Excelsior Jones has got to be one of the most strategically located cafes in Sydney. Nestled on the corner of a residential street just off Hume Hwy/Liverpool Rd in Ashfield meant that even at 10.30 am on a Sunday I could easily find parking on the street. Yes, ASHFIELD, the home of dumplings and cheap Chinese is now being invaded by hipster brunch joints, but who's complaining? I mean, if anyone else is looking to open a hipster cafe in a quiet suburban area then my hood is also free...
While parking was a breeze, we still had to wait 10-15 minutes or so for a table - still super speedy in brunch time. The interior was well-lit, with a rustic, sort of Scandinavian vibe. It was super clean and minimal with wooden furnishings. Bonus points for open kitchen, cause how great are they?
Cronut for me, cronut for you
After being seated and trying to decide if I wanted a coffee or a milkshake, the kind lady took our orders and guess what I got...
Chocolate and Choc Mint Malted Milkshake $6.50 each
Milkshakes! I've been craving milkshakes for a while and every time I do I feel so grateful that I'm not lactose intolerant. oOoo, and I love when milkshakes are served in the milkshaking machine tin things. It just feels like you get the milkshake as it is, no fuss with a fancy straw or syrup dripping down the side (with a doughnut ball, brownie, pretzels, whipped cream, ice cream and every other OTT diabetic consumable item). Would of preferred a bit more of the malted texture but it had a delicious chocolate flavour (not the artificial syrup kind) and wasn't too sweet. We also got them on skim milk so they weren't as naughty hehe ;-).
Fennel & Pear Barely Salad + Chicken Chorizo $14 + $4
CC decided to be healthy and ordered this, which also had beetroot, asparagus, chard and toasted hazelnut relish with red wine vinaigrette. The dish was fresh, simple and tasted what it sounded like, but wasn't anything special. Also, $4 for 3 slices of chorizo seemed a bit steep to me :|.
Pork Hash $16
If there's potato on the menu, it's a sure bet that I will order it. Hash is my kind of happiness food. Crisp bits of pan fried potato and buckwheat, aromatic roasted eschalots and fresh micro herbs topped with shredded pork hock and a beautiful, gooey soft boiled egg #yolkpork. Some of the larger potato pieces weren't crispy and seemed a bit underdone, but it was well seasoned and went together with the other elements. I was tossing up between pancakes and hash, and my intuition made the right choice.
Props to the staff for being attentive even when it's busy. The food didn't take too long to come out either, which was good because the smell of baked goods and bacon filling the air made me hunger. It's a great to see a no fuss local cafe, run by ex-Le Monde's Anthony Svilicich and James Naylor, who are just doing it for the food and people, and not for how many IG likes they can get.
Labels: food