a base flavour other than chocolate or vanilla?

I was excited. The cakes were also very, very pretty, and piled high with icing and decorative touches. We got the aforementioned Turkish Delight cupcake, as well as an Espresso Mudcake (forgive me if I’ve gotten the names wrong). We got them to go and tore into them the next day, when they still tasted very fresh.

The Espresso cake was hollowed out a little bit and had a scoop of a creamy icing in the middle. The cake part itself was fantastic; definitely a chocolate mud, with a very chocolatey flavour and a dense and moist consistency. The rest of it was a little disapointing; I couldn’t taste a single ounce of coffee or mocha flavour anywhere in the whole thing. D insisted he could in the icing, but to me it just tasted like cream.

The Turkish Delight was also very dense and well-made, and the cake initially had a very strong white chocolate mud taste. Then – boom – the rosewater flavour hit me and I was in Istanbul noshing on fresh, powdery Turkish Delight. Very impressive. But, again, I was let down by the icing. It reminded me of that old-school frosting that makes up the letters and edging on generic birthday cakes. I really didn’t like the texture; it went okay with the cake, but by itself it was a bit nasty.

So, My Sweetopia gets major points for showing some imagination with their cakes, but the toppings fell a bit flat. I fear that they are too focussed on making very pretty cakes. But you know, that’s the reason most people really love cupcakes, so who am I to awkwardly climb on my high horse and judge?

My Sweetopia deserves massive, massive bonus points because they are open late on the weekend. It is sad when it’s a huge thing for a little dessert place/cafe to be open late on the weekend, but that’s Brisbane for you.

The cafe itself is small but bright, cheerful, and sweet. There’s lots of outdoor seating too. Even though I wasn’t totally blown away by their cakes, I’ll definitely be back; it’s rare to find a ‘sweet’ late-night spot.

My Sweetopia
Bakery, Cafe, & Catering

Shop 8
180 Grey St, South Bank

(07) 3844 3732

www.mysweetopia.com.au

Open seven days

South Bank used to have a beverage that my friends and I thought was the ultimate in culinary delights: the Rainbow Smash. I can hear you all sneer, “Oh, it’s just a frozen coke.” It is not just a frozen coke. It is a Rainbow SMASH, people. It’s all in the title. The range of flavours in the Rainbow Smash are not to be reckoned with. As I’ve grown older, my tastes have matured (somewhat), and so have South Bank’s. Here’s a brief run down on some of the dozens of restaurants, bars, and cafes that are scattered around this relaxed riverside community.

Breakfast
Poppy’s Basket earned rave reviews from Nick recently for their accommodating service and fresh eggs. Era do an all day breakfast on the weekend, and are more higher-end.

Lunch & Dinner
There is such a huge number of food places in and around South Bank that I’m going to just list them under the one heading-I am fairly sure that all of them are open for both lunch and dinner. I’m also going to list them by cuisine, as the beauty of South Bank is the plethora of different foods.

Pub-style
The Fox is on the outskirts of South Bank, and is a busy bar by night and a relaxing spot for a pub lunch by day.
The Plough Inn and The Shipp Inn have this same relaxed open-air feel and upscale pub grub.
Beastie Burgers are the perfect spot for a working lunch; they’re outdoors in the sunshine, they’re licensed (gets you through that arvo meeting), and they have awesome burgers.

Italian:
Dell ‘Ugo are an upscale restaurant with traditional Italian food, available on both a set menu and a regular menu.
La Via Pizzeria is ideal if you want to seduce someone (sexy low lighting and waiters that don’t hover), plus enjoy some pizza and Italian fare while you’re at it.
Amici’s do some impressive sounding banquets, or just some singular Italian dishes for all you weaklings out there.

French:
Piaf do possibly the most well-priced French food in Brisbane (think under $20).

