Scully's Place - Disappointing

Sunday morning we decided to have breakfast out, just something simple. We dropped into Scully's place, a recently new offering on Stanley Street in East Brisbane. It's an impressive place, taking a corner spot, high visibility, loads of off road parking and huge covered eating areas which picked up the breeze on such a hot morning making it a pleasant spot to sit in.
Scully's Place is a deli, cafe. I didn't get to look around inside as I had a time constraint and it took forever to get our food.  In fact, the service was so poor that I had to leave before Big Red even got his food served.  Order at the counter and take your number to any table. I had ordered a bagel and that arrived in about 5 minutes.  I waited a bit but then decided to eat as it was going cold. Still no coffee. Finally saw coffee being made only to sit for a few minutes while several wait staff ran around.  Coffee arrives, the excessive layer of chocolate on my cappucino made it taste like a mocha (just saying!).  Ask the waitress for the rest of our food. "It wont be long", she tells me brightly (does not go and check). Coffees are drunk.  Finally get waitresses eye and ask for food again. "I'll just check", and off she goes. As we are sitting right next to the counter we can see her pick out the bacon and egg roll and pass it over for cooking.  She comes back out to us, "It won't be long, it's being cooked now".  By this time my time is up and I have to leave before Big Red even gets his food.  It did come eventually but we went out to have food together so we didn't really achieve our goal.
The place is great, it's on a main traffic route to town so it will get plenty of people stopping but if it doesn't smarten up it's service people wont be returning.  My observation of the servery / kitchen was that no one was in charge.  I think it may have been the barista's responsibility but seriously, the wait staff needed direction and it can't be given if attention is being paid to producing good quality coffee. I have to say the staff we encountered were all really pleasant, just leaderless. We weren't the only frustrated patrons that morning judging by comments on nearby tables. Come on Scully's, you need to manage things better than that.  I'll give you one more try but with such good eating spaces in the area nearby you will have to lift your serving standards considerably.
As for the food..... well the photo of part of the food cabinet says it all.  Plenty of delicious delectables.  Though I personally don't care for my food being served on enamel camping plates (used those when I was a kid), everything was clean and nicely presented. I will go back for a look inside but I wont be coaxed back just for a coffee.......

A Rival for my Local

WAIT UP! There's a new kid on the block and he's simple and smart (I'm not sure why but this place is definitely a boy).  I spied Keyhole Espresso as it's sign went up.  Great name, it begs a question.  It's just round the corner from my local, Blue Poppy, so I thought I'd better check out the competition. I was also captivated by the road sign announcing "fresh bagels daily"! I adore bagels but they are so hard to come by in Australia.  I like them simple with cream cheese and jam, they were on offer so I was a happy camper.  However they offered more than just plain bagels (they also do a gluten free option), and they do a variety of toppings too (there was meat in there for the lads).  They also serve desserts, today's offerings being Cherry Pie and Chocolate Cake.
I waited until after the morning work rush and headed on down there in the Vitara rather than be spotted in the more distinctive MX5. I felt like I was on a mission and I had to be careful not to be spotted by one of the many Blue Poppy locals.
Anyway, I LIKED this space. Outside there are umbrellas and a few seats and carparks (not many but then there is the roadside too). Inside there are a few small tables (not much space for newspaper readers who like to spread their paper out wide) and also some more relaxing chairs.  The space is not crammed with furniture, it's air conditioned, there's free wi-fi (could be a new writing spot...) and the staff are really pleasant, known to their already regulars by first name.
The coffee was well made, and the service was great. There was a little shortbread biscuit on my saucer (of course I didn't eat it) and there's a table with self service water and glasses. The place was fresh, clean and comfortable and provides me with a great local alternative especially when a bagel for breakfast beckons! This one is worth trying and especially convenient when traveling into the city on Richmond Road, Morningside.

The 10 Second Snog

THIS is the best bit of relationship advice I've ever heard and I thought I'd share it because this morning we had been driving for an hour before I realised we hadn't even kissed good morning.  Relationships go through good times and bad, life gets busy, we take things for granted. Sometimes that "buzz" just ain't there and this is a simple way to reinvigorate it. It takes particpation from both parties but just 10 seconds of your time.
Next time you exchange a kiss just count how long it takes. I can pretty much guarantee that unless you are in the first flush of love, it will be pretty quick.  There's the "wake up, rollover and squish lips" kiss, the "goodbye see you at the end of the day" kiss, the "hello honey I'm home" kiss, maybe a thank you kiss and finally a goodnight kiss. I'm pretty sure that most of those will be less than 10 seconds. I challenge you to count how long a normal kiss would be (withough giggling or deliberately stretching it out).
Didn't Einstein imply that if you want a different result you need to change what you are doing?  Well, if you want some more intimacy in your relationship then take a few seconds (literally) and give your partner a 10 second snog instead of the 2 second lip-glances that you most probably now exchange.  I bet your partner is surprised when you continue the kiss for 10 seconds. We have dissolved into laughter, gasped for air and well, generally enjoyed it!
So take the time to stop and deliberately kiss your partner. What's 10 seconds between friends?

