Bryton Taylor | A Perth Food Blog

The Classroom, North Perth

I was never a fan of school. Mom remembers the time I called her and howled down the line, ‘Get me out of here!!!’

Yup. Fun times.

Now, if school was as cool as how The Classroom in North Perth has made it out to be, I would’ve happily gone. Walking in for the first time, you almost hold your breath. Fully themed down to the nitty gritty is a rarity, and The Classroom gets an A+ on many levels. 

The Classroom doesn’t reminisce on a particular time, rather takes the best of the best. Old wooden desks paired with wooden seats, are arranged next to bright colourful plastic seats. Bookshelves hold an array of trophies and memorabilia. And you can't miss the lockers filled with alcohol. If you do, I'm going to worry about your priorities.

Fill out the canteen menu and hand it in and watch the barmen in their house captain uniforms twirl glasses through the air. Eating out truly has become the theatre of this era. It’s about showmanship, and wowing the customer. Yeah, I was seriously wowed.

Food buzzer gone off? Jump in line and pick your meal up a la old school style. 

 

And now? Time for the chomp.

 

Cherry Jam Margarita: $18

Espolon Blanco, Herring Cherry Liqueur, gomme, fresh pressed lime, sour cherry jam, pink salt rim

Roasted nuts $5 contained in pencil cases with illustrations from days gone by.

Hand-cut crinkle chips, sumac dusting and chipotle aioli $6

PB + J= Salted peanut caramel and Morella cherry jelly, baby shake = $12 (I couldn’t have it, but Madi chomped this one back)

 

Bad Apple: $18

Absolut Elyx Vodka, Monin Pomme Verte, cloudy apple, fresh pressed lime, cinnamon dust 

 

And finally to finish it off...wanna see the toilets? Yeah, I knew you would. Not as fancy as in the eating area, but bonus points since it does talk to you and give you french lessons. As I said, down to the nitty gritty details.

 

Duende, Leederville

short mac

I’m not much of a morning person. At all. On weekends I turn back into my night hawk ways, and my head stays hidden under the covers at the first break of light.
Morning? What morning?

So when I’m finally ready for brunch, a lot of eateries are serving lunch. Fortunately Duende in Leederville serves brunch until 4:30pm (not that I sleep in that much!) They also make an amazing coffee (we ordered a flat white and short mac) that goes down smoothly and wakes up sleepyheads (like moi).

Albany Eats; Emu Point Cafe, Rustlers, Liberte and Nonnas

I decided it was finally time to sit down and write about the restaurants we visited whilst in Albany… back at Easter time last year. Fortunately I jotted notes, so while it’s slightly hazy, the main points are still there.

 Upon arriving and dumping our bags in the room around midday, we headed out to cruise around Albany. We stumbled across Emu Point Café and stopped for a much needed coffee. We had hoped to grab a light meal, but they had just closed the kitchen, so that was out of the question. So we settled for an iced coffee and chai latte. Both were refreshing, and the pretty views, cosy seats and pleasant ambiance made it all the more enjoyable.

Tsunami, Mosman Park

My knife sliced cleanly through the meat, sizzling on the slab of stone. I popped a cube of the teppanyaki wagyu steak in my mouth, closed my eyes, and my tastebuds sang to the heavens.

After what could only be described as a seriously rough week, my kiwi had booked us into Tsunami to give me something to look forward to. Food, afterall, has always been a good motivator to get me through a day.

Coffee Overloading; The Imp and Antz Inya Pantz, Victoria Park

The BFG had promised to take me to his coffee haunts. What I didn't figure was this would be in one swoop, leaving me with the coffee jitters. Antz Inya Pantz? errr, yeah. 

Madrid, Claremont

Claremont, as many will know, has been through a major redesign. What once was a rundown, tired mall (if you can call it that, even if it did have a David Jones and Coles) has now been transformed into a shiny new centre, having even taken part in last year's Perth Fashion Festival.

Some of fashion's top names chose to set up shop, new lux apartments popped up and cafes surrounding the mall updated themselves. One such eatery was Madrid. What was once a cafe that not many people raved about, took note of the current trend for tapas bars and did a 360o, transforming themselves into a cool place to be.The first week it opened, Jess and I were there to try it out. We popped in on a Wednesday evening and were pleasantly surprised to be able to get a seat, since we were certain the place would be packed. 

Cantina 663, Mt Lawley

Espresso Martini – house infused vanilla vodka, patron xo café, espresso -- $13

Vodka in the form of an espresso martini is a completely acceptable start to a Saturday morning. At least in my book, and it seems as well, Cantina 663’s. Add some lemon polenta cake with strawberries and vanilla ice cream to that mix, and I'm ready to take on the weekend. 

Brownhaus, Subiaco

'I'll make a coffee nerd out of you yet!' the BFG stated as we met up in Subi. It was supposed to be a lesson in good coffee at Spring Espresso. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. With Spring closed early for the day, we wandered down Rokeby in search of another coffee place and stumbled across Brownhaus.

Rockpool Bar and Grill, Burswood

At the end of the day, simplicity really is best. And no where is this proven better than at Rockpool Bar and Grill Perth. There is no stuffiness to Rockpool. Yes the décor is impeccable, but the staff are real and they know what they’re talking about.

Mussels Steamed with Chilli, Peppers and Vermouth $24

Steve's Fine Food and Wine, Nedlands

‘I really hope they’re making the dough from scratch’, is all I could think as I sat there waiting. 40 minutes had passed, only one pizza had been ordered, it wasn’t busy yet and I was getting hungry. Starving bear, hungry. Raaaaar, hungry.

The pizza finally came, described as smoked wagyu beef, chimichurri, fresh tomato with mushroom. I was that famished that I rolled up a piece of pizza, shovelled it in my mouth, burning my tongue in the process from the tomato and getting a mouthful of uncooked dough. Bleh.