let's groove tonight

Friday nite was a big night out for us ... yes.... woohoo.. get down.. wait for it.. we went to the Groove Cafe! For dinner!

Those of you in the know will know that over the dry season the Groove (out the back of the Nightcliff shops in Nightcliff) is open for occasional Friday and Saturday nite shennanigans - Off the Page poetry and spoken word events, dances, bands, solo guitar performers etc etc. When I came to Darwin I described the Groove as being like a lesbian nite in the 80's LOLOL. ALSO, its pretty close to the kids playground at the shops - so if you get a strategically placed table - or just place one strategically like we did, you can watch your munchkins wearing themselves out while you eat. Anyway I get a bit excited about going which is pretty sad I know. So off we went.

The Groove is pretty casual, a little hole in the wall cafe where you order, a fridge full of drinks you can buy or just help yourself to water - in front is a fridge with a selection of salads and baked pastry and quichey type things and outside is a massive open air but undercover dining area under a huge awning. The dinner menu for these nites consisting mainly of pizzas and burgers - none of which are fantastic, all of which are part of the charm of the place. That and seeing the chef meander round the corner in his stained apron with a handful of salad greens he had obviously just picked up from the 5 Star Supermarket!!! The real bonus is that its licensed, so you can get a beer or a wine while you eat. And they have decent coffee too (fairtrade), good chai and yummy smoothies. Also the lunch stuff there is very very good and whilst I have never been the recipient of a good breakfast there, loads of people go there regular like, so there must be something keeping them coming back!!!

So to the picture (not the one of the cafe) - the picture i've posted is NOT of anything we ate at the Groove because it was dark by the time it arrived, and not worth photographing really - it's of some VERY hot, yummy crispy chips that we got from Nightcliff Fish and Chips to tide the kids over - a variable fishnchippery that somtimes just hits the right spot.

Groove Cafe, 4/35 Progress Drive, Nightcliff
Nightcliff Fish and Chips - same shops, different corner

wouldn't you think if your name was "Just Coffee" that you'd do it well??!!!!

evidently not!!!

Just Coffee - Nightcliff markets. Just don't do it.

Martin's

I always enjoy stopping in at Martin's Cafe on my way to work, feeling like I've stolen time (I usually have), slipping round the corner near the clocktower into my carpark out the front of the hydrotherapy centre. It's always cool and quiet and vaguely hippy-feeling...Martin is always beavering away alone trying desperately to get everything ready before the rush.. I love the neatly stacked piles of dhal and rice, bali curry, beetroot curry in the fridge. This morning I stopped to grab one of his vegan salads. I can't remember if I've ever talked about them before but they're a wicked option if you're looking for a healthy lunch. Big chunks of roasted veges (carrot, pumpkin, beetroot), crunchy red capsicum, green olives, hummus, kidney beans, sunflower seeds and lettuce - lots and lots of lettuce, which I'm not so much a fan of cos I reckon it's one of those fluff items that canny retailers use to bulk out salads to make them seem like you're getting a lot when you're not. And occasionally - just occasionally, if you come too late in the week, the lettuce in these salads can be little, how you say, BROWnish around the edges. Martin usually makes them fresh on Monday mornings so they're ready by lunch time, so I reckon getting one on Monday or Tuesday would be your best bet.

Martin's Cafe, Coconut Grove

Cawfee - next day

Coffeenut

I've been bagging out Coffeenut ever since it first opened. Fair? Definitely not. Never had a coffee there ever. Completely unreasonable. Stopped in there the other morning to try a short black with a mate and it was gooooood!!!!Admittedly the boy on the machine had to ask how long she wanted it, but at least he asked. It was black. It was tasty. It had golden crema. Even though that word *crema* makes me feel sick, even i know it's one of the hallmarks of good coffee.

Coffeenut (all they do is coffee) - open in the mornings in Smith St, Darwin (next to Manoli's)

Cawfee

Jays Coffee - Take 2.

I really like the fact that after my fish and chips (they must be good for you, the Health Minister was lurking in Finnegans kitchen with a beer) I could stroll over, get a coffee from Jay's and take it out on the jetty. How cool is that!!!

