Gattica, Balaclava
If the Las Chicas queue is too long (which, let's face it, is quite often the case), Gattica makes a reasonable plan B, a short stroll down Carlisle Street, heading East. Slightly less cramped than LC, it's got a reasonable buzz, and nice comfy banquette seating with lots of spongey cushions. Seemed a bit 70's to me. I could have been sitting here, 30 years back, feeling snug and cosy in my brown cords and green skivvy.
These days, if there's a corn fritter on the menu, I have a hard time ordering anything else. Today was no exception. And there was a bonus. There, on top of the fritters... two fried eggs. It turned out to be quite a monster dish. The fritters were so fat and heavy with batter that I would be more inclined to call them pancakes with corn. Even so, they were pretty good, and with crispy bacon and a mild spicy relish, the whole dish worked well.
Also good was the eggs benny, which the Precious One ordered with salmon and spinach. Best of all was the hash brown side, which, although greasy, was really quite delicious. Fat wedges of house made hash browns... crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. Yum.
Coffee, service and value are all good, with some bargain dishes like porridge at $6.50 (which porridge boy has rated pretty highly). A weak link, however, is the tea. Precious almost choked when she discovered a filthy little tea bag inside her pot. Outrage.
15/20 "nice hash"
These days, if there's a corn fritter on the menu, I have a hard time ordering anything else. Today was no exception. And there was a bonus. There, on top of the fritters... two fried eggs. It turned out to be quite a monster dish. The fritters were so fat and heavy with batter that I would be more inclined to call them pancakes with corn. Even so, they were pretty good, and with crispy bacon and a mild spicy relish, the whole dish worked well.
Also good was the eggs benny, which the Precious One ordered with salmon and spinach. Best of all was the hash brown side, which, although greasy, was really quite delicious. Fat wedges of house made hash browns... crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. Yum.
Coffee, service and value are all good, with some bargain dishes like porridge at $6.50 (which porridge boy has rated pretty highly). A weak link, however, is the tea. Precious almost choked when she discovered a filthy little tea bag inside her pot. Outrage.
15/20 "nice hash"
posted by Jamie Wodetzki at 2:05 pm
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4 Comments:
Ah corn fritters! Seductive and inviting, but so often a disaster.
I was at Malt this morning in Beaumaris, and spotted a corn fritter on the menu with the vegie brekkie. I couldn't resist, to hell with the benny I had been told to try. Amidst my cacophany of excitement, my beloved quietly chose the omelette.
I ordered my fritter anointed with a poached egg. It arrived looking like a gorgeous corn studded golden pikelet, topped with a perfectly poached egg and accompanied by good mushrooms, spinach, roasted tomato and half an avocado. But as though being dumped by a huge wave, my joy ended with the second mouthful. Congealed, uncooked batter - eeew!
My beloved fared much better with his bacon stuffed, herby omelette and fat pieces of buttery, golden toast. Damn.
*Mental note to self: when trying somewhere for the first time, always eat whatever has been recommended.
Love Gattica's mochas and salads too! I tried the waffles for breakkie but they were too heavy and not that great. Service always nice and great menu. Try "Piper" across from Glicks, breakkie is tasty but not their best meal... dinner is the real winner :-)
I heart their rosemary-infused mushrooms with crumbled fetta....
*drooool*
The corn fritters with eggs and tomato relish are a good combination - as others have said, more a pancake than a fritter really, a fairly dense raised disc with some corn and other things added. While it's not my idea of a fritter, it's the right base for the nice eggs. These were also good poached. Despite the warning in the menu that variations were out on weekends, the servers were very accommodating about dietary issues etc. And the coffee is good. A strong 15/20, maybe 16.
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