Recently, amongst friends, I’ve debated that there is a reason why we are always reading ‘amazing reviews’- being that we don’t want to hear anything bad.
Perhaps we don’t want to be accused of slander, or maybe we know the effects of a negative attitude on those around us… but could we possibly be scared of being honest?
Melbourne is a city that prides itself on its café culture, its city life and its musical offerings. So it makes sense that we might be slightly over protective and want to talk things up a bit.
My question is-are we so enamoured with our city and the culture that it has become famous for that if we actually produced something that wasn’t up to standard, well, we’d be slightly ashamed?
I had drove past Harper’s Kitchen on numerous occasions before I decided to venture inside. Let me tell you, this place is tiny-you’d drive straight past it on Inkerman Street if you didn’t have an eye for all things cute and quirky.
On a rainy day, this place yells inviting. There are bikes hanging on the exterior, promoting their cyclist friendly environment, and cute green awnings proclaiming the café’s name. Inside, some very attentive and friendly staff will greet you. Brownie points.
This place is little, very little, but they’ve done well with the space. You can probably fit about 20 odd people inside, with a long communal table surrounded by twos and threes- cosy but cute. There are also quirky additions like caged light fittings and wooden branch decorations hanging from the ceiling- an interesting spin on the industrialised vibe.
Whilst aesthetically pleasing, Harpers Kitchen is one that talks the talk, but unfortunately for me, didn’t walk the walk. It has all the makings for an amazing café, but seems to have drawn the short straw.
Don’t’ get me wrong; I’m not saying I could cook up something better-I struggle with reheating a pizza, but if these guys wanted to score some coverage across publications such as Broadsheet and Epicure, they really had to (and pardon the pun)’step up to the plate.’
Coffee supreme seated well amongst this quirky café. I was tempted by a few things on the menu but ended up deciding on poached eggs with a spiced avocado and ricotta stack on toasted pide’, with lemon, pink salt & sumac. This sounded amazing- my tastebuds were about as wet as Melbourne’s recent weekend downpour.
Unfortunately, what came out was something that I feel I could have made myself, and really, if you’re waking up early and making a trek, which in my case I wasn’t… (But if you were), you might be slightly disappointed.
In my books, Turkish bread is pretty much a no go. “You got to get the good stuff.” You know, Noisette or something of equal ‘fanciness’. Also, don’t put a slab of cold ricotta on my plate; I’m sorry, but that does not equal a stack.
I’d like to think of myself as open minded, but I couldn’t’ help but feel a little left behind by Harper’s kitchen. I’ll go back to see how they’re going- this girl is doing some great things for a first venture, and I’m sure that a lot has changed/been improved on since I was last there. Just get a good chef in and you’ll be winning.
Date rate: I like the venue for a date- it’s cute, cosy and random.
Coffee cure: Supreme served well
Hangover happy: Not enough fullness and goodness to please the weary soul
Price: Very good
One thing to note-
Quite often, and especially in this technologically driven world, we take the written word too seriously, and forget that everyone is entitled to generate, speak and consume their own opinion. Don’t take this is as the bible, but rather, a flippant attempt at preaching.
This post, and all my other ramblings, is my own opinion and no one else’s. Do what you will with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment