Grease Monkey

Patience is not a strength of mine, so when I saw that Grease Monkey, whose black garage shutter had been teasing all of Braddon for months, had opened, I couldn’t wait to go – so I didn’t. I grabbed my book, joined the (fairly long) queue to order, then took a perch at the stool along the front window to await my burger experience. I chose the ‘Greasy’ – their basic burger, with a beef patty, lettuce, cheese, onion, pickles and Greasy’s sauce plus tomato sauce and mustard. All the burgers come with chips, and whilst I did wait quite a while for my food (they were very busy), the portion was great value for $15. The burger itself was on a soft bun (oh the joy! This is what burger buns should be!), although I was surprised at how thin the patty was – the burger crumpled down a lot for ease of eating. But the flavour – oh yum. I am a huge fan of pickles and there were plenty, and whatever is in that Greasy’s sauce, it was gold. The chips were nice and crispy with a flavoured salt (chicken? peri peri?) on top. I really appreciated the uncomplicated menu and will be back to try the other burgers for sure.

Grease Monkey, 19 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT                              http://www.greasys.com.au/

The Dock

On a recent visit to Canberra, I took Mum down to the Kingston foreshore for lunch. We wandered up and down, but both really felt like something a bit naughty – so we indulged in some pub grub at The Dock. Whilst the fish and chips was tempting, we both decided to go for the hot dog on the specials menu. We sat outside looking out towards the water, and after a bit of a wait (we were starting to get pretty hungry by then) our meals came out. The hot dog was a vienna sausage, topped with mustard and tomato sauce, American-style. The roll was sitting on top of a bed of The Dock’s amazing chips, with a side of tomato sauce for dipping (Mum liked the chips so much she said they didn’t need sauce – more for me!). The hot dog was really tasty – plenty of onion underneath – but we both agreed that the roll itself was a bit much considering how much filling there was. Neither of us ate all the bread, but the filling was devoured pretty quickly! We both had a lemon lime and bitters, which was huge and very refreshing. Got to love the great flavours and value at The Dock!

The Dock, 7/81 Giles Street, Kingston ACT 2604                  http://www.thedockkingston.com.au/

Bean & Grain

I do love a good pre-work breakfast, and that’s what my friends and I found at Bean & Grain. I couldn’t go past the breakfast burger, with bacon, spinach, fried egg and potato rosti – mmm, rosti. My soy hot chocolate come out first – it was served in a glass but didn’t come with anything to stop me burning my hands, so I had to wait a bit for the glass to cool before drinking it. The chocolate was nice although I could still distinctly taste the soy, so probably not the best soy hot chocolate in town, but warming and sweet for a chilly morning. The burger came out on a lovely round plate and when I cut it in half the egg yolk oozed everywhere – perfection! There was plenty of bacon, although I would have liked more of the tomato relish that sat in a tiny dollop on top. The rosti was a bit soggy and the grey colour looked a bit offputting, but it did add to the overall flavour, even if it wasn’t as visually appealing as the sweet potato rosti my friend got with her mushroom stack. We left very full (I couldn’t quite finish my meal) and warmed through.

Bean & Grain, Fyshwick Markets, 12 Dalby Street, Fyshwick ACT                            http://www.beanandgrain.com.au

Meating Room

I met my friend at the Meating Room in Weston for dinner a couple of nights after their opening, and was immediately impressed with the fitout and the atmosphere. The place was full of all sorts of groups (families, couples, groups of friends) at 6:30pm on a Sunday. We were seated in lovely armchairs and ordered a few things to share. The tapas came out together – arancini balls with a garlic sauce and pulled pork sliders – and really that would have been enough dinner for the both of us. The arancini was the highlight for me – with a crispy panko crumb and full of veggies, parmesan and rice, they went perfectly with the garlic sauce and were great value with 12 pieces on the plate. The sliders (2 in a serve) were tasty to start but the flavour faded after a few mouthfuls (not enough BBQ sauce?) – the pork was tender but my friend’s slider was very oily. Finally our Meatingroom pizza arrived – it was clearly made on site as the shape was imperfect, but the base was lovely and crispy and the topping was full of meat – chorizo, bacon, salami, pulled pork and beef – so good. The staff were exceptionally friendly and I look forward to many more cozy evenings exploring their menu.

Meating Room, 45B Liardet Street, Weston ACT                        http://meatingroom.com.au/

Maple & Clove

Sometimes you just want a light breakfast, and when I met my friend at Maple & Clove I was a bit disappointed to realise it was one of those days. The menu looked amazing and whilst I would have loved to try a cooked breakfast, the Spelt Fig and Walnut toast was calling my name. I ordered a pot of sencha meicha loose leaf tea to start, which came out in a petite teapot with a removable infuser. The tea had just the right note of green overtones and was comforting and warm. My toast came out with butter and chia strawberry compote, which I have to admit was a wonderful substitute for jam. Presented in a cute little jar, the compote was lovely and spreadable and wasn’t overly sweet. Whilst it didn’t look like much, there was plenty there. The toast itself was perfectly toasted, still easily cut and with a light texture. The crunch of the walnut was perfection and the meal was exactly what I felt like. My friend had poached eggs with mushrooms and found it very filling – I’ll be back at Maple & Clove when I have more of an appetite.

Maple & Clove, 7 Burbery Close, Barton ACT                                                                mapleandclove.com.au/

Charcoal Restaurant

Arriving at Charcoal felt like stepping back into another decade. I was one of the only women there, and the red leather seats and trolley cart service gave the atmosphere of an old school boy’s club. However, none of this detracted from the dining experience. Charcoal is a steak restaurant, so everyone in the group ordered one cut of steak or another. We ordered the anchovy bread to start, which must have been pan fried in butter is was so good – crispy, salty and morish there was nothing healthy and everything delicious about it. For my main, I picked the cajun fillet – something about meal with a good spice rub is always appealing. Our meals came out at the same time, and I liked the touch of a floret of butter served atop my steak. I’d ordered medium-rare and medium-rare I received, with tender pink hiding inside the charred outer meat. The cajun flavour was spicier than I expected, but I really enjoyed the smokey, vibrant taste. We received salad with our meals which was nice to break up the meat-fest. Charcoal isn’t cheap, but the quality was excellent and the setting is certainly unique.

Charcoal Restaurant, Melbourne Building, 61 London Circuit, Canberra ACT, no website

Mr Papa

Mr Papa has been around for a few years now, appearing at events like The Forage regularly, but this was my first visit to their semi-permanent home at the Hamlet in Braddon. I was also Dad’s first visit to the Hamlet, so we ordered an empanada and a chanchito (pork roll) to share and give us room to try other things. The friendly ladies at Mr Papa happily chatted to Dad in Spanish while they prepared our food, and gave us a sample of the sauces they offer to try – the green one (I can’t remember the name) was to die for and we got a small tub of it for our empanada. The empanada was beautiful and fresh, with pastry that wasn’t too thick and lots of filling. The tangy lime sauce made the dish though – I’d highly recommend getting as much of it as you can because it was so, so good. The chanchito was slightly less exciting – there was a lot of bread, and whilst the pork was tender, I found that the raw onion dominated the flavour. The sweet potato slices were a great textural contrast though. I’d definitely get the empanadas again!

Mr Papa, the Hamlet, 16 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT                                           http://www.mrpapa.com.au/