Trev’s at Dickson, Dickson*

* I reviewed Trev’s at Dickson as a guest.

Not that long ago, Trev was The Lodge’s resident chef for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. A little over five years later, Trev leads his eponymous cafe/restaurant tucked away in the office area of Challis Street, Dickson.

Trev’s is open seven days a week for breakfast/brunch and dinners on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Today’s a Thursday at what seems a very early 7.30am. On arrival we’re greeted with requests for coffee orders and my large chai latte arrives truly large with a yummy crust of  cinnamon sugar on frothy milk.

Trev’s is also renowned for its similarly eponymous dish: the Trev’s Taste Collective. Have you ever perused a breakfast menu and felt like you really want something sweet but you also really want something savoury, and somehow early on a Saturday morning you’re still required to make that very difficult choice? For me it’s almost always pancakes with fruit and ice cream versus a dish – any dish – that has poached eggs. The eggs usually win (unless it’s pancakes from Ha Ha Bar – then pancakes are victorious!).

Trev’s Taste Collective goes some way to solving this. At $18.50 you get a small stack of thick pancakes with strawberry and basil compote, marscapone and a smatter of icing sugar, a very thick corn fritter with a heaping of avocado and tomato salsa and a bacon rasher, followed by a two-fruit salad (today it’s strawberries and watermelon) with kaffir lime syrup and a wisp of fairy floss. It all comes with their mini JOD (juice of the day) – today it’s apple, orange and cranberry and it’s tangy and delicious and all too small; I’d love it slightly larger with an ice cube.

Corn generally is not my thing but what I do have of the corn fritter is tasty. The generous helping of avocado salsa is a stand out and I could eat plenty of it with the bacon. The strawberries and watermelon are sweet and fresh and it’s easy to devour. The pancake batter is a little thick rather than fluffy but they’re just enough to make the whole dish very, very filling.

I’m sure a few friends have questions about eating it altogether or separately, and whether it’s weird to have sweet and savoury near or touching each other. While it’s clear from the photo that some of the juice from the berry compote and syrup leak under the fritter, I don’t know it at the time.

Trev’s idea is a very clever one which finally provides an answer to so many people’s early morning dilemmas. But to answer mine, it still needs a poached egg in it somewhere!

Date: Thursday, 8 October 2015

Where: Challis Street, Dickson

Cost: I dined as a guest of Trev’s at Dickson. The Trev’s Taste Collective costs $18.50 including a small juice of the day but not including coffee/s.

Want more? Trev’s has a very comprehensive website and detailed menus.

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Cafe 2617, Belconnen

Belconnen Town Centre’s Urban Roast has undergone a revamp: the ownership hasn’t changed and the cafe is still bright and roomy, but there’s a new, streamlined menu and the shouting to the kitchen and back has thankfully stopped. The outfit seems calmer and more organised. The lunch menu has completely gone – replaced with blackboard menus which change every three or four days to allow the kitchen to take advantage of what’s fresh and seasonal and be more creative. And, of course, the name has changed.

Chatterbox Espresso Bar – Redux

My review of one of Belconnen’s breakfast/brunch locations Chatterbox was one of my most read posts in 2014. But I have mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, I’m so pleased that it’s been of such interest to people, and I know my recommendations about Chatterbox – on social media generally, and also through the review – have encouraged people to get along, and inevitably they keep heading back after they experience it for themselves.

On the other hand, it’s taught me just how a review in the first few weeks of a cafe opening can quickly become inaccurate, and I cringe re-reading parts of it. The review talks about how the avocado isn’t particularly generous and the potato is a little stodgy, but soon after I posted the review, owner Charlie took that feedback on board: for a year now the avo helpings have been enormous, and the potato rosti is one of the most popular orders.

And while I’m overly picky in that first post, for all of 2014 Chatterbox has consistently been our go-to. In fact, anytime I suggest we go elsewhere I get a look from Boyfriend and usually a declaration at the end of the other establishment’s meal that it wasn’t as good as Chatterbox and why do we even bother trying elsewhere?

So, a year later, it feels time to re-review.

Plumb on Tennant, Fyshwick

I’ve spruiked continuously that Canberra is full of these ‘hidden gems’ – often we only hear about these places because they’re where we live, or through word of mouth (often because other people live there!). I’m not sure I would ever have heard of Plumb on Tennant if it wasn’t for CBR Foodie‘s lunchtime post a few weeks ago. You see, this hidden gem is in Fyshwick!

Wilbur’s Cafe and Bar, Hackett

I’m suffering from ordering envy lately. I agonise over what I’m going to order, and when I do, I regret it – particularly when my dining companion is served up with something that looks particularly scrumptious. Particularly when I’d been considering that menu item for myself. This seems to only be happening to me at breakfast time. Does this ever happen to you?

Monster Kitchen and Bar, New Acton

I don’t often associate restaurants attached to hotels with award-winning experiences, but Monster Kitchen and Bar in the Nishi building – and part of Hotel Hotel – has been scooping awards since its official opening a few months back – and yet has just a 52% approval on Urbanspoon (at the time of writing). At a catch up with a group of old friends on a cool Saturday in August, I put it to the test.

#MushroomMania2014, Canberra*

Each July, the Australian Mushroom Growers runs a campaign encouraging people to cook mushrooms, and eat mushrooms when they’re out. This year, I was lucky enough to receive a $100 gift card to enjoy some mushroom meals around Canberra and post some photos on social media.

While I love mushrooms, a dish that features mushrooms isn’t my go-to dish when eating out, particularly at breakfast – I’m usually after hotcakes or something with eggs – but I’ll often order mushrooms as a side. This campaign means I’m seeking out dishes I might otherwise have missed.

Little Oink Cafe, Cook

Canberra’s known for its local centres. Heck, we’ve even got Parties at the Shops, which revolves around and celebrates them. But some local centres are in a bit of a state of decline (and for still others, that’s a euphemism!). So, it kinda excites me to see a range of new cafes popping up in some of the quieter centres and making a real go of it. Little Oink Cafe in Cook shops is one example.

A. Baker Redux

The last time I went to A. Baker, I was disappointed. It was a few days after they opened, and while I’m willing to forgive teething issues, it’s hard to feel confident about a venue that misses the basics. I didn’t think I’d be back for a long time.

It’s now more than six months later. I went back.

Urban Roast, Belconnen

Since our first visit at Chatterbox we’ve become big fans of Belconnen’s newest and increasingly popular breakfast venue – Boyfriend goes so far to describe it as his local, and the owners and regular waitstaff recognise him. They offer consistent and fast service no matter who you are, or on what day you visit, which is what we enjoy about it. But, we have to branch out, and Boyfriend begrudgingly obliges. Last week we’d spotted Urban Roast on the corner of Cohen and Lathlain Streets with plenty of customers on a Saturday morning, and agreed to seek it out.