First impression - he looks STRESSED. Of course this may be because, coffee wanker that I am, I'm (after asking of course) SNIFFING his single origin coffees. *shrugging* Anyway I end up opting for a very delicious smelling Brazilian Coffee, but disappointingly, it tastes weak - good but weak. One of my friends tastes it, if anything a bigger coffee wanker than I am - and pronounces her theories:

1) the beans have been slightly over-roasted and that's why the flavour doesn't have as much depth as it should

2) the cup is too big and therefore the ratio of milk to coffee is too high

And promptly dumps her short black (also Brazilian and very tasty, if a tad long) into my latte and LO! the coffee is perfect. Problem solved.

My advice? Go for a small coffee. It's only $3 bucks.

Spread the word ....

a tip from a source:

Sari Rasa is now open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday nights: more or less the same yummy bain marie gear* as they serve at lunchtime, cheap as chips, BYO.

Tell all your friends – there was hardly anyone there last night, which is almost criminal.

*There was a prawn and potato dish I hadn't seen before.

hark! THE GOOD BREAD HATH COMETH!!!!

How long have I been saying ad infinitum (and ad nauseum my loved ones would say) that Darwin NEEDS GOOD BREAD?!

Well it's here. Nigel is a German baker and he is turning out a range of organic breads that just beg to be eaten. Dark, chewy Rye, Baguettes and organic Sourdoughs - they are just GORGEOUS. You can find his breads at Greenies (Shop 12, Rapid Creek Shopping Centre) and at Parap Fine Foods (40 Parap Rd, Parap). Fresh on Tuesdays and Fridays @ Parap and fresh on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday? (I made up Sunday, it just seems logical cos thats when the Rapid Creek Markets are on). Yeah!

FULL BALL!!!!!!! Glenti or bust (and I nearly did)

Went(i) to Glenti this weekend! LOLOL For those of you that don't know, every year Darwin's Greek community has a massive Glenti festival down on the Esplanade in town. I realised that I've been in Darwin for over 3 years now (eek!) and I'd never been, so I talked Director Chick into coming downwith me. Shit was it FULL. ON. People swarming everywhere. Masses of greek specialites on sale, loads of calamari, souvlaki's, honey puffs - even a dessert tent. To be completely frank about it, I wasn't paying as much attention as a food blogger should cos I was so overwhelmed I ran in to get food for everyone and then ran out and retired to a shady tree to have a picnic away from the fray!! By the time I had eaten 5 little rice and mince filled vine leaves, some delicious and very special pork sausages from Crete containing bits of onion and herbs, loadsa dip, some chips (curious), calamari and about 8 of those honey puffs, I was fit to burst! And yet, foolishly, I persuaded Director Chick to come with me on an adventure to check out Jay's Coffee Van..... *flourish*

Jay is an obvious coffee afficianado who has set himself up in a cool little position down on the lefthand side of the Nightcliff Jetty. After hearing about him 3 times in one weekend, I persuaded DC to head over there on the way home from Glenti to get a coffee to share (sample the goods) and to check out his set-up. There he was, surrounded by old folk sitting on foldup chairs enjoying the sunset, struggling with a line of small children clamouring for icecream and trying to make coffees on his little coffee machine. The set up consists of a trailer containing said machine, a Logastro icecream freezer, a little fridge selling cool drinks and water, sink, stereo etc. I also noticed that he offers 6 different types of coffee (I'll have a better look next time) which from recollection were offered as a single origin coffee. He also sells bags of freshly ground coffee. His permit says that he is able to operate on weekends and public holidays from 6am - 8pm, but the covert intelligence I've been able to gather tells me that he is most likely to be found at the Jetty around the 2pmish mark, Friday to Sunday and public holidays.

So - the coffee. Well for all the hype it wasn't a bad coffee - it was much better than the swill that Box Jellyfish are offering in their similar operation located at the Nightcliff Swimming Pool carpark on weekend mornings. Creamy and hot - and cheap! $3 for a small and $3.50 for a medium - 50c for extra shots or soy milk. It tasted okay, but in my limited knowledge of coffee, I would say it lacked a depth of flavour - it sure didn't make me go WOW! What's that coffee! I MUST buy some! But nice enough for the foreshore. My only criticism would be the size of the coffee machine - he was really only able to comfortably make one coffee at a time and what with the icecreams and the soft drinks and the taking of orders and money you really need to have two people on board making it all happen.

Anyway - good to see another small operator and coffee freak creating another option around town!!

Jay's Coffee

Left-hand side of Nightcliff Jetty

Weekends from Friday to Sunday from 2ish - 8ish