cafe: Jarrahdale General Store

cafe: Jarrahdale General Store

We're out for a drive, the main purpose is to get out of the city. Jarrahdale is a nice place to go, we get there for an early lunch. We order a continental roll and sit on the verandah.

Not much of a view -- trees across a carpark -- but it's a beautiful day for sitting outside... in the shade. Deb checks the garden. Nice but not great, she says. And like an oven... It's a very hot day.

Our roll arrives -- and is huge! And delicious! One roll is large enough for a light lunch for two. Supported by a generously sized iced coffee for each of us, a good choice for a hot day. Good food, good drinks, friendly service. Country cafe at its best.

Three out of three: we enjoy it, we hope to return.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
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"I took out a loan to pay for an exorcism. If I don't pay it back, I'm going to get repossessed." … Olaf Falafel
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cafe: Mia Cucina / Hillarys Boat Harbour

We are at Hillarys Boat Harbour looking for coffee. The place we remember is closed for renovation, due to reopen last week. No worries, we find Mia Cucina.

I started these reviews for "hipster" cafes. There is nothing remotely hipster here.

A pleasant cafe, cheerful, helpful, friendly waitress. We get a table by the window, a pleasant view, lots of interesting stuff to watch. (It's a boat harbour...)

I rate this 2 out of three: we like it, we won't go out of our way to return.

It's a nice cafe. It looks to be aiming more at the slightly up-market evening meal crowd.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
===
"I took out a loan to pay for an exorcism. If I don't pay it back, I'm going to get repossessed." … Olaf Falafel
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cafe: Waldecks, Stirling

cafe: Waldecks, Stirling

This cafe is so not-hipster that I keep forgetting to review it. After all, I did intend to test and review from a list of hipster cafes. But I'm tending to review anywhere that we stop for coffee. (Or, occasionally, for tea.)

So, Waldecks. It's a garden centre. We go there to buy plants. While we're there, we like to have coffee and cake.

Coffee is good. Cakes are traditional, get them in any non-hipster cafe. Quality is good. Lemon and coconut cake, for example, is sweet and tasty.

Rated three out of three. Admittedly we return largely because we want to buy more plants. Still, it is always a pleasant experience.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
===
"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not in the branch, but in its own wings." … unknown
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cafe: 5 Points, Floreat Forum

cafe: 5 Points, Floreat Forum

The second of this name but it is very new to the Forum. You can tell the manager (owner?), he is trying very hard. Keen to look out for his customers. Opening a new cafe would be nerve-wracking.

Our coffees taste good, too cool for some, just right for me. We try a friand -- everything made on the premises, we are told -- and it is delicious.

The decor is what I shall call, "factory hipster" -- hipster style but mass produced. Nice, though.

Rated two or of three: we enjoy it, we hope it succeeds, but will not go out of our way to return.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
===
"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not in the branch, but in its own wings." … unknown
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cafe: Floreat Kiosk, Floreat Beach

cafe: Floreat Kiosk, Floreat Beach

Have I never reviewed this cafe?! And it's our favourite cafe!

Beachside location. Open to the outdoors. People of all types and descriptions but half are also there for the beach -- or the beach volleyball next door. Child friendly, senior friendly, dog friendly in the outdoor areas.

Coffee is good, food is good, service is friendly. A good range of cakes though they tend to be of the gluten-free, healthy variety. Not my preferred style but all delicious :-)

We have even eaten lunch here... and enjoyed it each time. Latest, we both have the very hipster smashed avo with bacon, spinach and poached eggs. It's delicious and a generous sized serve.

Definitely not hipster. This is a friendly, upmarket, beachside, neighbourhood cafe. Oh, and I call it "kiosk" but there is both cafe and takeaway kiosk.

Our favourite cafe. Close enough to count as local. Yes, we regularly revisit. Rated an easy three out of three.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
===
"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not in the branch, but in its own wings." … unknown
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cafe: Mary St Bakery, City Beach

café: Mary St Bakery, City Beach

Definitely not hipster. This is a flash café for a rich suburb. Where a true hipster café would have walls decorated with recycled timber fittings, this café has a feature wood wall. Nice, shiny, definitely un-hip.

The staff -- just two, it's late in the day -- are friendly, busy, somewhat distracted. We can't see tatts nor manbuns... though we agree that the man's *attitude* says, hipster. Casual, friendly, I'm one of you, man.

Why "Mary Street"? There are five of them, none on a Mary St. Just -- apparently -- a marketing name for a growing chain. Pity, I prefer an individual café with its unique style. Oh well.

This café is nice. When we're there, it's peaceful, we have a choice of seats. Just as well, we don't really like the high-stool seats. We're sitting on the broad verandah -- a feature of the newly rebuilt shopping centre.

