Lunched today at Café Saffron in Melville Street. I was last there just after it had opened under the new ownership of Maya, and was impressed even then. Today proved that not only has Maya consistently performed but she is still managing to maintain the cheap prices which I pointed out last time I ate there.
She well undercuts most lunchtime food venues, as well as providing innovative, fresh and fabulous food. She should be huge competition for Pigeon Hole except more people are aware of Jay and his more famous offsiders and assistants in the shop, than are aware of Maya and Café Saffron. She has had Scott Bywater, ex-Gilt in Sandy Bay, helping her out there recently though.
Her soup of the day today was Pea and Ham, and boy was it great, and SO appropriate for a freezing cold day like today, with snow right the way down the mountain, and the wind blowing across the city, coming directly off that mountain.
All in all, a great little lunch venue for you city workers. In the summer, Maya has plans for the sexiest breakfast ever, so will start doing these very different breakfasts. I persuaded her to reveal one of her planned menu items, and she did, and it was indeed very different to what we have come to accept as the norm. I look forward to breakfasting there one Saturday after she opens for that.
Monday, 21 July 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
17 comments:
Great to see another valliant person having a go Rita.
Rita - we know you like the lads at the pigeon hole but its a bit rich to say that they are famous - come on ... fame has to be earned and to my knowledge they haven't won any awards so how can you claim "more people are aware of Jay and his more FAMOUS offsiders and assistants"?
Tis, a little early to add Luke et al to the Hobart Hall of Fame - I can think of at least 4 others who deserve the title ahead of them.
Cool Room
Totally agree with you CR. Yes, I like the lads at PH but that doesn't necessarily mean they actually walk on water! And to be honest, I write as I speak, just that the inflections tend to get lost when you do that. I pretty well take the piss when I say stuff like that. (It's like my saying the other day on Gobbler's blog that I considered myself a luminary - of course I don't, but just taking the piss out of myself!)
Yes, of course Luke and the crew at PH aren't THAT well known but, hey, they are better known than Maya, which was the point I was trying to make.
Naturally we can all think of many people we could add to the Hobart Hospitality Hall of Fame.
Yes Gobbler - I love seeing someone like Maya in operation mode. She's young, and all fired up, and has many of her own ideas that she is passionate about. Her coffees are $3.20 too! Try and get a decent coffee somewhere else round town at that price!
What about the Hobart Hospitality Hall of the Famished, Rita?
It could be a list of people who have gone out for a feed and ended up still needing to pick up a pizza on the way home.
It's happened to me and the missus more than once.
OK Sir G - you're currently the only one on the Hobart Hospitality Hall of the Famished! Where was it that you ate and emerged famished?
A famous waterfront seafood place, Rita. Has something to do with drunken admiralty ranks. Another was Prosser's (food was good, just not enough of it for us).
The missus also had feeds with boss at Mure's upstairs and Casino revolving and felt less-than full (two-minute-noodles at midnight routine).
On the basis of your Saffron blog, I went there for lunch today. It was very enjoyable.
Curly Lasagne
I concur Sir G... I have also eaten out at quite exy places and felt like a stop at mykonos on the way home... often the food is amazingly presented and incredibly tasty, but portions are so small and not sustaining.
The most recent experience was at Piccalilly. 5 courses later (not including dessert) and we were famished!
Plus I am female and not over-weight (in my humble opinion) so I think I would be at least the average diner wanting sufficient amount of food to be considered nourished appropriately.
LT
I dined at Piccalilly last weekend and had five courses and was chockers and I eat alot. I think they are good sizes. It the pub where I always order extra chips and bread to fill up.
Yes LT, my missus used to come home with tales from work the day after a girl's night out or a work-related ``Do''.
She'd tell me of her workmates grabbing a pizza on the way home or getting the oven chips on, cheese on toast, MCCains pizza etc.
It'd happen maybe once out of a dozen outings.
The worst ones were the work-back nights. Management would be telling them about a new product and say food would be provided. Often it was at a local hotel.
They'd turn up ravenous straight from work for a bloody tiny vol-au-vent and a wrinkly-edged tiny sandwich.
By the time the event was finished (often 9,30-10pm) the girls would be ravenous.
I wouldn't like to get in their way at that stage! Food is comfort. Management should know and look after people in these circumstances. Push the bloody boat out a bit. The rewards of loyalty and gratefulness will follow.
In reference to cool room's Hobart Hall of Fame, has it ever occurred to any of you bloggers and "reviewers" that the majority of people running restaurants and cafes are just earning an honest living doing what they love and know how to do. They do not necessarily wish to be famous, reviewed, rated and judged. They just want to offer a service where people can enjoy themselves, and where the restaurant owners themselves can enjoy the work that they are doing.
yay thank you!
yes it has anon 9.35.
But if you take my money for a servic ethat is sub standard or food that is not up to scratch- shouldn't I as a customer have a right to say something about it?
well anon 8.19 where are all the other blogs about every other service that we have in our lives? why is it only the food industry that is under such open criticism? where are the blogs about hairdressers, telephone companies, mechanics, etc etc? - the list could go on. there is too much wank and uneducated opinion surrounding food these days. and you know what, the customer is not always right.
Anon:
So whats your point with your first post: Is it that you don’t like being criticised ? or is it that your happy to accept good reviews only?
We spend our lives being reviewed, rated and judged and some of us even seek out fame – so why should it be different with restaurants & cafes. You have a bad experience – you tell 10 people …. It’s been that way since ‘man’ first crawled out of the swamp.
The reason that most people open a business is that they want to make money – it is no different in the hospitality industry. If you can enjoy themselves – great!!! If you can make their customers happy – fantastic!!! But it is all about money because if it wasn’t we would give the food away.
Much has been written about the qualifications needed to be a critic – possibly the biggest requirement is “respect” and of course knowledge. And yes there is too much wank and uneducated opinion surrounding food these days. But much of it in this town is driven by a small circle of people. Often new comers to food in this city don’t understand this and they think they have just “invented the wheel” they come and set up shop at an ever increasing rate – they also close down within the first few years – ask a local foodie they can real off the names of at least a dozen places that have done their dough in the last couple of years. Yes its great to have the transfusion of new blood but at what cost? – wrecked lives, bankruptcy ….
Yes there is some very bad food in this town and people still pay money for it day in day out. Because they either don’t know any better or it’s what they want. We try hard to educate our customers but some don’t want to listen.
It is tough in food at the moment - the margins are decreasing at an alarming rate. The cost of staff, rent ,power and food has gone through the roof and disposable income has plummeted. The odds are that only large establishments will survive and prosper – small places will always struggle to provide the owner operator a living.
Wake up Anon 9:35 its time to get up !
And yes when you have bills to pay – the customer is ALWAYS right.
Cool Room
But back to Saffron - while I haven't yet eaten there, I have also noted the very very decent prices and keep meaning to spend my lunch break there.
I have had several take away coffees from here, and really appreciate the use of Jasper coffee (only know of one other place in hobart which serves this wonderful coffee)
I had lubnch there yesterday after reading something about this cafe somewhere. And i couldnt believe how good the food was for the price!? Why this cafe isnt flat out from dawn till dusk i do not know! And what an impressive younge lass who runs the place! She make some man a very happy husband one day!
10/10
Post a Comment