Pony

This week we celebrated our wedding anniversary.  We both love our food so usually each year we pick a new restaurant to go to (that's a lot of restaurants we've been to over 35 years).  Pony had come highly recommended by someone "in the know" about city restaurants. It is in a beautiful location at Eagle Street Pier overlooking the river with the Story Bridge in the background.  We were fortunate to be shown to an inside table overlooking the river.  Fortunate because that night the humidity arrived in Brisbane and we had just had the hottest day in a long time.
The ambiance was sophisticated, quiet despite there being a party on the outside deck and just a little romantic, but that could have been because of who I was with.  The lights dimmed at just the right time (no it wasn't a power cut) and the food was great.
There were a couple of little things that let the experience down. We ordered olives as a starter and they were served in a pre-loved jar.  Now that's a great look at a vintage wedding or engagement but in a smart looking restaurant? Didn't work for me.  It looked like they had taken off the lid, drained the brine, tipped out a few olives and ripped the label off.  The olives were fine.  The second was our waitress. Nice girl, pleasant enough but in a restaurant where her peers were all smartly dressed she wore casual jeans and black sneakers - is that being picky? Oh yes, she also really didn't know what they did with the whey and wheat on the lamb plate and told us that of course the whey was poured over the wheat. It wasn't. I would have preferred being told that she would find out and come back to me. Minor detail but if you go out for a dining experience it is the little things that count. 
Enough of the niggles. The meal really was fantastic. I choose the Pork Belly and it looked delicate and pretty when it came out and it tasted good too.  He who I married 35 years ago ate the Lamb and it looked and smelt amazing. The chargrilled marinade was enough to make the mouth water but the texture of the pink lamb was perfect and melt-in-your-mouth. The plates didn't look like big helpings and they weren't but they were sufficient to fill us to just the point where we could still fit in a dessert and we didn't go home feeling over full.

I would go back to Pony just for the dessert.  My White Chocolate Parfait had nothing calorie free in it but oh my it was good.  The parfait was accompanied by a peanut butter crumble, dark chocolate ganache and a caramel sauce in just the right quantities.  Across the table was a German Chessecake with Marscapone and while the lovely gentleman liked his dessert, after the obligatory mouthful I was happy when he said he didn't need to share!

It pays to travel the Back Streets!

Here is a little beauty (as my Dad would say!). BackStreet Espresso is off the beaten track, literally, it is in a back street but that makes it no less significant. You can find it in Kenrose Street in Carina.  There is always a sign out on Creek Road so you shouldn't get lost.

I've been to this cafe 3 times now and each time I've been served a great cup of coffee. The last time I went I also sampled a GF Friand which came served with Ice Cream and Caramel sauce; decadent but yummy. Unfortunately I ate it all before I thought to take a pic.
There's a few good things about this cafe that make it worth going back to.
1. If you buy a small cup you can choose to have 1 or 2 shots and you are charged the same price. I like the choice without cost idea because some days are definitely 2 shot days.
2. The people there are just really nice
3. They have loads of seats and tables indoors and outdoors
4. They have a nice selection of nibbles
5. There are heaps of interesting photos on the walls

Definitely worth a try.

 

A purpose for each day.

I'm a bit of an all or nothing kind of person.  I realise that not everyone else works this way; it has it's unique set of challenges. I've just been project managing the refurbishment of the Princess Theatre which over the past month has demanded most waking hours and nearly every day, and I have loved every moment of it.  Now the project has come to an end and I have moved from high involvement, high motivation to, well, nothing much.  It highlights that for me, it's really important to have a reason to get up each morning and to define the purpose for my day.  If I can do that then I find that come the end of the day, I have a sense of satisfaction, I can reflect on what I have learned for the day (sometimes that might even be that I didn't do something very well and could try better next time) and I can reset the program for the following day. 

I started the Princess Project with an actual spreadsheet plan of what was to happen and when, it looked great on paper.  Alas, life doesn't always go according to plan and so I had to be flexible according to what was happening each day, who turned up (or didn't) and what I had money to do (or not).  We finished on time but not in the order that I had started out with on the plan. I learned to be flexible.

Actually I learned lots of things. From the painter I got encouragement about my painting skills and learned that you need a really good brush if you are going to do great "cutting in". From the tiler I learned that if you add a little detergent to water in a spray bottle and spray that on your silicone then it will come off cleanly instead of leaving that annoying smear that ends up getting mould under it.
From the carpenter I learned that, well let's just say I learned that I should leave carpentry to the experts! Most of all though I learned from my friend the Big E, that a willing heart and a cooperative spirit make working together a joyful thing.  I am thankful that he was on my team with his strong arms and shoulders to lift, pull, and carry all the stuff that was just too much for me.
So today I have purposed to write again since I have had no time to do that during the project.  Jodi Picoult wrote "You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." In other words, you have to start somewhere. Who knows, today's writing might just give me tomorrow's purpose.

Carte Blanche

I went exploring with Nat the other day.  We were on our way out but we were both in need of a caffeine fix and she'd seen a sign, so we followed it and we found Carte Blanche espresso   tucked away in the back streets of Camp Hill, Abbott Street to be exact. What a great wee find.  This I have to say is a girlie cafe.  Everything is cute; small feminine furniture, design, colours, hairdresser out the back (complete with chandelier).  We had a simple brunch which was served on small wooden boards.  Goldilocks size; not too big, not too small.  The coffee was well made and the service came with a lovely smile and a freckle chocolate.

I loved the Jodie Picoult quote on the wall, "You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." How true!   I can even imagine myself doing a little writing in this spot.  If I lived around the corner it would definitely be my "walk to" cafe for those days I wanted to catch up with a girlfriend or just chill on my own.  There's plenty of different spaces, inside, at the window, or outside, with different seating combinations.