It's taken a while to write this review... I can no longer remember what we ate, it must have been okay. I do remember that we bought a loaf of white bread -- which turned out to be very nice.

So it's a nice place with very convenient parking. And an excellent -- upmarket -- IGA next door. We won't go out of our way to visit, we will visit again if we are already close by. Two out of three.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Experience is the comb life gives you once  you're bald" … per Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Hobart Street Deli / North Perth

café: Hobart Street Deli / North Perth

This café is semi-hipster. It may have always been a café but I suspect it of having started life as a corner shop, so, tick repurposed. Decorations did not come out of a factory, tick. Food... probably hipster but we do not check.

We are here for coffee, milk and snacks. Not quite our standard coffee & cake... we are here with a toddler. We order coffees, cold milk, three small "smiley" biscuits. The biscuits are simple and tasty, probably not overly healthy. They each have a smiley face done in icing.

This café is opposite a park which is ideal for toddlers, there is a lot of overflow from park to café, there are some snacks which are designed to appeal to toddlers -- though most food is for the parents... young mothers, mostly.

Above the door is a shelf -- piled high with toy trucks. Yellow, some rusty, all well worn. The decoration theme is trucks, mostly kids' trucks. I'll call this, kid-hipster. A café to suit its location :-)

Coffee is coffee, biscuits are good, milk is soon drunk... so it's back to the park for more playing.

Café rating three out of three, we will definitely come back. It would score an enjoyable two -- but is boosted by the very toddler friendly location. Oh, but don't worry, only a few toddlers make it inside the café :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Choice, not chance, determines your destiny" … Aristotle

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Cafe Cafe / Subiaco

café: Café Café, Subiaco

We've been here before. Several times. Which makes this a rating of three out of three: enjoyed it, will come back :-)

Admittedly a lot of the attraction is convenience, right above easy Subiaco parking. Also... it's a very nice café.

Today we are upstairs, all by ourselves. There's a noisy crowd downstairs, a cold wind outside, we are comfortable on lounge chairs. We feel sorry for the waiter delivering up all those stairs, he is cheerful about it.

Coffee is very good. Our cake -- is excellent. Choc date & nut slice with an excellent balance of flavours. We can taste the dates, taste the chocolate, see the nuts sitting on top. Very nice!

We've been here before and we'll be back. Three out of three.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Why be difficult? Be impossible." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Sol Espresso / North Perth

14jul19: Sol Espresso, North Perth -- cafe

Look on Google, this little cafe is into its fourth name -- at least. It's nice enough that we hope that this iteration survives :-)

The staff are friendly. One has three-layer-shave hair style, otherwise this is non-hipster. A cafe more than a fashionable place to be seen. (We are fresh from a visit to Chinta, where it was so crowded that we didn't bother to join the queue to get in.)

We choose the Sol today's special, ham and cheese croissant... not our usual cake! With coffee, of course. In fact, the cake selection is very limited... muffins. That's fine, we enjoy our shared croissant and the coffee is good.

Rated two out of three: we enjoy our coffee, glad we are here, won't go out of our way for another visit.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Dogs also bark at what they do not know" … Heraclitus
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

cafe: Chinta / North Perth

14jul19: Chinta, North Perth -- cafe

Okay, it's Sunday brunch-time, crowds are expected. There's no spare parking near the cafe. Surrounding streets include several with parking for residents only. We park several streets from the cafe.

We look inside. It certainly looks hipster. Including, it's crowded...

The cafe is packed. There is a queue, half a dozen people, waiting to get seats.

We leave. Walk to a smaller -- definitely not hipster, separately reviewed -- cafe, it's halfway back to the car. Enjoy our coffee and cake.

A Chinta test and review may happen later. On a less busy day.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Dogs also bark at what they do not know" … Heraclitus
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

cafe: academy / claremont

cafe: academy, claremont

this is a cafe. an ordinary -- pleasant -- cafe. nothing at all hipster about it. strangely enough it is recommended to us by the keeper of the list of hipster cafes. this cafe, he tells us, is one of his regulars.

we have been here before, many years ago. (i suspect that it may then have had a different name.) i remember the rain hammering on the clear plastic curtains that form the outside wall, some water finding its way inside. today the weather is cool but not so stormy. inside, is dry and warm.

the cafe is crowded, almost full. the noise... well, we don't notice it. certainly not too loud. perhaps the curtains soften the noise?