Asian:
Satay Hut have low prices, a casual and modern setting, and mainly Thai and Malay food.
Viet De Lites: I am dying to try some food off this fresh, healthy-sounding Vietnamese menu.
Ginga Japanese are a sushi train (yay!), as well as a more up-scale Japanese restaurant.
Gandhi Curry House is another very reasonably priced, clean and chic restaurant, this time offering South Indian and Sri Lankan food.

Other
Mado do delicious Turkish food and are ideal for large groups.
Chez Laila have some of the best river and city views, and offer Lebanese dishes.

Modern:
Toscani’s have a huge, varied menu, including pasta, seafood, steak, and sandwhiches.
Sardine Tin was recently opened by Piaf’s owner Simon Livingstone, and is a small, open-air space serving mainly tapas.
5th Element is possibly the best-looking lady on the strip, with low lighting, open flame features, and a waterfall behind the bar. The menu is a bit more up-scale, and the service is fantastic.
Stone are located within the Saville Apartments, and are being very mysterious and saying that they have a new concept coming soon.

Drink
Era Bistro has a restaurant menu as well as a varied tapas menu, and are well-stocked with a variety of wines. Aside from The Fox, The Plough Inn, and The Shipp Inn, there aren’t many large bars or pubs around South Bank. You can take a short walk down the road to West End, or simply enjoy drinks at a South Bank restaurant’s bars (like 5th Element, who have a well-stocked wine bar, or Sardine Tin).

Sweet
Speaking of 5th Element, I am still yapping to people about my recent, unique dessert experience there. There’s also cute cupcakes at My Sweetopia, which is open until late on the weekends and also serves coffee. For something more casual, Movenpick ice cream serves up Swiss ice cream scoops that are all-natural. And, well, I have to say it: Cold Rock is right nearby. It’s no Rainbow Smash, but the ice cream flavours and mix-ins are equally as enticing.

Everyone loves teeny tiny chocolates, especially when they’re displayed in a glass case. People crouch in front of the case, making little ‘ooh’ noises, and giving murmurs of advice to their friends on which chocolate to get.

On a recent pit stop at Coffee & Chocolate in Queens Plaza, was I one of those people, hovering over the glass case, mumbling and exclaiming, “Oh I just CAN’T decide! *giggle*” ? No. No, I was not. My eyes quickly sought out the cutest looking chocolate and I promptly made my decision based on that. Call me shallow.The chocolate in question was the Cupcake. See how cute it is? All of the chocolates were mini works of art, and included a variety of flavours, like tiramisu, hazelnut, strawberry, or the more exotic Ruby (blood orange caramel filling with dark chocolate case). Coffee & Chocolate also do coffee, tea, and some food, as well as cakes.

Now, they are expensive. Most chocolates are around $2.90 and they are really small. Cakes like the friands or the Raspberry Coconut Tart hover around the $7-$8 mark, but they look very fancy and pretty.

My little Cupcake chocolate was assembled much like its namesake. A hard chocolate case and fluffy strawberry ‘cake’ were topped by a layer of chocolate truffle. The strawberry centre was a lot like a very thick and rich marshmallow. Sounds cool, right? Well, for $2.90 for a little bite I was expecting a bit more than something resembling a Pascal classic. Granted, the chocolate truffle top was rich and of a high quality, but the whole thing was very average. Perhaps I would have been better off sticking with one of the simpler truffles or cream centres.

Coffee & Chocolate is a very pleasant spot for a coffee; it’s got a plush and elegant feeling to it, and it has a fantastic view looking down on Queen Street Mall. It’s hard to find pretty places like these in the heart of the CBD (and in a shopping complex to boot), so for that I give them kudos. I don’t really like to judge the place based on just one chocolate, so I think I’ll go back in the future and give them another go.

