The Grounds, Alexandria and Paramount Coffee Project just so happens to be the 4th and 5th most reviewed and blogged about cafes in Sydney at the moment according to Urbanspooon (February 2014). Sitting comfortably in the 2nd spot position on this list is the infamous Devon cafe and if you've been a fooshioner for the past few months, then you would know my sentiments towards Devon cafe therefore, the extent to which I trust this list, isn't that great but I'm always up to giving things a go and that's exactly why I'm working through this top 10 list. So far, I've ventured to the two cafes which are on the hot seat today and thought wouldn't it be interesting to declare which one is the fairest of them all?* Here we go!
Now, The Grounds is probably the most on-demand cafe to have ever opened its doors to Sydney foodies and the hype doesn't seem like it will die anytime soon. Maybe its down to great publicity (remember Kevin Bacon the pig who was stolen) or the millions of dollars worth of investment poured into this McMansion of a cafe but you can't deny that The Grounds is living the cafe dream.
I live rather close to Alexandria and in fact, I grew up 1km away from the site of the Grounds before moving at age 12 so as a local, hearing about this hot new cafe opening up was very exciting and I went to The Grounds in its opening week! Even then, we would have to line up for half an hour minimum to get a seat but it would be worth it... or so I thought.
"Or so I thought" would be correct because I was definitely disappointed after my breakfast. I believe I ordered a breakfast plate (consisting of sausages and poached eggs) and it wasn't anything special, in fact it was less than ordinary. The plating was beautiful but I thought that after spending an hour in line, that the food would make up for it and it certainly didn't.
However, since my last visit to The Grounds, it has done nothing but flood my entire newsfeed and day-to-day conversations so I thought that it might've improved since and I'm always willing to give things a second chance.
This time, I came for brunch (11.00am) and unsurprisingly we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. I believe we were seated right on time which unfortunately was actually awkwardly timed because the breakfast menu ended at 11.30 and you couldn't order the lunch menu until 12.00pm (you couldn't even place an order the before the minute hand strikes 12pm). So I sat there starved (I skipped breakfast) waiting for 12pm but I did order a Banana Smoothie to save my hunger.
The smoothie took a very very long time to be delivered to my table but I was forgiving considering the fact that they were extremely busy for a weekday. In fact, their weekday traffic is the dreams of other cafe's weekend traffic!
It wasn't all gloomy thought because the smoothie was the best banana smoothie I've ever had. I love my bananas (they're my favourite fruit) so I'm very picky when it comes to banana smoothies but The Ground's banana smoothie was fabulous. Blended with different kinds of nuts, yoghurt and honey, it was smooth and sweet but wasn't sickening or overpowering. Just the perfect balance and just the perfect consistency for a smoothie.
Finally 12pm came around and I placed my order: The Grounds' Beef Burger
The beef burger came relatively quickly but that's partly because I was one of the first few customers to order from the lunch menu. I must say that the beef patty and cheese was absolutely delicious as was the brioche and mayonnaise while the lettuce was very crunchy indeed. It was a very satisfying burger but I wouldn't go as far as saying that it was the best burger I've ever had but it would respectably make my top 10 list at least.
Overall, my experience with The Grounds isn't as horrid as my first time there. I wouldn't call it "over-sensationalised" as I would call Devon cafe but it definitely didn't win me over entirely. The service could be better - my waitress wasn't very pleasant but that might've been because they were so busy and she had to tend to a few other tables. I'd give The Grounds a 7/10 as a whole which is respectable but not really as great one would expect a top trending cafe to be.
Next on the chopping block is Paramount Coffee Project, located in Commonwealth Street Surry Hills.
Now, I was particularly excited to go to PCP because the owners of PCP also owns Sydney's Ruben Hills and my personal favourite... Melbourne's Seven Seeds family! Always a winner in my eyes.
I've been to PCP a few times now but I'll review my latest visit because I ordered similar types of dishes as what I ordered in The Grounds.
The first time I went to PCP, I just came back from my overseas trip and I was staring to get what would become a horrible throat infection and cold so my tastebuds were off and I couldn't really drink anything colder than room temperature. Luckily, the last time I went to PCP I had gotten rid of my cold and instantaneously ordered a very quirky smoothie... The Jam Donut smoothie. I was very very excited and could probably fall off my stool out of excitement had I not been with my friends, two of whom I just officially met that day.
While the Jam Donut wins for creativity and for flavour, I don't think the consistency of the smoothie could dethrone The Grounds' banana smoothie. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the little bursts of jam that would flood through my straw and the presentation was absolutely beautiful and definitely reminds me of a Jam Donut... Well done PCP!
Next, I ordered the Crab Po Boy - PCP's speciality and the hot thing on the menu... all the bloggers are raving about it! Essentially, the Crab Po Boy consists of house slaw and soft shell crab on a brioche bun. While The Ground's burger makes my top 10 burgers list, PCP's Crab Po Boy made my top 1 list. This was actually the best "burger" I've ever had and I'm craving it just thinking about it. I'm a major sucker for soft shell crab, its all I ever order at Thai restaurants and seafood restaurants so to have soft shell crab on a brioche bun was essentially my nirvana. The house slaw was creamy and delicious but the actual coleslaw was still fresh and crunchy. The soft shell crab was flavoursome and crunchy - just the way I like my soft shell crab. The brioche was soft and milky in the middle - a perfect brioche to top off the perfect filling. If the genius who made this happen ever read this... all I have to say is that the next time someone asks me who is the one person dead or alive that I would want to have dinner with, I'll definitely say you because it probably means you'll cook this for me for dinner... and I'd happily eat this everyday if I could!
To top off a fabulous meal, the service in PCP is always great. The first time I went there I sat at the tea bar and talked to the barista for a solid half an hour about different types of tea. The staff at PCP are always so lovely and very helpful. If I had to give PCP a score overall, I'd give them a big fat 10/10 because their creativity is just beyond amazing.
So the Fooshion & Trinketer has spoken... PCP is the fairest of the Urbanspoon Top 10 list (but The Grounds is not too shabby either!).
*All are based on my own opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment