This has been a big goal of mine for a long time. Ever since adapting to Zomato, and getting used to many of the dynamics, one of the most appealing aspects about it was the interactive part of it. That meant, being able to tag who you have eaten with during the particular meal that the review is about. Within the meantime, I had tried (pretty unsuccessfully) to have one big get together a couple of times - with plenty of folks with the same interest to meet and interact. Flash forward to around November 2016, and one of the top bloggers in Brisbane suggests creating a group on Whatsapp in order to start arranging get-togethers as such. After getting their number, it was a case of creating that group on Whatsapp then collecting some numbers I already had. From there, it was only the beginning. With this group made, it was only to grow from here - and might still have people being added as we speak.
After a couple of meetings here and there using the chat functions, a plan had been established. Every month starting from the coming year, a big group meeting was going to be planned - or that is what has panned out. One fellow member here thought to attempt getting the lot together early on, and went around finding a place to book somewhere for a big group brunch and get to know all of the names behind the avatars. Where it comes into being monthly, I charged in and took the next meeting with a plan in mind and nominated the next member to plan the following month. And hopefully that makes a chain reaction. That will mean lots of future meetings, and heaps of grub to be eaten - and that I can hardly wait for them.
So this brings us to Carport Cafe. This one was organised by fellow review Mandy Bernadette , and it was the plan B. All the planning and organising went back and forth a bit, and while the initial choice would have eventually ultimately worked, this one was better for me since that meant another review (always a plus on my part). She, along with boyfriend MB, visit here often so they know the guy who owns the place. It is suffice to say they both really like it. So they booked it in, and it was those two, plus the Invisibles, plus the Meatball gang, plus Espresso & Matcha, my dining buddy and me all here to enjoy some food. As far as meeting people goes, this was like a greatest hits for me (and not the kind with the promotional new/"new" single either). Let's hope that this is only the beginning, and that more of these meetings are to come.
What makes Carport Cafe impressive is the level of quality and professionalism that comes from a mere garage that is just literally meters off a main stretch of road. They have transformed it really well, that instead of fitting it in with the house, it has more or less undergone a transformation of sorts. It has a pretty simple layout, and to give it even more of a homely touch, the tables and chairs are occasionally mismatched. Some are underneath the trees in the entry way (sort of like dining al fresco in the courtyard), with several more picnic style tables at the side.
A big round of applause must be given to the main man of the group, the waiter/manager of Carport Cafe. The fact that he had to balance out around a dozen different orders - plus the separate details on them (like substitutions, how someone likes something on the plate et al) and memorise them so well, that is high-level talent that is going on there. Following on, it was a fair wait until the meals arrived onto the table. No-one was in any rush to be anywhere, so this was not anything against the place. From quite a bit of experience, there are places that know how to balance this out - or at least have it seem that the service is not slow - by getting the coffee orders out beforehand, and even coming around a second time. If more places would do this at busy times, that would be a definite point to increase their reputation.
Boiled down to the bone, this is essentially following the trend of what has become popular in Brisbane - the all day breakfast, and burgers during the lunch time hours. That is a safe bet for such an endeavour, and hopefully operations can expand when more success comes their way. They also have drinks, in which you choose from teas, coffees, juices, smoothies and shakes. In saying that with the breakfast items, there are still one or more less usual items to choose from thus it does not have the vanilla stock-standard look to it.
Well, the first call of business is getting the coffee out of the way. The coffee is not from any of the major blends this time, instead they opt for a single origin bean. This time around, it is from Brazil. I can honestly say, I don't think that I have had much coffee - or even any - from Brazil. Both of the coffees that I had from this blend were pretty strong, and had a slight fruity note in the flavour. Well extracted, and a decent drinking temperature make for all that is needed with a good black coffee. Already they have one of the foundations for a successful cafe underway.
Now going onto the main part of the meal, what I settled for were their fritters. These were made of zucchini, corn and onion, and came with several cherry tomatoes, half an avocado, two poached eggs, and a tub of hommous. On the side you could get some haloumi and bacon, and I got the latter. As per usual, the bacon was requested crispy and the eggs were requested with a runny yolk - which was default nevertheless. One thing that has to be said first is with the portion sizes; they are generous and substantial.
The fritters were tasty, though might have needed a little more cooking, and were solid - the mixture of vegetables were great, all managing a different component in a meal, thus combining together well and giving a decent flavour. Plus the avocado there was creamy and cold, cut into wedge sections pretty well. The bacon was definitely crispy, and hot, with most of the fat fairly crisped up - only a couple of bits were put to the side. The eggs were perfectly cooked; just a couple of fork pricks and the yolk was bleeding all over the plate. They were soft and delicious, all that was needed. For once, they actually felt like a legitimate part of the meal. The tomatoes were juicy and sweet, and the hommous was also home made. Without any toast in sight, the fritters were chosen to butter up with them. All of this made for a good, solid, well-rounded, and surprisingly fresh and healthy meal for breakfast. Already from there, this would be a good and memorable breakfast.
However ... since it was on a roll, and Mandy had recommended them so much, I was going to give Carport one last chance and test their sweets. More so, the brownies. Both her and I went for the brownies, and I chose to eat it in - and when ice cream was asked on the side, you bet I said yes. The brownie was delicious, very chocolatey in tasty and flavour - the chocolate was melting from it being heated up, and that was melting the ice cream as well. That ice cream was cold and creamy, mixing well with the chocolate bleeding out. Very tasty, and somewhat crumbly made for this sweet being a good finisher to the meal.
And so ended the first of what is hopefully many meetings with several of the Zomato people. What I must say was that this was an excellent way to begin what will be surely an eventful lot of meetings with plenty of good food to go around. The Carport Cafe, down to the bone, is another great cafe that gives "the local" a run for its money by being even more homely than usual - with the help of being run out of somebody's garage. The food there was tasty, and the portions did not hurt the value either. It was unpretentious, following in the vein of why many of us like to go out - simply good food, with a nice atmosphere, and a chilling place to relax and discuss the world.
TL;DR: Not just for the year already, but maybe even in the five years of reviewing places, Carport Cafe will hold up as one of the most unique experiences yet. Giving it credit where credit is due, so much has been able to be delivered with so little in the way of space, and practically in a suburban stretch of road. Whoever the brainchild behind this operation is, he is definitely a shrewd and talented individual. He is hard-working, and made such an effort to accommodate to an impromptu booking with many people.
Enough about that aspect, this is where you go for breakfast. It is nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary. They serve a number of wholesome dishes, both hot and cold, right out of what must be a fairly suburban kitchen and for that, with the turnaround considered, it is quite an achievement. Some sweets and more simple fare are also on offer, and it is just as good, if not better, than many trendy hipster joints in the trendy part of town.
When it comes to supporting the local, and even more the little guy, it does not come more apparent than right here. On that front alone, if you are in and around that area, and you like to do the aforementioned - it is certainly recommended to drop in and give it a go.
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