Coffee & Chocolate
Cafe and Fine Chocolates

QueensPlaza-Level 1
226 Queen St
Brisbane CBD

(Also at Paddinton)

(07) 3229 7799

Open 7 days, Friday until 9pm

Breakfast Organic “Stylez”
I have a lot of idiosyncrasies. I hate wearing wet socks. I hate pineapple in a ‘curry’. I never wear polka dots. There’s a lot, trust me. I also hate words spelt with a ‘z’ instead of an ‘s’. And I have to be in a certain mood to enter places that serve ‘organic’ food because it usually means an automatic hike in prices. I’ve come around a little bit on the latter issue as I have a couple of friends who work for Australian Organic Certifiers, and I’ve eaten at a few restaurants that serve organic food that has been deliciously prepared (e.g. Mondo Organic, West End).

Despite this, it still surprised me on Saturday morning, when I called my friend Andrew up and said “Breakfast? Now?” and he mentioned Planet Matterz. I had driven past it countless times, recognising it as a ‘healthy’ food place but dismissing it as a grocer, in the realm of Mrs Flannery’s. But I’m always happy to be proven wrong.

Upon entering, you notice there’s seating outside, sheltered by trees, and spacious seating inside. There’s a deli counter with the chef and his staff bustling behind it, with sounds of sizzling bacon and bubbling/steaming milk emitting. There are also aisles and aisles of organic produce; fresh fruit & vegetables, organic bottled & canned goods, cheeses, milk, frozen Humble Pies – the usual stuff. But it’s well-lit, clean and not cramped. I spend a few minutes checking it all out before I look at the menu. I notice a big display unit showing delectable looking muffins, cakes, frittatas, stacks etc., but I glance at it quickly because I know I can get a little overzealous in my ordering, especially before my morning coffee.

Saturday was one of those elusive days where I felt like pancakes and not my usual egg variation. I scan the menu and to my disgust, there are no ‘pancakes with maple syrup’. I am unimpressed. There is a mention of it on the kids menu (‘Kids pancakes with banana and maple syrup’). I ask the staff member behind the counter if they do “adult pancakes”. He laughs. Of course they do. “But it’s not on the menu?” Regardless, they do serve it. I assume it’ll be the kids pancakes upgraded to ‘adult size’, and I order that and a serve of bacon (bless Canada). Andrew orders scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast. We both order coffees.

My total comes up to about $17, which doesn’t seem too painful. We sit down and about five minutes later, our coffees arrive. It’s very good coffee, made from Australian organic coffee. I couldn’t tell you if they had the right amount of foam in the latte, I just notice that it’s smooth, the coffee isn’t burnt and it tastes lovely. Andrew’s breakfast arrives, and he enquires about his bacon. The waiter doesn’t think Andrew ordered bacon. After looking at him pout for a few seconds, I offer (very generously) to share my bacon when it arrives.

My pancakes arrive and they are not what I expect. They are not pancakes smothered in maple syrup. Instead, it’s a stack of pancakes with berry compote and a scoop of ice cream. With a side plate of bacon. They must’ve thought I was just really craving bacon, not attempting to understand the beauty of maple syrup, bacon and pancake combination. Also, Andrew’s scrambled eggs look a bit like an omelette to me, but he insists they’re scrambled.

Regardless, I’m not in the mood to argue, so I tuck in. It’s very good. The pancakes are light and slightly sweet, the berry compote has mulberries and raspberries, and it’s all very tasty. The bacon is perfect. It had the consistency that I like: soft with crispy sides, and smoky. Deliciously smoky.

The staff at Planet Matterz are friendly, and seem genuinely happy to be there and that made the ambience good. But Andrew and I are reasonably relaxed customers, so we’re happy with our mismatched meals. There was no discounting that it was a well-prepared, tasty meal, but whether or not Andrew forgot to order bacon, or I didn’t clarify that I wanted pancakes with maple syrup, the experience felt a little perplexing. I am, however, very willing to give Planet Matterz another shot.

Planet Matterz
Organic Food Store and Café

684 Wynnum Rd, Morningside

http://www.planetmatterz.com/

Phone: (07) 3399-6008

Picture courtesy of www.news.com.au