we are here for coffee and cake. we share and enjoy a generous-sized slice of cake. coffee & walnut which -- surprise! -- "may contain traces of nuts" :-)

i'll rate this cafe as two out of three... even though we may regularly return. it is a good choice -- when we are in this particular shopping precinct. nothing exceptional, very pleasant, nice cake and a unique connection -- the curtains -- to the outside world. worth a return visit if we are already close by.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Be excellent to each other" … Bill & Ted
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

cafe: typika / claremont

cafe (restaurant): typika, claremont

another restaurant from the hipster list. yes, it's hipster... medium hipster.

first impressions are that it is crowded and very, very noisy. interesting wall art by (i think) the artist who is known for his work on the outside of buildings. hard surfaces, noisy chatting crowd. we are not shouting but it is close.

the menu is somewhat traditional but with a hipster overlay... beef ribs with peanuts in the salad and chili dressing on the side. spicy pork ribs with jalapeno slaw. lots and lots of chili-flavoured dishes. if you don't like chili then the choice is breakfast-style eggs. on the other hand...

the chili refuser ignores the chili dressing and enjoys the beef. the jalapeno sits on top of the coleslaw, i remove it and enjoy the moderately spicy pork. the chili-lover adds my jalapeno to his "spicy" angry bird and it is just right. for him.

we all enjoy our meals.

on the down side -- though not the fault of the restaurant: there is parking directly outside but it has a one hour limit. completely unsuited if you are there for a meal. as long as you know this in advance, it's okay. there is plenty of multi- hour parking nearby. (i didn't know, so i parked, ordered, moved our car, returned to eat... a minor annoyance.)

rated two out of three: we enjoyed our meal but it will not become a regular. except for the days when we really feel in the mood for some acceptably warm chili.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Be excellent to each other" … Bill & Ted
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

cafe: Nic and Kolo / Applecross

cafe: Nic and Kolo, Applecross

hipster? definitely not! but good :-)

to give variety to our coffee and cake we are selecting cafes from another person's list of "hipster cafes". so what makes a cafe hipster? finding out is part of the fun.

n&k has a hipster menu. non-traditional. kale. several different dishes combined into one meal. poached egg added -- sucessfully -- to various dishes.

the premises... are too modern for hipster. no trace that it has been repurposed from a shop or an office. it's ... a cafe. (more correctly, a restaurant.) and the diners... are old. and young. a few could be up-and-coming hip young professionals but too many could be retired. not at all a hipster clientele.

===

we are there for lunch -- and it is good. comfortable, good service, good food. lots of hipster dishes but enough traditional food to allo choice.

the only problem, is noise. it's a shiny new building -- with no acoustic padding. sound -- other diners chatting happily -- the sound echoes. we need to speak loudly. even so, some conversation is lost.

overall, however, an enjoyable meal. two out of three: we enjoyed it, we would be happy to return, we will not go out of our way to return.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Be excellent to each other" … Bill & Ted
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

Cafe: Momo / Subiaco

Cafe: Momo / Subiaco

A pleasantly ordinary café...

A few signs of tending-to-trendy but really, it's a café. Nice, nothing special -- except for "the back room".

Walk in from Rokeby Road. Place your order, keep on walking... to the very pleasant open area at the back. Where you order is narrow, possibly crowded, limited by the counter. The back room is relatively spacious and -- for our taste -- much more pleasant. Open and less crowded.

Coffee is coffee. Banana bread is nice -- butter provided as a blob on top, interesting. The bread itself is... too smooth. No texture. No possibility of lumps of banana, could be any sweet loaf. Enjoyable but uninteresting.

Rated 2 out of 3: we enjoy our visit. Okay, we will be happy to go back again -- but only if we are already in Subiaco.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Why be difficult? Be impossible." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Dux / South Perth

café: Dux, South Perth

Okay, we were there a few weeks ago... my memory has faded. Some things do stay in mind:

Our first impression is, this place is flash ! Not "flash" as in, a rat with a gold tooth. More, South Perth flash: catering to a local, well off clientele, expecting traditional good service and traditional food selection. They may offer acai and rocket but probably not.

Definitely not hipster. Very much a café for -- my opinion of -- the area.

It is very friendly, very welcoming. I have a delicious iced coffee, cake -- I can't remember what it was but I remember that it was good.

If we lived close by this could be rated three. We're not likely to be here again, so, Two out of three: we enjoyed it but are unlikely to return.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them." … Robert Jarvik

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Leaf and Bean / Mt Hawthorn

café: Leaf and Bean Emporium, Mt Hawthorn

It's an awful road for traffic, we are lucky to get into a roadside parking bay. They are there, just that traffic makes it difficult to get in and out. Then we walk, looking for coffee. This looks fine, we think, We'll try it.

But is it "hipster"?

Furniture and décor are very much mix-and-not-match. The café is busy but not crowded. Staff do not look hipster, there is just one man bun and the barista has short neat hair and glasses. Customers look like locals, rather than trend setters sipping latte between gym sessions.

