Cindy and I found ourselves in Brunswick on the weekend again and looking for somewhere to escape the heat and grab some lunch. We lazily decided to just revisit Wide Open Road, partly because we weren't looking for new blog material. But, as Carla noted, the menu has been rejigged a bit again, with a really wonderful sounding smashed pea and tabouli dish, a triumphant return for Henry's white beans and a new vegan sandwich, so we pulled the camera out again. Given the heat, I went for the refreshing-sounding sandwich: apple slaw with avocado, dill and beetroot relish ($12.50).
It was exactly what I wanted - fresh and light, but still packed with interesting flavours. The sweetness of the apple and beetroot meant that it only just fell into the savoury category, and the crusty bread and creamy avo made every mouthful a delight. The dill was only faintly evident, which is probably the way it should be - it could easily overwhelm everything else. The basic salad on the side was a nice but unnecessary touch.
Cindy went for something even fresher and cooler: a fruit salad of mango and watermelon, with vanilla labne, rosewater and lemon syrup. The temptation of the salt-roasted potato with grilled corn, chervil and citrus tahini dressing (vegan, $14.50) was pretty strong, but it just wasn't roast potato weather.
The fruit salad hit the spot nicely - cooling and tasty, with a decent chunk of labne and a sweet and tangy dressing. It recharged her batteries enough to get back on the bike and ride home in 35 degree heat (with the northerly at our backs at least).
Wide Open Road is really hitting its stride these days - I love the spacious interior, the staff have been consistently attentive and competent, the coffee's great and the menu is superb. Surely Brunswick's best veg-friendly cafe these days.
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Read about our previous visits to Wide Open Road here and here. In the last couple of months, easy as (vegan) pie and Dreaming Out Loud have given W.OR. the thumbs up.
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Wide Open Road
274 Barkly Street, Brunswick
9387 6079
veg breakfasts $7-16.50
http://wideopenroad.com.au/
Accessibility: Tables outside are on a sloping footpath and there are a couple of steps up on entry. There's a fair bit of space inside, although they manage to squeeze plenty of tables in there. There's full table service. We didn't visit the toilets.
I would have found it VERY hard to resist the sound of the baked potato, even in hot weather! Wide Open Road has been at the top of my cafe-visiting wish list for ages, I really need to get a wriggle on and go!
ReplyDeleteHayley - I feel the same way about potatoes but after cycling around on a creeping-towards-forty-degrees day, I ended up glad that I resisted. We had a wise waiter who gently steered me in the right direction. :-)
DeleteOhhhh, that fruit salad is utterly and completely the opposite of what's in season here in Toronto, and I wantssss it!
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah! I think seeing so much delicious opposite-season food is one of the perils of food blogging. :-P
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