Simon Food Favourites: Mona Vale

06 November 2013

Coffee Brothers: Fair-trade coffee, Mona Vale (28 Sept 2013)

1/54-56 Darley Street, Mona Vale NSW 2103

http://www.coffeebrothers.com.au

Coffee making a difference

“Ordering Coffee Brothers allows you to contribute towards the livelihood of the hardworking farmers from Tanna Island. We directly reinvest back into the community via a co-op called Tanna Coffee Plantations. Each and every farmer benefits from this co-op as the money is spent on new coffee hullers, minimisation of transport costs, grower bonuses, new seedlings, loans and quality training programs. When you order from Coffee Brothers, you're not just drinking fair-trade coffee, you're drinking beyond fair-trade coffee.”

A good rosetta is usually a good sign for a decent coffee in my books — so far the theory has come true. I hear of great coffees spots in Alexandria, Marrickville, Surry Hills and Annandale but would never have thought to find a place in Mona Vale until I spotted Coffee Brothers listed #1 Top Cafes in Sydney on Beanhunter. My well made Cappuccino ($3.50) was enjoyable with pleasant roasty flavour and smoothness. Babyccino ($3 double) had its downfalls though. Pricey for half a cup but it did come with lots of marshmallows. The generous amount of chocolate on top might be seen as a positive but actually makes it more messy for baby, and parent to clean up the face. Was about half froth and half milk although just all froth is preferable so there's less chance a spillage while baby tries to eat on their own. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable about making coffees for the fanatics. Casual open space with a fair amount of seating. Wish it was closer to home to revisit more often. Limited menu but spotted some tempting scrolls on display — hello! Barista Matt Lakajev recently won a latte art smackdown competition held at Coffee Brothers amongst 25 baristas which is impressive to know.

I mentioned Coffee Brothers to a friend who lives in Mona Vale in the hope they could check them out first to see if a trip all the way out there would be worth it. Here's a long but interesting read of what he discovered: http://aneternityofnow.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/coffee.html

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Make a nice fair-trade coffee, Friendly and passionate barista service, Looks like reasonably priced breakfast menu

CONS: No menu or opening hours found on website for their cafe, Pricy babyccino, Mona Vale is a long way to travel for a coffee if you're not a local

MUST TRY: Coffee as you like

VERDICT: A passionate bunch of friendly locals making good coffee for the locals

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Cappuccino ($3.50) — good flavour, smooth, nice roast, none bitter, made well

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Babyccino ($3 double) — too much chocolate on top gets a bit too messy for baby, would have preferred to be mostly froth and a bit more generous for the price

Mocha ($3.50) — good although seemed more chocolatey than coffee in balance perhaps, nice rich chocolate flavour

Table number

Team of local smiles

Matt Lakajev recently won a barista latte art smackdown competition

Breakfast menu — sounds good but haven't tried

Coffee love — great idea

Tempting display of scrolls

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20 December 2009

Mezza Grill: Lebanese Banquet, Mona Vale (16 Oct 2009)

Shop 2, 1767 Pittwater Road, Mona Vale NSW 2130

http://www.mezzagrill.com.au

Banquets mean full tummy

I have a HUGE problem with lebanese banquets — I feel HUGE after eating them! Mezza Grill seems to stand alone with no competition on the Northern Beaches so they certainly have a niche market if your looking for a lebanese restaurant. Our table ordered the $35 banquet plus 4 skewers each of the kafta, shish kebab and shish tawouk. Everyone was totally full after trying to get through all the food which usually happens at banquets like this. It can be very overwhelming when so many dishes are brought to the table at once that space becomes a premium — a tiered serving rack would have been much appreciated, or larger tables, or breaks between the dishes so one can clear some dishes to make room for others.

My favourite dish of the night was the Ladies Fingers — they were actually quite oily but tasted so good and the pastry was nice and flaky. My favourite place for falafel is still Jasmin in Punchbowl and for entertainment and freshly cooked bread you can't go past Summerland in Bankstown although the decor downstairs at Mezza Grill is much cosier and authentic. The belly dancer tonight was very good and a true crowd pleaser. Reviews seem quite mixed on Eatability about the service so something to be aware of but our table was looked after OK — perhaps it's related to how busy they get on some nights.

Tabouli: Freshly chopped parsley with tomato, cracked wheat, mint, shallots, olive oil and lemon juice

Maghmour: Eggplant cooked with onion, tomato, garlic and spices

Labne: Dish of fresh yogurt with paprika and lightly topped with olive oil

Baba Ghanouj: Blended dish of grilled eggplant, tahini sauce, garlic & lemon

Batata b-kisibra: Potatoes Grilled with coriander and mixed spices

Sambousic: Freshly made pastries filled with meat, onion and herbs

Kebbe: Egg shaped burghul wheat and meat shell filled with minced lamb, onion & herbs

Arnabeet Mikley: Cauliflower lightly fried & served with tahini sauce

Falafel: Patties of crushed chickpeas, parsely, onion and herbs

Ladies fingers: Lebanese version of spring rolls filled with lamb & onion

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Kafta: Skewers of grilled lamb mince blended with onion and parsley
Shish Tawook: Skewers of marinated grilled chicken
Shish Kebab: Skewers of marinated grilled beef