Come to think of it... this could be the authentic version of a friendly, comfortable café that some hipster cafes are trying to imitate.

Our slice of cake is very nice, though the lemon icing is too harsh a contrast for the fruity cake. We push aside a small fraction of the icing and enjoy the cake, one generous size slice which satisfies the two of us.

Definitely enjoyable. The location makes it unlikely we will return. Two out of three.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them." … Robert Jarvik

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Mr Herbert's / Doubleview

cafe: Mr Herbert's / Doubleview

Our little -- as the website says -- unassuming café. Loved by locals... Locals in tight tights, straight from the gym, perhaps :-)

A dozen customers and it's crowded. Another sign of hipster cred: we are definitely the oldest people there. By twenty years or more. On the bright side, there is a cushion to soften the milk crate that is my seat :-)

Definitely hipster. The cheerful barista has tatts and an interesting "sheep bouffant" hair style. Very limited choice of "cake", all healthy, our "fig & fennel bread" is delicious. With plenty of butter.

We sit under shade umbrellas outside -- there's very little choice -- on a perfect day for sitting outside. Watching a few dogs share the space with their owners. No trees nearby, I wonder where the dogs would pee. Then found out. I am definitely not watching, oh no, not watching the young women who had possibly just finished a session at the gym.

It's all very pleasant. Surprisingly peaceful, considering the close and crowded parking.

Rated three out of three: We would definitely visit again. With caveats: In pleasant weather. Not on a day when I want a solid sugar caramel slice. This is a café which offers and really provides a healthy -- and tasty -- approach to food.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them." … Robert Jarvik

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Freddie Strudels / Perth

cafe: Freddie Strudels, Perth

We're organising printing of a running shirt. Exit the print shop -- and see a small cafe next door. Cafe? Coffee? Just what we need :-)

Strudels? This is a small, neat, modern cafe run by Asians. Three more Asians relaxing, snacking, by the front window. Strudels?! With us, the cafe is now half full. We order coffees and the smallest "cake", a custard horn or somesuch name.

Out back is the kitchen. We guess that that is the source of strudels and other traditional European delights. (Yes, Asian cook.) The cafe, we decide, is just to round out a food catering business.

Cheerful, friendly service. We are offered a free biscuit, fresh from the oven. Very nice. Our custard horn arrives.

It is delicious! Fresh crispy pastry, crumbles as we bite it. Aaahhhh... Mmmmm... Wow :-) Absolutely delicious.

We can buy a custard horn at our local fresh food market. A horn which tastes okay. A horn which is baked to be stored, delivered, displayed, eaten within a day or three. Designed to not shatter during delivery.

The Freddie custard horn is designed -- baked -- to be eaten soon. Within hours. Fresh, delicious, melt in the mouth  delicious. Can I say it again? Delicious:-)

I hope that we will be back. It's nowhere near our usual haunts. We hope that we will be back. Perhaps to buy a Freddie actual Strudel. I'm already looking forward to it.

Three out of three: we enjoyed the visit, we hope to be back

===

22feb20: We go back.

This time, it's deliberate. We're looking for a coffee outing, we select Freddie Strudels. Drive past a couple of better-known names, they are too crowded and... we're just not interested.

Friendly and cheerful waiter. Coffee: strong, delicious. Shared apple strudel: absolutely delicious, crisp sweet pastry, just enough apple and custard(?) filling, yummm :-)

Still rated as 3 out of three: worth visiting again.

Oh, and they sell just a few jars of honey. An uncle's hobby, we're told. I buy a jar... rather expensive but... I'm always looking for crystallised honey, it stays on the bread. I doubt that it was deliberate, I buy the one jar of honey which has crystallised.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"I think and think, for months, for years. Ninety-nine times the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right." … Einstein
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

cafe: Tropico, North Beach

cafe: Tropico, North Beach

Hipster wall decorations showing signs of mass production. High chairs and tables, good for the views. Crowded inside, difficult to find parking outside. All signs of "hipster".

I've decided that there are two styles of hipster: repurposed shops with decorations of whatever is available, and the same look -- but done as a deliberate marketing technique. This café looks deliberate.

Service is good, coffee is good, we share a "Malteser" cake. It's gooey caramel on a slice of cake, solid sugar. Luckily the cake is also solid -- in a good way -- otherwise the sugar topping would have been unbearable. But, it's very nice. A shared slice is plenty.

Oh, there is also a shelf of "healthy" cakes and slices. Some look interesting. If that's what you want.

We were here once before, on a holiday, when other cafes were closed. We had a quick coffee as this shop was also closing. We enjoyed both visits but only returned because we wanted to see it in normal opening hours. So: two out of three, good but will not become a regular place for us.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)